VARANASI, Sept. 30 -- The Banaras Hindu University's highest decision-making body on academic matters, on Saturday, approved a proposal to present awards to students with outstanding academic performance. Students from all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, both regular and special courses of study, across various departments of the university will be considered for these annual awards. The academic council, chaired by vice-chancellor prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, approved the proposal to institute the 'Academic Excellence Award for Students' with overwhelming support, as members termed the move historic and much-needed. The meeting, held on Saturday, was the first after prof Chaturvedi assumed office. The award will be instituted from academic session, 2025-26. As per the approved proposal, students securing at least 8.5 CGPA will be eligible for the awards, which will comprise a cash prize and a certificate of excellence. The cash prizes will be Rs. 25,000, Rs. 20,000, and Rs. 15,000 for the top three students, respectively. UG or PG programmes with more than 100 students will be eligible for all three awards, while programmes with student strength between 50 and 100 will have two awards. There will be only one award for programmes with fewer than 50 students. htc...