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Mandela, Grameen Bank
share Gandhi Peace Prize

Former South African president and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela was Wednesday named for this year's International Gandhi Peace Prize, which he will share with the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.

The award, instituted by the Indian government in 1995 on the 125th birth anniversary of the father of the nation, carries a cash prize of Rs 10 million.

Announcing the name of the awardees in New Delhi, Tourism and Culture Minister Ananth Kumar said: "They have been chosen in recognition of their exemplary work resulting in social, economic and political transformation through Gandhian means."

The prize would be presented by President K R Narayanan at a special ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on a date convenient to the awardees, he said.

Eighty two-year-old Mandela and the Grameen Bank were selected by the award jury chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at its meeting in New Delhi on September 26.

The Indian government had in October, 1990, honoured Dr Mandela with the Bharat Ratna. He got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

PTI

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