New Delhi: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Thursday welcomed Brazilian judge Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin on the bench, and termed him as a 'great friend of India'.

Justice Benjamin, who is set to become the chief justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court in July, is on a visit to India. He shared the dais with the CJI and two other SC judges and keenly watched the judicial proceedings.

"He is a great friend of India... He is soon going to take charge on July 22 as the Chief Justice (of SC in Brazil). We are pleased to have him with us," the CJI said while introducing him to lawyers and the litigants present in the courtroom.

Justice Chandrachud said Justice Benjamin is a distinguished scholar, who has done significant work in the field of environment protection.

During his stay in the country, Justice Benjamin visited Jammu and Kashmir.

He is the founder of the Brazilian Consumer Law and Policy Institute and the Law for a Green Planet Institute.

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New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.

Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.

In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.

"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.

"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.

"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.

The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.