The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee today (December 21, 2012) conferred the Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

92 year old Prof. C. Govindarajanar was conferred Tolkappiyar Award for outstanding contribution in the field of Tamil studies. Prof. Govindarajanar is an eminent archeologist who did fieldwork for 17 years in the historically important region from Pumpukar to Vanci which led to the identification of the Kannaki temple. The award carries a certificate of honour, a memento and a one-time cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh.

Prof. Francois Gros, a French National received Kural Pitam Award for the year 2008-09. Prof. Gros has translated many Tamil Classics into French and was Vice President of the International Association of Tamil Research. It includes a certificate of honour, a memento and a one-time cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh.

Young Scholar Awards for year 2008-09 were also conferred on to Dr. A. Lakshmi Duttai, Dr. S. Madhavan, Dr. M. Ramakrishnan and Dr. S. Sentamizhpavai for showing excellence in Tamil studies. It includes a certificate of honour, a memento and a one-time cash award of Rs.1 lakh.

Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil are instituted by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, to give due recognition and honour to distinguished scholars who have made outstanding contribution to Classical Tamil language and literature.