Swami Sunishthanandaji, who had been posted to Fiji centre as an assistant monk, reached there on 18 July.

Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, laid the foundation stone for the proposed Durga Mandap at Dinajpur Ashrama on 27 July, inaugurated the newly constructed monks’ quarters and dispensary building at Baliati centre on 29 July, laid the foundation stone for the proposed Sri Ramakrishna Temple at Narayanganj centre on 29 July, and laid the foundation stone for the proposed students’ home building at Dhaka centre on 30 July.

Swami Suviranandaji, Assistant Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, inaugurated two new buildings, namely Boys’ Home Study Hall and Sri Sarada Nursery School Building, at the Batticaloa sub-centre of Colombo Ashrama on 25 July.

Puri Mission Ashrama served lemonade and drinking water to about 25,000 pilgrims during the Ratha Yatra festival and treated 93 patients in the medical camp organized on this occasion.  The centre also served lemonade to about 450 pedestrians per day throughout the summer season.

Pune Math conducted a free medical camp at Pandharpur from 26 to 30 June on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi Yatra; nearly 2500 pilgrims were treated for various ailments.

The renovated building housing the Holy Mother shrine at Mumbai Ashrama was inaugurated on 3 July.

The Vivekananda Centenary Girls’ Higher Secondary School of Chennai Math celebrated its golden jubilee from 20 to 22 July with various programmes such as a procession, speeches, devotional music, cultural programmes, exhibitions, and a film show on Swami Vivekananda.

On 20 July, Limbdi centre felicitated 16 students of Limbdi for their brilliant performance in the Secondary and High Secondary examinations.

The Academy for Competitive Exams set up at Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya to coach students for job-oriented competitive examinations was inaugurated on 22 July.

Khetri centre shifted its shrine to a new location on the Ashrama premises on 22 July.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body under University Grants Commission (UGC), has awarded ‘A’ grade to our Narendrapur College for another five years.

Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, has awarded ‘A’ grade to our Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI), Samaj Sevak Shikshana Mandir, (a unit of Saradapitha) for the year 2011-12.

Two of the Sanskrit students of Vivekananda University successfully cleared the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in ‘Sanskrit Traditional Subjects’.

Outside India: Vedanta Society of New York (USA) observed the first phase of the celebration on 4 July at Ridgely Manor.  About 150 devotees and a few monastics attended the programme which consisted of talks, meditation, prayer and a drama.

Vedanta Society of Portland (USA) conducted an interfaith meeting at the Society’s retreat centre at Scappoose on 4 July.  The programme also included a musical performance, reading from Swami Vivekananda’s writings, and a video presentation on Swami Vivekananda in the West.

Chennai Math celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Ramakrishnanandaji from 15 to 17 July with various programmes such as retreats, seminars, discourses and devotional music.  Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, inaugurated the newly built ‘Ramakrishnananda Manadapam’ and released a commemorative volume.  He also launched (i) eBooks and eBooks App for mobile devices and tablets, and (ii) a new eBook-store website <www.vedantaebooks.org>.  Besides, Ramakrishnananda Exhibition and a new bookstall were inaugurated, and nine books on Swami Ramakrishnanandaji and a DVD containing the archives of 92 years of Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam (Tamil monthly) were released.

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Vivekananda University held its seventh foundation anniversary celebration and the annual convocation at its Belur campus on 4 July.  Kumari Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, was the Guest-in-Chief and delivered the convocation address.  As a special gesture, she offered a grant of one crore rupees to Vivekananda University for its development.  Sri Bratya Basu, Higher Education Minister, Government of West Bengal, was the Special Guest of Honour.  Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, who is also the Chancellor of the University, presided over the meeting and gave away the certificates, degrees and diplomas to the students who successfully graduated from the Belur and Narendrapur faculties of the University.  The Chief Minister gave away prizes to the toppers.

The following centres conducted free eye camps:

* Through Chengalpattu centre

The following centres conducted Child Eye Care Programmes, details of which are given below:

News of Branch Centre

Students of our Vidyamandira (Saradapitha) college secured the following ranks (within the first ten) at the BA / BSc (Honours) final examinations held by Calcutta University this year:   Physics: 9, Chemistry: 5 & 8, Mathematics: 1, Computer Science: 4, Philosophy: 2, Political Science: 1, 7, 8 & 10, English: 2, Sanskrit: 1, 5, & 10.

The results of the students of our schools at the Secondary (Class X) and Higher Secondary (Class XII) Examinations 2012 conducted by different education boards are as follows:

* Star Marks: 75% or above in the aggregate

Postal Address: The postal address of Jammu centre has been changed to “Ramakrishna Mission, Ramakrishna Vihar, PO Udheywala, Jammu 180018”.

 Email ID:  Kochi centre has discontinued its email ID <rkmathkochi@bsnl.in>.

In India: Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has instructed all of its schools to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda befittingly with various events throughout the year.

The following centres organized various programmes to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.  (Main programmes conducted by them are mentioned against their names.)

Bhubaneswar: A two-day programme comprising discourses and devotional singing on 15 and 16 July which was attended by about 320 persons daily.

Chengalpattu: Processions, bhajans and film shows on Swami Vivekananda at Nethampakkam, Mudukarai, Vilanganur, Kattu-Devatur, Kotamedu, Netrampakkam and Gurupadamedu on 1, 7, 8, 13, 14, 21 and 22 July respectively;

Chennai Mission Ashrama: Teachers’ convention on 9 June in which about 200 teachers took part;

Delhi: In a function held at the centre on 14 July, four NGOs were presented with ‘Swami Vivekananda Award’, instituted by the Ashrama, for their outstanding service to the poor and underprivileged;

Institute of Culture, Gol Park: In a function held at the Institute on 26 July, Sri M K Narayanan, Governor of West Bengal, released four books on the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda, one each in Assamese, Bengali, Nepali and Oriya, published by the print-media committee constituted for the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.  Sri Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal Minister for Commerce and Industries, was the chief guest and Swami Bhajananandaji, Assistant Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, presided over the meeting.

Khetri: Youth convention on 19 and 20 July, in which about 200 persons, mainly students and teachers of various colleges in Jhunjhunu district, took part;

Port Blair: Talks on the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda in 10 schools in July, which were attended by about 4800 students in all.

Pune: Conventions for teachers, corporate executives, youths and devotees on 8, 13, 14 and 15 July respectively, in which about 950 teachers, 250 corporate executives, 330 youths and 250 devotees took part;

Salem: Comprehensive value education programmes on the Ashrama premises in the months of June and July, in which altogether nearly 1600 students participated;

Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House: On the centre’s initiative, one institution in North Kolkata organized a seminar on 7 July on ‘Swami Vivekananda in Today’s Perspective’.

Swami Atmasthanandaji, President, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, is keeping well at Belur Math.

Swami Gitanandaji, Vice-President, continues to be under medical care at Kankurgachhi.

Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President, will be visiting Malda from 8 to 15 August and Cooch Behar from 16 to 25 August.

Swami Prabhanandaji, Vice-President, is scheduled to return to Belur Math on 5 August after his visit to Kamarpukur, Jayrambati and Antpur.  He will be visiting Bankura from 21 to 28 August.