The Sahitya Akademi Awards

The Sahitya Akademi was set up by the Government of India in 1954 to foster and coordinate literary activities in all the Indian languages and to promote through them the cultural unity of India.

 The Government of India Resolution describes it as a national organisation instituted to work actively for the development of Indian letters and to set high literary standards.

 Every year since its inception in 1954, the Sahitya Akademi awards prizes the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the major Indian languages recognised by it. The award carries a monetary component (Rs. 50, 000) and a plaque.

 Sahitya Akademi gives twenty four awards to literary works in the languages it has recognised and an equal number to literary translations from and into the languages of India, both after an year-long process of scrutiny, discussion and selection. The awards are meant to recognise and promote excellence in Indian writing and expanding the very definition of Indian literature by acknowledging new trends and movements. They are a reflection of current tastes and contribute to the formation of an Indian sensibility.

 The Akademi also gives special awards called Bhasha Samman to writers/scholars for significant contribution to the languages not formally recognised by the Akademi as also for contribution to classical & medieval Literature. It also has a system of electing Fellows and Honorary Fellows, as also offering Anand Coomarswamy and Premchand Fellowships.