Key Points:
- The Akademi selected 7 eminent personalities as Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows, also known as Akademi Ratna. The Fellowship is the Akademi’s highest honour and is restricted to 40 living fellows at any time.
- The seven Fellows are Ramlal Bareth, A. V. Anand, Rita Ganguly, Puru Dadheech, Chittaranjan Jyotishi, Pasumarthi Rattaiah Sarma and Sudharani Raghupathy.
- A total of 108 artists were selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards or Akademi Puraskar for 2024 and 2025.
- The awardees represent fields including music, dance, theatre, folk and tribal arts, puppetry, traditional arts, scholarship and overall contribution to performing arts.
- The Akademi Fellowship carries ₹3 lakh, while the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award carries ₹1 lakh, along with a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
- The Akademi also selected 106 young artists for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 and 2025.
- The Yuva Puraskar carries ₹25,000, along with a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
- The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards have been presented since 1952 and recognise sustained excellence and contribution to India’s performing arts.
- The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards are to be conferred by the President of India at a special investiture ceremony.
Question
Q1. How many artists were selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2024 and 2025?a) 40
b) 72
c) 108
d) 106
Answer: c) On 10 June 2026, Sangeet Natak Akademi announced that 108 artists had been selected for the Akademi Puraskar for 2024 and 2025 across music, dance, theatre, folk and tribal arts, puppetry and other performing-art categories.
