Several artistes from Assam have been selected for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2024 and 2025.

About Sangeet Natak Akademi

• Sangeet Natak Akademi is India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama.
• It was established in 1953 and functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• It was created by a resolution of the Ministry of Education, with P.V. Rajamannar as its first Chairman.
• It is the apex body which aims at the preservation, promotion and development of India’s performing arts.
• The Akademi is an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Culture and is headquartered in New Delhi.
• Its Chairman is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years.
• It is fully funded by the Government for the implementation of its schemes and programmes.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar)

• Instituted in 1952, these are among the highest national honours in the field of performing arts.
• The awards recognise outstanding contribution and sustained excellence in music, dance, theatre, folk arts, tribal arts, puppetry and allied fields.
• Awardees receive: ₹1 lakh cash prize, Tamrapatra (citation plaque) & Angavastram.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna)

• It is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi.
• Fellowship is restricted to 40 living members at any given time.
• Fellows receive a cash prize of ₹3 lakh along with a citation and ceremonial honours.

About Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar

• It is an annual Indian award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi since 2006 to outstanding artists under 40 who have demonstrated talent in the fields of music, dance and drama.
• The award is instituted to encourage young artists in the field of performing arts early years of their careers through national recognition.
• Awardees receive: ₹25,000 cash prize, Tamrapatra & Angavastram.

Apart from these two awards, the Akademi also confers Fellowships on eminent artists and scholars of music, dance and drama.

Assam’s Achievement

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2024 are Prema Oja Barbayan for Sattriya Dance and Bipul Chandra Das for Kathak Dance. 
  • The 2025 awardees from Assam include Chetana Das for Acting, Mallika Kandali for Sattriya Dance and Bhaskar Jyoti Oja for Sattriya Music.
• The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 has been awarded to Minakshi Medhi (Sattriya Dance), Dilip Hira (Folk Music) and Bidyut Kumar Nath (Theatre Direction). 
  • For 2025, the recipients are Niranjan Saikia Borbayan (Sattriya Dance), Debajit Saikia (Khol Percussion) and Hirak Jyoti Sarma (Tokari Geet and Folk Music).

Exam Hook – Prelims Question

Consider the following statements regarding the Sangeet Natak Akademi:

1. It functions under the Ministry of Culture.
2. It is India’s apex institution for music, dance and drama.
3. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d)

One-Line Wrap

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar celebrate excellence in India’s performing arts while preserving the country’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.

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