Odisha govt hikes Konark Samman cash prize amount to Rs 5 lakh

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sept 16:

The Odisha government has decided to hike the cash prize amount for Konark Samman from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

The award has been instituted to honour eminent persons for their lifetime achievement and contribution to the arts, culture and literature.

A decision to this effect was taken at a review meeting of the State Council of Culture presided over by Tourism and Culture minister Ashok Panda here on Monday.

According to a release of the Tourism and Culture department, a six-member jury comprising eminent persons, nominated by the State Council of Culture from the fields of literature, painting, sculpture, music, dance and other forms of artistic and cultural expression, would nominate a deserving individual for the Konark Samman.

The state government, which has not conferred the award since 2000, has planned to confer the award from this year.

It may be mentioned here that four eminent personalities— Late MS Subhalaxmi (classical singer), flute maestro Hari Prasad Chaurasia, well-known Marathi poet Dr Gobind Vinayak Karandikar and renowned visual artist BC Sanyal have been the recipients of the Konark Samman award so far.