National Recognition for Performing Arts
Sangeet Natak Akademi Honours India’s Performing Arts Legacy: The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards for 2024 and 2025 are being conferred on 13 August 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The President of India will honour a total of 115 artists and fellows for their distinguished contributions to India’s performing arts.
The recognition covers diverse traditions including music, dance, theatre, folk and tribal arts, puppetry, mask making and musical instrument making. Artists from different states and Union Territories are represented, reflecting India’s cultural diversity.
About Sangeet Natak Akademi
The Sangeet Natak Akademi is India’s national institution dedicated to music, dance and drama. Its awards recognise outstanding and sustained contributions to the performing arts.
Static GK fact: The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards have been presented since 1952, making them among India’s oldest national-level recognitions in the performing arts.
The highest distinction of the Akademi is the Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna. A Fellow receives ₹3 lakh, while an Akademi Award carries ₹1 lakh, along with a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
Akademi Fellowship Awardees
Seven distinguished personalities have been selected for the Akademi Fellowship for 2024-25. They are Ramlal Bareth, A V Anand, Rita Ganguly, Puru Dadheech, Chittaranjan Jyotishi, Pasumarthi Rattaiah Sarma and Sudharani Raghupathy.
The Fellowship represents the Akademi’s highest recognition and honours individuals who have made significant contributions to India’s artistic traditions.
Awards for 2024
The 2024 Akademi Awards recognise artists across several disciplines. In music, notable awardees include Arun Nagesh Kashalkar, Nirmalya Dey, Rakesh Chaurasia and Anand Bhate.
In dance, artists such as Rajeswari Sainath, Bipul Chandra Das, Veena Murthy Vijay and Bichitrananda Swain have been recognised. Theatre honours include T S Nagabharana, Satish Dave and Ravi Chaturvedi, while folk and tribal traditions include artists such as Gulabi Sapera and Hawa Singh.
Awards for 2025
The 2025 Akademi Awards further represent the breadth of India’s performing arts. Important music awardees include Krishna Mohan Pathak, Suresh Gandharv, Shailesh Bhagwat and Pantula Rama.
Dance awardees include Roja Kannan, Kalamandalam Krishnakumar and Irengbam Nalini Devi. In theatre, Kapildev Chandrakant Shukla, Chetana Das and Ashok Patki are among the recognised artists.
Folk and traditional arts have also received representation through artists such as Anup Ranjan Pandey, Bheru Singh Chouhan, Surjya Kumar Debbarma and Ali Mohammad.
Cultural Significance
The awards demonstrate the importance of preserving India’s classical, folk, tribal and contemporary performing traditions. Recognition across multiple disciplines also highlights the role of artists in sustaining cultural knowledge and passing artistic traditions to future generations.
Static GK Tip: The Sangeet Natak Akademi functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and its awards cover both established classical traditions and diverse regional performing practices.
Static Usthadian Current Affairs Table
Sangeet Natak Akademi Honours India’s Performing Arts Legacy:
| Fact | Detail |
| Award | Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards 2024-25 |
| Total honourees | 115 artists and fellows |
| Award ceremony | 13 August 2026 |
| Venue | Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi |
| Presented by | President of India |
| National institution | Sangeet Natak Akademi |
| Awards instituted | 1952 |
| Highest honour | Akademi Fellowship / Akademi Ratna |
| Fellowship prize | ₹3 lakh |
| Akademi Award prize | ₹1 lakh, Tamrapatra and Angavastram |
| Major fields | Music, dance, theatre, folk and tribal arts, puppetry and instrument making |
