Kerala announces civilian awards to writer Sanoo, ISRO chief Somanath

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Thursday announced the 2024 Kerala Awards, the highest civilian awards instituted by the state government on the model of the Padma Awards, whose eight recipients include eminent writer M K Sanoo, ISRO chairman S Somanath and cricketer Sanju Samson.

Established in 2021, the awards are categorised into three groups - Kerala Jyothi, Kerala Prabha, and Kerala Shree -- and announced every year in the wake of 'Keralappiravi', the state's formation day that falls on November 1.

Sanoo will receive the Kerala Jyothi for his contributions to literature, while Somanath and Bhuvaneshwari will be honored with the Kerala Prabha for their accomplishments in the fields of Science and Engineering and Agriculture, respectively, according to a state government release.

The Kerala Sree, awarded to five individuals, will go to Kalamandalam Vimala Menon (Art), Dr. T K Jayakumar (Health), Narayana Bhattathiri (Calligraphy), Sanju Samson (Sports), and Shaija Baby (Social Service, Asha Worker) and V K Mathews (Industry-Commerce), according to the release.

The Kerala Jyothi, the highest state award, is conferred on one individual annually.

The second-highest award, Kerala Prabha, is given to two individuals, while the Kerala Sree, the third-highest, is presented to five individuals, all in recognition of their outstanding contributions across various sectors.

The selection process involves three levels of evaluation, the primary scrutiny committee (secretary level), the secondary scrutiny committee, and the award committee.

The award committee comprises members such as veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan.