New Delhi, 15 June 2026: The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi, at its meeting held from 22-26 March 2026 at New Delhi unanimously elected seven (7) eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). The fellowship of the Akademi is a most prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 at any given time.
The General Council also selected 108 artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal/Music/Dance/Theatre/Puppetry, and Overall Contribution/ Scholarship and others in the Performing Arts for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the years 2024 & 2025.
The Fellows and Awardees so selected represent the nation as a whole, and belong to different States and Union Territories of India. Besides, these eminent artists cover the entire gamut of the performing art forms expressed in the form of music, dance, drama, folk & tribal art, puppetry, and allied theatre art forms, etc.
The General Council of the Akademi has also selected 106 young artists for Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2024 and 2025. These awards will be conferred by the Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi in a special ceremony.
The Akademi Awards have been conferred since 1952. These honours not only symbolize the highest standard of excellence and achievement, but also recognize sustained individual work and contribution. The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs. 3,00,000/-(Rupees three lakh only) while the Akademi Award carries a purse money of Rs. 1,00,000/-(Rupees one lakh only), besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a purse money of Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees twenty-five thousand only) besides a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Awards will be conferred by the Hon’ble President of India in a special investiture ceremony.
The list of the artists selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards, and Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar are attached herewith.
