Kerala Awards Explained

Kerala Awards are state-level civilian awards instituted by the Government of Kerala, India on the model of the Padma Awards instituted by the Government of India. Established in 2021, the awards are conferred on individuals who have made "priceless contribution to the society". The awardees are announced every year on 1 November, which is observed as the Kerala Piravi.^[1]

Categories

The Kerala Awards are of three categories.

• Kerala Jyothi: This is the highest award and will be conferred only on one person.
• Kerala Prabha: This is the second highest award and is conferred on three individuals.
• Kerala Sree: This is the third highest award and is conferred on six persons.

The awardees are to be selected by a special award committee after scrutiny by two subordinate committees and would be distributed in a ceremony that would be held in the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor.

Awardees

The winners of the maiden Kerala Awards were announced on 1 November 2022.^{[2] [3]}

2022

Kerala Jyothi

• M. T. Vasudevan Nair (literature), Malayalam author

Kerala Prabha

• Mammootty (arts), Malayalam actor
• Omchery N. N. Pillai (arts, drama, social service, public service), Malayalam playwright
• T. Madhava Menon (civil service, social service), former civil servant and social worker

Kerala Sree

• Gopinath Muthukad (social service, arts), magician

• Kanayi Kunhiraman (arts), sculptor
• Kochouseph Chittilappilly (social service, industry), industrialist

• M. P. Parameswaran (science, social service), scientist

• Sathyabhama Das Biju (science), amphibian biologist

• Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (arts), singer

2023

The winners of the Kerala Awards for the year 2023 were announced on 1 November 2023.^[4]

Kerala Jyothi

• T. Padmanabhan, writer

Kerala Prabha

• Justice (Retired) M. Fathima Beevi

• Nataraja Krishnamurthy (Soorya Krishnamoorthy)

Kerala Sree

• Punalur Somarajan (social service)

• V. P. Gangadharan (health)
• Ravi D. C. (industry and commerce)
• K. M. Chandrasekhar (civil service)

• Pandit Ramesh Narayan (art, music)

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of India

Notes and References

1. Vivek Rajagopal . Kerala to introduce state level awards on model of Padma awards: CM Pinarayi Vijayan . India Today . 22 October 2021 . 1 November 2022.
2. Kerala declares 1st-ever Padma-inspired awards; MT gets highest honour . The New Indian Express . 1 November 2022 . 1 November 2022.
3. Web site: M T Vasudevan Nair chosen for Kerala's first highest state-level award . Press Trust of India . PTI . 1 November 2022.
4. Web site: Kerala Jyothi award for writer T. Padmanabhan . THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. . 9 November 2023.