The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee will confer the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards for 2011 at a function on October 9, 2012 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This year eleven eminent personalities will be conferred with Akademi Fellowships and thirty six artists will receive the Akademi Awards.

Those conferred with the highest honour of Akademi Fellowship will receive Rs. three lakh, besides an angavastram and tamrapatra. The eminent representatives of Music, Dance and Theatre to be honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2011 will receive Rs. one lakh, Angavastram and Tamrapatra.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi is the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama with the task of preservation and promotion of the performing art tradition of India. One of the important activities of the Akademi has been to give recognition and honours to artists for setting standards in performing arts and restoring the art and artists to their rightful place in India.

This release issued at 1600 hrs