Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 Winners Announced in 24 Languages

The Sahitya Akademi announced the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 in 24 Indian languages on March 16, 2026.

Renowned writer Mamta Kalia will be honored for her Hindi memoir “Jite Ji Allahabad.” Similarly, noted diplomat Navtej Sarna will be awarded for his English novel “Crimson Spring.” 

The award will also be given to Pritpal Singh Betab for his Urdu poetry collection “Safar Jaari Hai.” 

What does the Sahitya Akademi Award entail?

The Sahitya Akademi Award is regarded as a symbol of honor and prestige. Each award winner will be presented with the following honors at a presentation ceremony to be held in New Delhi on March 31, 2026 -

1. An engraved copper plaque

2. A shawl

3. A cash prize of ₹1,00,000 (one lakh rupees)

Sahitya Akademi Award 2025 Winners List (Category-wise)

The Sahitya Akademi Award 2025 showcases the diversity of Indian literature with awards across multiple categories, including 8 for poetry, 4 for novels, 6 for short stories, 2 for essays, 1 for literary criticism, 1 for autobiography, and 2 for memoirs.

Sahitya Akademi Institution
 

The Sahitya Akademi was established in 1954, but the first awards were given in 1955. 

The first award winners in 1955 included works like “Banphool” (Assamese) by Jatindranath Dowarah and “Matru Poojai” (Tamil) by R. P. Sethu Pillai. 

The cash prize, which started at ₹5,000 in 1955, was increased in several phases (1983, 1988, 2001, 2003), and since 2009 it has been ₹1,00,000. 

The award is given for books published in 22 languages recognized by the Constitution of India, along with English and Rajasthani. The famous bronze plaque of the award was designed by noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray. 

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first president of the Sahitya Akademi. The number of recognized languages has increased to 24 over time (for example, Bodo and Santhali were added in 2005).