Bengaluru: Renowned Odisha poet Dr. Rajendra Kishore Panda has been selected for the Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar, the National Award instituted in memory of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, for the year 2020.

The award carries Rs. 5 lakh cash prize, a silver medal and a citation. Dr. Panda’s name was finalised by a three-member panel comprising Kannada poet Dr. H.S. Shivaprakash, Agrahara Krishnamurthy, former Secretary of Central Sahitya Academy and Bengali author Shyamal Bhattacharya, according to a release from Kadidal Prakash, Secretary of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Pratishtana, Kuppalli in Shivamogga district.

The committee met under the Chairmanship of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah and selected Dr. Panda for the award.

The award is given annually to a writer who has contributed to any of the languages recognised in the Constitution of India. While the award is being presented in Kuppalli, Kuvempu’s birthplace in Shivamogga district, on December 29 to mark Kuvempu’s birth anniversary, the announcement of the award for 2020 had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Born in 1944, Dr. Panda is a poet and novelist from Odisha. He has published 16 poetry and novel collections. He was awarded the National Gangadhar Award in 2010 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985. He was awarded the D.Lit. from Sambalpur University.