Sahitya Akademi Yuva and Bal Puraskar 2025

• 21 Jun 2025

Why in News? 

The Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, has announced the winners of its prestigious Yuva Puraskar and Bal Sahitya Puraskar for 2025.  

• For Maithili, Neha Jha Mani has won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2025 for her poetry collection “Banaras Aa Hum”. 

Key Points: 

• Notable Awardees: 
  • Sahitya Akadem Yuva Puraskar 2025: 
    • English: Advait Kottary for Siddhartha: The Boy Who Became the Buddha (Novel) 
    • Hindi: Parvati Tirkey for Phir Ugna (Poetry) 
    • Urdu: Neha Rubab for Mazharul Haque: Thareek-e-Azadi-e-Hind : Hind Ka Faramosh Kardah Qaaed (Novel) 
  • Bal Sahitya Puraskar: 
    • English: Nitin Kushalappa MP for Dakshin South Indian Myths and Fables Retold 
    • Hindi: Sushil Shukla for the  Ek Batey Bara 
    • Maithili:  Munni Kamat for collection of short stories for children- Chukka. 
    • Urdu: Ghazanfar Iqbal for Quami Sitare (Articles) 

About Sahitya Akademi:  

• Established: Formally inaugurated on 12 March 1954 by the Government of India as the National Academy of Letters. 
• Purpose: Promotes Indian literature, sets high literary standards, encourages dialogue across languages, and fosters cultural unity. 
• Languages: Works in 24 Indian languages, including all 22 constitutional languages plus English and Rajasthani. 
• Activities: 
  • Publishes books, journals, dictionaries, and encyclopedias — over 6000 books so far; about one new book every 19 hours. 
  • Organises seminars, workshops, literary meets — nearly 300 events per year across India and abroad. 
  • Runs translation centres and archives; promotes tribal and oral literature. 
  • Awards 24 annual literary awards, 24 translation awards, Bhasha Samman, fellowships, and cultural exchange programs. 

Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar 

• Established: 2010 to honor outstanding children's literature for readers aged 9-16. 
• Languages: Awarded in 24 Indian languages recognized by Sahitya Akademi. 
• Award Components: ₹50,000 cash prize, an engraved plaque, a shawl, and a citation. 
• Eligibility: 
  • Original, creative work published within the last five years. 
  • At least three eligible books in the language that year. 
  • Myth adaptations and posthumous works (within five years) allowed. 
• Ineligible: Translations, anthologies, abridgements, theses, and works by Board members, Fellows, or Bhasha Samman awardees. 

Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 

• It was started in 2011 to honour young Indian writers (aged 35 or below) for original literary works in recognised languages. 
• Only Akademi awards are open for self-nomination and publisher nomination. 
• Includes a ₹50,000 cash prize, a plaque, shawl, and citation. 
• Eligibility: 
  • The author must be an Indian national, aged 35 or less on 1st January of the award year. 
  • Work must be original, not a translation, abridgement, thesis, or prior awarded work. 
  • Posthumous works are not allowed. 
  • Minimum three eligible books must be available in the language.