Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has announced the recipients of the 2024 Kerala Awards, the state’s highest civilian honours, modelled after the Padma Awards, whose eight recipients include eminent writer M K Sanoo, ISRO chairman S Somanath and cricketer Sanju Samson.

Instituted in 2021, the Kerala Awards are announced each year following 'Keralappiravi,' the state formation day on November 1. The awards are classified into three categories: Kerala Jyothi, Kerala Prabha, and Kerala Sree.

Sanoo will receive the Kerala Jyothi, the highest of these awards, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to literature. Somanath and agricultural scientist Bhuvaneshwari will be honoured with the Kerala Prabha Award for their achievements in Science, Engineering and Agriculture, respectively.

The Kerala Sree Award, conferred upon five individuals, will recognize the contributions of Kalamandalam Vimala Menon (Art), Dr T K Jayakumar (Health), Narayana Bhattathiri (Calligraphy), Sanju Samson (Sports), Shaija Baby (Social Service, as an Asha Worker), and V K Mathews (Industry-Commerce).

The recipients are selected through a three-tier process involving primary and secondary scrutiny committees, followed by an award committee that includes prominent members such as veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan.