The annual Sahitya Akademi awards for 2025, held up by the Centre since December, were announced on Monday.

Prasun Bandyopadhyay won the award for his anthology of Bengali poems Shrestha Kabita, while former ambassador Navtej Sarna won it in the English category for his novel Crimson Spring.

In December, a media conference to announce the awards had to be called off on the orders of the Union culture ministry, stoking outrage over alleged bureaucratic interference in the field of literature.

The government cited an ongoing restructuring process, which a culture
ministry official said was aimed at ensuring “more transparency”.

“The names are the same as those the Akademi board had selected. Juries comprising respected authors in each of the 24 languages recognised by the Akademi choose the winners. The names are examined and finalised by the board,” a member of the Sahitya Akademi’s board told The Telegraph.

The Union culture ministry on Monday said eight books of poetry, four novels, six books of short stories, two essays, one literary criticism, one autobiography and two memoirs had won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025

The awardees will receive a casket containing an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and ₹1 lakh at a ceremony here on March 31.