Berhampur, Jan. 2: Berhampur University today conferred the first Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja National Award on Keki Nasserwanji Daruwalla for his contribution to the Indian and world literature.

The ceremony took place at the 49thfoundation day celebrations of the university.

Daruwalla received a cheque of Rs 1 lakh,an angavastra and a memento from the higher education minister Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi at the event.

'I am profoundly humbled by accepting this award,' Daruwalla said after receiving it. Daruwalla, a renowned Indian poet and a short story writer in English, was born in 1937 in Loni, Burhanpur (Punjab) during the British rule.

His father, N.C. Daruwalla, was an eminent professor, who used to teach in the Loni Institute of Literature. After the partition, his family left Punjab and moved to Junagadh in Gujarat and later to Rampur.

Daruwalla, who started writing from his school days, joined the Indian police service in 1958 and retired in 1995. His first volume of poems, Under Orion, was published in 1970.

Daruwalla has written over 12 books and received many awards such as the Sahitya Akademi and the Commonwealth Poetry prize for Asia. He was also awarded Padma Shree last year.

Addressing on the occasion, the higher education minister urged the varsity authorities to increase the gross enrolment ratio in south Odisha.

'In India, the ratio is low with only 20 per cent having an access to higher education, compared to the developed countries' average of 45 per cent. The World Bank statistics show that higher education enrolment is a significant indicator of economic growth,' the minister said.

Vice-chancellor of the university Deepak Kumar Behera said:'We are attempting to reform academic process, both at postgraduate and undergraduate levels, to accomplish higher standards and excellence in the field of human capital by learning across disciplines.'