The various cultural prizes to be awarded by the Department of Cultural Affairs were recently announced. Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh made the announcement at a news conference. During the press conference, he announced several awards. Amit Deshmukh also said that the government intends to honor those who review movies/drama/music.

The Gansamrajni Lata Mangeshkar Award is given annually to artists who have done remarkable work in the field of singing/music in Maharashtra for a long time. Award for the year 2021-22 Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia has been declared. The Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an artist who has done remarkable work for a long time in the field of classical music. The award for the year 2021-22 has been announced for the late Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.

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The Vithabai Narayangaonkar Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a veteran artist who has done remarkable work in the field of folk art for a long time. The award for the year 2019-20 for Atambar Shirdhonkar and the award for the year 2020-21 for Sandhya Mane have been announced.

The Rangbhumi Jeevan Gaurav Award is given in the name of Natvarya Prabhakar Panashikar to a senior playwright who has worked in the theater for a long time. The award for the year 2020-21 has been announced for Datta Bhagat and the award for the year 2021-22 for Satish Alekar has been announced.

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The Sangeetacharya Annasaheb Kirloskar Sangeet Rangbhumi Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to a veteran playwright who has excelled in musical theatre. The award for the year 2020-21 has been announced for Lata Shiledar aka Dipti Bhogle and the award for the year 2021-22 has been announced for Sudhir Thakur. The five prizes are in the form of Rs 5 lakh cash, souvenirs and honours.

At the same press conference, the State Prize for Culture is awarded to artists who have carried out special work in the field of culture. The prize consists of a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a souvenir and a certificate.

• Kumar Sohoni for the year 2019-20 and Gangaram Gawankar for the year 2020-21 have been announced for the field of Drama.
• Awards have been announced for Pandit Kumar Suruse for the 2019-20 year and Kalyanji Gaikwad for the 2020-21 year.
• Shaunak Abhishekhi for the year 2019-20 and Devaki Pandit for the year 2020-21 have been announced for the field of sub-classical music.
• Subhash Kharote for the 2019-20 year and Omkar Gulwadi for the 2020-21 year have been announced for this category.
• The award has been announced for the Marathi film Madhu Kambikar for the year 2019-20 and Vasant Ingle for the year 2020-21.
• Dnyaneshwar Wable for the year 2019-20 and Gurubaba Ausekar for the year 2020-21 have been announced for the Kirtan/Samaj Prabodhan camp.
• Shivaji Thorat for the 2019-20 year and Suresh Kale for the 2020-21 year have been announced for this Tamasha category.
• Shahir Avadhut Vibhute for the 2019-20 year and Shahir Krishnakant Jadhav from Kailas for the 2020-21 year have been announced for the Shahiri camp.
• An award has been announced for Shubhada Varadkar for the year 2019-20 and Jayashree Rajagopalan for the year 2020-21 in the field of dance.
• Sarla Nandulekar for the year 2019-20 and Kamalbai Shinde for the year 2020-21 have been announced for the field of Folk Art.
• Mohan Meshram for the year 2019-20 and Ganpat Masage for the year 2020-21 have been announced for the Girijan tribal area.
• An award has been announced for Anwar Qureshi for the 2019-20 year and Devendra Dodke for the 2020-21 year.