Awards and Honours of West Bengal - 1 | WBCS Preparation: All Subjects - WBCS (West Bengal) PDF Download

West Bengal bestows state awards in literature, film, and music, in addition to annually presenting two civilian awards to distinguished individuals. Several eminent personalities from West Bengal have also received national recognition across various fields.

Famous Awards of West Bengal 

West Bengal presents prestigious civilian awards such as the Banga Bibhushan Award and Banga Bhushan Award, along with literary honors like Ananda Puraskar, Rabindra Smriti Puraskar, Bankim Puraskar, and Nazrul Award. Notable accolades also include the Mahanayak Samman Award and Sangeet Samman Award.

Highest Civilian Awards 

• Banga Bibhushan Award 
  Instituted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, this top civilian honor recognizes distinguished individuals in West Bengal. It carries a cash prize of ₹2 lakh, with the inaugural recipient being Amala Shankar in 2011. The 2018 awardees included personalities from various fields such as academics, football, acting, and singing.
• Banga Bhushan Award
  Conferred by the West Bengal Government to honor significant contributions in diverse fields, the 2018 awardees comprised individuals excelling in singing, voice artistry, and other domains.

Literary Awards 

• Ananda Puraskar
  This award, presented by the Anandabazar Patrika Group, recognizes outstanding contributions to Bengali literature. Initially, there were separate awards, but in 2000, they merged into one. The 2019 recipient was Nalini Bera for the literary work "Subarnarenu Subarnarekha."
• Rabindra Smriti Puraskar
  Administered by the Government of West Bengal, this is the highest literary award in the state. It acknowledges creative literature, non-fiction, and works related to Bengal, published in Bengali and other languages. The 2018 award went to Boria Majumdar for the book "Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians."
• Bankim Puraskar
  It is the highest award given by the Government of West Bengal for contribution to Bengali fiction. The award was instituted in 1975, in the memory of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who was the founder of the Bengali novel. This award is giving by the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi, functioning under the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs. This award is handed over by the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The first Bankim Puraskar was conferred to well known Tagore scholar Prabodh Chandra Sen.

Vidyasagar Puraskar 

Acknowledging contributions to Bengali prose and juvenile literature, this memorial award was first given in 1980 to Annada Shankar Roy and Lila Majumdar.

Satyendra Puraskar 

Satyendra Memorial Award is given to the writers for contribution to Bengali Science Literature whose writing is suitable for boys and girls upto the age of 18 years. The prize consists of cash amount of ₹ 30,000 along with a silver plaque and a certificate of honour. First Satyendra Puraskar was given to Anil Das in 1993.

Meghnad Puraskar 

Given to the best Voluntary Organization involved in science popularization activities, this award recognizes outstanding work within the state.  

Nazrul Award

This award is given to honour the work of artists for working to disperse the work of Nazrul among the masses, by the University of Calcutta. The famous Nazrul Award, 2012 was given to Feroza Begum. She is a Bengali vocalist, who started her career in 1940s.

Other Awards 

• Mahanayak Samman Award 
  Presented by the Government of West Bengal in honor of Uttam Kumar's death anniversary, this award celebrates contributions to the Bengali film industry.
• Sangeet Samman Award 
  Conferred by the Dover Lane Music Conference since 1996, this award recognizes outstanding vocal performances in Kolkata. The inaugural awardee in 1996 was renowned vocalist Pandit AT Kanan.