The Kala Ratna () earlier Hamsa Award, is a civilian honour of the

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

state are conferred annually by the

Government of Andhra Pradesh The Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as GoAP, is the Administrative division, state government and the administrative body responsible for the governance of the States of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is the capital ...

and is organised by the State Cultural Council and Department of Culture on the occasion of Telugu new year,

Ugadi () or (), also known as Samvatsarādi (), is the first day of the year on the Hindu calendar that is traditionally celebrated by the Telugu people and the Kannadigas in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Na ...

. The awards celebrate achievements by persons of eminence in their chosen fields. The awardees are from the fields of literature, music, dance, painting, sculpture, folk and tribal arts. Along with Kala Ratna awards, the Andhra Pradesh government presents Ugadi Puraskarams on the same stage.

The Award

The awards are presented by the

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the ch ...

. Each award carries an amount of Rs. 50,000, a shawl, a gold plated Hamsa (Swan) memento.

Award winners

2015 Awards

The

announced 32 names for the year 2015.

2016 Awards

The

announced 23 names for the year 2016.

2017 Awards

The

announced 38 names for the year 2017.

References

{{Reflist Civil awards and decorations of Andhra Pradesh Culture of Andhra Pradesh Indian visual arts awards Awards established in 1999 1999 establishments in Andhra Pradesh