BENGALURU: The state government on Sunday announced the list of 61 Rajyotsava awardees for the year 2016. Notable among the winners are activist Bezwada Wilson, who was recently the recipient of Magsaysay award, Justice Shivaraj Patil, film actress Lakshmi and actor and Kannada film producer Sa Ra Govindu.
Similar to last year, the government has restricted the number of awardees and exceeded last year’s count only by one.
Recently, the High Court had directed the state government to consider the draft guidelines submitted by the expert committee headed by former High Court judge Nagamohan Das, in relation to the selection of Rajyotsava awardees.
However the government decided to consider the guidelines only from next year. The award carries a citation, cash prize of `1 lakh and 20 gm of gold.