Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the Kalinga Ratna Award for the year 2021, to Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.
The award was presented during the 600th birth anniversary celebrations of Adikabi Sarala Das and the 40th annual celebrations of Sarala Sahitya Sandad, organised at Sarala Bhawan in Cuttack on Friday.
The award carried a silver statue of Goddess Saraswati and a copper plaque.
Odisha Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan, Sarala Sahitya Sansad president Dr. Prabhakar Swain, and several poets and literary personalities participated in the programme.