THE ANUUAL SAHITYA AKADEMI YUVA PURASKAR RULES
- There shall be an award every year for the first book or the best book by a young Indian author, whose age is 35 or below on 1st January of the year of the award, first published in any of the languages recognised by the Sahitya Akademi (hereafter referred to as the Akademi).
- The award shall consist of such amount as the Akademi may from time to time decide besides a citation that brings out, briefly, the book’s significance and its author’s contribution to his/her language and literature.
- Where two or more books are found to be of equal merit, the total literary contribution and standing of their authors shall be taken into consideration in deciding the award. The decision of members of the Jury is final in this regard.
The Preliminary Panel and its Functions
- The Preliminary Panel shall consist of ten Referees. These Referees shall be nominated by the President after considering suggestions of the members of the Language Advisory Board concerned.
- The recommendations received from members of the Language Advisory Board shall be compiled and sent to each Referee.
- Each Referee should recommend two books. These titles may be selected either out of the list sent in pursuance of rule 4 (2) above or by the Referee on his/her own
- Each Referee shall be paid such remuneration as the Akademi may determine from time to time.
The Jury and its Functions
- The recommendations of Referees in the Preliminary Panel shall be considered by a three-member Jury. The Jury members shall be selected by the President after considering the recommendations in this behalf by the members of the Language Advisory Board concerned.
- The Akademi shall purchase book(s) recommended by the Referees in the Preliminary Panel and send them to the Jury members and to the Convener.
- The Convener shall act as the link between the Jury and the Akademi. He/she will ensure that the meeting of the Jury is conducted properly and satisfactorily and will countersign the report of the Jury.
- The Jury members shall, either by consensus or by majority, recommend a book for the award. They may also recommend that, in their opinion, no book is eligible for the award during the year. In the event of a member not being able to attend the meeting, he/she may convey his/her view in writing.
- The members of the Jury and the Convener shall be paid, besides actual travelling allowance, daily allowance at rates payable to members of the Executive Board.
Declaration of Award
- The recommendation of the Jury shall be placed before the Executive Board for formal approval and announcement of the award. The names of the Jury members and the shortlisted books in the final stage shall be made public simultaneously with the announcement of the Award.
Miscellaneous
- If the time limit for submission of the recommendations is not observed by a member of the Language Advisory Board or by a Referee, the Akademi shall presume that he or she has no recommendation to make and shall proceed accordingly unless, in any particular case, it is in a position to extend the time limit and actually does so.
- The award ceremony shall be held on such date and at such place as the Executive Board may decide.