Bengaluru, 31 Oct

The Karnataka government has announced 71 recipients of the 2026 Rajyotsava Awards, recognising their contributions across various fields.

The Karnataka Ratna awards will be presented to late Kannada film icon Dr Vishnuvardhan and veteran actress B Sarojadevi on 19 November, Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said on Friday.

The minister said efforts were being made to invite superstar Rajinikanth and actresses Lakshmi and Suhasini to the ceremony.

Each awardee would receive Rs 5 lakh in cash and a 25-gram gold medal, he said.

The awardees from Dakshina Kannada are:

1.            Vishwanath Suvarna – Media and Photography

2.            A C Bhandari – Social Service

3.            Dr. Indira Hegde – Literature

The awards will be conferred on the occasion of the 71st Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations. The government issued the order on 30 October, listing individuals recognised for their significant contributions in their respective fields.

Complete list of 71 Rajyotsava Award recipients

The recipients, listed in the order given in the government annexure, are:

Folklore

1.            Davalasabha Attara – Koppal

2.            Gauramma – Chamarajanagar

3.            Pandappa Devalappa Lamani – Gadag

4.            A R Satyanarayana – Bengaluru South

5.            Eranna Rudrakshi – Raichur

6.            Sivalingappa, son of Ramanna – Koppal

7.            Suresh Ramachandra Joshi – Vijayapura

Music

8. CA Sridhar – Mysuru

9. Dr. A Narayana Swamy – Hassan

10. B Muruli – Bengaluru Rural

Dance

11. Dr Satyanarayan Raju – Bengaluru City

Cinema and television

12. Babaji Venkataraman – Cinema, Dharwad

13. Ashok – Cinema, Bengaluru Rural

14. KS Ravindra Nath – Television, Bengaluru City

Yakshagana and Bayalata

15. Gopala Ganiga – Yakshagana, Udupi

16. Huligemma – Bayalata, Ballari

Theatre

17. D Kempanna, son of late Dyyappa – Bengaluru Rural

18. K Jayalakshmi Patil – Dharwad

19. GD Thimmaiah – Chitradurga

20. KR Sumathi – Mysuru

21. HV Puttaveerappa – Bengaluru South

22. Honna Nayak – Mysuru

Sculpture, painting and handicrafts

23. G V Hansananda Acharya – Sculpture, Vijayanagara

24. Kadappa – Sculpture, Belagavi

25. C B Someshetty – Painting, Bidar

26. Shantabai Mohan Kamble – Handicrafts, Bidar

Agriculture, environment and science

27. H K Srikanthu – Agriculture, Bengaluru South

28. B A Channappa Gowda – Agriculture, Bengaluru City

29. Dr. Swami Anand R – Environment, Mysuru

30. Prof. Rajasab A – Science and Technology, Kalaburagi

31. Dr. Rajasekhara Murthy – Science and Technology, Canada

Media

32. Umapati – Chitradurga

33. M P Susheel – Bengaluru City

34. Vishwanath Suvarna – Media and Photography, Dakshina Kannada

Other fields

35. Rukmini Bai Nagappa Vashtar – Bagalkote

36. D S Chowgale – Belagavi

37. Bellur Shankar Narayan Dwarkanath – Bengaluru City

38. B P Aradhya – Architecture, Bengaluru South

39. Ravi Praveen Norona – Bengaluru City

40. M R Jaishankar – Chikkamagaluru

41. Prasad Biddappa – Kodagu

42. Vasappa Yallappa Kusagura – Haveri

Social service

43. Jagadguru Dr. Annadaneshwara Mahashivayogi – Gadag

44. Basavaraju – Mandya

45. Kagodu Thimmappa – Shivamogga

46. Dr. S M L – Davangere

47. Dr. G S Chandra Shekhar – Adarsha Charitable Trust, Uttara Kannada

48. Dr. Sivananda Mahaswami – Kalaburagi

49. Kashnegowda, son of Venkatarayappa – Chikkaballapur

50. A C Bhandari – A.Bha Tulu Union, Dakshina Kannada

51. Guramma Hampayya Sankinamatha – Bagalkote

Medicine and administration

52. Dr. Vijayendra Honnurappa – Medicine, Bengaluru Urban

53. Dr. Sujatha Mallikarjuna Jali – Medicine, Belagavi

54. Teresa Bhattacharya – Administration, Bengaluru Urban

55. Dr. K S Somashekhar – Administration, Horanadu

Engineering

56. Dr. K N Venkata Krishnarao – Chikkaballapur

Literature

57. Dr. Indira Hegde – Dakshina Kannada

58. Veerahanuman – Raichur

59. Prof. Narayanaghatta – Tumakuru

60. C Maheshwarappa Chatnalli – Chikkamagaluru

61. Dr. Karigowda Beechanahalli – Tumakuru

62. Dr. Siddarama Honkal – Yadgir

Education

63. Fr. Joseph, Vice-Chancellor of Christ University – Bengaluru Urban

64. Shantappa Dashavanta – Vijayapura

65. Sangeeta N Kattimani – Kalaburagi

66. Dr. N S Rangaraju – Mysuru

Judiciary

67. B V Acharya – Udupi

Outside the state/country

68. Ramesh Gowda, former president of AKKA America

Sports

69. Jim Ravi – Kolar

70. Dr. A B Subbaiah – Kodagu

71. M Girish – Bengaluru Urban

The government order was issued by the Department of Kannada and Culture, directing the department to communicate the awards to the recipients.