The awards have been categorised into three groups – Kerala Jyothi, Kerala Prabha, and Kerala Shree, each recognising one, two, and five individuals respectively.

Eminent writer T Padmanabhan has been awarded the prestigious Kerala Jyothi Award for his remarkable contributions to literature, an official release said here.

Retired Justice M Fathima Beevi was selected for her contributions to social service and civil service, while Nataraja Krishnamoorthy (known as Surya Krishnamoorthy) was recognised for his accomplishments in the field of arts, both receiving the Kerala Prabha Award.

In the realm of social service, Punaloor Somarajan, in healthcare, Dr V P Gangadharan, in industry and commerce, renowned publisher Ravi D C, in civil service, retired civil service officer K M Chandrasekhar, and in the arts, musician Pandit Ramesh Narayan, were selected for the Kerala Shree Award.

The government has said that the total number of awards in each category will not exceed 10 in a single year.

The selection process involved meticulous evaluation by both the Awards Committee and the second-level evaluation committee. Their recommendations were then approved by the government for this year’s Kerala Awards.

The committee which included distinguished figures such as director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, former Chief Secretary K Jayakumar, and writer Dr George Onakkoor, reviewed and scrutinised the nominations.

The government subsequently accepted their recommendations and officially announced the recipients for the 2023 Kerala Awards.

It was in 2021, that the Kerala government made the decision to establish prestigious state-level awards, inspired by the Padma awards, in order to recognise and celebrate the remarkable contributions of individuals across various domains.