CHENNAI: At a ceremony held at the Secretariat on Thursday, Chief Minister MK Stalin conferred the Ilakiya Mamani Award for 2024 upon three Tamil scholars.

The recipients, T Gnanasundaram for Traditional Tamil, R Kamarasu for Research Tamil and K Somasundaram (Kalapriya) for Creative Tamil, were recognised for exceptional work in their respective fields.

Each award includes a monetary prize of Rs 5 lakh, a gold medal, and a formal citation. Instituted in 2021, the annual Ilakiya Mamani Award is one of several initiatives by the Tamil Development Department to promote the language and honour leading scholars.

The Tamil Development Department instituted the award to honour eminent scholars. Three awards are presented annually across different literary domains to foster the development of the Tamil language.

Tamil Development Minister MP Saminathan and Chief Secretary N Muruganandham attended the event.