The Central Sangeet Natak Akademi has selected 34 artists to receive the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2017. The award was introduced in 2006 with the objective of identifying and encouraging outstanding young talents in diverse fields of performing arts and giving them national recognition early in life, so that they may work with greater commitment and dedication in their chosen fields. It is given to artists below 40 years of age and carries a purse money of 25,000 rupees.
In the field of music, eight recipients of the Yuva Puraskar are: Aditya Khandve and Sawani Shende (H-vocal); Rimpa Siva (H-tabla); Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash (joint awardees) (H-sarod); Prasanna Venkatraman (C-vocal); Trivandrum N. Sampath (C-violin); Kotipalli Ramesh (C-mridangam) and Mayanglanbam Sobhamani Singh (nata sankeertan).
In the field of dance, the eight recipients are: Parshwanath Upadhye (Bharatanatyam); Vidha Lal (Kathak); C.M. Unnikrishnan (Kathakali); Adhikarimayum Radhamanbi Devi (Manipuri); Bhavana Reddy (Kuchipudi); Janhabi Behera (Odissi); Sudesh Adhana (Contemporary dance) and Sai Shravanam (music for dance).
In the field of theatre, the eight recipients are: Kuldeep Kumar (playwriting); Vyomesh Shukla and Quasar Thakore Padamsee (direction); Daksha Sharma and Devaki Mark (acting); Bijender Tank (lighting); Rajesh Singh (scenic design); Tadepalli Satyanarayana Sarma (Yakshagana).
In the field of Traditional/ Folk/ Tribal Music/ Dance/ Theatre and Puppetry, the eight recipients are: Hemant Vaishnav (folk theatre, Chhattisgarh); Kutle Khan Manganiar (folk music - kartal, Rajasthan); Kalamandalam Hariharan (maddalam, Kerala); Manzoor Ahmed Shah (folk music - Chakkri, Jammu and Kashmir); Asha Negi (folk music - Neoli, Uttarakhand); Sarbeswar Bhoi (folk dance and music - Sambalpuri, Odisha); Nooran Sisters Jyoti Nooran and Sultana Nooran (joint awardees, folk music, Punjab); Gopal Singh Habbi (mask making, Himachal Pradesh).