The award given by Sangeet Natak Academy is:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is unequivocally an award conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), which is India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. Instituted in 2006 in the memory of the Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, this award is specifically designed to identify and encourage outstanding young talents in the performing arts who are under the age of 40. This national recognition serves as an early career boost for exceptional practitioners in music, dance, and drama, providing them with a cash prize, a plaque, and an angavastram. The existence of this award is directly documented as one of the major honours of the Akademi, alongside the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Puraskar) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna).

The incorrect option is 1:
The Kumar Gandharva Samman is not an award given by the central Sangeet Natak Akademi. This prestigious honor is actually instituted and presented by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. It is specifically intended to honor and recognize young musicians who have made significant contributions to the field of Hindustani classical music, generally with an age limit to encourage emerging talent. While highly respected in the music community, it remains a state-level cultural award, not a national award conferred by the central Sangeet Natak Akademi, which makes it incorrect for this question.

The incorrect option is 3:
The Tansen Samman, similar to the other incorrect options, is a state-level honor and not a Sangeet Natak Akademi award. This award is also conferred by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in memory of the great musician Tansen. It is dedicated to honoring an eminent exponent of Hindustani classical music who has made an outstanding contribution to the field. Since it originates from a state government's cultural department rather than the Sangeet Natak Akademi (an autonomous national institution under the Ministry of Culture), it is correctly excluded from the list of SNA's direct awards.

The incorrect option is 4:
The Kalidas Samman is another major cultural award established by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. It is a prestigious honor given for excellence in the fields of classical music, classical dance, theatre, and visual arts. Unlike the awards given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, which are national-level recognitions from the central autonomous body, the Kalidas Samman is fundamentally an award bestowed by a state government. Although it shares the performing arts domain with the SNA's awards, its institution and conferral authority are distinct and separate from the National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.