The executive body of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, which met on Friday in Guwahati under the chairmanship of its president Chandrashekhar Kambar, approved selected of 23 writers across the country including Rao for the Puraskar.
The body selects the writers after scrutinising the books authored by them in different regional languages like Telugu, Hindi, Odiya, Malayalam etc. A jury comprising of three members each in the language concerned selects the best book and recommends the names for the puraskars.
The award in the form of a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque and a cheque of Rs 50000 will be presented to the awardees at a special function to be held on November 14.