Madhya Pradesh: Suman Kalyanpur, Kuldeep Singh get Lata Mangeshkar award

Noted singer Suman Kalyanpur and music composer Kuldeep Singh were conferred the Madhya Pradesh government's National Lata Mangeshkar Samman on Thursday night.

While Kalyanpur got the award for the year 2017, Singh received it for 2018.

State Culture Minister Vijayalakshmi Sadho gave away the awards to the two personalities at a function here.

In a swipe at the previous BJP government, Sadho said, "People say the national Lata Mangeshkar Samman ceremony was confined to just the government for the last seven years due to which it lost its charm. But with Kamal Nath as state chief minister, the award function has restarted with grandeur."

The award is given with the aim of encouraging artistic excellence in the field of light music, and carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation.

Music legends Naushad, Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle are among the earlier recipients of National Lata Mangeshkar Samman.