Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Nine from Odisha have been selected for conferment of national-level handicrafts awards for the year 2018 as announced by the Ministry of Textiles for their remarkable contribution in the field of handicrafts. While these awards are presented by the President of India.
According to the reports, two have been selected for the Shilp Guru Award, five for National Award and two for National Merit Certificate. Bijay Kumar Parida of Khordha district and Maheswar Parida of Balasore district have been selected for the Shilp Guru award for palm leaf engraving and stone carving respectively.
Similarly, Rajendra Kumar Meher of Sundargarh district for natural fibre (tassar) work, Kuni Sahoo of Dhenkanal district for rice straw craft, Ranjan Maharana of Jajpur district for stone carving, Santosh Senapati of Khordha district for palm leaf engraving and Sanghamitra Maharana for tassar work have been selected for National Award. Narendra Bhoi and Pramod Kumar Maharana of Khordha district have been selected for National Merit Certificate for palm leaf engraving and stone carving respectively.
