Mysuru: Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa, city’s senior litterateur and Saraswathi Samman awardee has been appointed as the National Research Professor by the Central Government.

An official letter confirming his appointment was received by Dr. Bhyrappa here on Monday.

The letter also said that the selection was done by a Committee consisting of Prime Minister, HRD, Finance and Home Ministers.

The tenure is for five years which could be extended by another term and the appointee is entitled to a monthly honorarium during the tenure and pension.

Persons of eminence, who have attained the age of 65 years and have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields and are still capable of productive research, are considered for appointment as National Research Professors.

It may be recalled, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Dec. 10, 2014 had disclosed the appointment of Dr. Bhyrappa in the Lok Sabha while replying to a question by Poonam Mahajan, a Lok Sabha Member from Mumbai (North-East) who wanted to know the initiatives taken by the government to promote literature in translation.

The Centre in 1949 had instituted the National Research Professorship to honour distinguished academics and scholars in recognition of their contribution to knowledge. In 2009, the Centre had fixed the honorarium for National Professors at Rs. 75,000 per month. Such persons can also avail of a contingency grant of Rs. 1 lakh every year.

The 83-year-old writer over five decades has authored about 24 novels covering a wide range of topics. His latest novel ‘Yaana’ was released last year. Many of his books have been translated to Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit and other Indian languages.