INDIAN AWARDS & HONOURS May 22, 1961:   Jnanapith Award - Introduced on this day.    It is the highest literary honour conferred in India and presented by the Jnanpith Trust, founded by the Sahu Jain family, publishers of The Times of India. The award carries a cheque for Rs. 500,000, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati). Any Indian citizen who writes in any of the official languages of India is eligible for the honour. Its first recipient was Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup in 1965.