Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 3:

Regional audition for the much-awaited KIIT Nanhipari Little Miss India-2016 began in Odisha capital today.

Participants from various parts of the state participated in the regional audition held at KIIT premises. Besides Bhubaneswar, the regional auditions will be held in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jammu, Delhi and Guwahati on September 10^th, 11^th, 17^th,18^thand 25^th respectively. Similarly, auditions in Kolkata and Lucknow will be held on 1^st October while auditions in Mumbai and Patna will be held on 8^th and 15^th October respectively.

"Nanhipari" is a talent show for teenage girls between the age group of 13-16 years. It had a modest start in 2001 in a remote and small tribal town of Keonjhar district. In a short time span of just 15 years, it has become a national event of repute, touted as the 'Little Miss India' competition, the only one of its kind.

Many attractive prizes have been introduced in the 16^th edition of the competition this year. The Prize Money for the winner is Rs. 15 lakh - Rs. 3 lakh cash prize and 100% academic fee waiver subject to a maximum of Rs. 12 lakh for studying in any discipline in KIIT University. The 1st Runners Up would win Rs.7 lakh – Rs. 1 lakh cash prize and 50% academic fee waiver subject to a maximum of Rs. 6 lakh for studying any discipline in KIIT University. Similarly, the 2nd Runners Up would get Rs. 6.5 lakh – Rs. 50,000/- Cash Prize and 50% academic fee waiver subject to a maximum of Rs. 6 lakh for studying any discipline in KIIT University.

There are various categories for the participants such as Miss Rapunzel - girl with most beautiful hair, Miss Photogenic - girl with best pose in photoshoot round, Miss Selfie  - Maximum likes on facebook page, Miss Fashion  girl with best costume in both rounds,  Miss Whizkid girl with highest marks in quiz round, Miss Cindrella  girl having best personality, Miss Urvasi girl with Best Talent, Miss Catwalk girl with best ramp walk, Miss Monalisa most beautiful girl with most beautiful smile, Miss Active  - most active girl in sports round.

Participants need to carry printout of the filled in Application Form downloaded from the website along with the other required documents at the time of registration. Schedule for Regional Auditions: For details, participants can log on in http://kiitnanhipari.in/.