The Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize was instituted by the Hyderabad-based Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust, the literary estate of late Srinivas Rayaprol, represented by Dr. Manorama Kanuri and Dr. Aparna Rayaprol, to recognize excellence in poetry written in English and is administered jointly by the Department of English, University of Hyderabad. Entries are open to poets in the age group of 20-40 years. The Trust was started in the year 2000 to perpetuate the memory of the poet, Srinivas Rayaprol (a.k.a. R.S. Marthandam, 1925-1998), who is considered one of the significant personalities of the early Indian English Poetry in India.