Assam has hinted to privatise power distribution in the state in near future as part of second leg of power sector reforms.

Assam hints to privatise power distribution in the state

Business Standard

&ldquo;It is in Assam that I have finally found a home that has given me a sense of belonging&rdquo;, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday.

I have finally found a home in Assam: Singh

With the Centre &ldquo;willing to do whatever is possible&rdquo;, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said he was confident that Assam would register 9 per cent growth rate in the 12th Plan. He added that the state was now &ldquo;on the cusp of emerging as one of the frontline states&rdquo; of India.

Assam to record 9% growth in 12th year plan

Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL), popularly known as the Assam Gas Cracker Project, &ldquo;is likely to be completed by December 2013&rdquo;, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday.

Assam gas craker project 'likely' to be completed by Dec 2013: PM

The UK based Plymouth University has evinced interest to partner Indian university&rsquo;s and invest in India to set up research centres.

Plymouth university to partner Indian institutions

Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals Pvt Ltd (NHHPL) will be soon partnering the Assam government to set up a Rs 150 crore super-speciality hospital in Amingoan, near Guwahati. The Assam government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NHHPL to set up the project under public-private-partnership mode (PPP) mode.

Narayana Hrudayalaya to set up Rs 150 cr hospital in Assam

At least 100 people are dead and equal number missing in one of the worst accidents in recent memories in Assam when an overloaded ferry, carrying around 250 people, capsized in Brahmaputra river midstream on Monday after it was caught in a storm. Though the number of people onboard the ferry before the disaster struck is still not confirm, it is being suggested there were 250 to 300 people onboard it. At least 63 people have either swum to the banks safely or had been rescued.

Assam ferry disaster toll touches 100

Might be hard to believe, but it&rsquo;s true that 87 per cent of working professionals from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, who are otherwise &lsquo;well educated&rsquo;, do not know the names of all the seven states of North East, viz.; Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

Survey indicates 87% of professionals are unaware of North Eastern states

The Assam tea industry is unhappy with the Centre&rsquo;s negative stand on declaring tea as the &lsquo;national drink&rsquo; of India.

Tea industry unhappy with Centre's no to tea as 'national drink'

A drought-like weather condition leading to drying up of reservoirs, coupled with inability of the state to draw power from the central grid due to ongoing maintenance work of the power lines, has plunged Assam into a severe power shortage. The state is presently experiencing peak hour shortfall of around 300 MW of power against demand of 1,050 MW, prompting Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) to resort to frequent power cuts across the state.

Power crisis in Assam, tea industry badly affected

Against the backdrop of &lsquo;power sector reforms&rsquo; being carried out by the power department of Assam government, the accumulated losses of Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) had shot up staggeringly by 620 per cent in five year, beginning 2006-07 and ending in 2010-11. The accumulated losses of the company increased from Rs. 142.90 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 1,029.61 crore in 2010-11, which is an increase of Rs.

APDCL records 620% accumulated loss in five years

Assam tea industry has registered a sharp decline of almost 43 per cent in tea production in the month of January this year, as compared to the corresponding month in the previous year. The tea industry has attributed this sharp decline in production to &ldquo;unfavourable weather condition&rdquo;.

Tea production down by 43%  in Jan in Assam

Having ventured into the Guwahati real estate market in 2010 and commissioned one of its &ldquo;elite&rdquo; residential projects within a span of just two years, the Kolkata based Infinity Infotech Parks Limited (IIPL) is now looking at further expanding its footprints across North-East.

Infinity Group to expand footprints in Assam real estate market

A severe and abnormal rainless weather condition has hit hard Assam tea industry as production of green leaf is expected to be down by 20 per cent across the state till April, with the worst affected is the Brahmaputra Valley. The unfavourable weather has delayed the arrival of first flush (production till April), triggering fears of upping of prices at auction centres.

Tea production in Assam down by 20%

The North Eastern state of Assam, along with its four other sisters &ndash; Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, are the only aberrations in the latest poverty estimates of the Planning Commission, as these are the only five states in the country where poverty has been reported to have increased between 2004-05 and 2009-10. However, left-ruled state of Tripura is the silver lining as it registered an exemplary decline in poverty by 22.6 percentage points during the same period.

Poverty increases in four NE states: Planning Commission

Meghalaya will be generating 2,000 MW of power in near future and for this the state has roped in private power developers and state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) to implement several power projects, said Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma.

Meghalaya to generate 2,000 MW of power in coming years: CM 

The Assam government has finally relented and has agreed to invite the groups and organisations, which are opposed to the construction of NHPC Ltd&rsquo;s 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Project, for talks. The first set of talks will be held on January 5 at Dispur.

Assam govt to talk to anti-dam groups from today

Assam will soon constitute an expert committee to study the feasibility of construction of mega dams in upper reaches of river Brahmaputra. The decision was taken at yesterday&rsquo;s 7 hour long meeting between group of ministers (GoM), constituted by the state government to look into the issues related to the construction of 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Project (LSHEP), and representatives of groups and organisations opposing LSHEP. However, the state government clarified to the protesting groups that neither it had the authority to ask for a halt in the construction of LSHEP temporarily, nor was it in favour of such decision.

Supratim Dey