Page 40 - Assam

Assam CM rolls out financial aid scheme to help youths set up business

In a move to fuel growth through self-employment, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday launched a scheme to help youths set up their own ventures. At a function here, Sarma rolled out the Chief Minister's Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan 2023. He also launched a registration portal for the scheme. Under the programme, financial aid will be given to two lakh youths for creating a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Sarma said, "The scheme has been designed to create self-employment avenues to enable the youths to fuel development of the state. It has the potential to strengthen rural economy." He said that the unemployed degree holders in the fields of engineering, medicine, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery will be kept in the first category and will be given Rs 5 lakh. "On the other hand, unemployed postgraduates, general graduates, ITI, polytechnic passouts will be kept in the second category for government assistance of Rs 2 lak

Assam CM launches third phase of microfinance loan waiver scheme

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday rolled out the third phase of a scheme to waive microfinance loans availed by women of the state, benefitting over 2.23 lakh borrowers. Under this phase of the Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme 2021 (AMFIRS), borrowers whose loan accounts turned into non-performing assets would be offered an outstanding principal balance of up to Rs 25,000. "With a total relief cost of Rs 291 crore under this category, the state's womenfolk will once again be able to avail fresh loans for their continued prosperity," Sarma said at an official function here. Altogether 2,22,949 borrowers will benefit from this scheme, he said, adding that the lending institutions will waive the accrued interest and penalties for these women and give them 'no due' certificates immediately. Expressing his gratitude towards the microfinance institutions for agreeing to waive around Rs 300 crore in interest income under the category-III relief measures,

Assam inks investment pacts of Rs 3,214 cr, Kaziranga to get 5-star resort

The Assam government on Saturday inked agreements with multiple companies who will cumulatively invest Rs 3,214 crore in the state. Attending the programme, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government is hoping to attract investment to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore over the next two-three years. "Today, we have signed MoUs with six companies for a total investment of Rs 3,114 crore. This will cumulatively generate more than 5,000 job opportunities over the coming years," he added. Apart from these, another agreement will be signed by the Assam Tourism Development Corporation for setting up a five-star hotel near Kaziranga National Park. "Kaziranga will soon have a five-star resort to attract tourists from across the world. It will be set up by the Hyatt Group at an investment of Rs 100 crore, offering 100-120 rooms," Sarma said. "Assam is moving forward fast towards becoming an industrialised state. With today's programme, this year we have signed MoUs that will bring rec

Himanta's wife files Rs 10 cr defamation suit against Gaurav Gogoi

Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has filed a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for "false" allegations of irregularities in a food processing project. Senior advocate Devajit Saikia, her counsel, told PTI that the case has been filed at the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Kamrup Metropolitan on Friday and it will be moved on September 26. "My client has claimed a defamation of Rs 10 crore against Gaurav Gogoi for various tweets on X. We have made it very clear that we never made any application to receive subsidy," he added. Saikia further claimed that the process to seek subsidy has not been initiated at all and for which, a show cause notice was slapped on his client's firm on May 26 this year, followed by an email from the Ministry of Food Processing. "The approval for the project was given on November 22, 2022. In the last email, we were told that our claim would lapse if we didn't submit our proposa

Prioritise farmers, not advertisement: Assam CM slams Ashok Gehlot

Himanta Biswa Sarma claims that under Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Rajasthan is competing for first position in crimes against women during BJP's Parivartan Yatra

SC to start hearing on validity of Citizenship Act's Section 6A on Oct 17

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will commence hearing on October 17 to examine the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam. Section 6A in the Citizenship Act was inserted as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered by the Assam Accord. The provision provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, as per the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of Assam. They must register themselves under section 18 for citizenship. As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that nodal counsels have prepared common compilation in the matter. However, common compilation needs to be streamlined. "A common index shall be prepar

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma launches campaign to plant 10 mn saplings in Assam

Seeking to set a new world record by planting one crore saplings on Sunday in the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Assam government will target planting 8 crore seedlings next year and another 10 crore saplings in 2025. He said the 'Amrit Brikshya Andolan' will increase green cover as well as boost the local economy as commercial trees will mostly be planted during the exercises. "Today, we will be planting one crore saplings in the state and we are looking forward to setting a new world record in this regard," Sarma said, kicking off the drive at the state secretariat in the morning. He said next year the state government will attempt to plant three crore saplings in non-forest areas and another five crore in forest areas, while in 2025, the attempt will be for 5 crore seedlings each in non-forest and forest areas. On apprehension of survival of the saplings, Sarma said that he was hopeful of a good rate as this year's plantation is mostly done by private househo

Seems like Cong has given Northeast to China: Assam CM Sarma slams party

A video shared by the Congress on its official handle on X, formerly Twitter, allegedly showed a distorted map of India, with the entire Northeast region missing

Will boost mission for clean growth: PM lauds Assam govt's plantation drive

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed the Assam government's mega plantation drive, stating it will boost the country's mission for clean and green growth, besides providing long-term benefits of environmental protection and improving the health of people. He said the exercise will also further enhance the green cover of the scenic state. In a letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the state's 'Amrit Brikshya Andolan', the PM wrote: "The idea of planting one crore saplings across Assam is admirable and laudable." The letter was shared by Sarma on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. Modi said several references in the nation's culture and literature reflect the importance of trees and forests, and quoted a couple of Sanskrit lines on how trees purify the air and help in driving away diseases. He maintained that bringing together 'prakriti' (nature) and 'pragati' (development) has been the hallmark of the development model of "New India". "While we have been the fastest gr

Oil India targets 3.8 mn tonnes of oil production in FY24: CMD Ranjit Rath

Company will drill 60-plus wells in FY24 in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, up from 45 in FY23

Chaos in Assam assembly over govt subsidy to firm linked to Himanta's wife

Chaos reigned supreme at the Assam assembly on Thursday as opposition MLAs demonstrated, demanding a discussion over the allegation that a company linked to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife got Rs 10 crore as subsidy under a central scheme. The Congress had given an adjournment motion notice to discuss the matter. Speaker Biswajit Daimary, at the end of the Question Hour, rejected the notice stating that it was "not in order" and the issue does not merit an adjournment motion. Refusing to accept the ruling, Congress and CPI(M) MLAs along with Independent legislator Akhil Gogoi stormed into the Well with placards, raising slogans. As the chaos refused to subside, the speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes. On Wednesday, Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi claimed in a social media post that the website of the Ministry of Food Processing shows the CM's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma's firm Pride East Entertainments Pvt Ltd has received Rs 10 crore as part of credit credit-li

Himanta Biswa's wife got Rs 10 cr govt subsidy; Assam CM denies Cong charge

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that neither his wife nor the company she is associated with has ever received any financial subsidies from the Centre

Cong stages walkout in Assembly, dissatisfied with Assam Accord reply

The opposition Congress staged a walkout in the Assembly on Wednesday, expressing dissatisfaction with the reply regarding the implementation of the Assam Accord. The matter was raised by Congress' Sibamoni Bora during Question Hour, seeking to know progress in Assam Accord implementation. The Assam Accord was signed on August 15, 1985, at the end of a six-year-long agitation against infiltration. Assam Accord Implementation minister Atul Bora started his reply by stating that the martyrs of the agitation lost their lives during the... government. At this, the Congress MLAs took umbrage and demanded that the word used by the minister to imply the deaths be deleted from proceedings. Speaker Biswajit Daimary intervened and ordered that the word be expunged from records. Bora, resuming his reply, maintained that the objective of the Accord has not been fulfilled yet. As he began to share details of progress made so far, the Congress legislators expressed dissatisfaction at the rep

QCI, dept of family welfare signs MoU to improve food safety in Assam

An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Quality Council of India (QCI) and Commissionerate of Food Safety, Assam, Department of Health and Family Welfare to improve the food safety ecosystem in the state. The MoU aims to create quality infrastructure mechanisms by intervention such as conformity assessment framework and infrastructure, training and capacity building of stakeholders, among others, according to an official release. The MoU was signed at the Assam Gunvatta Sankalp event held here by the QCI with the support of the state government. The MoU marks a significant milestone in the journey towards excellence in quality and this collaboration will further strengthen the quality and safety of food products in the state, the release stated. Besides the signing of the MoU, the Sankalp also featured sessions with various aspects of the state's development in multivariate sectors including education and skilling, industry and MSME, sustainable agriculture, touris

Assam spent Rs 108 cr as rent for choppers, aircraft in 5 yrs: Minister

The Assam government has spent more than Rs 108 crore as rent for helicopters and chartered aircraft in the last five financial years, minister Ranjeet Dass informed the state assembly on Tuesday. The highest amount of Rs 34,13,42,303 was paid in 2022-23, he said. Dass, the Minister of General Administration Department, was replying to a question by Congress MLA Sibamoni Bora on expenses incurred towards rent of helicopters and charted planes. The rented aircraft were used for participating in different government programmes in 2022-23, he said. The expenditure incurred in 2020-21 was Rs 25,05,70,036, and Rs 19,71,42,601 in 2021-22. The total amount spent in the last five years was Rs 1,08,10,06,471, Dass added.

Assam power projects suspended for failing to follow policy needs: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Monday said five small hydro power projects in Assam had to be abandoned or suspended due to non-adherence of statutory and policy requirements in project execution. It also pointed to delay ranging from six to nine years in commissioning of two other power projects. The observations were made in the CAG report on state public sector enterprises for the year 2021-2022, which was laid in the state Assembly on the first day of the autumn session. The report said Assam Power General Corporation Ltd (APGCL) had three operational power plants with installed capacity of 361.70 MW. Out of the capacity addition of 371.66 MW (five projects) planned during 2017-22, APGCL could commission only three projects (181.66 MW). Of these three projects, only the Lakwa Replacement Power Project was commissioned on time, while Namrup Replacement Power Project (NRPP) and Myntriang Small Hydro Electric Project were commissioned with a delay of six and nine ye

Over 3,900 people held in child marriage cases in five years: Assam CM

Altogether 3,907 people have been arrested in Assam in cases relating to child marriage in the past five years, the state Assembly was informed on Monday. Out of them, 3,319 are facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, while replying to a question by Congress MLA Debabrata Saikia. The court has so far convicted 62 people in such cases, he added. The state government had launched a drive against child marriage in February this year and it was kept on hold now. Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that 316 corruption-related cases have been registered under Assam Police in the last five years. Of these, 91 cases are with the CID, 198 with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption wing, and 27 with the Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell. As many as 479 people have been arrested in connection with these cases. The chief minister also said that 491 suspected land brokers have been arrested and ca

Over 2,000 people to be arrested in Assam over child marriages: CM Himanta

Since February, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Assam has undertaken a statewide crackdown on child marriages

Arunachal villagers unwilling to go to Assam as dispute solving measure

A village in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Siang district has become a part of Assam in a proposal to resolve the decades-long boundary dispute between the two northeastern neighbours, and the villagers are not happy. The people of Durpai village under Kangku circle want to stay in Arunachal Pradesh and have threatened to launch an agitation if their demand is not met soon. The villagers under the aegis of Durpai Village Development Committee (DVDC) demanded immediate rectification of the looping system and keeping Durpai where it is now. Though the proposals have not yet been made public, the villagers said they have come to know about it from some officials. On April 20 this year, Assam and the Arunachal Pradesh governments signed an MoU at New Delhi in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve their border disputes. Regional committees were formed to look after the inter-state boundary issue. DVDC President Reli Kena said, According to the MoU, Durpai has been clubbed wi

CM Sarma unveils Gandhi statue at Assam Legislative Assembly new building

Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Assam Panchayat and Rural Development Minister said, "The work on the building was going on for a while, while I was the speaker of the assembly"