ASSAM

TheAssamgovernment has pushed for developing medical science curriculum in vernacular language during the fifth general council meeting of the Srimanta Sankardeva University ofHealthSciences on Sunday, which was attended by chief minister and chancellor of the university.

A release from the chief ministers office stated that the general council, after a detailed discussion, took several key decisions aiming at boosting the academic Environment and bringing in a robust administrative mechanism at the university.

CM Sarma emphasised the need for a permanent campus of the university in the meeting to streamline its functioning. He asked the VC and chief engineer, PWD (health and Education) to ensure early completion of the initial process for construction of administrative building with a boundary wall of the university on the land provided by the government for the purpose at Baihata Chariali so that the administrative and basic academic activities can be carried out from the campus within a period of two years.

The facility has a storage capacity of 5,000 MT and was built at a cost of Rs 24.75 crores by the .

The Assam CM also emphasised on the planting of high-value trees like sal, agar, teak, and other Plants at Home to reap economic benefits. In his speech, the CM further said that the State Government will hike MSP for paddy to Rs 2,006, bring 9 lakh more people under Orunodoi’s ambit from next month, and distribute 52 lakh ration cards from January next year. He also promised to provide free medical treatment to ration card holders up to Rs 5 lakhs and set up 25 new colleges next year.

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation(NHPC) has announced that the 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border will start operation next year by August. It is the largest hydropower project under construction in the country with an annual power generation capacity of 7421.59 Million Units (MU).

Defying the protests relaunched by various organizations, including the AllAssamStudents’ Union, to halt the construction of the mega dam along the seismically active interstate-border zone, NHPC officials said that the all eight units of the dam would be operational by August 2023.

The project triggered a political storm and has been an issue in every election in the state since 2011. The opposition parties have cornered the ruling government, citing threat to life and property in the downstream areas of Assam from the dam. Construction had come to a halt in 2011 following massive protests. As per NHPC sources, due to the prolonged delay, the cost of the project escalated to around Rs 20,000 crore from the earlier estimate of Rs 6,900 crore.

The project is the first cascaded dam on the Subansiri. As per NHPC, it is primarily for with flood cushion and designed to moderate floods with integrated operation of proposed middle and upper projects.

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Twitter that a new rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra, near the existing Saraighat bridge in Guwahati, has been approved at a cost of over Rs 900 crore under PM Gati Shakti national master plan for multi-modal connectivity.

This new bridge will be constructed on the upstream of the historic Saraighat bridge, the first bridge built over the Brahmaputra.

He said the bridge would connect the north bank of Assam to the south bank across the Brahmaputra. “Once the bridge is completed, it would provide seamless and strategic connectivity with heavy traffic at present of over 75,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units).

Chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma formally inaugurated the Anna Mahotsav, in which he distributedfree rationunder Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKY) at a programme held at Nalbari through which an additional 5 kg food grains will be given to nearly 59 lakh beneficiaries who are holding NFSA cards.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, PM Narendra Modi initiated the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana from April to June 2020 during the first phase of the pandemic. After the success of the first phase, second phase was initiated from July to November, 2020. The third phase was announced during the second wave of the pandemic in which every ration card holder under National Act will receive 5 kg of food grains from April-November 2021.

This Anna Mohatsav, efforts have been taken to generate awareness about PMGKY so that targeted beneficiaries can be brought under the ambit of the scheme in the state.

Key decisions taken at the Cabinet Meeting chaired by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on 09.09.2021.

1. The Cabinet mourned the tragic incident of boat accident at Nimati Ghat and extended condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

2. Cabinet entrusted Finance Minister Ajanta Neog with the responsibility to constantly monitor the construction of Jorhat-Majuli connecting bridge and find gaps, if any. The will provide any additional support required in this regard.

3. Reciprocating militant organisation Dimasa National Liberation Army’s unilateral ceasefire for six months, the Cabinet decided that the State Govt would also stop its operations against the outfit for one month. During this time, members of the militant outfit cannot carry arms and make extortion demands.

4. From now onwards, Police verification would not be required for those selected for appointment in government jobs. They would have to provide self-declaration which would be uploaded on a portal. If self-declarations are disputed with facts, appropriate steps would be taken against the candidate.

5. For government construction works, the royalty payable to Forest Dept for using construction materials like sand, stones etc would now be deducted from the contractors’ bill and submitted in treasury. For private construction in urban areas, the fixed royalty can be paid in four instalments at the treasury.

6.Reservation for specially abled candidates in government jobs would be increased from 3% to 4%.

7. Degrees, diplomas issued by government approved distance Learning institutes would now be considered at par with on-campus courses for government jobs. 8. Cabinet decided to constitute Assam State Organic Mission Agency (ASOMA). Mission Organic Value Chain Development, Assam and National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), Assam would work under ASOMA.

“Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at national level,” Rai said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

So far, theNRChas been updated only inAssam. When the final list of the NRC was published in 2019, a total of 19.06 lakh of the 3.3 crore applicants were excluded, triggering a huge political row.

The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity Database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars.
The NPR is a register of the usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local (village and sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national levels under the provisions of the Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

TheAssamgovernment is going to set up a 200-bed super specialty hospital on the campus ofSilcharMedical College and Hospital with funds and technological assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said SMCH principal DrBhaskarGupta.

Gupta added that the 200-bed super specialty hospital will have various state-of-the-art facilities ranging from specially designed surgery rooms to separate Blood Bank and pharmacy. It is planned to have six departments neurosurgery, neurology, cardiology, cardiac surgery, nephrology and urology, he said.

The SMCH principal said, After the opening of this hospital, super specialisation courses like Doctor of Medicine, MCh etc will be started. Solar panels will be installed in the entire hospital to save electricity.