ASSAM

Assam Baibhav award for Ratan Tata

by

TheAssamgovernment is set to conferAssam Baibhav, the states highest civilian award to industrialist and philanthropist Ratan NavalTata, though he will not be present in the glittering ceremony to be held in Guwahati.

Though Ratan Tata wont be present at the event, he is deeply touched by the state governments decision. Thank you for understanding my inability to personally receive the award at the function to be held in Guwahati on January 24th and for your willingness to present it to me at a later date in Mumbai, Tata wrote to Assam chief minister Himanta BiswaSarmain a letter.

Himanta urges ‘Assamese Muslims’ to find ways to control population, uplift community

by

Calling the states indigenous Muslims as Assamese Muslims, chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarmaon Sunday asked members of the minority community to devise ways to rein in Population and prepare a roadmap to expedite welfare measures, including financial well-being and overall development of the community.

The meeting emphasized the need to protect and preserve the uniqueness of indigenous Assamese Muslims. However, in the broader landscape, it has been agreed that population explosion in some parts ofAssamhas been posing a real threat to the states development, more particularly in the economic front.

In order to achieve that goal, Sarma said it has been insisted upon that eight sub-groups be constituted to work on a range of issues Health, Education, population control, cultural identity, , Women Empowerment and Skill development.

Assam: Experts unhappy with Charaideo dossier for UNESCO tag

by

TheAssamArchaeology Department has expedited the process of finalizing the dossier for theCharaideosite, the first capital of the Ahom Royals, to be sent to the Unesco for a world heritage tag.

Of the 31 king maidams or graves scattered in the Charaideo capital complex, only a dozen are being proposed for the heritage tag. The pyramid-style ancient graveyards have drawn researchers from all over the world to Assam. Conservation activists rued that the maidam of the founder of the dynasty, Chaolung Siu Ka Pha, has not been included in the dossier.

In 2021, the director of land records and survey, Assam, had completed the survey of a vast area, covering around 4,756 bighas, to be included in the dossier. It was planned to be sent for Unesco’s approval within a year.

APDCL seeks hike in power tariff to raise 10,000 crore

by

The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) has petitioned the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) for a hike of Rs 1.25 per unit and the fixed charge by Rs 15 in power tariff with effect from April 1 for the period 2023-24 to meet its requirement of around Rs 10,000 crore, which would hit hard households that form around 93% of the companys consumer base.

According to the proposals, the tariff (which is a combination of fixed charges and variable charges) will shoot up by a minimum Rs 25.55 for Jeevan Dhara category for every kilowatt consumed per hour.

Assam Cabinet decides to restructure school education policy in line with NEP

by

The Assam Cabinet decided to restructure the state Education policy, making school education a 15-year affair comprising four categories – foundation, preparatory, elementary and senior secondary – in accordance with the NEP, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The foundation category will have five years till class two while the next three years will be preparatory. The elementary category will comprise classes six, seven and eight, and the classes between nine and 12 will be called senior secondary.

In the National Education Policy (NEP) announced by the Centre last year, there will be a 5+3+3+4 structure comprising 12 years of school and three years of pre-school, replacing the old 10+2 structure. The change in the structure will be notified on April one, 2022 while the new syllabus will be introduced from April one, 2023, Sarma told reporters after the cabinet meeting held at Bongaigaon.

Portal for pension cases of state employees to come up in Assam

by

The Assam Cabinet decided that a dedicated portal for pension cases of employees will be launched to expeditiously provide post-retirement remuneration to pensioners. Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said the portal will be named as ‘Kritagyata’.

This portal will be the front-end for processing all pension cases and for matters related to pay fixation. Pension Seva Kendras will be set up by AMTRON (Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd) in all districts for government employees.

The minister also said that Rs 508.60 crore loan will be raised by the state government from NABARD for projects under the RIDF-XXVII (Rural Infrastructure Development Fund), to be repaid within seven years.

The cabinet further decided to allot lands to Mising Language & Cultural Research Centre in Dhemaji and NGO Barpeta Zila Mahila Samity in Barpeta.

Assam CM for digitisation of land records by 2023

by

Assamchief minister Himanta BiswaSarma asked the revenue and Disaster Management department to set a goal for digitisation of all land records of the state till 2023.

He also urged the department to dispose of all pending partition and mutation cases before completion of the first anniversary of the current government in May next year, according to an official statement.

Calling for reforms in the state’s revenue administration at a meeting with the officials of the department, the chief minister asked them to complete all pending partition and mutation cases in a mission mode.

“Mission Basundhara” will be launched for this purpose on October 2 this year, the statement said.

Assams first solar park opened in Sivasagar

by

AssamCMHimanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated Assams first solar park at Amguri in Sivasagar district.

The 70-MW Amguri solar power park is an outcome of the Assam Accord. The foundation stone of the park was laid by former CM Sarbananda Sonowal on February 27, 2019.

Mentioning that the solar park was a huge step towards harnessing clean and green energy, the CM said the project will go a long way in realising the state governments mission of generating 1,000 MW of electricity. He further added it will aid in creation of EMPLOYMENT avenues for youth and also maintain environmental balance through green energy generation.

Scrap ‘absurd’ clause in evaluation norm for board exams: Aasu to govt

by

he All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu), an influential student body, demanded the scrapping of a clause in the evaluation criteria formulated by the expert committees for High School Leaving Certificate (Class X) and Higher Secondary (ClassXII) examinations. The clause states that the marksheets and certificates under the new evaluation formula will be applicable for admissions in higher classes but not valid for jobs.

The student body warned the state government not to “play with the lives and future of students” with such an “absurd” clause in the evaluation criteria. The union urged the government and both the boards – Board of Secondary Education Assam (which conducts class X exams) and Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (which conducts class XII exams) to take an immediate decision to withdraw the clause.