In May 2025, the Assam Cabinet headed by Chief Minister (CM) of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma has approved the “Eti Koli Duti Paat”, a financial assistance scheme for the welfare of tea garden workers.
- Under this scheme, the Government of Assam will provide one-time assistance of Rs.5000 to each permanent and temporary worker of the tea gardens in Assam.
- The announcement was made on the occasion of the 200th celebration of Assam Tea.
Key Points:
i.Renowned for its richly coloured and aromatic tea, Assam tea industry provides livelihoods to millions of people, with many others directly or indirectly dependent on the plantations.
- Assam is famous for both Orthodox and CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) varieties of tea.
ii.Assam produces nearly 700 million Kilogram (kg) of tea annually and accounts for around half of India’s overall tea production.
Other Approvals:
i.He also approved the decision to rename Dibrugarh airport in Dibrugarh, Assam, after Bhupen Hazarika, the legendary singer and cultural icon of Assam, to mark his 100th birth anniversary.
- Bhupen Hazarika was conferred with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 2019.
ii.The cabinet has also approved the Assam Electronics Components Manufacturing Top-Up scheme, 2025.
- It will provide a 60% top-up on the incentive sanctioned by the Government of India (GoI) under its Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS)
iii.The cabinet has approved the proposal for reduction in the registration fees of Cooperative Societies from 1% to 0.5% of the proposed authorized capital of the cooperative societies.
iv.The cabinet also approved the implementation of CM’s ‘Jibon Prerna Scheme’ for graduates and scholars. It will be rolled out from October 2025.
- The eligible graduates who are permanent residents of the state and graduates will be given Rs.2500 per month for a year.
v.The research scholars who are conducting research in public universities of Assam will be provided with one-time financial assistance of Rs.20,000 and differently abled research scholars will be provided Rs.40,000.
vi.The council of ministers also approved, the proposal to provide 50% of admissible house rent allowance to 13,822 muster roll, casual and fixed pay workers.
vii.The cabinet approved the proposal to extend the ‘Apun Ghar(Home Loan)’ and ‘Apun Bahan’ scheme (Vehicle Loan) to both regular and contractual employees of both state Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the state government.
viii.The cabinet has approved the Assam Pumped Storage Power Generation Promotion Policy, 2025, which aims to position Assam as a hub for pumped hydro storage
About Assam:
Chief Minister (CM) – Himanta Biswa Sarma
Governor – Lakshman Prasad Acharya
Capital – Dispur
National Park (NP) – Kaziranga NP, Manas NP
