On the occasion of National Cancer Awareness Day, Assam Government approved to release of Rs. 135 crore funds to the Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF) for the construction of the remaining three cancer care hospitals under the first phase and seven hospitals in the second phase of the Assam Cancer Care Project. The approval was made during the weekly cabinet meeting held on Tuesday.
The cancer care hospitals under the first phase are being built at Silchar, Guwahati and Diphu while the other seven will be built in Dhubri, Nalbari, Goalpara, Golaghat, Nagaon, Sivasagar and Tinsukia under the second phase.
Upon completion, the projects are expected to generate employment for around 8,000 people, with 4,000 direct employments.
The cabinet also approved to release Rs. 135 crore under the scheme ‘Free Drugs and Consumables for Government Hospitals’, including Tea Garden Hospitals to provide effective healthcare support to the needy. The scheme entails provision of essential drugs, surgical items, consumables/linens, etc. free in Government Health Institutions.
Meanwhile, the cabinet also made the following key decisions:
State Government employees to receive 4% additional Dearness Allowance (DA) with effect from 1 December 2023
Arrear DA effective from July 2023 to November 2023 will be paid in two equal instalments
(The first instalment of 50% arrear DA will be paid in December, while the remaining 50% will be paid in April 2024)
With this the total DA of State Government employees now stands at 46%
Three eggs to be provided with mid-day meal weekly to each of the eligible children of schools in char/chapori areas under PM-POSHAN with effect from 1 December 2023
English Language Teaching Institute (ELTI) to be placed under the administrative control of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Assam to ensure optimum utilisation of resources
Land settlement in favour of indigenous landless families of the State under Mission Basundhara 2.0 in Morigaon, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur districts
Altogether 2,538 families across five districts are to be provided land as part of Mission Basundhara 2.0
Morigaon- 2
Bongaigaon- 69
Goalpara- 90
Dibrugarh- 1,071
Sonitpur- 1,306
This will provide relief to indigenous landless families who have been awaiting settlement of their respective lands, while also improving administrative efficiency in processing land settlement proposals
Timeline for disposal of remaining cases under Mission Basundhara 2.0 to be extended from 14 November 2023 to 30 November 2023, keeping deadline for review of all rejected cases by 31 December 2023 intact
The First Statutes of Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University Act, 2023 approved to facilitate efficient and transparent management of Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University
The statutes, called the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University First Statutes 2023, have been enacted for carrying out the provisions of Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University Act, 2011 (Assam Act No IX of 2011)
Grants-in-Aid released to Guwahati Smart City Ltd (GSCL) from Government of Assam to be converted into Equity Investment for strengthening GSCL's equity
Rs. 318.98 crore provided by Government of Assam to GSCL to be converted for investment towards acquisition of assets as equity investment by the Government in GSCL
Further, enhancement of the authorised Share Capital Limit of GSCL from Rs. 400 Crore to Rs. 1,000 crore also authorised with statutory fee to be paid to Registrar of Companies, while enhancing the authorised share capital to be initially met by the company itself and subsequently reimbursed by the Government
State Government's loans/unpaid interest of Rs. 60.22 crores of Assam Hills Small Industries Ltd (AHSIDC Ltd) under the administrative control of Hill Areas Department to be converted to equity
AHSIDC Ltd's authorised Share Capital limit to be enhanced from Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 100 crore with the statutory fee (71 crore) to be paid to Registrar of Companies
Enhancing the authorised Share Capital to be initially met by the company and subsequently reimbursed by the Government in due course
State Government's loans of Rs. 33.36 crore to Assam Cooperative Jute Mills Ltd. (ACJML) and Rs. 4.25 crore to Assam State Warehousing Corporation (ASWC) to be converted as equity investment by the Government for investment towards the acquisition of assets
Authorised Share Capital limit of ACJML to be enhanced from Rs. 6 crore to Rs. 50 crore with the statutory fee to be paid to Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assam, with enhancement to be initially met by the Cooperative Mill itself and subsequently reimbursed by the Government in due course, if approved by the competent authority
Grants-in-Aid to APDCL, AEGCL and APGCL by Government of Assam to be converted into loan and then into equity as on 31 March 2023
The Grants-in-Aid (totaling Rs. 5435.80 crore prior to 2021-22 and Rs. 1,099.51 crores between 2021-22 and 2023-23) will be converted into equity as investment by the State Government
Benefits
Improved Net Worth, Debt-Equity ratio
Better Debt Service Coverage ratio
Reduction in finance cost, thereby reduction of loss to the company
Scope of enhanced Return on Equity (RoE)
Government loans/unpaid interest amount and grants of AIDC, ASIDC, ATCL and APM Ltd under the administrative control of Industries Commerce & Public Enterprises Department to be converted to equity
The Conversion
Rs. 86.34-crore loan and 18.57-crore unpaid interest of AIDC
Rs. 2.03-crore loan, £1-crore grants and 18.94-crore unpaid interest of Ashok Paper Mills (Assam) Ltd
Loan/grants/interest accrued from ASIDC of Rs. 9.86 crore, which includes outstanding principal loan amount of Rs. 2.92 crore and grant-in-aid of Rs. 2.17 crore
