Guwahati, July 10 (IANS). Assam Finance Minister Jayant Malla Barua presented the state budget for the year 2026-27 in the Assembly on Friday. The budget places special emphasis on employment generation, infrastructure development, health, education and social welfare. The government also outlined 10 key initiatives to accelerate the development of the state.
In the budget, the government has set a target of providing two lakh government jobs. It was also clarified that ‘Arunoday’, ‘Nijut Moina’ and other major social security schemes will continue without any interruption.
To promote the aviation sector, the government has set a target of making Guwahati Airport an airport with an annual capacity of 8 crore (80 million) passengers. This will strengthen the air connectivity of Assam and develop it as a major aviation hub in the North-East.
An investment of Rs 72,000 crore has been proposed in the budget for the energy sector. The Finance Minister said that this amount will be spent on thermal, hydropower, solar energy and battery energy storage projects, which will strengthen the state’s power system and meet future energy needs.
Rs 4,000 crore has been allocated for irrigation projects in the Brahmaputra valley to strengthen the agriculture sector. Its objective is to increase the scope of irrigation and improve agricultural productivity.
It has also been announced to continue the ongoing welfare schemes for tea garden workers and tea tribes. Under these schemes, special attention will be given to health, nutrition and improvement in living standards.
To strengthen health services, the government has announced the recruitment of 33,000 health workers. This will increase the capacity of district hospitals and improve public health services across the state.
In the education sector, the government has talked about continuing the recruitment of teachers in universities, colleges and new educational institutions, so that the structure of higher education can be strengthened and the shortage of teachers can be overcome.
Skill development programs have also been announced to increase the employability of youth. Under this, the youth will be given training in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Visual Effects (VFX) and foreign languages like English, Japanese and Korean, so that they can get better employment opportunities in the country and abroad.
Under infrastructure development, it has been proposed to accelerate road, bridge, railway and air connectivity projects. Apart from this, a plan to develop Dibrugarh as the second capital of Assam has also been included in the budget, so as to promote regional balanced development and improve administrative accessibility in Upper Assam.
Finance Minister Jayant Malla Barua said this budget focuses on employment-led growth, strong infrastructure and long-term economic progress, while also continuing welfare schemes for various sections of the society.
–IANS
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