Economy / Assam

GUWAHATI, February 7: The State Government has revised the minimum rates of wages payable to the employees of hotels, restaurants and eating houses in the State, an official release said. According to the revised rates, the daily wage for the accountant has been fixed at Rs 70 while his monthly wage will be Rs 2100. Likewise, Rs 65 and Rs 1950 have been fixed as daily and monthly wages respectively for the clerk, cashier, cook, sweet and drink maker. The salesman, counterman, bearer and helper will receive Rs 63 as daily and Rs 1890 as monthly wage while Rs 60 and Rs 1800 have been fixed...

GUWAHATI, January 29: Centre has prepared a scheme of Rs 55 crore to control flood havoc in the Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys. Disclosing this at a Flood Control Ministers meet of the Northeast, organised by the State Flood Control Department here today, the Union Minister for Water Resources, Arjun Charan Sethi informed that the funds will be provided as 90 per cent Central grant and 10 per cent State share. Sethi further said that Centre has released so far Rs 390.90 crore loan to the State to combat the flood problem. "Keeping in view the intensity of flood, the Brahmaputra Board has drawn...

GUWAHATI, January 23: The Centre has withdrawn the excise duty exemption facility earlier extended to the tobacco units set up in Assam under the new Northeast industrial policy. With this the future of 14 tobacco units that had come up in the state had become uncertain, at the same time putting at stake jobs of over 600 persons who had found employment in them. About 2000 others had found indirect employment too. The order to this effect was issued by the union finance ministry vide a notification on Monday. The tobacco manufacturing units had come up in Assam following the announcement of...

DIBRUGARH, January 21: Reacting sharply to a covert campaign by the public sector Oil India Limited (OIL) on the employment of 300 unskilled workers by the company, the Dibrugarh district AASU unit today blamed OIL for being "insincere to promises" and warned the oil company to desist from its mischievous acts. Speaking to this correspondent, the district AASU leaders here, Diganta Saikia and Hiteswar Phukan said the students' organisation never asked for any "quota" in the proposed employment of 300 workers. They added that OIL in 1990 had promised that the company would issue employment...

GUWAHATI, January 19: The Oil India Limited's (OIL) decision to appoint as many as 300 unskilled workers at one go has literally opened the Pandora's box putting the public sector giant in a dilemma with several students organisations and political parties pressurising it to take in their 'hand-picked' candidates. Sources in the OIL admitted that pressure from various students' organisations was mounting even as the authorities preparing to announce the results of recruitment drive after screening about 9000 candidates from three Upper Assam districts of Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia. With...

GUWAHATI, January 18: The Government of India has decided to provide Rs 200 crore during the next five years for modernisation of the State police in response to a comprehensive proposal submitted by the State police. With this enhanced grant the State police plans to modernise the training facilities in training institutions at Dergaon and Mandakata in addition to procuring vehicles, weapons and communication equipment. The police has also drawn up plan to upgrade the existing forensic laboratory at Kahilipara to international standard and set up three regional laboratories and 25 mobile...

GUWAHATI, August 4: The National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) has released a net amount of Rs 978.87 lakh to the Assam Plain Tribes Development Corporation Ltd till the end of June, 2000 providing an opportunity for the tribals to better their lives. About Rs 339 lakh has been made available to the Assam state Development Corporation for SCs Ltd till the end of May for similar development efforts for the Scheduled Castes. Sources in the NSFDC, an organisation under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, told The Assam Tribune here...

JORHAT, August 3: The Tocklai Experimental Station here, reputed to be among the foremost and best tea research centres in the world, is all set to add more zing to the 'cuppa' that cheers. In the words of Tea Research Association Chairman Abani Borgohain, 'the best-ever clones ever developed by this premier tea research organisation are presently undergoing commercial trials.' Reputed to be sturdy and qualitatively superior to existing clones in almost all respects, 'the promising aspects of the newly-developed varieties - P - 463 and P - 492 - provided they successfully pass the commercial...

GUWAHATI, August 3: Expressing concern at the diversion of Tribal fund during the Eighth Five Year Plan, Centre has sent a letter to the state Government seeking a detailed report in this regard. Centre's move assumes significance as several Tribal bodies have been demanding a probe into the 'diversion or misuse' of funds in the state. The letter, which was sent on July 25 by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry also asked the state Government to look into the matter immediately. During the Eighth Five Year Plan, Centre Government had released Rs 7,802.75 lakh, of which the state Government could...

NEW DELHI, August 2: The Agriculture Ministry has sanctioned Rs 37 crore to the Assam government for undertaking flood control work provoking some of the Congress members to protest the 'meagre' allocation of funds. Union Agriculture Minister, Nitish Kumar, however, did not feel that the amount was inadequate. He argued that the flood control problem in Assam has to be seen in larger perspective. So far over 4560 km embankments have been constructed and 945 km drainage channels have been created in Assam to tackle the flood problems in the state, he claimed. Kumar was reacting to Paban Singh...