Assam to reserve 5% seats in engineering colleges for state-run school students

Guwahati: The Assam government has decided to reserve 5 per cent of seats in the medical colleges for students of government schools in the state, officials said on Saturday.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting held in Tinsukia on Friday evening.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We have made the decision to set aside 5 per cent of seats in BTech/BE programmes at government engineering colleges for students who attended government schools from grades 7 to 12."

While Sarma had indicated that seats would be set aside for medical colleges as well, the Cabinet's directives, which he posted on his official X handle, made it clear that the five percent quota would solely apply to engineering colleges.

According to Sarma, the cabinet authorised three projects totaling Rs 438.27 crore under the 2019 Assam Industrial and Investment Policy, with the goal of promoting industrial growth in the state.

The three projects include a Tata Group hotel in Kaziranga, a second Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati, and a bamboo crash barrier manufacturing unit by Bhavya Shristi Udyog Pvt Ltd in Bongaigaon.

Together, these three projects, according to Sarma, will generate around 1,400 new jobs in the state.

In order to draw in additional CSR funding for the state, he also announced the formation of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Authority of Assam, which will be led by an IAS officer.