On the occasion of Assam Divas, the state government of Assam has decided to accolade renowned industrialist Ratan Tatawith the ‘Asom Bhaibav’ award, the highest civilian state award for his contribution to cancer care in the state. The chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced the award on December 2, in Delhi.
Sarma also tweeted the news, and wrote, “Delighted to announce that the Government of Assam has decided to confer its highest civilian award, Asom Baibhav,to Ratan Tata, Chairman ofTata Trusts, for his exceptional contribution towards furthering cancer care in Assam.”
https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/1466328788929695750
In 2018, the Assam government and Tata Trusts laid the foundation stone for a comprehensive cancer care network of 19 facilities in the state. The operation was estimated to become functional by 2019 and was initiated with the aim that no citizen of the state has to travel more than a few hours to get proper cancer care treatments. Out of the 19 facilities, 12 were established on premises of Government Medical College, ensuring an affordable treatment.
The Assam government has health care among the top priorities. At the time the foundation was laid, Sarma was appointed as the State Health Minister, and the state government was led by the current Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways and Minister of AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal.
Other schemes such as State Cancer Institute, Atal Amrit Abhiyan, and free diagnostics at district hospitals had already been in the works. The Tata push to the cancer care facilities helped the government utilize these schemes by providing a robust platform. Similar to the initiative taken for Assam, Tata proposed plans for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha.
The project in Assam was a joint effort of Tata Trusts and the now Sarma-led Assam government. The total corpus for the three-tier project – L1: State Level Hospitals, L2: State-level medical colleges, L3: District level hospitals – was Rs 2,200 crore, which was equally divided among the two parties.
Ratan Tata is being conferred with the State’s highest civilian award, Asom Bhaibhav. The awards that precede it are Asom Saurav, followed by Asom Gaurav.
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