Assam cabinet decides to increase seat reservation for six communities in medical colleges

GUWAHATI: The Assam cabinet has decided to increase the reservation for six communities of the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and More Other Backward Castes (MOBCs) belonging to the non-creamy layer for MBBS seats in the medical colleges of the state.

The meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has decided to amend the Medical Colleges and Dental Colleges of Assam (Regulation of Admission into 1st year MBBS/BDS courses) Rule, 2017 to increase MBBS seats in the medical colleges of the state, Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika said at the media briefing after the meeting on Thursday night.

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The number of seats for children of tea garden/ex-tea garden communities/tribes will be increased from the existing 27 to 30 seats, for the Koch Rajbongshis from 10 to 13, Tai Ahoms from 7 to 10, Chutias from 6 to 9 while for the Moran and Matak, it will go up to eight each from the existing five. The cabinet has also decided to reserve 10 per cent of MBBS seats for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the six medical colleges of Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat, Tezpur and Barpeta.

The council of ministers also decided to reserve 10 per cent of the remaining seats after the deduction of 15 per cent of the All India Quota, central pool, North Eastern Council (NEC), Royal Government of Bhutan quotas for NRI/NRI-sponsored students who have cleared NEET-UG. The cabinet also decided to set up a Hydro-Informatics Unit under the Water Resources department and strengthen the Externally Aided Project (EAP) wing of the department.

''The Hydro-Informatics Unit will be a scientific wing responsible for the development and operationalisation of the flood forecasting system and inundation map library to support flood and erosion risk management'', he said. The cabinet also decided to discontinue physical non-judicial stamps and expand digital stamping with notification of necessary rules from July 1, 2023. ''This decision has been taken to give a boost to digital stamping and ensure the state government cuts down on costs by providing a faster and more transparent payment process", Hazarika said.

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Existing stamp vendors with valid licenses will be rehabilitated by converting their establishments into Citizen Service Centres for which Rs one lakh will be provided. he added. The cabinet also approved signing the MoU with Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust (ABFT) for free specialised medical treatment for sportspersons sustaining sports injuries.

It was also decided that the Autonomous Councils could engage retired executive engineers or someone retiring from a higher rank from any state government department to ensure the timely formulation and implementation of schemes. The cabinet also decided to amend the Assam Boiler Service Rules, 2000 to streamline the administration and recruitment process for the service.