Mon Mar 10 12:16:20 UTC 2025: ## Assam Unveils Pre-Election Budget with Focus on Welfare Schemes

**GUWAHATI, March 10, 2025** – The Assam government presented a ₹2.63 lakh crore deficit budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on Monday, aiming to garner support ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Finance Minister Ajanta Neog announced a range of welfare measures targeting key voter demographics, including tea plantation workers, women, farmers, youth, and low-income groups.

The budget, with a deficit of ₹620.27 crore, includes a one-time ₹5,000 payment to each of the state’s 6.8 lakh tea garden workers, described as a gesture of gratitude for their contribution to Assam’s tea industry, which is celebrating its bicentennial. Tax holidays for green tea leaves have also been extended.

Significant expansion of the Orunodoi poverty alleviation program is planned, increasing beneficiaries from 24 lakh to 37.2 lakh, providing women with a monthly ₹1,250 stipend. Professional tax exemptions for individuals earning up to ₹15,000 per month will benefit over 1.43 lakh taxpayers. A new scheme, “Chief Minister’s Jibon Prerana,” will offer graduates ₹2,500 monthly for a year to aid their job search.

Further populist measures include subsidized rations (lentils, sugar, salt) for ration card holders, increased support prices for paddy, maize, and mustard, and a ₹10 lakh grant to 500 high-performing farmer producer organizations. The honorarium for village chiefs will rise from ₹9,000 to ₹14,000 per month. A ₹5 per litre milk subsidy for small-scale dairy farmers is also included.

The budget also addresses human-elephant conflict with the launch of the Gaja Mitra scheme, utilizing AI-based camera traps and forming support teams in conflict-prone districts. A new state satellite, Assamsat, is planned to improve data collection for various developmental projects. Finally, the government will cover the full cost of transporting the mortal remains of those who die outside Assam.

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