It is true that we had to take loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to tide over our power shortage and financial problems. Without these loans, it would not have been possible to pull the state out of the morass that it was in when we took over. It was a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the ADB in 2004 that got us Rs 543.47 crore to bring about fiscal discipline in the state. An internal report of the ADB has already praised Assam for having overtaken states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala in the field of economic and fiscal reforms.

It was my Government that completed the 100-MW Karbi Langpi hydel project where 27 years were wasted in the name of construction. We also recently handed over the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station to NTPC which will soon add 750 MW of power to our system. Similarly, construction of the Bogibeel bridge on the Brahmaputra was speeded up only after I took over.

One area where we are paying maximum attention is the younger generation. And my particular focus has been on education and knowledge. Assam is the first state in the country to provide computers to every high school, and also the first in providing a computer to every student who secured first division in high school final examinations. Thousands of school students have been sent on educational excursion to various parts of the state under the ‘Gyanjyoti’ programme, and one lakh girl students from BPL families have been given bicycles. Investing in education is definitely the best one can do, and we have not only rebuilt almost every primary school in the state, but now we are also waiting for a world-class university to take off. We will soon have a Knowledge City and a Science City near Guwahati, so that our young people may acquire maximum knowledge and equip themselves with skills that make them employable. Engineering colleges, technical schools and polytechnics have already received a new lease of life due to fresh investments while the pass percentage of students in various examinations has more than doubled in the past few years.

... contd.