The Assam Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, approved a Rs 303.69 crore manufacturing unit by Weetek Plastic Pvt Ltd in Rangia on 23 October 2026. The unit is expected to create about 300 jobs in Kamrup district. The Cabinet also created the Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award and named singer Usha Mangeshkar as its first recipient.
Rs 303.69 Crore Weetek Plastic Unit in Rangia
The Assam Cabinet approved an investment proposal of Rs 303.69 crore by Weetek Plastic Private Limited to set up a manufacturing unit in Rangia in Kamrup district. Weetek Plastic is a company of the Welspun Group, a large Indian business house with interests in pipes, textiles and infrastructure. The project will operate under the Sintex brand, which is known for plastic products including water tanks and storage solutions.
The Assam government has said the Rangia unit will generate employment for around 300 people. Rangia is a major town in lower Assam, located about 60 km from Guwahati on the railway link to North Bengal. The choice of Rangia reflects the state policy of taking industry beyond Guwahati to district towns.
The approval was given at the Cabinet meeting held at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Dispur. The Chief Minister announced the decision after the meeting. Details such as the exact product range, plant capacity and date for starting construction have not been made public yet.
The clearance fits into Assam’s wider investment push under the Industrial and Investment Policy of Assam, 2019. The state amended this policy in 2023 and 2024 to offer added support for manufacturing, capital subsidy and job creation. Assam also held investment summits in 2025 and 2026 to attract private firms to food processing, plastics, cement and tourism.
What Is the Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award?
The Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award is a national level cultural honour created by the Government of Assam on 23 October 2026. It recognises nationally or internationally known work in music, arts and cinema. The award will be given once every three years with a cash prize and a citation.
The Assam Cabinet approved the award to keep alive the legacy of Dr Bhupen Hazarika, who is widely called the Bard of the Brahmaputra. The award is open to singers, composers, lyric writers, film directors, actors and other artists whose work connects with Hazarika’s fields. Though it carries the word National in its name, the Assam government has created and funded it. It is not a central government honour like the Padma awards.
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Official name | Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award |
| Created by | Government of Assam |
| Cabinet approval date | 23 October 2026 |
| Fields covered | Music, arts and cinema |
| Frequency | Once every three years |
| Cash prize | Rs 10 lakh with a citation |
| First recipient | Usha Mangeshkar |
| First presentation date | 29 November 2026 (scheduled) |
| Venue | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi |
| To be presented by | Prime Minister Narendra Modi (scheduled) |
The first presentation will take place at the closing ceremony of Hazarika’s birth centenary. The Assam government expects 5,000 to 7,000 guests at the event. The programme will include a 45 minute award function, an hour long musical tribute and an exhibition on Hazarika’s life. Singers Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal are expected to perform, along with artists from Assam. Around 1,000 children are set to sing Hazarika’s famous song Manuhe Manuhor Babe.
Who Is Usha Mangeshkar, the First Recipient?
Usha Mangeshkar is a well known Indian playback singer. Playback singing means recording songs for actors to lip sync in films. She has sung in Hindi, Marathi and several other Indian languages. She is the younger sister of the late Lata Mangeshkar and belongs to the Mangeshkar family of singers that also includes Asha Bhosle.
The Assam government selected Usha Mangeshkar for her long contribution to Indian music and her close link with Hazarika’s songs. She has sung popular Assamese songs linked to Hazarika, including Asom Deshor Bagichare, Chinaki Chinaki Mur Monar Manuh, Hawa Nai Batash Nai and Jilmilia Komol Bali. She sang for the Assamese film Chameli Memsaheb (1975), whose music strengthened the bond between Mumbai film music and Assamese culture.
Usha Mangeshkar had earlier received the Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award in 2022 from the Asom Sahitya Sabha. The Asom Sahitya Sabha is Assam’s leading literary organisation. That award also recognised her role in taking Assamese music to listeners outside the state. Hazarika shared a warm personal bond with the Mangeshkar family, especially with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
Who Was Dr Bhupen Hazarika and Why Is He Famous?
Dr Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika (8 September 1926 to 5 November 2011) was a singer, composer, lyric writer, poet and filmmaker from Assam. He was born in Sadiya in present day Tinsukia district and died in Mumbai. People call him the Bard of the Brahmaputra because his songs expressed the life and culture of people living along the Brahmaputra river. He is also called Sudhakantha, which means nectar throated, and the Voice of the Brahmaputra.
Hazarika is famous because he joined Assamese folk tunes with strong messages on humanity, peace, unity and social justice. His well known songs include Bistirno Parore, Moi Eti Jajabor and Manuhe Manuhor Babe. Many of his Assamese songs were also adapted into Bengali and Hindi. This brought the music of the Northeast to listeners across India.
Hazarika studied at Cotton College and then earned a BA in 1944 and an MA in Political Science in 1946 from Banaras Hindu University. He later earned a PhD in Mass Communication in 1952 from Columbia University in New York. At Columbia he met the American singer Paul Robeson. Robeson’s songs on workers’ rights shaped Hazarika’s belief that music can drive social change.
Hazarika worked briefly with All India Radio in Guwahati and taught at Gauhati University. He then moved to Kolkata and Mumbai for films. He directed Assamese films such as Era Bator Sur and Chameli Memsaheb and gave music for Hindi films such as Rudaali, Daman and Saaz. He served as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1998 to 2003. The Akademi is India’s national body for music, dance and drama. He was elected to the Assam Assembly from Nauboicha in 1967 and served as President of the Asom Sahitya Sabha in 1993.
The Government of India gave Hazarika the Bharat Ratna in 2019 after his death. The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian honour. The award recognised his lifetime work in music, cinema and national unity.
| Honour | Year |
|---|---|
| Padma Shri | 1977 |
| Sangeet Natak Akademi Award | 1987 |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest film honour | 1992 |
| Padma Bhushan | 2001 |
| Padma Vibhushan (posthumous) | 2012 |
| Bharat Ratna (posthumous) | 2019 |
The Bhupen Hazarika Setu, also called the Dhola Sadiya bridge, is named after him. The 9.15 km bridge over the Lohit river links Assam with Arunachal Pradesh. When it opened in 2017, it was the longest river bridge in India. The year 2026 marks 100 years since his birth. The Assam government held year long centenary events from September 2025, ending with the New Delhi finale on 29 November 2026.
Other Decisions Taken Along With the Investment and Award Approvals
The 23 October Cabinet meeting took other economic and cultural decisions along with the Rangia project and the Hazarika award.
The Cabinet approved the Assam Mineral Regulation and Dealers (Amendment) Rules, 2026. These rules amend the 2020 mineral rules. The change groups extracted limestone into high, medium and base cement grades across Category 1, Category 2 and Category 3. Royalty will now match the quality of the limestone instead of a single flat rate. The state expects better revenue collection from limestone, which is mined mainly in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao and used in cement plants.
The Cabinet also approved election rules for the Mising Autonomous Council and the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council. These councils are sixth schedule style autonomous bodies for indigenous groups in Assam. The State Election Commission has been asked to hold polls for both councils within November.
On culture, the Cabinet raised the cash prize of the Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva Award from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. Srimanta Sankardeva was a 15th and 16th century saint, scholar and reformer who led the Neo Vaishnavite movement in Assam. The prize will be given on 29 October at Bharat Mandapam.
The Cabinet also finalised the Assam civilian awards for 2025, which will be given in December.
| Award | Recipient and field |
|---|---|
| Assam Baibhav, the highest state honour | Dr Harsha Bhattacharjee, eye care and eye donation movement |
| Assam Saurav | Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma, wildlife expert; Nuruddin Ahmed, art director; Pulak Banerjee, singer; Dr Purnima Devi Barman, greater adjutant stork conservation |
| Assam Gaurav | 12 recipients including social worker Devi Prasad Bagrodia, footballer Holicharan Narzary, visually impaired cricketer Simu Das, chess player Mayank Chakrabarty and palm oil farmer Harakanta Basumatary |
Key Takeaways
- The Assam Cabinet approved a Rs 303.69 crore unit by Weetek Plastic Pvt Ltd in Rangia, Kamrup on 23 October 2026 with about 300 jobs.
- The Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award will be given once every three years with Rs 10 lakh and a citation for work in music, arts and cinema.
- Singer Usha Mangeshkar is the first recipient of the Hazarika National Award for her work in Indian music and Assamese songs.
- The first Hazarika award will be presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 November 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
- Dr Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926 in Sadiya and received the Bharat Ratna in 2019 posthumously.
