Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (left) with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (right) on Friday (Source: @himantabiswa/ X)
Guwahati, Jan. 3: Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced the flag-off of three new trains on Friday.
The Chief Minister was addressing a rally that had gathered upon the visit of Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, to Assam.
“There are a number of new developments taking place in Assam, particularly the opening of 3 new trains from today. They are the Tinsukia-Naharlagun-Tinsukia Express, the Guwahati-New Bongaigaon-Guwahati Passenger train, and the Guwahati-North Lakhimpur-Guwahati Jan Shatabdi Express,” the Chief Minister said.
Sarma further added that the road over bridge at Tetelia, constructed by the Indian Railways, will also be inaugurated on Friday.
The Chief Minister then expressed his gratitude to the Union Railways Minister for the establishment of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NEILIT) university, another major initiative supposed to launch on Friday.
“Today is also the inauguration of NEILIT university. I express my thanks to Ashwini Vaishnaw as the Government of India is going to create NEILIT universities in 12 locations in India. I thank the Government of India for starting out on this journey from the holy land of Maa Kamakhya,” Sarma said.
He emphasised the role of technology in shaping India's future, stating, 'The foundation of the 2047 Viksit Bharat dream will be technology. The technological evolution and revolution will lead us to Viksit Bharat.”
Speaking about the upcoming semiconductor industry in Jagiroad, the Chief Minister reamrked, “By the end of 2025, the assembly unit will be completed and the industry will create chips. These ‘Made in Assam’ chips from Jagiroad will be used to build cars in the US. “
The Chief Minister also highlighted the need for skilled manpower in the industry, a point stressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “India is going to be a hub in manufacturing semiconductors. Going forward, there will be a lot of work in India around quantum physics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality; for which we need to prepare the youth of the country,” the Chief Minister said, recollecting his conversation with the Prime Minister and the Railways Minister. He further added that the government will work to provide to just India but to the world skilled manpower for Industry 4.0.
Speaking about the NEILIT university, Sarma said, “The NEILIT will become a deemed university which will first be created in 12 stations, following which, it will be expanded to other places in the country. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and I had spoken about this following the elections, but I didn’t think even in my dream that in January 2025, within six months, work towards this direction (NEILIT) will begin.”
