In Guwahati, on February 17, Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog presented a Rs 62,294.78 crore interim budget for the 2026-27 fiscal, ahead of the state assembly elections. She stated that major flagship schemes providing direct cash benefits would continue.
Neog also mentioned that according to RBI data, Assam is currently the fastest-growing state.
She requested a vote on account for grants amounting to Rs 62,29,478.30 lakh to enable the government to continue its normal services.
Neog highlighted the impact of the 'Nijut Moina' scheme, which reduced dropout among female students by 8.2 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25, and increased the gross enrollment ratio for girls by 4.2 per cent at the secondary level and 7.5 per cent at the senior secondary level.
She added that this established a clear mandate for expanding the 'Nijut Moina' and 'Nijut Babu' schemes.
The government has committed approximately Rs 260 crore through the 'Mukhyamantri Nijut Moina Asoni' scheme to provide monthly financial assistance ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 to over 5.5 lakh girl students.
Similarly, under the 'Mukhyamantri Nijut Babu Scheme', Rs 1,000-Rs 2,000 will be provided to 47,428 boys from economically weaker families enrolled in the first year of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
The government will also provide Rs 2,500 per month to 48,319 fresh graduates through the Chief Minister's 'Jibon Prerana' Scheme.
Under 'Pragyan Bharti', admission fees worth Rs 780 crore were waived for economically weaker students, benefiting an average of 3.5 lakh UG and PG students each year.
Neog stated that Assam is poised to become a Rs 10 lakh-crore economy by 2028, ahead of the state's own 2030 target.
She added that the state's Gross State Domestic Product expanded by 45 per cent between FY 2019-20 and FY 2024-25, significantly outperforming the national growth average of 29 per cent.
Neog also pointed out that Assam's per capita income more than doubled in five years to Rs 1,85,429 in 2025-26 from Rs 86,947 in 2020-21, representing a jump of 113 per cent.