Industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata receives Assam’s highest civilian award, ‘Assam Baibhav.’
Awarded on Monday, Assam Baibhav is the state’s highest civilian award for the contribution Ratan Tata has made to cancer care across the region.
During the ‘Advantage Assam – Global Investment Summit’ in 2018, the Tata Trust, in collaboration with the Assam government, decided to establish 19 cancer care centres, and an MoU between the Assam government and the Tata Trusts was inked. The hospitals were to be built in three tiers, with L1, L2, and L3 indicating the level of treatment they would give. The foundation stone for the state’s cancer care units was laid by Ratan Tata.
However, Ratan Tata will not be able to attend the event personally due to the Covid-19 situation; he will be unable to attend the Guwahati ceremony and will collect the award in Mumbai at a later date
Ratan Tata said in a letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, “I am deeply touched and grateful for the decision by the Government of Assam to confer the Assam Baibhav award on me for 2021.”.
“I have long admired your commitment to the wellbeing of the Assamese people, and so it is an extraordinary honor to receive this award from you. I thank you for understanding my inability to personally receive the award at the ceremony in Guwahati and for your willingness to present it to me at a later date in Mumbai. It would be a pleasure to meet you and our offices could work together to find a suitable date for such a meeting.”
Assam’s CM expressed his gratefulness, “I am deeply grateful for your gracious acceptance of the Assam Baibhav Award for 2021. I am looking forward to meeting you personally to express my appreciation. We are sincerely grateful for your support for us all these years,” he stated.
