Guwahati, Aug 27 (PTI) The Assam Cabinet on Thursday approved insurance coverage to the tune of Rs 50 lakh for journalists, home guards and casual employees who succumb to COVID-19 while on duty.

A meeting of the the council of ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, approved the proposal to provide insurance coverage to these categories, Industry and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary told reporters.

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The cabinet also decided to increase the upper age limit for state government jobs for Group-III and Group-IV by two years to 40 years.

The Assam Skill Development University Bill was also approved for setting up the Skill University in Mangaldoi at an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore, Patowary said.

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Among other decisions, the cabinet cleared the Assam Heritage Protection and Preservation Bill, proposed to take a grant of Rs 116 crore from NABARD for completion of the Dhansiri Irrigation Project, and cleared the Orunodoi Scheme for providing financial assistance to families with less than Rs two lakh annual income.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)