Union minister for Development of North Eastern Region Vijay Kumar Singh on Friday said floods in Assam is "nothing new". "Flood condition is nothing new to Assam. I have been dealing with floods in Assam since 1970 onwards," Singh said at a press conference in Guwahati.
Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
While releasing the Vision 2020 document, Manmohan Singh announced a plethora of schemes that included a robust infrastructural plan encompassing upgrade of airports, linking of all the capitals with rail and Rs 31,000 crore (Rs 310 billion) for road improvement, to spur up development of the northeast. The announcement came close on the heels of India signing an agreement with Myanmar for developing the Myanmarese port of Sittwe.
A total of 15,25,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories.
Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh said the government is trying to woo industries to the eight Northeastern states so that enough jobs are created for the youths of the region.
The prime minister came down heavily on the Congress government in Assam and the previous UPA government at the Centre for "failing" to fulfil dreams and aspiration of the people.