Guwahati: The Assam Cabinet has instituted the Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award and selected veteran singer Usha Mangeshkar as its first recipient, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced after a cabinet meeting on Friday (October 23, 2026), ANI reported.
The award will be conferred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the closing ceremony of Dr Bhupen Hazarika's birth centenary celebrations at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on November 29, Sarma said. It will carry a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a citation, and will be conferred once every three years, ANI reported.
IANS reported that Mangeshkar will be recognised for her contribution to Indian music. Hazarika, born on September 8, 1926, in Sadiya in Assam and widely known as Sudhakantha, took Assamese music and culture to a national and international audience, with songs addressing humanity, social justice, equality and communal harmony, IANS reported.
Source: IANS — Usha Mangeshkar to receive Bhupen Hazarika Award at centenary celebrations
Hazarika was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1992, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2012, and was posthumously conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2019, IANS reported.
Source: IANS — Usha Mangeshkar to receive Bhupen Hazarika Award at centenary celebrations
In other decisions, the Assam Cabinet approved a Rs 300 crore investment proposal by the Welspun Group to establish an industry at Rangia in Kamrup district — yaani Rs 3 billion — a project expected to generate employment for 300 people, ANI reported. The cabinet also approved the election rules for the Mising Autonomous Council and the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council, paving the way for elections to both councils to be held in November.