Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma officially presented the 'Assam Baibhav' award to former Tata Sons chairman and philanthropist Ratan Naval Tata on Wednesday (February 16) in Mumbai. CM Sarma, taking to his official social handles, expressed his thoughts and said that Ratan Tata made an outstanding contribution towards promoting cancer care in the state.
"Had the privilege to honour @tatatrusts Chairman Shri Ratan Naval Tata with 'Assam Baibhav', our State's highest civilian award, at Mumbai today. The visionary industrialist & philanthropist has made exceptional contribution towards furthering cancer care in Assam.," Assam Chief Minister wrote on Twitter.
Had the privilege to honour @tatatrusts Chairman Shri Ratan Naval Tata with 'Assam Baibhav', our State's highest civilian award,at Mumbai today.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 16, 2022
The visionary industrialist & philanthropist has made exceptional contribution towards furthering cancer care in Assam.@RNTata2000 pic.twitter.com/dwDlXyEtvq
The Assam government presented 'Assam Baibhav' to Ratan Tata to set up cancer treatment facilities all across the state. Back in 2018, the Tata Trusts had penned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Assam to deliver comprehensive cancer care and provide affordable quality treatment of cancer patients in Assam.
Assam Baibhav Award
Last month, the state's highest civilian award was conferred to the 84-year-old. However, he was not able to attend the awarding event amid the ongoing COVID crisis around the third wave in the country.
In an official release addressed to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Ratan Tata had earlier stated, "I greatly appreciate and am deeply touched by the decision of the government of Assam to bestow on me the Assam Baibhav Award for the year 2021. I have been an admirer of your personal commitment to the wellbeing of the Assamese people and it is, therefore, an exceptional honour to receive this award. (sic)"
Ratan Tata's Response
Furthermore, Ratan Tata also added that he is grateful that the government understands his inability to personally receive the award at the grand function held in Guwahati on January 24 and had assured his willingness to accept it later in Mumbai physically, Republicworld quoted. The letter also added that it would be a pleasure to meet the Assam CM as well.
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