Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 10 (HBTV): The Assam Cabinet on Sunday approved The Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, which aims to prohibit and eliminate the practice of polygamy and polygamous marriages in the state, except in Sixth Schedule areas.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the bill will be introduced in the Assam Assembly session on November 25 for passage.
‘Polygamy is prohibited in respect of the person who shall not marry if he has a living spouse or is not legally separated from the other spouse by following due procedure of law or is a party to a marriage which is not yet dissolved or annulled by a decree of divorce. The Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, further seeks to provide compensation to the victim women as they have to suffer immense pain and hardship due to polygamous marriage. To save society from the scourge of such practices, this Bill has been framed with the avowed objective to streamline society,’ the Chief Minister said during a press conference at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati.
He further stated that the bill provides for up to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for those engaging in multiple marriages.
The Assam Cabinet also accorded administrative approval for the first phase of the Construction of State-of-the-Art Judicial Township at Rangmahal, North Guwahati, amounting to INR 478.78 crore.
‘The High Court Complex Development (Phase-I) is primarily focused on establishing a comprehensive High Court Complex in which all the buildings are connected with bridges, serving as the apex judicial hub of the region. Key components include the High Court Building (G+4), High Court Bar Building (G+6), and High Court Office Building (G+6),’ the Chief Minister said.
In addition, the State Cabinet approved the Assam Startup and Innovation Policy 2025–30, marking a major step toward positioning Assam as one of India’s leading hubs for entrepreneurship and innovation over the next five years. The total financial implication for this period is INR 397 crore.
The policy includes several incentives for entrepreneurs: Ideation Grant of up to INR 10 lakh for concept validation or proof-of-concept prototypes; Prototype Development Grant of up to INR 20 lakh for general and tech startups, and up to INR 40 lakh for deep-tech startups; Seed Fund (Assam Startup Seed Fund, equity-based) of up to INR 50 lakh per startup for equity or co-investment with a maximum 4% equity stake; and Startup Venture Capital Fund of up to INR 10 crore per startup as growth capital for scale-up.
The Cabinet also approved the determination of the date of effect of promotion under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for Assistant Professors and Librarians of Autonomous, PDUAM, Model Degree, Provincialised, and Government Colleges of Assam.
Furthermore, the State Cabinet approved the establishment of SU-KA-PHA University, Assam, to be set up as a teaching, residential, and affiliating university at undivided Sivasagar, preferably in Charaideo district, to impart higher education.
(ANI)