GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in February conferred the ‘Assam Baibhav’, the state’s highest civilian award, on eminent industrialist and Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata at a function held at a hotel in Koloba, Mumbai.

An Assam government statement said that as an industrialist and philanthropist, Ratan Tata has made exceptional contributions towards furthering cancer care in Assam. The Assam Baibhav award comprises a citation, a medal and a cash amount of Rs 5 lakh.

The statement said that due to personal reasons, Ratan Tata could not attend the official award ceremony held in Guwahati on January 24, where Governor Jagdish Mukhi conferred the state’s three highest civilian awards on 18 distinguished personalities from different fields. The other two awards are ‘Assam Saurav’ and ‘Assam Gaurav’.