Assam Names Usha Mangeshkar First Bhupen Hazarika Award Recipient

The Assam Cabinet approved the Dr. Bhupen Hazarika National Award on 23 October 2026 and selected singer Usha Mangeshkar as its first recipient. The award carries a cash prize of ₹10 lakh and a citation, and is scheduled to be presented on 29 November 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to present it at the closing ceremony of Bhupen Hazarika’s birth centenary celebrations.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika National Award

The award will be conferred once every three years on a nationally or internationally recognised figure in music, arts or cinema. Its stated fields include singing, composing, lyric writing, film direction and acting, as well as other fields connected with Hazarika’s work. Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian playback singer whose repertoire includes songs in several Indian languages.

Bhupen Hazarika and his centenary

Bhupen Hazarika was born in 1926 in Sadiya, in present-day Assam. He worked as a singer, composer, lyricist and filmmaker. He received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, posthumously in 2019. The year-long birth centenary celebrations mark 100 years since his birth.

Other Assam Cabinet decisions

The Cabinet raised the prize money for the Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev International Award from ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh. It also approved the 2025 state civilian award recipients. Dr. Harsha Bhattacharjee was selected for Asom Vaibhab; Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma, Nuruddin Ahmed, Pulak Banerjee and Purnima Devi Barman were selected for Asom Saurabh. Ten individuals, the NGO Kolong Kopili and the FPO Padum Pothar Agro Organic Producer Company were selected for Asom Gaurav.

The Cabinet approved a ₹300 crore investment proposal by Welspun Group’s Weetek Plastic Private Limited for a manufacturing unit in Rangia, Kamrup district, with 300 jobs expected. It also approved election rules for the Mising Autonomous Council and Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council, clearing the way for elections in November 2026.

Important Facts for Exams

• Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926 in Sadiya, Assam.
• The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award.
• The Dr. Bhupen Hazarika National Award has a three-year conferral cycle.
• Srimanta Sankardev was a 15th–16th-century saint, scholar and reformer associated with Assam’s Bhakti movement.

The first Dr. Bhupen Hazarika National Award is scheduled for presentation on 29 November 2026. The 2025 Assam civilian awards are scheduled to be presented in December.