Assam Government has decided to introduce social audit of the State’s over two thousand panchayats twice a year. The audit has been made mandatory in April and October months every year. Disclosing this to media in Guwahati, the State panchayat Minister Rockybul Hussain said the step has been taken to ensure transparency and check corruption in panchayat raj institutions. He said social audit is a tool through which Government Departments can plan, manage and measure their functions, efficiency and consequences. Mr. Hussain said the process for providing biometric Smart Cards to the Job Card holders of the State under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be started very soon. The Minister said the State Government would soon distribute tractors and power tillers to around one lakh 37 thousand unemployed educated youth to take up farming as their means of livelihood. These youths would be provided vocational trainings. Mr. Hussain mentioned that a fresh census of Below Poverty Line (BPL) card holders will begin in the State soon. According to the Census conducted in 2002, the State has 18 lakh two thousand BPL card holders.