Imphal, Sep 23 (KNN) A new program called ‘Stand-up Manipur’ would be introduced to provide soft loans to entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) categories and other minorities in state,  said Nongthombam Biren Singh, Manipur's Chief Minister during a press conference.

In addition, he stated that the Government is planning to legalise cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes.

He said that preparations are on to discuss the matter and make a decision in the next state cabinet meeting. 

He said cultivation of the plant needs to be done systematically so that it can be used strictly for medicinal purposes.

He said three states of Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have already legalised cannabis for medicinal purposes.

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