Himanta Biswa Sarma urges investment in Assam, highlights electronics push

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on May 26, urged entrepreneurs to invest in the state. 

Explaining Assam's emphasis, he stated that it is central to the northeastern region and is surrounded by Bhutan and Bangladesh besides being central to India's Act East Policy.

Addressing the 'Assam Electronics Round Table 2025', Sarma said Assam's economy is robust and vibrant and added the GDP is growing continuously in the region by 13-15 per cent in the last 10 years, barring the Covid period.

Guwahati and other parts of the state have the right infrastructure in place coupled with congenial atmosphere and skilled manpower for the electronics industry to invest in the state, he told the entrepreneurs, who attended the session in New Delhi.

According to an official release, Sarma said Assam is central to the northeastern region and is strategically located surrounded by Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The state is also central to India's Act East Policy, he said and appealed to investors to come and invest in the electronics sector in Assam.

The chief minister said Assam attracted Rs 5.30 lakh crore investment proposals during an investors summit held in February and more proposals are coming post the event.

"There have been lot of interests since Investors' Summit 2.0 and we are getting more proposals following the summit," he said.

Sarma said compared to the Semiconductor Fabrication Facility (Fab) in Gujarat, the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) of the Tata group in Assam's Jagiroad is way ahead as it is in an advanced stage with production of 48 million chips daily expected to be commissioned this year.

"There is no problem in implementation. All issues have been resolved with the state's chief secretary making regular visits to the OSAT plant after every 15 days to oversee the progress," he added.

The chief minister said as the electronics sector will require skilled manpower, the state is sending youth to Bengaluru for necessary training and also create a pool of skilled manpower through the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) campus and Assam Skill University funded by the Asian Development Bank for Rs 1,000 crore.

He said apart from land free of cost, 60 per cent incentive amount over and above extended by the Government of India, and a 100 per cent GST reimbursements to industries on the sale of their finished products, those willing to set up industries will get a slew of incentives under the Central, Assam Electronics Policies, Assam State Industrial Policy, and UNNATI Policy of the Government of India.

He assured that the state government will customise its policy and modify and also tweak it, if required, to suit the needs of a specific industry.

Sarma pointed out that 11 five star hotels will come up in the state with the Assam Cabinet clearing the proposals and a state-of-the-art terminal will be opened at Guwahati's Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.

He said three satellite townships, including the Jagiroad Integrated Satellite Township, will come up near the Tata Greenfield OSAT facility.