What Himanta Biswa Sarma must learn from Sarbananda Sonowal’s Advantage Assam 

The trumpeting of investment figures has become a familiar ritual in India’s state-led economic development pageantry. When Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently announced that Advantage Assam 2.0 had secured an astonishing Rs 5.18 lakh crore in investment proposals with the potential to create 200,000 jobs, the proclamation followed a well-worn script that has played out across numerous investment summits nationwide. Yet beneath the veneer of such declarations lies a stubborn reality that casts significant doubt on these headline-grabbing numbers.

 

The scepticism surrounding Advantage Assam 2.0 is neither arbitrary nor politically motivated but grounded in historical precedent. Industries and Commerce Minister Bimal Borah showcased these figures with much fanfare in the state Assembly, but they have come under scrutiny due to the disparity between the promised investment proposals and the actual outcomes of the first edition of Advantage Assam, held in 2018 under then-Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

 

The inaugural Advantage Assam summit serves as a cautionary tale, a reality underscored by the state government's response to a question raised in the Assembly by Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi. Of the Rs 64,951.15 crore investment promised during that event, a mere 17 percent—Rs 11,202.66 crore—came from the private sector.  Critics argue that the bulk of these investments came from government entities, leading to the question: why host an investment summit if the state has to bankroll its own industrial push? 

 

More telling still, half of these private investors—36 of the 72 companies—were Assam-based companies, essentially recycling local capital rather than attracting the fresh external investment needed to genuinely transform the region's economic landscape.

 

The current summit’s figures appear transformative at first glance—2,976 MoUs worth Rs 2,88,372.21 crore, representing a fivefold increase from 2018. A more promising sign is the shift towards private sector involvement, which now accounts for 88 percent of the pledged investments. Yet, given the dismal track record of MoU realizations nationwide, the crucial question remains: Will these commitments materialize into tangible economic activity? 

 

The track record of investment summits across India suggests caution. These elaborately staged events frequently yield impressive pledges that later evaporate when confronted with the complex realities of implementation. The path from ceremonial signing to groundbreaking is littered with abandoned projects that succumbed to bureaucratic entanglements, land acquisition hurdles, or simply a reassessment of economic viability.

 

Perhaps more concerning is the structure of economic development being pursued. The state’s industrial policy architecture remains heavily reliant on subsidies, creating a dependency culture that undermines genuine competitiveness. The Tata semiconductor project in Jagiroad exemplifies this problematic approach: a Rs 27,000 crore venture where 75 percent of funding—Rs 20,250 crore—comes from state and central governments, with the Tata Group contributing just Rs 6,750 crore. MLA Gogoi has pointedly questioned this arrangement, asking why taxpayer money is being channelled so generously to one of India's largest corporate conglomerates.

 

The Sarma government now faces the formidable challenge of translating promotional success into economic substance. This will require not just the administrative acumen to navigate implementation hurdles but also a strategic rethinking of development models that can foster genuine, sustainable growth rather than subsidy-dependent enterprises.

 

Until then, the glittering promises of Advantage Assam 2.0 remain precisely that—promises suspended between aspiration and achievement, with history suggesting that the gap between the two remains stubbornly wide. The true measure of success will not be found in the grandeur of signed agreements but in the mundane reality of factories built, workers employed, and an economy genuinely transformed beyond dependency on government largesse.