Assam - A new growth engine of India

Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in the Northeastern part of India, with the majestic River Brahmaputra flowing across it - Assam, which was until now known for its exotic tea and petroleum industry, is soon also going to be known for its semiconductor and electronic products, further becoming an industrial powerhouse contributing to nation building.

To start with, the first oil discovery in Asia and the oldest running oil refinery in the world is situated in Digboi in Assam, and the state also contributes to more than 50% of India's total tea production, amongst other major things.

During India’s independence, Assam’s per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was higher than that of the national average, making it a contributor state then. Although with time and political negligence in understanding the geographical importance of this region - the Northeast being connected to mainland India by a mere 22 KM narrow stretch of land called the Chicken’s Neck, - Assam soon missed the bus for further growth becoming a dependent state, and the people also felt alienated by the rest of mainland India.

In the 1980’s, the influx of illegal immigrants from the neighbouring Bangladesh created a major demographic instability across the state, with significant agitations, protests, and strikes all over. A movement from the masses had risen, led by college and high school students. In 1985, a breakthrough was reached with the Assam Accord agreement being signed, to protect and promote the interests of the indigenous people. However, certain factions took up arms against the state establishment, making the people and the state’s growth suffer further. Many people and businesses had left the state to find stability. The state lost 30 years due to the armed insurgency, and countless opportunities amidst this.

In 2014, after Sri Narendra Modi became the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, the Northeast found a renewed sense of hope and leadership in him. Prime Minister Modi understood the geographic importance of this region, and chose to holistically integrate this region and its people to the mainstream, through comprehensive development policy initiatives and peace agreements, further taken forward by his extensive personal visits, and that of the union cabinet ministers.

Further, with the new state government coming into charge in Assam in 2016, there was now a two-fold effort from the centre and state leadership, or to simply put it as a double-engine government, to take this region to greater heights. With the initiatives of the previous Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and now the extensive foundational groundwork laid out by the current Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state has been able to clock in a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6% for the GSDP in the past decade, while also losing crucial momentum in combating the consequences of the 3-year Covid period. The state currently has a GSDP of USD $69 Billion, and has also been able to achieve a remarkable 19% growth rate in the last fiscal year alone (AE), which is much higher than the national average in all terms.

In fact, when Himanta Biswa Sarma became the chief minister in 2021, he had personally reached out to people and businesses who had left the state during the insurgency years, urging them to return in an effort to rebuild Assam, offering them a conducive environment for growth and stability under his government's administration. These small initiatives from the political leadership, often overlooked, created the strong foundation of trust required to kickstart the remaking of Assam’s new era of growth.

The dynamism and dedication of our chief minister, to pursue industry leaders to give Assam another opportunity, gave fruit when in early 2024 - Tata announced to set up a Semiconductor OSAT manufacturing plant (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing), in Jagiroad in Assam, with an outlay of 27,000 Crores which would create 30,000 direct and indirect jobs combined. This high-tech IT industry, usually thought to be for southern Indian states, could never have been imagined by the people of Assam to be set up here, but it was happening. The floodgates had opened, and a new story was to be written. With such a major industry coming up, there was bound to be even more ancillary industries to come up here in the future. With the Tata brand name - came trust for the state, its people, and the administration, which other industries could also count on, and therefore, more was yet to come. The leadership and administration did not stop there, but pursued every avenue to bring other major players and industries into the state as well.

Advantage Assam 2.0 - Investment and Infrastructure Summit - An event to bring all stakeholders under one roof was planned for February 25 - 26, 2025, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself graced, and emphasized Assam’s transformation, further urging industry leaders to invest in the state.

The Prime Minister has always highlighted the fact that Assam is not just the gateway to Northeast India, but the gateway to the whole of South-East Asia, as can be seen from the government’s ‘Act East Policy’. Prime Minister Modi has visited Northeast India more than 70 times, that is more than the combined visits of all previous Prime Minister’s. And this is testament of his sheer commitment for the all-round development of this region, not just in physical and digital connectivity, but emotional connectivity.

In the run up to this summit, multiple meetings and roadshows were held across the country’s major cities, and also in foreign countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, UK amongst others, alongside dialogues with bilateral chambers from respective countries to explore partnerships. A special initiative called ‘Assam Week’ was also organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, where Indian embassies worldwide promoted Assam’s economic opportunities and cultural heritage.

On the eve of this summit, a mass cultural programme called ‘Jhumior Binandini’ was also held to commemorate 200 years of Assam tea, where 8000+ performers from 800 tea gardens set a world record by showcasing their rich tradition and cultural dance form.

The main summit also brought to Assam the foreign delegations and 67 heads of diplomatic missions, who saw our economic potential, cultural heritage and natural beauty - led by the Union External Affairs Minister - Dr. S Jaishankar, showing strong international interest and confidence in Assam. The event was also attended by other union ministers who announced major projects across the state through their respective ministries, and reaffirmed Assam’s role as the growth engine of the Northeast.

The summit also saw an overwhelming participation from India’s industry captains, from heads of Tata Group - N Chandrasekaran, Reliance Group - Mukesh Ambani, Adani Group - Gautam Adani, Vedanta Group - Anil Agarwal, JSW Group- Sajjan Jindal, and many more in attendance, who were all extremely bullish on Assam’s vision plan and wanted be part of this growth story, all due to the leadership and stability provided by the central and state government. There were a total of 2,888 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed across all sectors. 

The total investment commitments made from the private and public sector combined amounted to an astonishing 5.18 Lakh Crore Rupees (USD $60 Billion), which is roughly more than 80% of the state’s GDP. With a geostrategic location, abundant natural and human resources- Assam has set on an ambitious plan to double the state's economy from the current GSDP of USD $69 Billion in 2024, to USD $140 Billion by the year 2030, and is thereby aligning its policies and resources to fuel this growth.

Amongst the major project announcements in all sectors, the highlights were - a mega integrated Urea fertilizer plant in Namrup, Rail coach factory in Kokrajhar, Expressways, new universities, oil and gas exploration, underwater tunnel under River Brahmaputra, among others from the public sector. From the private sector - Tata announced another 30,000 crore investment to set up a mobile manufacturing unit in Jagiroad, and investments in solar renewable energy; Reliance announced AI data centers, green energy projects - CBG from plants, Adani announced investments into airport, aerocity and other infrastructure projects, with a host of announcements in all sectors by other private groups.

Another major announcement was a dedicated railway line from Kokrajhar in Assam, to the Gelephu Mindfulness City, which is a world class greenfield Special Administrative Region (SAR) being envisioned in the Kingdom of Bhutan, as an economic and spiritual hub, and being in close proximity to this planned region, it was natural for both sides to cooperate on it.

This investment and confidence into Assam will be a milestone and watershed moment in the state’s  history, and is going to completely transform the future of this region, and it is upon us how we encash this opportunity. The people of the state have already shed the tag of ‘Lahe Lahe’ - a tag of easy-going culture, and we should create a new identity for us - where people know us for our skills, and hard work. In fact, for this summit - the final green signal and planning started in mid Nov 2024, and was to be executed in a mere 2.5 months, by Feb 2025. While something of this scale usually takes 6-12 months to plan and put together, Team Assam put all hands on deck to make this a smooth event, and I hope we keep this momentum going.

With immense job creation opportunities, the youth of the state will not have to go out of state in search for better job opportunities, they can find the same quality and paying jobs here at home. The median age of the people of Assam is just 22.7 years, and with such a young population, our state can even serve as a human resource provider in times to come.

However, the people and youth should not just stop here and wait for jobs to come, rather use this primetime and opportunity to become the flag-bearers of growth, become job creators. There is immense opportunity in every sector, with practical policy incentives and significant financial assistance available, allowing one to become a job creator rather than a job seeker. We should play our role in developing our state and contribute to nation building.

Although, I wonder where my state would have been if it hadn’t lost a good 30 years to insurgency, but maybe God knows. All I know is that now with God’s blessings - we have got one more opportunity - and we are not going to miss it this time. This is a new chapter unfolding for Assam, and we should do more than possible to materialize this at the earliest, and take up this pivotal role in becoming an economic powerhouse, and contribute towards bringing back the lost glory of Bharat’s economic prominence.

I want to the take this opportunity to thank - Prime Minister Modi for his continued guidance and support to the people of Assam and Northeast; Chief Minister Sarma for his non-relentless dedication and vision towards the development of Assam; the ministers and bureaucrats who have been whole-heartedly committed to bring this vision to reality; the investors who have shown confidence in Assam and its leadership; and most importantly the people of Assam who have shown the resilience to bounce back.

This is a true re-birth of Assam, and had to be for Maa Kamakhya's land, for she has the power and energy to create and re-create from her yoni. From a Viksit Assam will come a Viksit Ashtlakshmi, for that will usher in a Viksit Bharat.