GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday invited the global business community to explore investment opportunities in Assam, highlighting the State’s strategic location, improving connectivity, expanding infrastructure, economic growth, skilled workforce and investor-friendly institutional framework.
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Addressing the second edition of the ICC Global Business Summit in the national capital, Sarma said the changing global economic and technological landscape presented India with an opportunity to diversify production, strengthen supply chains and deepen its integration with global value chains.
“The next phase of India’s growth will depend on bringing more regions and enterprises into international and global value chains. India’s next growth journey will emerge from the East and the Northeast. Our Prime Minister is calling this the time for Purvodaya,” he said.
Sarma said Assam was strategically positioned at the crossroads of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, sharing international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh and serving as a natural gateway to the ASEAN region.
He said the sustained focus on connectivity, infrastructure and development of the Northeast had transformed Assam’s geography “from a perceived constraint into a strategic advantage” and brought the State from the periphery to the centre stage of India’s development trajectory.
“Today, with stronger linkages to national and international markets, Assam is steadily emerging as a hub of connectivity, enterprise and opportunity,” he said.
Highlighting Assam’s economic growth, Sarma said the State’s nominal GSDP was estimated at ₹7.45 lakh crore in 2025-26, with real growth of over 10 per cent, and was projected to reach ₹8.71 lakh crore in 2026-27. The industrial sector is estimated to account for 35.64 per cent of the State’s GSDP at current prices in 2025-26.
He also referred to a recent Reserve Bank of India report which, he said, recognised Assam as the fastest-growing economy in the country.
On connectivity, Sarma said the State was developing a multimodal network integrating highways, railways, inland waterways, aviation and logistics infrastructure.
He cited the Multimodal Logistics Park at Jogighopa, expansion of the Pandu and Dhubri terminals and development of the Brahmaputra as a navigable economic corridor.
The State now has seven operational airports, with further expansion underway, he said. The new terminal at Guwahati airport has been designed to handle approximately 13 million passengers annually.
“These investments are reducing the cost of distance and creating new possibilities for manufacturing, logistics, tourism, services and regional trade,” he said.
Sarma said Assam had received investment commitments of ₹5.18 lakh crore through Advantage Assam 2.0 – Infrastructure and Investment Summit, of which projects worth around ₹3.5 lakh crore had been converted into investments on the ground within a year. Some of these projects, he added, had already become operational.
He said more than 3,700 new factories had been registered in Assam since May 2021, representing approximately 1.11 lakh factory workers.
“Our focus is to sustain this momentum and ensure that investments translate into deeper economic activity,” he said.
The Chief Minister said Assam was strengthening its business environment through single-window clearances, sector-specific policies, industrial land banks and dedicated industrial infrastructure. The single-window clearance system, he said, had facilitated more than 2.5 million approvals.
Senior nodal officers had also been appointed to coordinate across departments and resolve investor issues within stipulated timelines, he added.
Highlighting advanced manufacturing, Sarma said Tata Electronics’ ₹27,000-crore semiconductor assembly and test facility was expected to be commissioned in December this year. The facility is expected to produce up to 48 million chips a day and generate more than 27,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.
He said Assam wanted to develop a wider industrial ecosystem around the semiconductor facility, including packaging and testing equipment, precision components, industrial gases, clean-room services, maintenance, logistics, quality testing and specialised engineering services.
He also highlighted opportunities in downstream industries linked to Assam’s oil, gas and petrochemical sectors, including fabrication, industrial equipment, speciality chemicals, petrochemical derivatives, bio-refining and low-carbon manufacturing.
Sarma said Assam was targeting 6,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. The State is also developing opportunities in green hydrogen and bamboo-based second-generation ethanol, creating scope for investment in renewable power, energy storage, bioenergy, energy efficiency and related manufacturing.
The Chief Minister said Assam’s young population, with a median age of approximately 22 years, was a significant human-resource advantage.
The State is strengthening its education and skills ecosystem through institutions in technology, engineering, management and vocational training. Sarma cited IIT Guwahati, NIT Silchar and Assam Skill University, along with the State’s network of technical institutions, as platforms for connecting young people with emerging economic opportunities.
He also stressed the importance of foreign-language learning to prepare Assam’s youth for emerging international employment opportunities.
Healthcare, he said, was another emerging sector, with opportunities in diagnostics, medical devices, telemedicine, nursing, paramedical training and medical tourism. With AIIMS Guwahati and an expanding healthcare ecosystem, Guwahati could develop into a healthcare hub for the region and neighbouring areas, he said.
Sarma said Assam’s cultural and natural assets could support a broader tourism economy. He cited the State’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, seven National Parks, the Brahmaputra, around 800 tea gardens and its cultural and spiritual heritage as areas offering opportunities in hotels, resorts, wellness, convention facilities, destination management and river tourism.
He also highlighted opportunities in agriculture and tea through higher-value processing, packaging, traceability, branding and exports.
Referring to Assam’s emerging tea exports, Sarma said the State had recently exported a consignment of matcha tea to Japan, adding that the effort was aimed at creating new international markets for Assam’s products.
The Chief Minister emphasised that Assam’s development would require partnerships among the government, industry, universities, research institutions and entrepreneurs.
“Government can create infrastructure, institutions and policy framework. Industry brings technology, management and market access. Investment brings capital and long-term commitment. Universities and research institutions create knowledge,” he said.
Inviting investors to visit Assam and assess its industrial opportunities, Sarma assured the business community of the State government’s continued support.
“Once you decide to come to Assam, you can access us 24 hours. A Chief Minister or a Chief Secretary or both, or Team Assam, will respond to you even if it is midnight, 2 am or 4 am — anytime within five minutes,” he said.
He invited industries and enterprises to assess the State’s investment opportunities and assured them of cooperation and assistance in implementing credible projects and building productive capacity.
Sarma said Assam aimed to strengthen its economic links with South Asia and the wider ASEAN region while deepening the Northeast’s integration with India’s growth story.