Industry welcomes new Congress govt

The conclusive mandate of May 13, which has cleared the decks for the formation of Congress government for the third time, has been welcomed by the industry of Assam.  

“We are very happy that the state will have stability for another 5 years,” said RS Joshi, president of Federation of Commerce and Industry of North Eastern Region (FINER), the premier trade and industry body of North-East.  

According to Joshi, the new government will have all the “ingredients” required to deliver on the economic and industry front.

“The new government will have all the required ingredients and potential for economic and industrial growth and also maintaining peace in Assam,” said Joshi.  

If figures and statistics are anything to go by, the Congress could manage the economy of the state in the last 10 years as compared to its predecessor – the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).  

The average Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Assam, which was around 2.75 per cent under the AGP government (1996-2001), jumped to an average 5.5 per cent under the Congress rule. Overall, the compounded growth rate of Assam in the last decade (2001-2010) had been 5.3 per cent, as against national average of 8.7 per cent. 

On the industrial front too statistics are encouraging under the Congress rule, as compared to erstwhile AGP rule. The industrial sector, which grew at an abysmal rate of 0.49 per cent in the ninth plan, registered a handsome growth rate of 8 per cent in the tenth plan.  

The Congress’ efforts contain militancy and to bring back peace catered well on the industrial front as the state witnessed willingness on the part of the private sector to the invest in the state in the last few years.