Assam secures ₹1 trillion investment commitments in first year at WEF

Attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here for the first time in its history, Assam has secured investment commitments worth ₹1 lakh crore already, and it is only a base for the state in the global arena, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

Speaking to PTI here, Sarma said Assam, or for that matter any state from the northeastern region, has come to Davos for the first time, and it has been an enlightening experience, and it will help us in framing policy and bringing more investment to our state.

Citing RBI data, he said Assam is now the fastest-growing state in the country, and in the last five years, we have consistently achieved 13 per cent plus growth, while next year our growth projection will be around 15 per cent.

"We are a small economy, but now we are growing at a faster pace. The Prime Minister is championing the cause of Assam, championing the cause of the northeastern region," he said.

Sarma said the Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone for a big urea factory and a greenfield chemical complex.

Tata Semiconductor is in the final leg, where I think they will start producing chips in two to three months from now, he said.

Now, we want to tell our story to the global audience, and during our stay in Davos, we have met various global players, he added.

"But, nevertheless, this is just a beginning. I think we need to be consistent for the next three to four years so that we are able to attract the attention of the global investors towards Assam," the chief minister said.

Sarma said his government is consistently focusing on investment in these kinds of products, which we can develop utilising natural gas.

Energy is very important for us because of the specific terrain of Assam, he added.

Solar storage projects, green energy, hydrocarbon, semiconductor, and electronics are among the core areas we are interacting with the investors, he said.

Sarma said that till a few years ago, people only knew that Assam produced tea, it had one-horned rhinos, and had some hydrocarbon potential.

"Nobody has thought that Assam can be an investment destination. And when I talk about Assam, I also talk about the northeast because we are inseparable," he noted.

Today, people are listening and want to know the potential and how they can invest, he said.

Big industrial houses of India, as well as many international investors, are coming, meeting us and trying to understand what they can do in Assam, he said.

"I am confident that in the next few years, Assam will emerge as a very, very important destination in the national landscape," he said.

"The Prime Minister is actively championing the cause of Assam. And I am very much confident about the future of Assam," he said.

"This visit will give us an investment of about ₹1 lakh crore in Assam. But that's the beginning because we are focusing on a bigger picture."  "I think we are laying a foundation for the future," he said.

Asked whether it would have been possible for an Assam CM to come to WEF under the rule of his old party, Congress, Sarma said he doesn't want to be political in Davos, but the point is that nobody thought about Assam, nobody thought of projecting Assam before.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking an extra interest in Assam. So, that kind of commitment towards the northeastern region was not before," he said.