Assam asserts its conviction of a pro-development era for the north-east region
Source: Rooplin *

Guwahati, February 03 2018: The largest and first ever investment promotion and facilitation initiative by the Government of Assam, 'Advantage Assam - Global Investors' Summit, 2018' saw INR 64, 386 crore worth of MoUs being signed on the first day of the summit, which witnessed the luminaries of Indian business fraternity descending on the most talked about investment summit in the largest economy of North-Eastern India.

Buoyed by positive intent from the Government of Assam, the state showcased today to the world how it is rapidly taking strides towards employment generation and inclusive growth through a balanced pattern of industrial investment.

The two-day summit is being held over February 3- 4, 2018, in Guwahati.

'Advantage Assam - Global Investors' Summit, 2018'

Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the summit today applauded the consistent determination by the Government of Assam led by the Chief Minister of Assam Sri Sarbananda Sonowal, for being the guiding force behind charting out a growth story for the state.

As Assam embarks upon a new chapter, laying emphasis on new capital formation through business and industrial development, it received overwhelming support and appreciation from the champions of the industry.

The first day of the summit saw a mammoth 160 MoUs worth INR 60,000 crore signed in the august presence of Chief Minister of Assam Sri Sarbananda Sonowal.

Oil India will be investing INR 10,000 crore, Indo-UK Institute of Health will be investing INR 2,700 crore, Century Ply has shared plans of investing 2,100 crore, Spicejet outlined plans of INR 1,250 crore worth of investment for Assam through sea planes boosting the tourism sector besides connecting Lakhimpur and Jorhat under the Udaan Scheme.

Infinity Group will be investing INR 1,000 crore in an IT Park and Real Estate in Guwahati.

Medanta Group shared their proposal of INR 500 crore investment in the Healthcare sector.

Essel Infra group will be investing in Road Infra, Power and Water Resource.

Dalmia Bharat Cement announced an investment attuned to INR 1,100 crore.

Tourism sector which is one of the key focus areas of the Govt.of Assam saw an investment proposal in concurrence of around INR 736 crore.

Infrastructure sector a prime determinant of progress saw a total investment proposal worth INR 2,347 crore.

Mr.Mukesh Ambani spoke at length about sustainable livelihood opportunity, Reliance Jio's per capita data usage in Assam is the highest in India.

Jio will be opening new offices in the State as it aims Reliance has already invested INR 5000 crore in Assam and over the next three years will invest additional INR 2,500 crore.

Knowing the passion towards football in the state, Indian Super League run by IMG Reliance wishes to set up a top class football academy in partnership with Government of Assam.

Reliance Foundation will establish a University in Assam to promote wildlife protection and eco-tourism in a sustainable manner.

Mr..NChandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons said that the company is working with Assam Government for cancer hospital facilities and plans to touch nearly two million lives in Assam.

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi at 'Advantage Assam - Global Investors' Summit, 2018'

Foreign delegates and ministers who attended the Summit today were Prime Minister of Bhutan, H.E.Dasho Tshering Tobgay, spoke at length about Indo-Bhutan bilateral ties and the opening of the Royal Bhutanese Consulate in Guwahati, Assam.

He pointed out that Advantage Assam means Advantage Bhutan.

Others who were present were H.E.Lyonpo Damcho Dorji, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bhutan, H.E.Amir Hossain Amu, Minister of Industries, Bangladesh, H.E.Lyonpo Damcho Dorji, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bhutan, H.E.Lyonpo Lekey Dorji, Minister of Economic Affairs, Bhutan, H.E.Dr.Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism Cambodia, H.E.Ounethoang Khaophanh, Vice Minister of Information Culture and Tourism, Government of Laos, H.E.Dr.Than Myint, Minister of Commerce Myanmar Prof.Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam, Union ministers including Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Information Technology, Law and Justice, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister of Industries and Commerce, Assam and Dr.Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister Finance, Assam, Shri Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for the Ministry of Home took part in the proceedings of the opening day.

The Summit will be witnessing primary focus on sectors such as Agriculture and Food processing, Handloom, Textile and Handicraft, Tourism, Hospitality and Wellness, Plastics and Petrochemicals, Power, Pharmaceutical and Medical devices, Heavy Industries, Inland Water Transport, Port Township and River Front Development and IT & ITeS.

Parallel thematic sessions were organized in five separate halls where discussions were held on the various sectors like Agriculture & Food processing, Plastic and Petrochemicals, Innovation and Start-up, Power and Country Sessions for Czech Republic and Japan respectively.

The highlights from the thematic sessions were -
Startups and Innovation in North East saw an interesting discourse on 'Unleashing entrepreneurship in North East - what start-ups in NE region need to thrive in the region' - Mr.Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India (Startup India), Mr..RRamanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Mr.Pham DuyHieu, CEO, Startup Vietnam Foundation and others dignitaries attended the discussions.

The session was followed by a sectoral session on Power, addressed by Shri Pallab Lochan Das, Minister of State, Power etc., Government of Assam, with a special address by Shri Raj Kumar Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India.

A panel discussion on the Power Sector: Encouraging manufacturing in Power Sector, as means of employment in the region, was attended by Mr.Anil Chaudhry, MD and Zone President Schneider Electric, Mr.Amit Kumar, Head- Meter Protection Systems, L&T Ltd.

and Mr.Jaideep Jain, Director, Tesla Transformers Ltd.

A sectoral session on Plastics and Petrochemicals was focussed on the investment opportunities and innovative practices in plastics and petrochemicals in the State of Assam and North Eastern states.

Shri Rajeev Kapoor, Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India imparted a special address on how the state can benefit from this sector.

Mr.Gijs Ten Berge, Director, Polyolefins, Germany, Mr.Kamal Tandon, Head Petrochemical Division, GAIL, Mr.Avinash Joshi, IAS, Managing Director, ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPaL), Mr.Rabin Mukhopadhyay, Executive Vice President - Commercial, Marketing and Business Development, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd.

(HPL), Mr..MVenkatesh, Director (Refinery), Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd.

(MRPL), Mr.Ashok Goel, Chairman, Essel Propack Ltd attended the session which also saw presence of Mr..AK Singh, MD, BCPL, Mr.Hiten Bheda, President, AIPMA.

The state therefore has an advantage of being a base for the plastic and petrochemical industries looking to expand their business in the ASEAN countries or BBIN.

Assam also has the Tinsukia Plastics Park which is just 5 kilometres away from the nearest railway station producing High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Poly-Propylene (PP).

The state is also working towards achieving the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 North East also aims to place the North-East region atop the Indian energy map.

Country Session witnessed Japan's H.E.Mr.Kenji Hiramatsu, The Ambassador of Japan to India, Mr.Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India Office, Mr.Masaharu Hasegawa, Deputy Managing Director, NEC Technologies India Pvt.

Ltd., Mr.Nakagawa Kosuke, Vice President, Terra Motors India Pvt.

Ltd., Mr.Takashi Tsuchiya, Deputy Director General, JETRO New Delhi.

Japan shared their keen to promote people to people exchanges with Assam, in the field of education, sports.

The Government of Assam also understands the criticality of providing ease of doing businesses in order to gain attention from national and international investors.

It aims to create a platform for providing best support towards the prospective and existing business community in the state and drives forward the state's vision of prosperity for all - by employing technology, innovation, inclusivity and sustainability as key factors for development.

To this effect, the Government has instituted Single Window Agency, a trade facilitator to coordinate with various relevant government departments, with an objective to increase the efficiency of the state's and country's economy through time and cost saving.

This will ensure in the creation of a working environment conducive for the wholesome growth and sustenance of a competitive and thriving business culture in the State of Assam.

The maiden Global Investors Summit, 2018 aims to project Assam as India's expressway to the South-East Asian nations.

Advantage Assam will be the largest ever investment promotion and facilitation initiative by the Government of Assam.

Besides, the Summit will showcase the opportunities offered by the state in terms of export-oriented manufacturing and services to ASEAN and BBN countries.

The Summit reiterates the demographical superiority of Assam as India's Expressway to ASEAN.

* The sender of this news can be contacted at sharma(DOT)rooplin(AT)gmail(DOT)com .