Inaugurates Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit; says Assam's economy doubled to Rs 6 Lakh under BJP rule
Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the value of Assam’s economy has grown to Rs 6 lakh crore during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s rule in the state.
Inaugurating the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit 2025 in Guwahati, Mr Modi said, “In 2018, the first edition of Advantage Assam was launched. Back then, Assam's economy was approximately Rs 2.75 lakh crore, now it stands at Rs 6 lakh crore. This means that under the BJP government, Assam’s economy has doubled in six years. This shows the double effect of a double-engine government."
Conveying his wishes to the Assam government and the team of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, he said, “Eastern India has played a very big role in the history of India’s development. The Eastern India… our Northeast will show its potential. I congratulate the Assam government, the team of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.”
Speaking further on the development in northeast India, Prime Minister Modi said, “Today, the land of Eastern India and Northeast is going to start a new future. ‘Advantage Assam’ is a great campaign to connect the whole world with the potential and progress of Assam."
“History is witness that even earlier, Eastern India used to play a very big role in the prosperity of the country. Today, when India is moving towards development, once again, Eastern India is at the forefront. Our Northeast is going to show its potential," he said.
“I see ‘Advantage Assam’ as a representation of this spirit. I remember I toured Assam in 2013 for an election campaign. In a meeting, I had said that the day is not far when people would read A for Assam," said the Prime Minister.
Mr Modi also highlighted that a combination of institutional reform, industry, infrastructure and innovation is the basis of India’s progress.
“In the last decade, many peace accords have been signed and long pending border-related issues have been resolved. Every region of Assam, every citizen, every youth is working day and night for the development of the state. We have worked continuously for ease of doing business, and we have created a complete ecosystem to promote industry and innovation culture," he said.
“The government is also making a huge investment in the country’s infrastructure. This combination of institutional reform, industry, infrastructure and innovation is the basis of India’s progress."
He said, “Assam has set a target of taking its economy to 150 billion by 2030. I am confident that Assam can achieve this target.”
The Prime Minister also spoke on the infrastructure related to air connectivity, and said, “In the last few years, the BJP government has done a lot of work on the infrastructure related to air connectivity. Before 2014, there were only three bridges on the Brahmaputra River, but in the last 10 years, we have built four new bridges, one of which has been named after Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika Ji."
“Assam received an average of Rs 2100 crore in the railway budget between 2009 and 2014. Our government increased Assam’s railway budget by more than four times to Rs 10,000 crore," he added.
The Prime Minister further said, “Today, India is making free trade agreements with different regions of the world, due to which our connectivity with East Asia is getting strengthened and the newly-formed India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor is also bringing many new possibilities.”
“Amidst the strengthening of global trust in India, today, we all are here in Assam on the land of Maa Kamakhya’," he added.
Business leaders such as N Chandrasekaran, Sajjan Jindal, Prashant Ruia, Anil Agarwal, and Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty were also present at the summit. High-level delegations from countries including Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Bhutan, and Japan also participated.
Additionally union ministers S Jaishankar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Pabitra Margherita also attended the summit, while union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari addressed a session virtually.
