PROJECT REPORT ON

BUSINESS POTENTIAL OF ASSAM

Submitted By

PRITAM KISHORE DAS BATCH 25th

K. RAJIT SINGH BATCH 25th

SANDIP MANI TIWARI BATCH 25th

ANTONY MORAN BATCH 25th

SAMEER SAXENA BATCH 25th

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENTNEW DELHI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

ADVANTAGE

INDUSTRIES IN ASSAM

INDUSTRIAL POLICY OF ASSAM -2008

INFRASTRUCTURE

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

MANPOWER AVAILABILITY & SKILLS

LAW AND ORDER SITUATION

BUSINESS POTENTIAL OF ASSAM

CONCLUSION

REFERENCE

Acknowledgements

The students of our group from Batch 25th would like to extend our heartiest thanks to Institute of Management and Development

for providing us with the opportunity to work on this project.

* Miss Shweta Joshi (Batch Coordinator)

* All the people who’ve helped us during the course of this project.

* And most importantly, the picturesque state of ASSAM, on whose soil, this project was developed.

We have tried to the best of our abilities to fulfill all the requirements in this project and hope that our efforts pay-off positively.

INTRODUCTION

Assam know by its various names in the past is one of the northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. Assam and its commercial capital Guwahati forms the gateway to the northeastern states. The mighty Brahmaputra river flows right through the heart of Assam showering in its way good fertile land which is contributes to the rich flora and fauna of the state.

Situated between 90-96 degree East Longitute and 24-28 degree North Latitude, Assam is bordered in the North and East by the Kingdom of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. Along the south lies Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. Meghalaya lies to her South-West, Bengal and Bangladesh to her West.

Assam is divided into 23 districts: Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi,

Jorhat, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Marigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, North Cachar Hills, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, and Tinsukia.

The climate of Assam is very pleasant experiencing heavy rainfall between March and September, with very high humidity in the summer months. Temperatures are mild, never extreme during any season. And as such there is very rich vegetation.

Assam is a multiethnic society with forty five different languages spoken by the different communities. Assamese and Bodo are the official languages of the state.

Assam became a part of India after the British occupied the region following the Treaty of Yandaboo of 1826. It is known for Assam tea, large and old petroleum resources, Assam silk and for its rich biodiversity. Assam has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the tiger and numerous species of birds, and it provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. It is becoming an increasingly popular destination for wildlife tourism, and Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites. Assam was also known for its Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted now.

On February 27, 2006 the cabinet of ministers in Assam adopted a controversial proposal to change the name of the state to Axom.

ADVANTAGES OF ASSAM

The growing investment climate coupled with comprehensive central investment policy for NER (NEIIPP 2007) and liberalised Assam State Industrial policy 2008 provides attractive incentives/ subsidies for attracting investment in the region.

Special tax incentives for Export Oriented Units (EOUs) and potential for investment in key infrastructure areas.

Vast natural resources such as oil, natural gas and minerals, hydro energy,  diverse agro-climatic zones, forest resources and medicinal plants makes the region the best choice for investors.

Its geographical location is advantageous for foreign trade with neighboring countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, China etc.

The state is well placed to serve the needs and markets of other states of the North East.

It is favoured destination for tourists because of its pleasant climate and scenic landscape.

Availability of skilled and cheap man power. Assam is poised to have surplus quality power in the near future

through the National Power Grid which is in advanced stage of implementation

The Rs. 5460 crores Assam Gas Cracker Project with joint venture of GAIL, NRL, OIL, and Govt. of Assam which is scheduled to be complete within 2012 will generate lot of investment opportunities for polymer based industries and engineering industries in petro chemical sector

The river Brahmaputra is the National Waterway No.2 of the country.

Strong language and communication skills, since English is a widely spoken language in the region.

Proactive administrative support and facilitation.

INDUSTRIES IN ASSAM

A state rich in mineral resources, Assam is industrially backward by Indian standards as it has a few agro-based and mineral-based industries. The 150 years old Tea industry occupies an integral place in the economy.

TEA

Of the agriculture-based industries, tea occupies an important place in Assam. In Assam, tea is grown both in the Brahmaputra and Barak plains. Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon and Sonitpur are the districts where tea gardens are mostly found. Assam produces 51% of the tea produced in India and about 1/6th of the tea produced in the world.

In 1970, the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre was established for better marketing of the tea produced in the region. This is the world's largest CTC tea auction centre and the world's second largest in terms of total tea. It now auctions more than 150 million kg of tea valued at more than Rs.550 crores annually.

Tea industry has contributed substantially to the economy of Assam. About 17 percent of the workers of Assam are engaged in the tea industry.

OIL

Assam has the oldest refinery in the country which started commercial production in 1901. Assam was the first state in the country where in 1889 oil was struck at Digboi in Tinsukia district. The refinery, now belonging to the Assam Division of the Indian Oil Corporation, has a refining capacity of 3 lakh tonnes of petrol, kerosene, diesel and other petroleum products.

The second refinery in Assam was set up at Noonmati in Guwahati under the public sector. It started production in 1962. It produces liquified petroleum gas (LPG), petrol, kerosene, diesel, furnace oil, coke etc.

The third refinery in the region was established at Dhaligoan near Bongaigaon in 1962. It is known as Bongaigaon Refinery andPetro-ChemicalsLimited(BRPL).

The fourth refinery in the state was established at Numaligarh of Golaghat district in 1999, with a refining capacity of 3 million tonnes of oil and other products.

NATURAL GAS

Like petroleum, natural gas is a valuable source of power and various other chemical by-products. In Assam, almost all the petroleum producing areas of the Brahmaputra Valley, especially Naharkatia, Moran, Lakuwa and Rudrasagar, contains 'associated natural gas'. There are LPG bottling plants at Duliajan, North Guwahati, Silchar etc. The BRPL also uses natural gas as raw material to produce various chemicals.

COAL

Assam has large reserves of coal too. The State is said to contain about 1200 million tonnes of coal reserves. The entire coal in this region is unique in the sense that it is highly volatile(36% - 42%), has low ash content (3% - 15%) and possesses high crackling index ( 10% - 29%).

GRANITE

Assam is endowed with granites of variegated colours, ranging from off-white to grey and pink. It is found in central and lower parts of Assam. The grey granite is extensively used in road making and as a railway ballast. So far, it has hardly been exploited for decorative purposes and has great potential.

LIMESTONE AND CEMENT

Limestone is an important mineral which is used in the manufacture of cement, as flux in iron and steel production, and as raw materials for chemical industries. There are now several cement factories which have come up in Assam duetothe availability ofhigh quality limestone in the region.

TOURISM

Tourism has become an important industry in many countries of the world, both in the east and the west. Various initiatives are being taken by the Government and other organisations to promote tourism here. Every year the number of visitors to Assam has been steadily increasing.

COTTAGE INDUSTRY

Assam was traditionally famous for it's cottage industry, especially spinning and weaving. Pat or pure silk production is essentially confined to Assam. Assam produces about 10% of total natural silk of India.

Assam also produces Muga, the golden silk. Assam is also the main producer of Eri or Endi. Weaving is an important cottage industry of Assam. It is a traditional industry which can be traced back to very ancient times.

There are about 7,00,000 looms in Assam, where majority are primitive foot looms. Only some looms of Sualkuchi, used for commercial production of silk cloth, are powered.

Bell-metal work is a traditional cottage industry of Assam. The products made of bell-metal are traditional plates, cups, tumblers, pitchers, bowls, sarais (a tray with a stand), dwarf pitchers, pots, hookahs and musical instruments.

Brass-work is also an important traditional handicraft of Assam. Brass articles are produced not only for day-to-day use, but also for interior decoration. The total production of marketable finished goods annually is about 300 tonnes.

Some private industries recently set up in Assam are:

Name of the Industry Location Items produced

Hindustan Lever Ltd. Doom DoomaToothpaste,Face Cream,Ponds Powder

SRD Nutrients Mangaldoi Horlicks

Barak Valley Cement BadarpurOrdinary Portland Cement (OPC)

SKJ Coke Industries Ltd. GuwahatiLAMC,Coke Breeze

S.M. Coke Ltd. JorabatLAMC,Coke Breeze

Dharampal Satyapal Ltd. Guwahati Pan masala

Madhabi Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. Tezpur Biscuits

Nebisco Industries Pvt. Ltd. Tezpur Biscuits

Pancharatna Cement Pvt. Ltd.

JorhatOrdinary Portland Cement OPC

RCL Cement Pvt. Ltd. UmrangshuOrdinary Portland Cement OPC

Gattani Polymer Jorhat HOPE woven sack

Godrej Saralee GuwahatiMosquito repellent mat

Unicorn Paints (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Amingaon Plastic Cement

Guru Detergent & Chem. (P) Ltd.

AmingaonSynthetic detergent powder

Patkai Coal Products Pvt. Ltd.

LedoLAMC,Coke Breeze

Gayatri Distillery & Bottling Plant

Tinsukia IMFL

Polymat Industries I/E, Bonda LDPEstorage tank

Jyothi Laboratories WPIP, Amingaon Whitener

Atlanta Modular Ltd. Lokhra Jute Yarn

Ashoka Weaving Ltd. Pachim Boragaon Jute with hassian

Assam Cosmetics I/E, Rani Herbal Cosmetics

Kamakhya Cosmetics & Pharmacuetical Pvt. Ltd.

I/A BamunimaidanCosmetics (Revlon)

Gattani Biscuit Industries Jorhat Biscuits

Royal Ice Industries Tinsukia Ice Cream

Apex Yarn (P) Ltd. Pachim Boragaon Jute Yarn

Nezone Biscuites Tezpur Biscuits

Herbo Foundation I/E, BamunimaidanEmamiPowder, Shampoo

Sri Balaji Roofing Pvt. Ltd. TinsukiaAsphaltic CorrugatedRoofing sheet

Rely On Coir Foam (Pvt.) Ltd.

SonapurRubberised Coir Foam Matresses

Assam Surfactant BongaigaonToilet cleaner/Cleaning liquid

Repose Foods Pvt. Ltd. Guwahati Bakery Products

Quality Foods Pvt. Ltd. I/A Kalapahar Bakery Products

Ozone Ayurvedics EPIP, Amingaon Herbal Cosmetics

Torsa Machines Ltd. EPIP, AmingaonCrushingm/c, Conveyer

Cosmo Personal Care Pvt. Ltd.

EPIP, AmingaonHomeCare Products

INDUSTRIAL POLICY OF ASSAM -2008

The Assam government unveiled a new industrial policy which is termed as the ''most industry-friendly in the whole country'' and asserted that projects worth Rs 2,100 crore are in the pipeline.

There has been a major paradigm shift in the new policy which has been prepared after a process of detailed discussion with cross sections of various stakeholders in the field of business, commerce and industry.

The new policy focuses on industrial development and enterprises built around the core competence of the state like bamboo, forest based industry like plywood and agar, horticulture, food processing, minerals, tourism, besides emphasis on harnessing various natural assets such as water after initiating a scientific system of green accounting in the state.

The policy also focuses on commensurate Human Resource Development required for industrial development and employment generation by facilitating multi-dimensional vocational institutions for Human Resource Development institutes for National Institute of Design, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, National Academy of Construction.

Further, the policy focuses on development of quality infrastructure in terms of industrial parks, industrial clusters, industrial estates. The policy provides fiscal incentives which are complimentary to the incentives given in North East Industrial Investment Policy 2007. The Industrial policy laid right emphasis on development of sound infrastructure with easy access to key utilities like road connectivity, quality power supply, land availability, human resources etc. Simplification of rules, identification of available land, computerisation and adoption of PPP mode are aimed at developing infrastructure in the State

The policy unveild the formation of Investment cell in his department for single window clearance of all necessary licences for setting up of all industries.

Industries have also been categorised as non-polluting ones, green, orange and red for obtaining faster pollution clearances and formalities.

On the tax exemption and subsidy front, the policy said all eligible units will be entitled to exemption of 99 per cent of the tax payable under the Assam Value Added Tax Act 2003 and central sales tax subject to maximum of 200 per cent of fixed capital investment for seven years.

Further interest subsidy on term loan provided to micro industrial units at 30 per cent of the amount of interest paid on term loan for a period of five years from the date of commercial production subject to a ceiling of Rs one lakh per unit per year.

The policy proposes to constitute a State Investment promotion Board with the Chief Minister as chairman to act as final authority in matters of policy concerning industrial development of the State which would have representatives of industries associations of the North-East region. The Board would meet quarterly and review the industrial and other policies of the State and to oversee the process of simplification of government rules and regulations for rapid industrial development. The Assam Administrative Reforms Commission recommended setting up of State Investment Promotion Board under the chairmanship of the chief secretary in the line of the Government of India’s Secretariat for industrial approval to act as Single Window Clearance cell for medium and big industries. The proposed State Investment Promotion Board under the

Chief Minister would not act as single window clearance but monitor the implementation of the Industrial Policy.

The policy has provided special incentives for revival of sick industrial units. It also proposes to take over land belonging to closed public sector undertakings for infrastructure development. The government constituted a high powered committee with Dr PK Choudhury as Chairman to study and recommend ways and means to revive the sick PSUs.

Special incentives for mega projects to encourage the establishment of projects in the territory of Assam with large capital investment of minimum of Rs 100 crore. All incentives, including priority land allotment, the ceiling amount of subsidy and the period of validity of tax, concessions under this policy, will be relaxable on case to case basis.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Assam is the most developed North Eastern state in India that has got good infrastructure in terms of both industrial as well as social sectors. The state has good network of roads, railways. Inland waterways, airports, etc. The state of the physical infrastructure is being given immense importance both by the state as well as central governments. The government well understands the significance of infrastructural development for the overall growth and development of the state. This has been gradually turning the state into a potentially viable destination for major fundings and financial investments.

INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Assam has good industrial infrastructure, which includes a STP in Guwahati, an EPIP set up by the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) at Amingaon near Guwahati, and a Food Processing Park (FPP) at Chaigaon. Some of the industrial growth centres with high quality infrastructure are being set up at different places in the state. These include; Balipara in Sonitpur district and Matia in Goalpara district with a total area of 1.6 sq km and 2.8 sq km respectively. These two industrial growth centers will be complete with excellent approach and internal roads, dedicated power lines, adequate water supply, communication facilities and central effluent treatment plants. The various additional social infrastructure included in these two facilities are banks, post offices, fire stations and police stations.

The state is also developing another growth centre at Chaigaon is currently. The central government has also approved setting

up of four IIDCs in Nagaon, Darrang and Sivasagar Cachar. Some of the other industrial development centers under provision include; Software Technology Parks (STP), Export Promotion Industrial Parks (EPIP), Food Processing Park (FPP).

The primary aim of establishing Export Promotion Industrial Park are listed as;

To build and provide industrial infrastructural facilities in an integrated manner.

To encourage growth of export oriented industrial units in the state.

To sustain the involvement and interest of the state govt. in building and maintain such facilities.

COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE

TRANSPORTATION

Assam is blessed with all modes of transportation. The various major modes of transportation in Assam are roadways, railways, airways and inland waterways. There are two road cum rail bridges and one road bridge over the river Brahmaputra. The state is planning the construction of a fourth bridge is about to start and feasibility report on a fifth bridge has been recently completed.

ROADWAYS

Assam has total road length of about 75,00 kilometers that covers both metalled and non-metalled surfaces. All the roads in Assam together constitute approximately 60% of the total road length in the North-east region. Most of the major towns in the state are connected by National Highways.

RAILWAYS

The total rail network in Assam is approximately 2435.13 kilometers. All the major cities, such as Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Nagaon, Guwahati, Tezpur, Barpeta, Bongaigaon are connected by the railway network within the state. The B.G. line connection is up to Dibrugarh and M.G. line with Haflong and Silchar. The rail network of Assam conveniently connects the state to the rest of the country.

AIRWAYS

The state capital Guwahati has an international airport, namely Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, which is about 18 km from the city centre and. The airport is well connected to all the four metros in India, such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. Some of the regular flight operators operating their flights to and from Guwahati are Indian Airlines, Air Sahara, Jet Airways, Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet and Indigo. Air India operates a weekly international flight between Bangkok and Guwahati. Regular intra-state air services are also perated that connect the six civil airports , such as Guwahati, Tezpur, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Silchar and North Lakhimpur. Some of the tea gardens have their private air-strips and aircrafts.

INLAND WATER TRANSPORT

Assam has adequate inland waterways. The river Brahmaputra has been declared as the 2nd National Waterway of India.

Two Government-owned organisations, namely Central Inland Waterways Corporation and Directorate of Inland Waterways, Assam jointly operate water transport services on the river Brahmaputra and Barak on a commercial basis. These services are used for the transportation of both the goods and passengers. For some of the parts in the state inland waterways are the only mode of transportation. Assam's internal waterway network also connects it to Bangladesh that offers the state an access to the ports of Chittagong (Bangladesh), Kolkatta and Haldia (India).

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

POWER

Assam has a vast potential for developing electricity. The state attracts huge investment in the field of electricity generation, transmission and distribution

TELECOMMUNICATION

The present state of telecommunication network in Assam is developing faster in comparison to the other parts of the country. Telecommunication has been given the utmost importance in the state. Both the individuals and industry face no problems in procuring telephone and related telecommunications facilities in Assam. Assam has about 269 telephone exchanges with approximately 1,20,000 working connections. The government is putting its efforts to meet the state of demand and supply of telecommunication network in the state. Mobile telephone services are available in the state. There are a number of government as well as private mobile telephone operators in Assam.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

HEALTH

Assam has a good number of health centers in the state. The state has more than 5400 heal centers at all levels. The number of health centers in Assam in higher than any of the North Eastern states.

EDUCATION

The sate as well as the central government give primary focus on developing the state of the education in the state. Assam has the highest number of schools, colleges and universities in the region. There are a total number of 44,309 primary and middle schools, secondary schools, high schools, colleges fore professional as well as general education, universities and other

educational institutions in the state. There are some of the best known technical and professional institutes of international repute. These include; Cotton College, Centre for Plasma Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, National Institute of Technology, Silchar, North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management, Defence Research Labroratory, and others.

Universities 5

College of general education 431

College of professional education 34

High School 620

Secondary School 4607

Primary and Middle School 38,410

Other Institutions 202

Total 44,309

NATURAL RESOURCES OF ASSAM

Nature was kind enough while blessing Assam with various natural resources. The total deposit of various natural resources indicates that Assam is quite rich in this respect. Natural resources in Assam includes mineral resources, water resources and forest resources.

MINERALS RESOURCES

Minerals are the pre-requisite to industrial progress as they provide the raw materials to heavy industries, engineering, chemical and other industries, Assam, being a leading state of the north-eastern region of India, is well endowed with some of the important mineral resources. But mineral resources of the State have not yet been completely assessed. Following are the main mineral resources available in Assam.

Coal : Coal is an important mineral product in Assam. Coal provides fuel to households and industries in Assam along with other by-products. Coalfields in Assam are situated at Makum, Margherita, Nazira, Lankadaman, Jaipur, Ledo, Namdum etc. Total coal reserves (both proved and indicated inferred sources) of Assam is 295.2 million tonnes as per GSI assessment as on January 1,1994. Again the total coal reserves of some of the main coal fields in Assam are estimated to be 235.6 million tonnes for Makum, 30.0 million tonnes for Dilli-joypura, 2.5 million tonnes

for Janji-Disai (Nazira) and 0.6 million tonnes for Koliajan in Karbi Anglong district. Total production of coal in Assam, which was 5.22 lakh tonnes in 1970, gradually increased to 5.82 lakh tonnes in 1975 and then to 6.49 lakh tonnes in 1978. In 1979-80, the production of coal in Assam came down to 5.84 lakh tonnes and then increased to 6.51 lakh tonnes in 1981. In 1989, total production of coal in Assam has increased to 8.4 lakh tonnes and then to 9.82 lakh tonnes and 12.92 lakh tonnes in March 1991 and 1994 respectively. In 1994, total production of coal in Assam constituted 0.49 per cent of the total coal production of the country as a whole.

Crude Oil : Petroleum (Crude) is the most important mineral product of Assam. Total production of petroleum crude in Assam accounts for nearly 50 per cent of country’s total petroleum output till 1970. The amount of production of petroleum (Crude) in Assam varied marginally between 44.7 lakh tonnes in 1977, 40.8 lakh tonnes 1978 and 44.5 lakh tonnes during 1979-80 as against 86.9 lakh tonnes in 1977 for all India. Total production of petroleum then fell down to 10.6 lakh tonnes in 1980 and then again increased to 51.5 lakh tonnes in 1986. Total production of petroleum crude in Assam further rose to 54.09 lakh tonnes in 1989 and then it slowly declined to 48.61 lakh tonnes in 1994. In 1994-95, Assam produced about 15.1 per cent of total petroleum crude (32.24 million tonnes) produced in India. Total reserve of crude oil at Sibsagar and Dibrugarh area is estimated to be 70.46 million tonnes. Oil deposits in Assam are found in Naharkatiya, Moran, Hugrizan, Rudrasagar, Galeky, Lakwa, Nazira, Teok etc. The first oil refinery in Assam was established at Digboi and then two other refineries were established at Guwahati and Bongaigaon. The main products of these refineries are petrol, high-speed diesel, Kerosene, Carbon, Wax, Naphtha, petro-chemicals etc. In 1981, total production of these three refineries in Assam was 15.7 lakh

tonnes and then it increased to 25.3 lakh tonnes in 1989. In the mean time, the construction works of the 4th refinery had already atarted in Numuligarh of Golaghat District.

Natural Gas : Assam is well blessed by nature in respect of natural gas. Total reserve of natural gas in Assam are estimated to be 23,000 million cubic metres. This is available at Naharkatiya and Moran area. The quantity of natural gas utilised in Assam, however, increased from 848 million cubic metres in 1976 to 942 million cubic metres in 1979. In 1980, there was an abrupt fall in its utilisation to only 455 million cubic metres and then its utilization increased to 869 million metres in 1981. Total amount of natural gas utilized in India was 1,545 million cubic metres and thus Assam’s utilization of natural gas accounts for 59.8 per cent of the total utilisation in the country. Namrup Fertilizer plant and Namrup Gas Thermal Power Project are the main two projects using natural gas in Assam.

Moreover, in recent years, total amount of natural gas utilized in Assam has increased to 1030 million cubic metres in 1992 and then declined to 893 million cubic metres in 1994. But in India total production of natural gas in 1990-91 was 18.0 billion cubic metres. In the various Oil fields of Assam run by Oil India about 3.5 to 4 million sq. metres of natural gas are being emissioned daily. Out of which only 1.5 million sq. metres of natural gas are being utilised in the various industries of Assam and the remaining portion of natural gas are being flared up daily, leading to a huge loss of scarce resources. Assam Gas Company is also supplying natural gas to various tea gardens of Assam. Steps have also been taken to install one fertilizer factory at Mezeva near Nazira when natural gas available in the Sibsagar district will be commercially utilised. In BRPL of Bongaigaon, a good amount of natural gas is also being utilised. Moreover, recently steps have been taken to

start a gas Cracker Project in Assam for suitable utilisation of huge amount of natural gas in the state. Moreover, the Assam Gas Based Power Project (AGBPP) at Kathalguri is all set to generate 100 MW of power in March, 1995 and will have a total installed capacity of 291 MW of electricity from six gas and three waste heat steam turbines.

Lime Stone : Lime Stone is also an important mineral product of Assam. It is used as an important raw-material for the production of Cement. Lime stone mines in Assam are available at Garampani and Koliajan in the district of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills. Total reserves of limestone in Garampani and Koliajan area are estimated to be 78 million tonnes and 81 million tonnes respectively. Limestone in Assam is of cement grade. Koliajan reserves of limestone is being mined by Cement Corporation of India for Bokajan Cement Factory. Total production of limestone in Assam has been increased from 88 thousand tonnes in 1975-76 to 143 thousand tonnes in 1978 and then 289 thousand tonnes in 1979-80 and then followed by 269 thousand tonnes in 1981.

Again in 1984 total production of limestone in Assam has declined to 209 thousand tonnes and then it increased to 297 thousand tonnes in 1990 and then again gradually increased to 338 thousand  tonnes in 1994. Recently, steps have been taken for the establishment of some mini cement plant in Assam for the increasing use of its limestone reserves. Accordingly, the Karbi Anglong Chemicals Ltd. is going to establish a 100TPD mini Cement plant in the village of Amlokhi in Diphu.

Probable reserves of other minerals : Some other mineral resources are also located in Assam, which include Fire Clay, Kaoline, Iron Ore, Fullers Earth, Feldspar. Fire Clay is  available in Selvetta, Koliajan and Namdeng (Ledo) areas of Assam and their probable reserves are 2.10 million tonnes. Kaoline is avilable at Selvetta and Jaijuri area and its reserves are estimated to be 0.58 million tonnes. Iron ore is also found in Assam in the Chandardings, Lengupara and Kumari area of Goalpara district and also in Mahim area of Kamrup district and its probable reserves are estimated to be 17.6 million tonnes. Average content of iron ore in Assam varies between 40.12% to 46.45%. Both Fullers Earth and Feldspur are available at Kamrup district of Assam and its reserves are estimated to be 17.0 million tonnes and 0.02 million tonnes respectively.

Moreover, as per the exploration survey conducted by the Assam Mineral Development Corporation (AMDC) during 1994-95, the whole Gaurinagar Hillock, situated within the four walls of Nalbari Reserved Forest in Goalpara district is full of rocks mainly in abundance with the granites (dolorites). The granite is a very hard rock composed of feldspar, quartz and mica which is used as building materials and the exploration of the Gaurnagar granaite is the best of its kind with  black colour granites.

Thus, it is found that Assam is quite rich with its deposit of some of the basic mineral resources which will provide ample scope for industrialization through fuller utilization of these vast mineral resources.

WATER RESOURCES

Assam, situated in the eastern region of the country, is gifted with extensive river systems. This is due to heavy rainfall in the Himalayan region. The major rivers of the state include

Brahmaputra, the Kusiyara, the Barak and their tributaries. The Brahmaputra River has a total drainage area of about 935,500 sq. km. So far, a total of 4, 77,163 hectares of land has been irrigated inAssam.

All the rivers in Assam cause devastating floods, mainly because they receive heavy rainfall within a short time.

FOREST RESOURCES

Assam has its rich potential for the development of forest. The upper Brahamaputra Valley along with two hill districts is covered by ever green forests and the lower Brahamputra valley is covered by tropical decidious forests. Total area covered by forests in Assam is 30,807 sq.kms. (1991-92) which is 39.2 percent of the total geograpical area of the State. But reserved forest area covers 22 percent of the total geographical area of the state. National forest policy prescribed national minimum of 33.3 per cent under the productive forest and Assam’s percentage of forest area is lower in this respect.

The forests of Assam can be classified under certain broad classes, namely, evergreen, semi-evergreen, tropical evergreen, mixed deciduous, sal forest, riverine forest and moist and dry savannah. The climate in Assam facilitate the growth and regeneration of plant species with a great diversion from evergreen to dry savannah type. Reserved forests in Assam are divided into six circles and 25 divisions and the areas under wildlife are divided into eight divisions including state zoo. Under the principal chief conservator of forests, the department of forest,Assam, engaged more than 11,000 man power to look after this large area under forest cover. For smooth functioning, the department of forest is divided into two group-(a) general forestry and(b) social forestry.

Tribal sub-plan and scheduled castes components are also included into the social forestry division.

In 1992-93, out of the total forest area of 30,807 sq.kms., reserved forests covered 17,567 sq.kms., forests under District Councils covered 3589 sq. kms. and unclassifed forest covered 5731 sq.kms. (including other community forests) Thus 57.02 per cent of the total forest area is covered by reserved forest, 12.72 per cent is covered by the proposed reserved forest area, 11.64 per cent is covered by forest under district council and the rest 18.6 per cent is covered by unclassifed forests. Among all he district of the state, Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills possess highest concentration of forests in the state and its area constitute 40.2 per cent of the total forest area of the state.

At the end of 1994-95, total forest area in Assam was 21.86 lakh hectares(excluding unclassed state forest), out of which reserved forest covered 14.9 lakh hectares and the proposed reserve forest area covered 3.93 lakh hectares. Thus out of total forest area of Assam, reserved forest covered 81.88 percent and the renmaining 18.12 percent is covered by the proposed reserved forest area.

Due to rapid urbanisation process and consequent factors degradation of forest is also occuring which is estimated (1991-92) at 2352.77 sq. kms. and classified as forest waste land.

To facilitate the green movement, the state forest department also distributes various seedlings of economically important plant species to the general public raised in the social forestry nursery free of cost. During 1991-92 such seedlings amounted to 18,60,569 in number.

At present a total of 611 mills and factories, including paper, match and plywood factories are running, depending upon the forest products in the state.

MANPOWER ABILITY & SKILLS

Assam has numerous educational institutions with a substantial portion of the population in the 15 to 25 age group in the major towns being computer literate.

The state has a literacy rate of 52.89%. The female literacy in this region of 43.03% ishigher then the national average of 39.19%. Assam has four universities and one agricultural university. It also has 3 medical colleges and one for aquaculture.

With reference to technical education, the state has 4 engineering colleges including an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), 23 vocational training institutes (ITI), 8 polytechnics and 1 junior technical school. There is a big gap between the national average and state figure in terms of technical education and all efforts are being made to achieve the national average by end of IXth Plan.

As per The Assam Private University Act 2007, the following incentives are available to private investors:

Legal Coverage providedUniversity to be self financedSponsoring body to establish endowment fund of Rs. 10 Million in tribal area and Rs. 20 million in other areas.Allows campus in the state and study centres at different places

LAW & ORDER SITUATION

The state of Assam has been badly affected by armed insurgency over the last one and a half decades with various insurgent groups like the ULFA, NDFB, DHD, UPDS, NSCN waging a low intensity war against the lawfully established Government. Ever since they were formed, the major insurgent groups ULFA and NDFB have committed scores of incidents of mindless violence like murders, bomb explosions, kidnapping for ransom etc. which have had a serious bearing on the law and order situation of the state.

Since 1947, with increasing economic problems in the region, separatist groups began forming along ethnic lines, and demands for autonomy and sovereignty grew, resulting into fragmentation of Assam.

Since the mid-20th century, people from present Bangladesh have been migrating to Assam. In 1961, the Government of Assam passed a legislation making use of Assamese language compulsory; It had to be withdrawn later under pressure from Bengali speaking people in Cachar. In the 1980s the Brahmaputra valley saw a six-year Assam Agitation triggered by the discovery of a sudden rise in registered voters on electoral rolls. It tried to force the government to identify and deport foreigners illegally migrating from neighbouring Bangladesh and changing the demographics. The agitation ended after an accord between its leaders and the Union Government, which remained unimplemented, causing simmering discontent.

The post 1970s experienced the growth of armed separatist groups like United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). In November 1990, the Government of India deployed the Indian army, after which low-intensity military conflicts and political homicides have been continuing for more than a decade. In recent times, ethnicity based militant groups (UPDS, DHD, KLO, HPCD etc.) have also mushroomed. Regional autonomy has been ensured for Bodos in Bodoland Territorial Council Areas (BTCA) and for the Karbis in Karbi Anglong after agitation of the communities due to sluggish rate of development and aspirations for self-government.

CURRENT SITUATION

The law and order situation in Assam has drastically improved during the past nine years. Things are looking up now as peace talks are underway with these radical elements and many of these insurgents have surrendered to the Government of India and their leaders nabbed and under the custody of the government.

But yes, as long as these negative factors remain in the state, business of every kind will remain hampered. So taking care of this problem is the most important agenda on the government’s plate.

BUSINESS POTENTIAL

MINES & MINERALS

Assam is rich in mineral resources like Coal (320 Mn.T.), Limestone (703 Mn.T.), Iron Ore(11 Mn.T) and Granite(1 Bn. Cu. Mtrs) along many more resources like Fireclay, Lithomarge, Fuller's Earth, Sillimanite and Glass Sand. The coal found in Assam has a high sulphur content and high volatile matter content, thereby reducing its cokeability. Limestone with reserves of about 500 million tonnes is another important resource and is available in various grades. The China clay available in the Karbi-Anglong district is a vital input for the ceramics industry and has already spawned a few small plants. Deposits of decorative stone like granite estimated to be more than a billion cubic meters are available in various shades and colours, which have a huge market potential locally and abroad. Opportunities based on minerals are Gasification & Liquefaction of Coal, De-Sulphurisation of Coal, Coal based Power Plant, Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Extraction, Exploration of Oil & Natural Gas and HDPE / LLDPE / Polypropylene based industries.

COAL

Assam has large reserves of coal too. The State is said to contain about 1200 million tonnes of coal reserves. The entire coal in this region is unique in the sense that it is highly volatile (36% - 42%), has low ash content (3% - 15%) and possesses high crackling index ( 10% - 29%).

Coal occurs mainly in Upper Assam districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh in the Makum and Dilli - Jeypore Coalfields. Small coal deposits occur sporadically in the Central Assam districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills. The proved reserve of coal in this belt is about 340 million tonnes.

GRANITE

Assam possesses large deposits of granite which is mostly of pink & grey variety and found in Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Kamrup & Goalpara districts. Some black variety of granite is also found sporadically in Goalpara district. Reserve of granite is estimated at 950 Million Cubic Metres.

The grey granite is extensively used in road making and as railway ballast. So far, it has hardly been exploited for decorative purposes and has great potential.

LIMESTONE

Limestone is an important mineral which is used in the manufacture of cement, as flux in iron and steel production, and as raw materials for chemical industries. There are now several

cement factories which have come up in Assam due to the availability of high quality limestone in the region. Good quality cement grade limestone occur in the Central Assam districts of North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong where a total reserve of about 670 million tonnes is available for exploitation.

CHINA CLAY

China Clay is mostly found in Upper Deopani, Silonijan, Sheelveta and Tengrajan areas of Karbi Anglong District. Both stacking and non stacking variety of China Clay is found here.

GLASS SAND

Sporadic occurrences of friable feldspathic quartzite found in Jiajuri, Chapanala, Borhola & Tanajuri in Nagaon & Karbi Anglong District are the main glass sand deposits. Inferred reserve of glass sand is about 10.50 million tonnes.

IRON ORE

Iron Ore deposits are located at Chandardinga in Dhubri District and Lengupara in Goalpara District.

SILLIMANITE

Promising deposits of sillimanite occurs in Unippilangso area of Karbi Anglong District

ENERGY

Assam has over 1.3 billion tonnes of proven crude oil and 156 billion cu. mt of natural gas reserves. Superior quality natural gas is available at an attractive price. Assam accounts for about 15% of India's crude output. The wells at Digboi, Duliajan, Sivasagar etc. also produce Natural gas accounting to about 50% of India's total onshore production. The HDPE/LLDPE is 220,000 TPA, Polypropelene is 60,000 TPA. In the last 4 years or so, private sector/JV companies have made about 32 significant hydrocarbon discoveries.

NATURAL GAS

Like petroleum, natural gas is a valuable source of power and various other chemical by-products. In Assam, almost all the petroleum producing areas of the Brahmaputra Valley, especially Naharkatia, Moran, Lakuwa and Rudrasagar, contains 'associated natural gas'. There are LPG bottling plants at Duliajan, North Guwahati, Silchar etc. The BRPL also uses natural gas as raw material to produce various chemicals. In addition, a gas cracking company, Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited is coming up in the Dibrugarh district and is poised to generate opportunities for a huge number of ancillary industries.

ASSAM GAS CRACKER PROJECT

The Rs. 5460 crores Assam Gas Cracker Project with joint venture of GAIL, NRL, OIL, and Govt. of Assam has taken off with the foundation stone being laid by the Hon'ble Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh. A joint venture company viz. Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited has been formed and acquisition of land has been completed. The project is scheduled to be complete by March 2012 and work is going on as per schedule.

The project will offer direct employment to 800 persons and indirect employment to 1,00,000 persons. The proposed Gas Cracker Project will open up tremendous avenues of opportunities in multi-faceted directions. The products coming out from the Cracker Complex would give rise to a chain of industries. The various socio-economic linkages expected to be obtained in utilizing the poly-ethylene products are in the field of agriculture, water management, packaging, automobiles, electronics, health & hygiene, education, telecommunications etc. The opportunities based on the petrochemicals complex can be divided into a) opportunities based on polymers (LLDPE & HDPE).

OIL

Assam has the oldest refinery in the country which started commercial production in 1901. Assam was the first state in the country where in 1889 oil was struck at Digboi in Tinsukia district. The refinery, now belongs to the Assam Oil Division of the Indian Oil Corporation, has a refining capacity of 3 lakh tonnes of petrol, kerosene, diesel and other petroleum products. The second refinery in Assam was set up at Noonmati in Guwahati under the public sector. It started production in 1962. It produces liquified petroleum gas (LPG), petrol, kerosene, diesel, furnace oil, coke etc. The third refinery in the region was established at Dhaligoan near Bongaigaon in 1972. It is known as Bongaigaon Refinery and Petro-Chemicals Limited (BRPL). The fourth refinery in the state was established at Numaligarh of Golaghat district in 1999, with a refining capacity of 3 million tonnes of oil and other products.

Assam has a huge reserve of oil and gas. It has 1.3 billion tonnes of proven crude oil

OIL INDIA LTD.

The story of Oil India Limited (OIL) traces and symbolises the development and growth of the Indian petroleum industry. From the discovery of crude oil in the far east of India at Digboi, Assam in 1889 to its present status as a fully integrated upstream petroleum company, OIL has come far, crossing many milestones.On February 18, 1959, Oil India Private Limited was incorporated to expand and develop the newly discovered oil fields of Naharkatiya and Moran in the Indian North East. In 1961, it became a joint venture company between the Indian Government and Burmah Oil Company Limited, UK.

In 1981, OIL became a wholly-owned Government of India enterprise. Today, OIL is a premier Indian National Oil Company

engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of LPG. OIL also provides various E&P related services and holds 26% equity in Numaligarh Refinery Limited.The authorised and paid up capital of the company as on March 31, 2007 are Rs. 500 crore and Rs. 214 crore respectively, with 98.13 per cent holding by the Government of India and 1.87 per cent by others. The net worth of the company as on March 31, 2007 is Rs. 6849.07 crore.

OIL has over 1 lakh sq km of PEL/ML areas for its exploration and production activities, most of it in the North East India, which accounts for its entire crude oil production and majority of gas production. Rajasthan is the other producing area of OIL, contributing 10 per cent of its total gas production.

In a recent CRISIL-India Today survey, OIL was adjudged as one of the five best major PSUs and one of three best energy sector PSUs in the country.

INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LTD.

It  is currently India's largest company by sales with a turnover of Rs. 285,337 crore and profit of Rs. 2,950 crore for fiscal 2008-09.

IndianOil is also the highest ranked Indian company in the prestigious Fortune 'Global 500' listing, having moved up 19 places to the 116th position in 2008. It is also the 18th largest petroleum company in the world. IndianOil's vision is driven by a group of dynamic leaders who have made it a name to reckon with.

The Corporation is celebrating the year 2009 as its golden jubilee year.IndianOil is currently metamorphosing from a pure sectoral company with dominance in downstream in India to a vertically integrated, transnational energy behemoth. The Corporation is already on the way to becoming a major player in petrochemicals by integrating its core refining business with petrochemical activities, besides making large investments in E&P and import/marketing ventures for oil&gas in India and abroad.

With a vision to evolve into a major technology provider through excellence in management of knowledge and innovation, IndianOil has launched IndianOil Technology Ltd. to market the intellectual properties developed by IndianOil's R&D Centre.Its two major refineries Guwahati Refinery and Bongaigaon Refinery are situated in Assam. The Assam Oil Division of IOC is situated in Digboi, Assam.

ASSAM GAS COMPANY LTD.

It is a Govt. of Assam Undertaking and an ISO 9001 :2000 company, was established on March 31,1962 in Shillong as a private limited wholly owned by the Government of Assam to carry out all kinds of business related to natural gas in India. It has its present headquarters in the oil town of Duliajan in the district of Dibrugarh, Assam, India.The Company entered into the gas transmission business in the year 1965 and stands today as one of the premier companies in India to be in the Natural gas transmission and distribution business. Since its foray in the Gas transmission business for the last 36 years, the company has been continuously working towards marketing natural gas as a product for different market segments.

Today natural gas is the most sought after fuel and raw material in the Petrochemicals, Fertiliser, Power, Tea, Commercial and Domestic sectors. The Company is also in the process of taking advantage of the changing environment by exploring avenues to have business ties with other companies. Study for the growth in gas transmission business by way of laying pipelines, supplying gas to consumers from various sources spread over north eastern India has been taken up. The Company has already drawn up a programme 'Vision 2010'.Bongaigaon  Refinery Petrochemical Ltd  is merged with Indian Oil Corporation and is now called Indian Oil Corporation Ltd( Bongaigaon Refinery )

NUMALIGARH REFINERY LTD.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), which was set up at Numaligarh in the district of Golaghat (Assam) in accordance with the provisions made in the historic Assam Accord signed on 15th August 1985, has been conceived as a vehicle for speedy industrial and economic development of the region.

The 3 MMTPA Numaligarh Refinery Limited was dedicated to the nation by the erstwhile Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri A. B. Vajpayee on 9th July, 1999. NRL has been able to display creditable performance since commencement of commercial production in October, 2000. With its concern, commitment and contribution to socio-economic development of the state combined with a track record of continuous growth, NRL has been conferred the status of Mini Ratna PSU.

OIL & NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LTD.

In 1955, Government of India decided to develop the oil and natural gas resources in the various regions of the country as part of the Public Sector development. With this objective, an Oil and Natural Gas Directorate was set up towards the end of 1955, as a subordinate office under the then Ministry of Natural Resources and Scientific Research. The department was constituted with a nucleus of geoscientists from the Geological survey of India.Since its inception, ONGC has been instrumental in transforming the country's limited upstream sector into a large viable playing field, with its activities spread throughout India and significantly in overseas territories. In the inland areas, ONGC not only found new resources in Assam but also established new oil province in Cambay basin (Gujarat), while adding new petroliferous areas in the Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and East coast basins (both inland and offshore). Today it is the only fully–integrated petroleum company in India, operating along the entire hydrocarbon value chain

It is enjoys the first position in Asia in Exploration and Production

Holds largest share of hydrocarbon acreages in India. Contributes over 80 per cent of Indian’s oil and gas

production. About one tenth of Indian refining capacity. Interests in LNG and product transportation business.

GAIL (INDIA) LTD.

It is India's flagship Natural Gas company, integrating all aspects of the Natural Gas value chain (including Exploration &

Production, Processing, Transmission, Distribution and Marketing) and its related services. In a rapidly changing scenario, we are spearheading the move to a new era of clean fuel industrialisation, creating a quadrilateral of green energy corridors that connect major consumption centres in India with major gas fields, LNG terminals and other cross border gas sourcing points. GAIL is also expanding its business to become a player in the International Market.The Rs. 5460 crores Assam Gas Cracker Project with joint venture of GAIL, NRL, OIL, and Govt. of Assam has taken off with the foundation stone being laid by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh. A joint venture company viz. Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited has been formed and acquisition of land has been completed. The project is scheduled to be complete by March 2012 and work is going on as per schedule.

 

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

In order to increase the economic growth rate, creation of the right industrial environment is necessary whereby the state can become an attractive destination for both foreign and domestic investments. Sound infrastructure with easy access to key utilities like road connectivity, quality power supply, land availability, human resources etc. will create a dream climate for investors. During the historic event of signing of the Vision 2020 Document during the 2 day North Eastern Council (NEC) Plenary on 13th May 2008, the State Government has also agreed to the urgent need of redefining of the Look East Policy to resolve the outstanding issues of trade, transit and investment with the countries neighboring the region. The State has accorded the highest priority in the development of infrastructure. In the PPP mode (Private Public Partnership) the government welcomes the investors from all over the globe

PLASTIC & POLYMERS

Assam has a number of refineries including the oldest working refinery of Asia at Digboi. The addition of refining capacity in recent years has given rise to great opportunities for further downstream petro-chemical projects.

The proposed Assam Gas Cracker Project will open up tremendous avenues of opportunities in multi-faceted directions. The products coming out from the Cracker Complex would give rise to a chain of industries. The various socio-economic linkages expected to be obtained in utilizing the poly-ethylene products are in the field of agriculture, water management, packaging, automobiles, electronics, health & hygiene, education, telecommunications etc. The opportunities based on the petrochemicals complex can be divided into

  a) Opportunities based on polymers (LLDPE & HDPE)  b) Opportunities for engineering industries in the petro-chemicals sector.

The downstream industries and ancillaries can throw up multifarious opportunities for income and employment generation to more than 1 lakh persons. The Government of Assam is creating opportunities for development of such downstream industry by promoting a plastic park around the project site.

TOURISM

Tourism has become an important industry in many countries of the world, both in the east and the west. Various initiatives are being taken by the Government and other organisations to promote tourism here. Every year the number of visitors to Assam has been steadily increasing.

The state has unparalleled tourist attractions like wildlife sanctuaries, adventure tourism, eco-tourism, hill stations, lakes and places of historical heritage. There are five national parks and fifteen wildlife sanctuaries in Assam. The famous species of one horned rhino is found only in Assam. It has many Golf Fields and offers a huge potential in sports tourism.

Assam's natural landscape, lush green forests, wild life sanctuaries, pilgrimage spots and tea gardens offer a wide choice to cater to the tastes of a variety of tourists from the casual sightseer to the adventure tourist. With the withdrawal of the Restricted Area Permit (RAP), tourism is poised for a major boom.

ENTERTAINMENT

Assam's natural landscape, lush green forests, wild life sanctuaries, pilgrimage spots and tea gardens offer a wide choice to the entertainment industry.

ENTERTAINMENT

Film Production: - Assam with its scenic beauty has immense scope for exploiting the exotic locations for shooting of feature films. Finance for production of movies can be organized through Assam Film Finance & Development Corporation and hiring of equipment & studio floor along with post production, sound recording facilities can be availed through Jyoti Chitrabon Film Studio. The studio is also in the process of having its own Film City to facilitate film producers.

Mini Cinema Hall in Towns and Multiplexes in city: - The Govt. of Assam is giving five years Entertainment Tax Holiday for Mini Cinema Hall (less than 500 seats) and Multiplexes (minimum 2 screens). Finance is also available for construction of cinema halls through Assam Film Finance & Development Corporation.

Amusement Parks: - The is 100% Amusement Tax exemption for a period of 5 years for entrepreneurs for setting up of Amusement Parks in Assam.

EDUCATION

The State has 6 (Six) universities including 1 (one) agricultural university, 3 (three) medical colleges, 5 (five) engineering colleges including an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). It also has 8 (eight) polytechnics & 23 (twenty-three) Industrial Training

Institutes (ITIs). 2 (two) more medical colleges are coming up. Four universities in the state offer Master Degree Courses in Management and Computer Applications. The state has numerous Law Colleges. CIPET also offers Diploma & Certificate courses and the Tool Room Training Centre offers Certificate courses. Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Institute also trains the state's human resource. In recent times, Government has encouraged setting up of various educational complexes, vocational institutes running traditional trades/specialized courses. The State Government has initiated steps by formation of the State Steering Committee & formation of 27 (twenty seven) numbers of IMC in the ITIs and industry partners are working closely with the ITI for skill development. Presently, there are 4 (four) ITI's under the Center of Excellence through retroactive funding scheme, Three ITIs covered under COE through competitive scheme. In addition, six ITIs have been taken up in the year 07-08 under PPP mode. Four ITIs are proposed to be taken up in 08-09.Twelve ITIs are implementing MES (Modular Employable Skill) in various sectors like-electrical, automobiles etc. The State would sponsor 50,000 youths to receive skills outside the State in the next three years. Their skills would empower them in becoming self-employed.

Assam has a huge potential for private investment in higher education and technical education. Already private engineering colleges and medical colleges and many vocational training institutes have started their operations in the state. The Government is committed to encourage regulated investment in this area, so that the quality of education does not suffer.

SERICULTURE

The climate and general environment of Assam is well suited to sericulture. Traditional varieties of silk cultured include eri, muga and mulberry. The muga silk, known for its fine sheen and golden colour is used by the local silk weaving industry and this has contributed to the development of the muga culture in the State. There are vast opportunities in silk processing and spinning units.

Assam is traditionally famous for its cottage industry, especially spinning and weaving. Pat or pure silk production is essentially confined to Assam. Assam produces about 10% of total natural silk of India, in addition to Muga, the golden silk. The state is also the main producer of Eri or Endi. Weaving is a traditional industry which can be traced back to the very ancient times. There are about 7,00,000 looms in Assam, but only some powered looms of Sualkuchi are used for commercial production of silk cloth.

SILK

Assam accounts for the highest production of Non-Mulberry Silk, Muga and Eri - for which it is well known/famed.

The state contributes 99% and 63% of the total muga and eri raw silk production in the country. There are approximately 1.9 lakhs families engaged in Sericulture.

AGRICULTURE

An agrarian economy since time immemorial, about 77% of Assam's workforce is engaged agriculture and allied activities contributing roughly 40% to the state's GDP. Roughly 40% of the total area is cultivated.

MULTI CROPPING IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR

A vast majority of our farmers in Assam is still saddled with a single crop i.e. a long duration 'Sali' paddy cultivation and after harvesting the agricultural fields in Assam remains idle for the rest of the year. As such, a massive thrust has to be put in the agriculture sector for inducing short duration high yielding variety of multi cropping in the same field in a year so that the average income of a farmer's household can be multiplied. Naturally, income multiplication in rural area would create massive demand for various goods and economic services and resultant investment would in turn create employment opportunities. Income multiplication in rural area has got direct bearing on investment opportunities in our state.

BAMBOO

Assam has the highest concentration of bamboo having high potential for commercialization. Bamboo is the best natural engineering

material on this planet. India's 64% and world's 20% growing stock of bamboo grows in NE India. North east annually harvests bamboo worth of 500 billion rupees. Consumption of wood is rising at 10% per annum in India. As a substitute for timber, it can be extensively used as a material for building, scaffolding and furniture beside this serve as a raw material for host of industrial uses. Therefore bamboo processing and various value additions would throw up new opportunities. There are also substantial areas under homestead cultivations and commercial cultivation is taking place.

TEA

Assam tea grown at sea level, is known for its body, briskness, malty flavour and strong bright color. Though Assam tea generally indicates the distinctive black teas from Assam, the region also produces relatively smaller quantities of green and white tea as well with their own distinctive characteristics. Here, tea is grown both in the Brahmaputra and Barak plains. Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon and Sonitpur are the districts where tea gardens are mostly found.

Assam is the world's single largest tea growing region. At present Assam produces about 55% of the country's total tea production and about 1/6th of the tea produced in the world. In 1970, the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre was established for better marketing of the tea produced in the region. This is the world's largest CTC tea auction centre and the world's second largest in terms of total tea. It now auctions more than 150 million kg of tea valued at more than Rs. 550.00 crores annually.

The economic realization of the importance of tea in Assam is a foregone conclusion. Along with the organized sector the proliferation of small tea cultivation in Assam has created vast

employment opportunities in the rural areas giving economic impetus as well as employment generation.

The Government of India has created a Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) which is meant for rejuvenation of tea bushes. This will benefit about 700-800 tea gardens of the state. In an important policy decision - the Government has decided to secure a geographical indication for the tea produced in the state. 'Assam Tea' will be known as 'Assam Orthodox Tea' once the geographical indication is secured, thus making it an exclusive commodity and raising its stakes in the global market.

AGAR WOOD INDUSTRY

Assam's soil condition is particularly suitable for growing Sanchi plant or Agar wood. The Agar wood oil of Assam enjoys international brand equity. Particular state or region must have a mission for socio-economic development of the people utilizing its endemic potential resources as we have in Assam. Agar wood or Aquilaria Agollocha has been identified as the most potential species of wood which can generate large scale income and employment for the people of the state. It is noteworthy that today Assam's Reserved Forests do not have Agar trees. Therefore, unnecessary restriction on growing Agar trees in private land and homesteads should be done away with. As Agar wood can grow abundantly and regeneration of this plant in Assam is very easy because of very special climate and soil condition in our state the restriction by Forest Department describing Agar wood as one of the endangered species need to be reviewed. The extractions of aromatic oil from Agar wood and trade of Agar oil / derivatives can be regulated in the entire state for curbing any illegal trade so that optimum returns are forthcoming to the people of Assam. The new Industrial Policy would like to recognize Agar wood plantation in private homesteads and land and its processing industry as a very important potential for Assam's economic development. The

Industry Department will frame rules for legalized Agar wood aromatic oil industry in Assam.

PLYWOOD INDUSTRY

Assam was the market leader till 1996 producing almost 80% of India's total plywood but now it is producing only 5% to 8% of India's plywood due to the ban on cutting trees. Plywood is made from fast growing poplar trees (Populus ciliate) which can be naturally be grown in the region in forest area due to its suitable soil and climatic conditions. Plywood industry can be rejuvenated in Assam and it is a very potential sector for income and employment generation in the state.

The Investment and industrial policy 2008 of Assam suggest that all wood based industries should be located within the approved Industrial Estates and these industries would be encouraged to raise their own captive plantation or alternatively try to procure raw materials from Joint Forest Management Community Forestry or private plantation like Haryana. Wood based industries will be encouraged to raise their plantation for the raw materials for meeting their requirement or support individually/ communities to grow the raw materials with inputs including credit, technical advice, harvesting and transport services. Farmer's particularly small and marginal farmers would be encouraged to grow fast growing trees on marginal/ degraded land available with them. Government would also encourage import of wood for wood based industries with suitable fiscal incentives.

HORTICULTURE FLORICULTURE

The agro-climatic conditions favors cultivation of wide range of horticultural crops including plantation crops and various fruits and vegetables, flowers, spices, medicinal & aromatic plants, nut crops and tuber crops. Most horticulture products are organic as the use of Chemical Fertilizers is very low with the majority of the farmers still stick to traditional organic farming methods. Assam has over 600 varieties of Orchids. Around 200 varieties are unique to this region of which 60% are ornamental in nature. Assam also has a vast array of aromatic plants. At present most of the oils extracted are sold in crude form. Some of the plants are Citronella, Lemon Grass, Patchouli and Agar.

EXOTICS

Assam Lemon: An unique product of Assam with a high percentage of Vitamin C (10 mg.) besides Vitamin B (0.02 mg.), Niacin (0.1) per 100 gm. Extractable oil content of the peel is around 0.8% and can be used in the cosmetic industry.

Hatkora: An exclusive export item belonging to the citrus family. Peel is used for tenderizing meat and enhancing flavour in culinary dishes.

Orchids: Of the 925 varieties available in India, over 600 can be

grown in Assam. Around 200 varieties are unique to this region of which 60% are ornamental in nature.

Aromatic Rice (Joha Rice): Quality comparable with any popular aromatic rice in the world.

Bhut Jalakia (Capsicum Chinensis Jacq.): Hottest chili on earth with Scovelli Heat Unit (SHG) of 10,41,047.

FOOD PROCESSING

The food processing sector has the potential to grow in Assam with increasing demand for processed food. Opportunities exist in processing, sourcing, setting up cold chains and logistics. The Government of India has approved for setting up a Food Processing Industrial Park at Chaygaon near Guwahati in Kamrup District.

ORGANIC FARMING

Assam's favorable agro climatic condition is conducive for growing a wide range of vegetables, aromatic and medicinal plants, flowers, spices etc naturally. There are opportunities to source organically grown fruits and vegetables.

FRESH WATER PROCESSING

The state is endowed with abundant resource of fresh water which is rare in today's world. At a time when the world is waking up to the danger of global warming and the possibility of water scarcity in the future, Assam can position itself to quenching the thirst of water for the rest of the country by utilizing its water resources. The water resources in Assam can throw up new opportunities for water processing and supplying water commercially for the water scarce areas of other parts of the country besides energy generation in a most environment friendly manner.

CONCLUSION

Assam a land of natural beauties, lush green, rivers, lakes, hills, animals is the gateway to the North East India. It is a land of unexplored opportunities, gifted with abundant natural resources and having huge business potential in the field of mines & minerals, energy, oil, infrastructure, plastics & polymers, tourism, entertainment, education, sericulture, plantation, horticulture & floriculture, food processing & organic farming.

REFERENCES

www.google.com

www.yahoo.com

www.assamgovt.nic.in

www.surfindia.com

www.investinassam.com

assamagribusiness.nic.i

www.business-standard.com

www.rediff.com

www. wikipedia.com