Assam is seeking investments in green energy ahead of a major business summit on February 25 and 26.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said has drawn the attention of potential investors to Assam’s green energy revolution with opportunities “emerging very fast and thick” in floating solar, bio-CNG (compressed natural gas), green hydrogen and alcohol-to-jet (AJT) fuel.
During his meeting with leading industrialists in Mumbai on Saturday (February 8, 2025), the Chief Minister said Assam has the right investment climate backed with investor-friendly policies. “We are ready for a sustainable future,” he said.
The meeting was part of a series of initiatives toward making the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit a success. The summit is scheduled for February 25 and 26.
Mr Sarma met Sajjan Jindal, the chairman of the JSW Group; B.K. Goenka, the chairman of Welspun World; and Ravi Ruia, the vice-chairman of the Essar Group.
He discussed with the industrialists the scope and potential of partnering with the Assam government, especially in the infrastructure and energy sectors. “We have approved the Assam Startup and Innovation Policy to provide fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to encourage entrepreneurs as we aim to support 5,000 startups and create 1 lakh job opportunities in the next five years,” he said.
The Chief Minister underlined floating solar projects to generate power from numerous wetlands across the State, bio-CNG, green hydrogen, and AJT fuel.
A major producer of crude oil and natural gas, Assam has four refineries. One of them, the Numaligarh Refineries Limited, is in the process of setting up a ₹1,750-crore biorefinery unit to produce bioethanol from 5-lakh metric tonnes of bamboo per annum.
In April 2024, the public sector Oil India Limited commissioned “India’s first 99.999% pure” green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.
Assam’s “game-changing” project is expected to be the ₹27,000 crore semiconductor plant undertaken by Tata Electronics at Jagiroad, about 60 km east of Guwahati. The plant is designed to produce 4.83 crore chips per day using indigenously developed technologies.
Japanese industrial town
Mr Sarma and some of his Ministers have been touring India and abroad to invite industrialists and investors to the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit. During one such trip to Japan, he broached the idea of establishing a Japanese industrial town near Guwahati.
Speaking at a conclave in Guwahati a few days ago, he said Assam is seeking Japanese partnerships for investments in sectors such as electronics, semiconductors, precision engineering, green energy, electric vehicles, and sustainable innovations to fast-track industrial growth.
The Assam government’s Act East Policy Affairs Department, Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan, and Meghalaya Basin Development Authority partnered with Asian Confluence, a Shillong-based think-tank to organise the conclave.
“As Japan is a leader in electronics, robotics, renewable energy and innovations, we seek to enhance the cooperation with a focus on industry and innovation for sustainable growth,” the Chief Minister said.
“Many Japanese companies are collaborating with the upcoming semiconductor assembling unit. Therefore, we seek to establish a Japanese industrial town near the semiconductor unit to push this collaboration,” he said.
Published - February 09, 2025 09:40 am IST
