Private investment in Assam – Issues & Prospects (by Mrigakhi Rabha) – APSC Mains Essay

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Private investment in Assam – Issues & Prospects – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 6)

 

Private investment in Assam – Issues & Prospects by Mrigakhi Rabha

Liberalisation reform of 1990 in India has provided a platform for investors to choose their investment location in the country. The present BJP led government of Assam has organized first ever global investor summit, “Advantage Assam”, which encouraged and excited private investors to participate. It has seen investment commitment to nearly Rs. 70000 crores in various sectors. Assam government has recognized 12 sectors in the summit; agriculture and food processing, handloom-textile-handicrafts, logistics, river transport, port township, IT-ITeS, pharmaceutical-medical equipment, plastics, petrochemicals and powers for encouraging private investment.

However, there are various obstacles attached with the private investment in the state: i) Natural Calamities such as floods and droughts which impact a large production and income of the state. The quality of infrastructure is pulled down. Revenue generated are diverted for the flood relief ii) The difficult terrain contributes to poor transport facilities. Railway transport facilities are less than what is required to its need to reach the isolated areas iii) Instead of preservation, it has been observed a depletion of huge quantity of natural resources. Investment in Assam is channelized towards the exploitation of the rich resources like tea, jute and oil iv) The sensitive border goes against the economic interest of the state and maintenance of law and order is a critical subject in the state. Large amount of money is spent in the maintenance of the police administration v) The administration of Assam is neither efficient nor clean.

But we should not ignore the prospects that can parallelly flow with the private investment undertaken. Assam is not only the largest economy of the North Eastern region of India but it is also industrially advanced and has comparative proximity of gateway for India to connect with ASEAN countries. Its proximity lies with its rich natural resources which is still bringing a prominent name in the business of tea. Other resources such as mineral, oil, rubber, cultivation of organic vegetables and fruits will bring a respectable position to the state. With the advantage of the pleasant climate and scenic landscape, the tourist department is looking for private investment to give a boost to tourist and offer a variety of choices for the visitors from world heritage site to the temples and monuments. The state also enjoys various educational institution which guarantees skilled workforce, the investors do not have to hire workers from the other states.

Assam being a backward state in the country is trying its best to climb the ladder of economic development. It has been gifted with rich natural resources which if under proper channel made investment in it, would reach to a new height of development. The state government of Assam is trying to connect with various investors through summit and positively it has resulted with huge amount of investment. Thus we may look for prosperous Assam in near future.

[ 470 Words ]

 

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