The Advantage Assam-2.0 was held on February 25th and 26th, 2025, after a seven-year hiatus since the first edition, the Advantage Assam Global Investors’ Summit 2018. The 2025 Summit appears to have been four times more successful for the organizers: the Assam government, AIDC Ltd., and industry partners FICCI and E&Y.
In 2018, the Assam government invested more than Rs. 32 crore, and approximately 200 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs. 1 lakh crore were signed. The current edition exceeded expectations, with proposals for over 1,500 MoUs representing investments worth Rs. 4.91 lakh crore. Now, it remains to be seen how many of these proposed projects will materialize. Not to be outdone in attracting investors, other states also signed MoUs at their investor summits: West Bengal Rs. 4.4 lakh crore, Chhattisgarh Rs. 3 lakh crore, Odisha Rs. 16.7 lakh crore, Madhya Pradesh Rs. 30.8 lakh crore, Karnataka Rs. 10.6 lakh crore, and others. The question arises: do all these states have the capacity to utilize these substantial investments over a period of 5 to 10 years? Furthermore, are these MoUs legally binding, or can they be easily broken?
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During the Summit’s inaugural session, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, and Anil Agarwal each announced Rs. 50,000 crore investments across various sectors. Ambani’s Reliance Industries “will invest Rs. 50,000 crore over the next five years” across five verticals, including green energy, nuclear energy, and hospitality, “to accelerate Assam’s growth and transform it into a technological powerhouse.” Part of the investment will support the production of FMCG fizzy drinks, such as Campa Cola and Campa Energy Drink.
In February, a beverage plant was inaugurated in Kamrup district. A portion of the investment will also be used to expand the retail footprint of Smart Bazaar. Reliance also envisions a bio-refinery to produce ethanol and biogas, utilizing the cultivation of Napier or elephant grass in Karbi Anglong. Adani’s Rs. 50,000 crore investment is earmarked for expanding the facilities of the LGBI Airport, developing an aero-city, city gas grids, EV charging infrastructure, and increasing the presence and manufacturing of Ambuja and ACC cement brands.
Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd.—Cairn Oil & Gas has provided more specific details, stating it will invest Rs. 50,000 crore in the Oil & Gas Sector in Jorhat and Golaghat districts. Vedanta’s stall at the Summit’s exhibition highlighted “Preserving Biodiversity,” and it is hoped that Cairn Oil & Gas will remain mindful of this commitment as they proceed with exploring the 10 OALP (Open Acreage Licensing Policy) blocks and monetizing the 3 DSFs (Discovered Small Fields) covering 7,295 sq. km. It is also hoped that, while unlocking Assam’s hydrocarbon potential of more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), Cairn will be conscious of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors. Hazarigaon DSF in Golaghat district is Cairn’s first block in Northeast India to enter production.
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The organizers kept online registration for the Summit open until February 20th, resulting in over 20,000 approved and registered delegates. This led to a large crowd in the plenary hall, which had approximately 2,200 seats. While encouraging student participation was commendable, it would have been more beneficial if placement committees from Higher Education Institutions had been invited to interact at the B2B or B2G venues. The large crowds at the various sectoral sessions, where halls had a limited seating capacity of around 200, prevented many interested investors and delegates from attending.
On Day 2, during the session “Bamboo—Green Gold Potential of Assam,” the presence of VIPs and the overwhelming crowd led police personnel in plain clothes to prevent delegates from entering the hall. Those who did enter attended the two-hour sessions standing, while students and host government personnel occupied the chairs. Delegates who missed many overlapping sessions or were prevented from attending due to lack of seating could later view some recorded sessions on the Advantage Assam 2.0 App.
Corporations are attracted by the “Assam Integrated Clean Energy Policy (ICEP) 2025,” which covers multiple clean energy technologies, including solar (ground-mounted, floating, rooftop, and hybrid), biofuel, waste-to-energy and biomass power plants, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and battery energy storage. The ICEP offers various incentives, such as land allotment on lease for renewable energy (RE) projects, fast-track approval through single-window clearance, 100% exemption from electricity duty for green hydrogen and RE, and 100% reimbursement of fees for land reclassification and stamp duty.
While investments are flowing in, the primary constraint is the limited availability of fallow land in Assam for establishing ground-mounted solar plants. The investment brochure states that Assam has a renewable energy potential of 14,487 MW. The Assam Renewable Energy Policy targets 1,200 MW of renewable energy capacity. In the short term, with an average of 280 sunny days annually, Assam aims to achieve 500 MW of solar capacity by 2027.
Welspun New Energy proposes a solar plant with an investment of Rs. 200 crore. Tata Power has signed an initial agreement to develop 5 GW of RE and clean energy projects with an investment of Rs. 30,000 crore over the next five years. Hindustan Power signed an MoU for an investment of Rs. 620 crore, with Rs. 500 crore allocated for a 100 MW solar power plant and Rs. 120 crore for a 100 MW battery energy storage facility.
Essar Group signed an MoU for Rs. 2,100 crore to develop RE and EV battery projects. JSW Energy is investing Rs. 7,000 crore in RE and clean energy. Greenko Energies Pvt. Ltd. will invest Rs. 8,000 crore in a pumped storage project (PSP). Adani Total Gas Ltd. has committed Rs. 5,000 crore to expand the city gas distribution network across Assam. All of these initiatives aim to make Assam a leading hub for sustainable energy.
On Day 2, the session “Assam’s Road, Railway, and Riverine Infrastructure: India’s Expressway to Development of NER and ASEAN Countries” garnered significant attention. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Vijay Kumar, Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, announced a Rs. 4,800 crore plan to transform Assam’s inland waterways in an integrated manner.
To maintain a minimum depth of 2.5 meters through dredging from Pandu to the Bangladesh border, Rs. 191 crore will be invested in National Waterway (NW)-2 until 2026-27. Rs. 375 crore is allocated for the development of a ship repair facility at Pandu. Rs. 1,500 crore is earmarked for the transition to green vessels by 2030 under the “Harit Nauka” scheme. Kumar announced that within the next six months, two hybrid-electric catamarans will be operational in Guwahati. Another notable announcement was the Water Metro service for Guwahati and Dhubri, with an investment of Rs. 315 crore, similar to the Kochi Water Metro. A Regional Centre of Excellence is being established at Jogighopa to train Assam’s youth in the IWT sector.
The Day 2 concluding session of the Summit, “Building Futures: Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure in Assam,” attracted numerous local and external builders. D. Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, with extensive experience in urban development, spoke about the creative redevelopment of rapidly growing cities like Guwahati. The Lilavati Hospital Group signed an MoU for a 250-bed super-specialty hospital in Guwahati, with an investment of Rs. 300 crore. It is indicated that the hospital will be constructed within the city, serving local patients and those from neighboring states and countries.
Kavitha Padmanabhan, Commissioner & Secretary, Housing & Urban Affairs Department, Assam, announced that effluent treatment plants will be established along the Bahini and Bharalu rivers to purify the water before it is discharged into the Brahmaputra. Meanwhile, the Assam government signed a Rs. 5,000 crore MoU for an integrated solid waste management project with Hyderabad-based Re-Sustainability Ltd. (ReSL), formerly known as Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. This move has drawn criticism due to Ramky Enviro’s poor reputation and past allegations of failing to implement the Guwahati solid waste management project between 2008 and 2012.
The Assam cabinet approved the naming of the Jagiroad Satellite Industrial Township as Ratan Tata Electronic City, Jagiroad, on March 4th. The electronic city project will span 1,100 hectares on the land of the Jagiroad Paper Mill, with GMDA serving as the designated Special Implementing Agency. The first phase, covering 256 hectares, has been designated as the Assam Electronic and Semiconductor Logistics Park (AESLP).
The Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt. Ltd. (TSAT) facility, on a 70-hectare plot of land, is at an advanced level of implementation with an investment of Rs. 27,000 crore. It is hoped that Tata will be considerate of the significant environmental impact of the usage of lakhs of gallons of water from the Kopili River, greenhouse gas emissions, and the disposal of generated hazardous waste. During the Summit, Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said the company will also invest around Rs. 25,000 crore in electronics and mobile manufacturing.
It is hoped that more investments will continue to flow into Assam, attracted by untapped mineral and bio-resources, while policymakers and investors remain mindful of the sustainable development goals and ESG factors.