GUWAHATI: Assam has urged the Centre to make suggestions to multinational companies “willing” to migrate their base to India, to set up production facilities in the state.
Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday informed that he has already discussed the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he said, has responded positively on the issue.
Sonowal has also sent a letter to the central government to make suggestions to those companies to invest in Assam.
It may be mentioned that the state industries department has already taken up the matter with the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), Invest India, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), US-India Business Council and US Chamber of Commerce to facilitate and advise companies, who are willing to shift from China, to set up their production facilities in Assam.
The state is also looking at the prospect of housing a Japanese industrial township to attract investment from Japanese firms.
The industries department has also engaged a global firm, Ernst & Young (E&Y) to study and assess the impact of the lockdown on the industrial sector in Assam and suggest policy framework to attract industries that are planning to move out of China.
Meanwhile, as part of the state government’s efforts to revitalise the industrial sector, which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonowal on Monday interacted with representatives of central and state government PSUs, industry and tea associations here and solicited their suggestions to arrest the economic slowdown.
He also talked to several industry leaders through video conference who joined the interaction from different parts of the state and the country.
“The state government is concerned about the loss incurred by the industries and has come up with measures to check the economic slowdown”, Sonowal said during the interaction.
He further informed that the state government has constituted an economic advisory committee to suggest recommendations to the government to deal with issues affecting the economy and to boost economic activities in the state
