Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma after unfurling the tricolour also unfurled the direction that his Government proposed to take in the coming months. Addressing the gathering during the 74th Republic Day celebrations, Dr. Sarma unveiled a series of measures that will focus on youth, education, health and social security while reiterating that the State’s growth trajectory is firmly in place, a sharp reversal from years gone by when the State was often referred to as one of the most difficult places to do business. The fact that the State Government has managed to pay its employees salaries from the revenue generated by it is a reflection that Assam is one of those States which is enjoying its rightful place under the sun in a new economic order in the country.
Also, official statistics point out that Assam’s GST growth is among the highest in the country, despite the two difficult years of Covid-19 means that the right financial architecture is already in place. Another important piece of information in his speech was that Government spending in the State has touched the important 1 lakh crore mark. It needs no reiteration that in States like Assam, which are late bloomers, the Government is still the major driver of business and opportunity generation. What the Government in Dispur now needs to do is to act more as a facilitator for private businesses to come and invest in the huge potential that the State offers in terms of its strategic location and manpower richness and bring the investment eco-system in place through its policy direction.
The success of his Government in bringing restive insurgents from various ethnic groups to the mainstream is one among these steps. His next big challenge and the most important one will be to get the ULFA (I) group to join the mainstream and be a partner in the growth trajectory of the State.
