Guwahati: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) tested over 2.15 lakh product samples in FY24, marking an 18 per cent rise from the previous year. Assam’s Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Biswaranjan Samal, IAS, cited this surge as a signal of greater industrial oversight and compliance during his address at the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s monthly industry interaction in Guwahati recently.
The event was held under ICC’s “Guest of the Month” series on the theme “Streamlining Standards and Enhancing Efficiency: Strengthening Food Security, Consumer Protection, and Ease of Doing Business in Assam.” BIS’s expanded scope includes mandatory testing, hallmark certification, formulation of Indian standards across 16 sectors, and conformity assessments. These functions are supported by a nationwide network of BIS laboratories.
Samal said that two new regulatory mandates under BIS — the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety Order (2024) and the Electrical Appliances Quality Control Order (2024)- are scheduled for implementation later this year. These are expected to cover new categories of electrical and industrial equipment under mandatory compliance. Samal said, “These orders will expand BIS coverage across additional industrial categories, compelling firms to comply with mandatory quality and safety testing. BIS currently operates a national network of labs for testing, hallmarking, and conformity assessments. The BIS is also carrying out institutional engagement through more than 10,000 Standards Clubs in educational institutions and consumer outreach through the 'I-Care' initiative.”
Ease of Doing Business Measures Integrated with Regulatory Reform:
Samal outlined Assam’s ongoing reforms aimed at integrating regulatory frameworks with industrial facilitation. Under the Assam Ease of Doing Business Act, 2016, and through the Single Window Clearance System, the state currently offers over 270 services across 23 departments. The application disposal rate under this platform stands at 98 per cent, according to data presented at the session.
The reforms include:
These measures are part of Assam’s compliance with the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), led by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Samal added that the Reducing Compliance Burden (RCB) initiative is central to the current regulatory model, targeting digitisation and removal of overlapping approvals.
Sector-Specific Policies to Attract Private Investment
Assam has introduced multiple investment-specific policies in the past two years to attract capital into targeted sectors:
1. The Electronics & Semiconductor Policy (2023) aims to facilitate electronics manufacturing and component assembly units.
2. The Poultry Commercialisation Policy (2024) focuses on aggregating livestock production and processing capacity.
3. The Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy (2025) is designed to offer land, fiscal, and process-linked incentives for companies in defence manufacturing.
These policies are tied to the state’s industrial land bank and infrastructure zones that have been mapped under sectoral suitability studies.
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Rs 500 Cr Infrastructure Boost and Investor Facilitation
To support investment-linked industrialisation, the Government of Assam has allocated Rs 500 crore for the development and upgrade of industrial infrastructure zones, particularly in areas adjacent to highways and logistics corridors. These zones are expected to have access to trunk infrastructure, including road connectivity, power supply, and water provisioning.
Dedicated Relationship Managers have been deployed across priority sectors to support investors' onboarding, project tracking, and inter-departmental coordination for time-bound implementation.
Regulatory Systems as Investment Enablers
The state’s approach, as outlined by Samal, connects three key policy levers: enforcement of standards through BIS, removal of administrative friction through EODB frameworks, and capital-linked policy incentives across sectors. BIS, through its evolving mandates, is being positioned not just as a regulatory body but as a partner in industrial quality assurance and market credibility. The cumulative impact of these measures is intended to position Assam as a state with regulatory clarity, process efficiency, and infrastructure availability for private capital deployment.
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