Guwahati: During the 71st plenary meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong yesterday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged the central government to come up with a new industrial policy for the North East to attract "more private investments."

Biswa Sarma argued that with such a policy in place, the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the next fiscal year will increase significantly from its current level. Assam's GSDP for 2022–23 is now estimated to be Rs 4,81,657 crore, representing an 11% rise over the revised estimate of GSDP for 2021-22, which was Rs 4,33,925 crore.

Speaking about the various infrastructure development projects, particularly on the road infrastructure front, CM Sarma stated that the state government has prioritized the development of school infrastructure, with a substantial amount of monetary resources allotted under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) and the PM-DevINE scheme being spent on secondary school infrastructure improvement. 

Various initiatives have been implemented to achieve self-sufficiency in several areas, including fish, egg, and milk production in the state, the Chief Minister pointed out.

Speaking during the NEC plenary, CM Sarma extended his gratitude to the current administration at the Center for the Northeastern Region's socioeconomic progress and development. He stated that the northeastern region has launched on a revolutionary path.

According to the Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024, which was recently issued by the NITI Aayog, Assam's multidimensional poverty has dropped dramatically from 36.97% in 2013–14 to 14.47% in 2022–23. Sarma stated that the fall in poverty rate has lifted approximately 80 lakh people out of poverty over the previous nine years.
 
CM Sarma went on to say that the state government has taken many steps to enhance Assam's status in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rankings, resulting in the formation of a favorable investment climate in the state and several large-scale investments in recent years.