Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit: Cabinet clears MoUs worth over ₹1.22 lakh crores

GUWAHATI: The Assam Cabinet on Sunday approved memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth over ₹1.22 lakh crores to be signed during the Advantage Assam 2.0 infrastructure and investment summit scheduled to be held in Guwahati next week.

“After a nearly three-hour-long deliberation, the Cabinet approved proposals worth ₹1.22 lakh crores from various sectors, except piggery. The figure could go much higher once more announcements are made by different companies during the summit,” chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

“The Cabinet cleared the MoUs after detailed discussion as we didn’t want to encourage flimsy or casual deals and create unnecessary euphoria among people. The cabinet rejected MoU proposals worth ₹45,000 crores. Apart from the MoUs, there will be announcements for investments as well as for infrastructure,” said Sarma.

The CM said that while some MoUs will have a financial component there will be others where there won’t be any monetary exchange but will deal with exchange of technology or assure jobs for the state’s youths.

Sarma said that those MoUs which are of less than ₹50 crore will be signed during the summit at the districts where the projects will come up. The Cabinet has approved 2,590 such MoUs which will generate an additional investment of ₹15,911 crores.

Advantage Assam 2.0 will be a sequel to the first such investment summit held in Guwahati in 2018 when Sarbananda Sonowal, who is now a Union minister, was the chief minister of the state. Multiple MoUs to invest in the state valued at over ₹65,000 crores were signed by companies during that summit.

The summit, which will be held on February 25 and 26, will be attended by a host of important dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Anil Agarwal, Sajjan Jindal and Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran among others.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar, railways, information and broadcasting, electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, communications and development of north-east minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri and minister for shipping and ports Sarbananda Sonowal will take part in different sessions during the summit. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be part of the valedictory session.

Sarma also gave details of a Jhumair dance performance by the tea-tribe community of the state in which around 8,800 participants will take part. The event will be held on Monday, a day ahead of the summit, and will be witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and heads of missions to India from 61 countries.