Making Of A Rich Brew

Employment opportunities, industrial expansion and a medical scheme targeted at 92 per cent of its population have put Assam on a fast growth trajectory.

- Kaushik Deka

One of the languages that saw a significant surge in south India—according to the Language Census 2011 data released in June—was Assamese. This finding was not surprising because, every year, Assam sees a massive outbound migration of job-seeking youth from the state. That’s the pattern of inter-state migration in India—people move from less affluent states to the most affluent states in search of livelihood, and Assam is one of the lowest-ranked states in the India today State of the States study in absolute performance.

However, the Economic Survey 2016-17, which studied internal migration patterns, had an interesting revelation—Assam is one of the states which saw a dip in outbound migration in recent years. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal offers his explanation behind this positive development. “Employment opportunities in the state are growing because of a transparent government recruitment system and increased private investment. It’s natural that youngsters are staying back home,” he says. The CM quickly belts out numbers to substantiate his claims—the Advantage Assam summit held in February this year resulted in an investment promise of Rs 79,000 crore of which Rs 8,000 was invested within five months. For instance, pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma has invested Rs 750 crore in the state to set up a production line that will boost the company’s capacity to manufacture liquid vials, injectables, eye drops and tablets. Another investment of Rs 200 crore is in the pipeline. “It has generated direct employment for 1,000 people and indirect employment for 3,000,” says Sonowal.