Assam industries and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Thursday interacted with leading global firms operating across the US and India through a webinar, wooing them to invest in the state by assuring “customised support to each company by providing each of them with dedicated team of officers” .
At the webinar, facilitated by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) and assisted by Invest India, Patowary also instructed officials to fast-track all investments.
The companies included representatives from General Electric (GE), Hydrocarbon Dynamic (HCD), Pfizer, P&G, John Deere, Mastercard, eBay and Walmart.
This is the second time this month that Patowary is trying to position Assam as a conducive investment-destination before multinational companies, especially American, Japanese and Korean, looking to shift out of China for setting up production facilities in India following the corona outbreak.
On May 6, he had said that the industry department had engaged a renowned firm to suggest a policy framework to attract industries that are planning to move out of China.
On Thursday, Patowary underlined the proactive steps taken not only in the health sector to control Covid-19 pandemic, but also in putting the badly corona-hit economy back on track by allowing all its industries to resume operations by adhering to social distancing norms and other precautions.
He highlighted Assam’s geographic location, strong connectivity network, skilled workforce, ease of doing business, a strong pharmaceutical base for companies (Sun Pharma, Ajanta Pharma, Hetero Healthcare have units in Assam) with export potential to Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan to woo them.
Managing director, India, USIBC, Ambika Sharma, said: “Assam is the fulcrum of India’s Act East policy and gateway to Southeast Asia, making it crucial for global companies as they re-work business models, strategies and diversify supply chains. We thank the state leadership and look forward to working with them as strategic partners to promote business, investment and strengthening the policy environment.”
