Advantage Assam 2.0: ₹2.1 lakh cr push for energy, infra, waterways, start-ups, green transition; Day 2 highlights

After signing MoUs worth over ₹2 lakh crore on the first day of the Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit 2025, several corporations signed MoUs worth over ₹10,785 crore across key sectors, including mining, cement, beverages, data centres, and hydrogen energy, on the Day 2 of the event in Guwahati.

On the second day, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri spoke on the beginning of a new future for Assam and the North East. He said the summit, which is connecting the world to Assam's progress and possibilities,  will give an impetus to the potential of the North East and the developed India target set by the government.

"The economic performance of any nation is assessed based on its energy utilisation. Because energy is the backbone of any country's economy, it is its lifeline. India's crude oil consumption has increased. Soon it will increase by another 20%-30%. Besides, biofuel blending is touching the figure of around 20%. Achieving the target 6 years ahead of schedule shows India's efforts are in the right direction," said the Union minister.

₹4,800 cr to transform inland waterways

At the Summit, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled ₹4,800 crore plan to transform Assam’s inland waterways. He said ₹1,500 crore will be allocated for a planned transition into green vessels by 2030 under the ‘Harit Nauka’ scheme. Around ₹1,500 crore will be used to boost cruise tourism and enhance cargo handling capacity by 2027-28 in NW2 and NW16. An amount of ₹375 crore is pegged for the development of Phase II of the Ship Repair Facility at Pandu. To maintain the fairway, ₹191 crore has been earmarked to ensure an assured draft of 2.5 meters from the Bangladesh Border to Pandu in NW-2 till 2026-27.

The Union Minister also announced the development of the Water Metro Service in Guwahati and Dhubri for an estimated investment of ₹315 crore. Based on the success of Kochi Metro Service, a feasibility study is being conducted for this. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal also announced the deployment of two Electric Catamarans being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). A world-class cruise terminal will also be built in Guwahati with an estimated investment of ₹100 crore.

Boost to Assam's Startup ecosystem

During a theme session on the start-up ecosystems at Advantage Assam 2.0, Minister for Water Resources, Information & Public Relations Pijush Hazarika talked about Assam’s commitment to becoming a start-up hub. He mentioned the Assam Startup & Innovation Policy 2025, which offers financial incentives, including seed funding, grants, and tax benefits for both early-stage and scale-up start-ups across sectors like IT/ITeS, deep-tech, AI, agritech, and biotechnology. He said the Assam government plans to allocate ₹100 crores in the upcoming state budget to support the start-ups in terms of funding to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.

Mega MoUs signed at Summit

Meanwhile, Assam has attracted massive investments from some of India's largest corporations at the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit 2025. Companies across renewable energy, oil and gas, and infrastructure have pledged billions to establish themselves in the northeastern region. Vedanta Group (Cairn) has announced a mega ₹50,000 crore investment in the oil and gas sector, while Essar Group has signed an MoU worth ₹2,100 crore to develop renewable energy and EV battery projects. JSW Energy is also making a significant move with a ₹7,000 crore investment in renewable and clean energy initiatives, while Adani Total Gas Limited has committed ₹5,000 crore to expand city gas distribution networks in Assam.

Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd will invest ₹8,000 crore in a pump storage project (PSP) to boost Assam’s role in green energy transition. Stakeholders say these investments are expected to create thousands of jobs and position Assam as a critical hub for sustainable energy and infrastructure development.