Assam Vision 2025 (India)

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1 Assam Vision 2025 (India) By Government of Assam INTRODUCTION 1.1 STATUS & POTENTIAL Last two decades of the 20 th Century witnessed unprecedented changes in the history of human development. On the one hand the cyber revolution and the introduction of global networking in communication have made most parts of the world easily accessible. They have brought into being the concept of a global village thereby throwing open enormous possibilities for each and every global citizen. Thus a global market has emerged for sharing the opportunities by all. On the other hand. The emergence of a consensus amongst most of the nations of the world, through the institution of the World Trade organisation, has brought into being a rule based trading system where one has to be competitive to survive. This consensus has not only set in a process of liberalisation but also knocked down the barriers of protectionism. The emerging opportunities have come with consequent risks. Unless our economy is efficient and the products are competitive, the changes of success will be fast receding. Therefore, there is no escape from quick streamlining of our economy for efficient production and high growth by tapping the existing potentials Assam with a total area of sq.km., two major rivers with a number of perennial tributaries, 2.24 crore people and varieties of natural resources is a sleeping giant whose energy is yet to be tapped. The State which had one a promising economy, has today slided into poverty and backwardness. At the beginning of the post independence era, Assam was ranked among the prosperous States of the country. The per capita income in Assam in was 4% above the national average (Table-1) but as the time passed, it gradually came to the all India average level in and slipped down further in the following years. In it stood at Rs.1628 which was 41% below the all India average of Rs the growth rate of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) in Assam (Table-2) since 1987 has been declining. While the all India growth rate of GDP during the period 1987 to 1999 has been around 65, in case of Assam it has been 3.7% in the beginning and has come down to 1.8% in

2 1.1.3 Not only that the GDP growth rate has been declining, the more disturbing factor has been the changes that have taken palace during the last 30 years in the sectoral composition of the state GDP in , made only a contribution of 41.4% in The share of secondary sector during the same period came down from 145 to 12.1%. However the tertiary sector contribution went up from 31.3% to 46.5% during this period. The growth of tertiary sector has been apparently at the cost of the primary and the secondary sectors and substantially due to the increase in employment in the Government service which, during the last 20 years, has gone up from 2.28 lakh (Table 3). These data speak volumes about the neglect of the primary sector which provides sustenance to 70% of the total population of the State living in rural areas. This has led to a continuous pressure for employment in the Government sector since very little opportunities exist in the private sector within the State. The State Government has limited resources to meet the demand for jobs by young men and women. The amount of resources spent on the Government employees leaves very little for investment that is needed for development of the primary sector of the economy. On the other hand, 45% of the rural population today lives below the poverty line and it is well nigh impossible to burden them with any further tax to generate resources. The message out of the situation is loud and clear rural economy has to be boosted as top priority and more income has to be generated for the 70% of the population which depends upon the primary sector activities. Opportunities of self-employment have to be created for gearing up the secondary sector and thus reduce the pressure on the Government for jobs. For both these purposes investment has to be arranged from all possible sources and that too in the shortest possible time Growing unemployment has been a serious cause of concern. Around 9.85 lakh educated persons were registered with the various employment exchanges in the State in About 9.50% of these registered persons were graduates & 87.5% of them were matriculates and HSSLC holders. As these numbers swell over the coming years, avenues have to be created for providing them gainful employment. Farm sector holds the brightest promise to tackle this problem & massive efforts would be needed to create opportunities in this sector. I. T. sector is another area where job opportunities can be found in large number for educated unemployed & this has to be tapped to the maximum possible extent by gearing up suitable Vocational/Educational programmes in the early years of the next century While the economy has been sliding all these years, the population growth has been exceptionally high in the State. While the population in the country during the last three decades ( ) grew by 92.7%, it has grown by 107.4% in Assam during the same period (Table 4). Population density in Assam was 286/sq.km as against the national average of 267/sq.km in The reasons for this unusual growth are well known. Overall result of this

3 growth has been the breakdown of the State's economy. The population of the State is expected to reach around 4 crore by 2025 which would put tremendous pressure on land and infrastructure. Serious efforts are, therefore, required to rein in all factors, including migration of foreigners, which are contribution to this growth The infrastructure development in the State has been extremely slow. It has been lagging behind almost every State of the country except that of Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and other North Eastern States (Table 5). Power generation and distribution is not adequate to support the growth of industry in the State. The conditions of roads and bridges are not at all conducive for promoting any worthwhile economic activity like tourism (Table 6). These deficiencies in infrastructure have to be attended on priority if economic activities and services are to be supported and encouraged However, a silver lining in the dark clouds has been visible during this period of depressing economy. On the human resource development front, the State has fared rather well. The literacy rate, according to 54 th round of National Sample survey, has been 80% against the all India average of 60%. This encourages us to hope for substantial avenues of employment in the job market outside the State. A well defined strategy to expose our young men and women to the requirements of the newly emerging job market within and outside the country is needed. The level of literacy among the women, Tribels and scheduled caste people has also been very encouraging (Table 7) and sustained efforts are needed to improve upon the same and to assist these educated persons in finding out a fruitful vocation for themselves. The literate women hold the key to population control and development of healthy and accomplished future generations. This potential has also to be exploited. To properly channelise the energies of youth, sports activities shall have to be encouraged and quality facilities for it would need to be developed The picture today in respect of foreign direct investment, setting up 100% export oriented units and establishment of new industries in the State is dismal and needs focussed attention urgently. The factor responsible for the stagnation in trade and commerce on one hand and lack of participation of private sector in the development activities on the other, is the sudden discontinuation of contacts with the East and South East Asian countries with whom there existed traditional links before independence. Tremendous potential for trade, commerce, tourism and investment can be created if these linkages are revived. Sustained efforts shall have to be made to attract investment for the economic and infrastructural development and to open up the economy of the state to reap the benefits in the changing global scenario Health infrastructure in the State needs development to improve the

4 services for better quality of life of the people and the deficiencies require to be made up as early as possible (Table 8). Special attention is needed for the health of children and women who hold the key for the future The existing rate investment in the State can take its NSDP from Rs crores ( ) to Rs crores by the end of at constant prices of The per capita income may touch Rs mark by the same time if the current rate of growth of population continues, which would be below the projected National average of per capita income. A well defined strategy to bring the per capita income to the level of national average would need exceptionally high rate of about 8.6% for the growth of GDP. However the planning for next 25 years would have to be done to gradually achieve parity between state and the National average of per capita income and the GDP growth by 2025 (Table 9) Uncertainty of planning process arising out of dwindling resources, mixed with its extensive coverage without any sharp focus on vital development sectors, has affected the progress over the last few decades and this needs correction. The focus of planning has to be shifted from expenditure oriented sprinkling exercise to a sector specific growth approach and to reduce all unproductive and avoidable investments. The deficits in budgeting have to be brought down to zero to endure full attainment of plan objectives. This can be done by augmentation of all available resources and encouraging private investments Above all, the most important factor for development is our attitude towards work. The despondency that we are backward and neglected, has become a cliché. This seems to have got so deeply ingrained in our collective conscience that we stopped all introduction for finding our own weaknesses. This fatalism must be shed lest we are overtaken by an impending tragedy. The experience, world over, ahs shown and also proved that hard work, discipline and foresight can achieve miracles. This must be our motto in the new century. Our commitment to international agreement relating to WTO and IPR makes it expedient on our part to be competitive and avoid seeking refuge under the past glory. Contour of State s pride and glory would have to be defined afresh in the next century in the light of the emerging situation. Hand work and zest for excellence alone can enable us to face the challenge and competition in the global economy of the new century. 1.2 STRATEGIC THEME The basic objective of the sectoral strategy to initiate a process of synchronised development between the existing government agencies in order to achieve a resurgent economy, which not only can withstand the sweeping process of liberalisation and globalisation but also improve the quality of

5 life of every citizen in Assam. The main thrust area in the Rural Economy which provides livelihood for 70% of our population. Rural economy encompasses Agriculture and allied sectors, small and medium industry, handloom and cottage industry and land reforms. It is obvious from the present trend that the flow of outside investment in these sectors will be marginal. Therefore, the Government proposes to adopt a direct intervention strategy to alleviate poverty and minimise unemployment. A major component of this intervention includes strategic development of human resource. The available education infrastructure to-gather with the existing literacy level will be further augmented for a break through. Running parallel to this will be increased investment in social sectors like health, nutrition, welfare activities including upliftment of the economically backward communities. The final objective will be to improve the quality of life for all in Assam The Vision: Assam 2025 envisages a partnership with the private sector to tap their resources and technology, particularly in the areas of power, communication, transport and industry. The existing resources available with the Government are far from adequate to establish the infrastructure for rapid industrial growth. Therefore, the sectoral strategy is specially designed to dovetail the private Sector capabilities into the economic growth process. The Government will play the role of a facilitator for augmenting private sector participation The sectoral strategy lays utmost emphasis on sectors like Tourism and Handloom where Assam traditionally enjoys comparative advantage. Our strength and potentials in these sectors have to be properly harnessed. Assam combined with the whole of North East, has enormous potential to became a tourist paradise. We have not been able to tap even a fraction of this potential to our advantage. Moreover, this smokeless industry can provide large number of direct and indirect employment even in the remotest part of the State. Similarly, our traditional handloom and handicraft products have been the envy of our competitors. We need to develop these products for higher value addition in the world market. It can open up new avenues for our traditional weavers and craftsmen. We need to maximise our gains in these sectors where we have the potentials. Thus the following sectoral strategy endeavours to lay down the blue print for an integrated economy to take on the challenges of coming 25 years. Source: Access time: 03/03/2003