Guwahati: As India looks east to diversify supply chains and deepen economic ties with Southeast Asia, Assam on Friday unveiled a Rs 2.85-lakh-crore budget for 2026-27 that seeks to position the state as the economic engine of the country’s Act East Policy.From proposing a Rs 1,164-crore semiconductor ecosystem with Japanese support around the Tata Electronics chip plant at Jagiroad to expanding cross-border trade with Bangladesh and Bhutan, to Rs 77,353 crore of energy investments, the largest investment pipeline in the state’s history, the budget lays out an ambitious blueprint to transform Assam into a high-technology manufacturing and logistics hub and a power-surplus state and the green energy hub of the northeast.The strategy is backed by the state’s strongest fiscal position in a decade, giving the govt room to sharply increase investment without compromising financial discipline.The 11th budget of the NDA govt in the state, presented by Finance minister Jayanta Mallabaruah in his speech, said, “In partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency, we propose to launch the Assam Semiconductor Ecosystem on Manufacturing and Innovation (A-SEMI) project with an estimated outlay of around Rs 1,164 crore, over five years.”He added that under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, “Assam has emerged as a key pillar of India’s Act East vision and a principal growth engine of the Ashta Lakshmi — the North Eastern Region.”Building on the Centre’s Act East Policy, the budget has proposed operationalising new border haats along the India-Bangladesh and India-Bhutan borders to revive local commerce and improve livelihoods in frontier areas.In a significant regional initiative, the budget backs the proposed Assam-Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Economic Zone, envisaged as an economic corridor linking Assam with Bhutan through multimodal connectivity and supporting infrastructure. The project is expected to complement Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City initiative while creating new opportunities in logistics, trade, tourism and services.The govt has also indicated that Assam will seek to leverage India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to expand exports of high-value products, signalling a shift from exporting primarily raw commodities to integrating the state into international manufacturing and supply chains.Together with the semiconductor ecosystem, the Aerotropolis around Guwahati airport and improved logistics infrastructure, these initiatives suggest that the govt is attempting to position Assam not merely as the gateway to the Northeast but as India’s eastern trade and manufacturing gateway.The budget also broadens Assam’s industrial ambitions beyond semiconductors by identifying aerospace and defence manufacturing as another sunrise sector. Citing the state’s expanding aviation infrastructure and the recently notified Assam MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) Policy, 2025, the govt has earmarked Rs 100 crore to support aerospace components manufacturing and related infrastructure.The objective is to attract investment in high-value manufacturing, strengthen local supply chains and create ancillary industries around aircraft maintenance and defence production.As part of the ecosystem, the govt has partnered with Dassault Systèmes to establish Centres of Excellence at Assam Engineering College in Aerospace & Defence, Automotive and Electric Vehicles, aimed at developing an industry-ready skilled workforce.The budget also revives one of the govt’s most ambitious technology initiatives — AssamSAT, billed as India’s first state-owned Earth Observation Satellite System. First announced in last year’s budget, the project will now be taken forward to provide high-resolution satellite data for disaster management, flood forecasting, natural resource mapping, agricultural planning, infrastructure development and climate resilience.
