ASSAM: ECONOMIC BACKGROUND

The backbone of the economy of Assam is agriculture. This is borne out by the fact that as much as 90% of the total rural population of the state depend on their land for sustenance.

Researches carried out by the state agriculture department have shown that 24.90 lakh hectares account for the net cultivable land.

While some farmers cultivate in their own land, others are hired to work in fields owned by big-time farmers.

PRINCIPAL CROPS OF ASSAM

The agricultural produces of Assam can be broadly divided into the cash and food crops.

The climate and soil of the state is also suitable for growing cash crops like cotton, jute, tea, oil seeds, sugarcane, potato, orange, and banana, among others.

The other cash crops grown extensively in the state include the spices like black pepper, ginger, chillies, and garlic.

Rice is the principal food crop grown in the region.

Besides, many vegetables like potatoes, onion, tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and radishes besides leafy vegetables like lettuce, coriander, among others are also being cultivated on a commercial basis.

In some of the hilly areas, fruits like bananas, oranges and pineapples are also being cultivated with professional aid.

A significant aspect of the forest areas of the state is the natural growth of bamboo and bananas. The climatic condition is ideal for such plants.

This has plodded many enterprising youths to adopt the cultivation of bananas and bamboo on profitable cooperative plans.

STATE GOVERNMENT’S EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVES

The State Government has initiated many measures to solve unemployment through their many schemes. The authorities are going for major tie-ups with the village women and youth organizations to give empowerment – both economic and social.

They are also getting many other backups from the authorities concerned. Such aid includes financial and technical support.

The Agriculture department along with the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the youth clubs as well as the village co-operative societies has been carrying out massive awareness programs to enthuse the local woman folk and the youth force in various developmental projects.

These have a multi-pronged strategy: First, the unemployment problem has been resolved to a considerable extent.

Second, a pool of local entrepreneurs is being created. They are giving employment to others.

Third, this has reduced the pressure on the state government to give the educated employed youth job avenues in the government sector.

Fourth, the examples of these hard and smart working Assamese youth are an eye-opener to other youth of their age. As a result, the youth are today coming forward to open up their cottage, small scale industries (SSIs) and medium scale industries (MSIs).

ASSAM: ECONOMIC STATUS

The economy of Assam is the largest in the entire North East region of India.

According to the 2003-04 national economic analysis, Assam has a per capita income of Rs.12, 593.

This is despite the fact the erstwhile undivided state of Assam was much larger than what it is today.

This reduction in the geographical mass of Assam is due to the fact that several states those of Meghalaya and Nagaland were carved out due to political compulsions.

The economy of Assam depends on the indirect and direct taxes. The State exchequer also draws a considerable amount of revenue from the agricultural sector – of which the tea industry is the primary money earner.

Among the agricultural products is tea which has a demand in the international market.  Besides, the other sectors are the petroleum and the mining sectors.

The primary major industrial endeavors of Assam are oil, coal, and cement to a certain extent.

LIVELIHOOD TRENDS

Though the majority of the Assamese population depends on agriculture as its means of livelihood it is not that all the family members carry on this trade. It normally happens that the children always get a better education from that of their parents. This single factor has its positive as well as negative aspects.

OLD OCCUPATION MORES

The positive aspect is that the children always would be going for a better social status. Nonetheless, this has in its roots the very germs of the negative aspect. The father may be a peasant however the son after clearing the high school stage would be looking askance at the patriarchal profession. This leads the son or the daughter to seek government jobs which are again quite scarce in India.

This had set into motion a mad race for plump ‘sitting jobs’ in the government sector. 

A TYPICAL WHITE COLLAR JOB PSYCHOLOGY

The typical psychology is to go for a government job even if it is of the third-grade stage simply because the person would one day be able to retire with pension and gratuity.

This feeling makes many of the government employees so complacent that they refuse to even read the writings on the wall. Most of them do not possess any house of their own on the day of superannuation.

This is because they have been living in quarters till date.  As a result, they turn out to be ships without rudders.

Interestingly enough, very few of the Assamese parents seek blessings of the Almighty to make their children entrepreneurs.

CHANGE IN JOB OPTIONS

However, the modern times have brought about a welcome change among the youth force. The direct effect is reflected in the evolution of a rising trend among the young blood of entrepreneurial activities.

The government has welcomed the move with many schemes and aid – financial as well as technical.

INVESTMENT DESTINATION: MAIN FOCUS

A watershed in the economic history of Assam is 2003. That was the year when the government undertook a plethora of schemes to put the state on the fast track of economic development.

The 2003 economic plan was a multi-pronged scheme. While focusing on arresting the disturbing rising trend of unemployment the authorities concerned endeavored to woo potential investors from across the globe.

It justifiably encouraged the entrepreneurs to invest in the largest economy of the north-eastern part of India.

Here is a list of the main small, medium and large scale industries in alphabetical order. It will give you a bird’s eye view of the state’s industrial sectors.

1.    Agricultural products
2.    Biotech items
3.    Bamboo and cane
4.    Chemical and plastic
5.    Engineering
6.    Electronic
7.    Export oriented industries
8.    Food processing
9.    Herbal products
10.    Handicrafts sector
11.    IT based industries
12.    Industries on locally available minerals
13.    Natural gas based industries
14.    Pharmaceuticals
15.    Processing of plantation crops
16.    Petroleum

NOTE: For more details check the section on ‘Assam industrial policy’.