Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday launched the Assam Logistics and Warehousing Policy 2022, intending to make the northeastern state a sectoral hub to augment economic development.

The state government also signed an MoU with Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) for easing financial support. 

The government also inked another MoU with SIDBI Venture Capital for start-ups in the state. 

The size of the venture capital fund is Rs 200 crore, of which Rs 100 crore will be contributed by the state government, Rs 50 crore by SIDBI and the remaining Rs 50 crore will be by other contributors.

Speaking on the occasion, Sarma termed September 19, 2022, as the red-letter day for businesses because the MoUs are expected to lead to rapid industrialization and revamp of the micro, small and medium enterprises. 

The collaboration with CGTMSE aims at providing additional guarantee coverage for the loans given by lending institutions to micro and small units in Assam.

The chief minister appealed to the young entrepreneurs to enhance their efforts to develop a robust MSME ecosystem in the state.

In view of today’s intense competition in the consumer markets, it is high time that MSMEs modernize their applications and improve the quality of products for survival in the national and international markets, he said.

Giving a brief scenario of the MSME sector in Assam, Sarma said there are more than 66,000 units, which contribute 29 per cent to the state GDP.

"Out of these industrial units, 88 per cent are micro, and 11.5 per cent are small and medium entities. This means that MSMEs constitute 99.5 per cent of the industrial sector of the state," he added.