File photo: Chandra Mohan Patowary

Assam industries and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary reviewed the status of industrial activities in the districts of Assam with all the general managers of district industries and commerce centers (DICCs) through a video conference on May 28.

Principal secretary KK Dwivedi and other senior officials were also present in the VC.

Discussing the present production activities of the state, Patowary said: “Industry sector contributes 39% to the state GDP. In the current COVID situation, it should be the collective responsibility of all the GMs that industries and tea gardens function smoothly with strict compliance to COVID-19 SOP guidelines.”

In view of the oxygen requirement in the state, the minister directed the GMs to provide full support to the oxygen production units and facilitate smooth movement of raw materials to the pharmaceutical plants in their respective districts.

He added that GMs must coordinate with the deputy commissioners for land allotment of additional industrial estates in each district. He highlighted that Dhemaji has the highest potential for industrial development with improved connectivity through the Bogibeel bridge and asked Dhemaji GM for establishment of a 1,000-bigha industrial estate in the district.

Patowary further instructed the GMs to visit the industries, tea factories and address any issues and emphasized that no industry should shut down due to the COVID pandemic and no industry should lay off any of its employees.

He also mentioned that the Union ministry of food processing industries has set a target of 13,000 mini food parks in Assam and asked the GMs to identify suitable land so that the units in the informal sector may avail the benefits.

In view of the MoU of the industry department with Flipkart, minister Patowary called upon the GMs to bring the weavers, artisans and craftsmen into the e-commerce platform and allow them national market access.

Meanwhile, Flipkart on May 28 announced the introduction of Assamese language on its platform. The addition of Assamese will simplify the e-commerce journey of millions of customers from the region and create opportunities for local sellers, MSMEs and artisans. With the addition of Assamese, the Flipkart app is now available in nine Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and Odia.

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Avatar photo
About TNM NewsDesk

-

The News Mill is a Guwahati-based digital media with focus on content from across Northeast India and beyond. We can be reached through [email protected]