Economy of Assam



Assam, the largest state of North-Eastern India is the commercial hub of the region. During the last century, the state has witnessed an extensive growth of population owing to immigration of people from the neighboring nations, which has made a significant impact on the economy of the state. The economy of the state is a representation of paucity amidst abundance. The state has been endowed with natural bounties, which are still underutilized and it lags behind the rest of the states, especially in terms of infrastructure and industrialization. The economic growth rate of Assam has not witnessed any significant rise as compared to the other state of India Post-Independence. Instead, the state has witnessed a downfall in the economy, which was 6% per annum 1981 to 2000 and has significantly decreased to 3.3%. Furthermore, during the period of 6th plan, the state has experienced a negative growth of 3.78% and the fissure between the economic growth of India and Assam has increased.

Primarily an agrarian state, about 40% of the income is derived from agriculture and offers employment to over 50% of the state’s population. The net cultivated area of the State is 28.11 lakhs hectare during the year 2009 to 2010, which is approximately 88% of the total land available for agricultural cultivation in the State and during the year 2010 to 2011, the Agriculture sector contributed about 25% to the SDP (State Domestic Product). During the year 2010-11, paddy cultivation area covered was 25.71 lakhs hectares. Besides paddy, tea is the major crop grown in the state and approximately 15% of the total production in the World and about 50% of total production in India. Cotton, sugarcane, oilseeds, potato and jutes are the cash crops grown in the state along with jackfruit, coconut, banana, areca nut, guava, mango, orange and pineapple are grown on a small scale.

Apart from the share of tea production in the World, the state of Assam holds a prominent place as the oil hub of India. Two major large scale industries of Assam are Natural Gas and Petroleum, which makes up 50% of country’s production and Tea which make up 53% of all India production. Some of the other industries of Assam are cement, paper and petrochemical. Besides these, Silk production is another major industry of the State that contributes towards the economy of the state. Owing to the favorable climatic condition of the state that facilitates silk production, the Silk industry has grown remarkably. In addition to silk industry, spice production and horticulture as well contributes towards the economy of the state. Livestock and dairy farming, forestry sector, Aquaculture, coal and limestone are the other industries upon which the economy of the state depends.

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