Assam CM Sarma meets Aviation Minister Naidu, discusses airport projects and connectivity expansion

New Delhi [India], May 26 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu in Delhi on Monday and discussed expanding air connectivity and infrastructure in the northeastern state.
The Union Minister assured the Chief Minister that work for Silchar's greenfield airport will begin this year and the crucial Rupsi airport will also be expanded, CM Sarma wrote in a post on X.
According to CM Sarma, the Union Minister also informed that Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Silchar airports will soon be connected to more Indian cities through new flight connections.
They also explored the possibility of getting several more first-time fliers airborne, aimed at revisiting UDAN in the region by making it more effective, vibrant and sustainable.
"Had an excellent meeting with Hon'ble Minister for Civil Aviation Shri @RamMNK Ji. We spoke at length on expanding air connectivity and infrastructure in the North East," CM Sarma wrote in a post on X.
The Chief Minister today also hosted a roundtable meeting with electronic components manufacturers. He apprised the industry leaders that Assam proposes to provide 60 per cent additional incentives to electronics components manufacturers, topping up the central government incentives.
"If the government of India, as per the government of India policy, if you are entitled for Rs 100, we will supplement that by another Rs 60... So we are not entering the nitty gritty of the policy because we are guided by the government of India's policy," CM Sarma said.
Besides monetary incentives, the Assam government will provide free land and reimburse the GST payments, the chief minister said.
CM said his government has earmarked Rs 25,000 crore as incentives for semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers.
In late March, the Union Cabinet approved the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme with a funding of Rs 22,919 crore to make India self-reliant in the electronics supply chain. Soon after the central government announced the electronics components manufacturing policy, Assam also released its own components manufacturing policy.
The CM underlined that any company intending to set up a components manufacturing unit in Assam would reap the benefits of three programmes - the central components manufacturing policy, Assam's components manufacturing policy, and the northeast India-focused UNNATI scheme. The UNNATI scheme, officially named the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialisation Scheme, is a central sector scheme launched by the Indian government to promote industrialisation and employment in the North Eastern Region (NER).
Later in the day, CM Sarma also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, where they discussed about setting up a defence corridor in the state.
"Had the honour to call upon Hon'ble Raksha Mantri Adarniya @rajnathsingh Ji today in New Delhi. We spoke about establishing a defence corridor in Assam. This will serve multiple purposes - fortify the needs of our armed forces in Eastern Frontier, strengthen Hon'ble Prime Minister 'Make in India' vision and create new economic opportunities in the North East," CM Sarma wrote on X. (ANI)