Assam offers 60% top-up on Centre’s component PLI to woo electronic manufacturers

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday announced that the state will offer a 60 percent top-up on incentives provided by the Centre under its electronics manufacturing schemes.

The pitch is designed to position Assam as a competitive alternative to traditional electronics clusters in states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

“For every Rs 100 the central government gives, we will provide Rs 60,” Sarma said at the Assam Electronics Roundtable 2025 held in New Delhi, jointly organised with MeitY and Invest India.

To fund this scheme, the state has created a Rs 25,000 crore corpus under its "Advantage Assam 2.0" initiative, ensuring it can honour subsidies and fast-track infrastructure development.

In addition to financial subsidies, the state will offer free land, GST exemptions, power subsidies, and plug-and-play infrastructure backed by green energy solutions, he said.

The state has also secured a loan from the Asian Development Bank to build out social and industrial infrastructure for the Ratan Tata Electronics Manufacturing City, planned adjacent to Tata’s upcoming OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing) plant at Jagiroad near Guwahati.

Sarma said the electronics city has already been notified and work is progressing rapidly, with Tata’s facility expected to begin production by the end of this year or early next. He claimed Tata’s plant in Assam has progressed faster than its similar project in Gujarat.

On the talent front, the chief minister said the state was building a pipeline through institutions like IIT Guwahati, IIIT Guwahati, and a network of engineering colleges.

A new Assam Skill University, backed by Rs 1,000 crore from the ADB, will begin classes within three months and focus on electronics and semiconductor skills.

Assam has also stepped up international outreach, with Sarma highlighting a visit from a 52-member business delegation led by the Speaker of Japan’s National Assembly.  He said Japanese firms were expected to invest in support services around the OSAT facility.