Guwahati, Feb 1 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday hailed the announcement of a urea plant in the state in the Union Budget for 2025-26, stating that it would be a "game changer" for the entire Northeast.
Stating that it was a long-standing demand of the people of the state, Sarma exuded confidence the budget will add momentum to India's overall growth trajectory.
"What a historic day for Assam! #UnionBudget2025 has announced a 12.7 lakh MT urea plant in Namrup, a long-standing demand of the people of Assam," he said in a post on X.
It will not only help the state achieve self-sufficiency in fertiliser availability but also better channelise the natural gas resources, he added.
"After the semiconductor plant in Jagiroad, this urea facility will be a game changer for the entire North East. On behalf of the people of Assam my heartfelt gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji and Hon'ble Finance Minister Smt @nsitharaman Ji," Sarma said.
Later in a statement, he said that the proposed urea plant is likely to entail an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, allowing Assam to channelise its natural gas resources into fertiliser manufacturing and help reduce India's dependency on import of this key agricultural input.
"Needless to say, this factory also brings with it a significant number of jobs and export potential to the state," Sarma said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, said that for self-sufficiency, the government had reopened three dormant urea plants in the eastern region.
"To further augment urea supply, a plant with an annual capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tons will be set up at Namrup, Assam," she added.
PSU Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corp Ltd (BVFCL) is the only urea-making facility in the entire eastern India. The facility started production in January 1969 as a part of the Hindustan Fertilizer Corp Ltd (HFCL).
BVFCL was formed in April 2002 after hiving off the Namrup unit of HFCL. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers with 100 per cent shareholding by the Government of India. It is the first factory of its kind in India to use associated natural gas as basic raw material for producing nitrogenous fertiliser.
Lauding the Budget as pro-people, Sarma said the income tax proposals are remarkable for the middle-class segment of the country.
"It declared crores of people earning up to Rs 12 lakh annually as tax-free. It will give a huge relief to the middle-class people. I thank the PM and FM for this step," he added.
Commenting on the overall Budget, the chief minister said it made provisions to harness the strength of India's demographic dividend through some "out-of-the box measures" on skilling, innovation, digitising different languages and expanding the number of Atal Tinkering labs.
"The Rs 50 lakh crore Union Budget 2025 comes with a record Rs 15.5 lakh crore capital expenditure provision that will give a new momentum to India's overall growth trajectory grounded in inclusive development," he added.
The CM said that the Budget has an allocation of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the form of 50-year interest-free loans towards infrastructure development, which will immensely benefit the state.
"This facility along with the enhanced devolution totalling Rs 44,494 crore will help accelerate and augment ongoing welfare works," he added.
Sarma further said that the Budget's thrust to establish micro-enterprises as the growth engine of the nation's economy is in line with Assam's flagship focus on boosting entrepreneurship through schemes such as CM Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan and Mahila Udyamita Asoni.
"The revision in classification of turnover and investment of MSMEs will provide a huge fillip to the backbone of Assam's economy by opening up more job opportunities and avenues to raise capital," he added.
Sarma also said that the Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 crore support to first-time women, SC and ST entrepreneurs, the enhanced credit guarantee coverage and dedicated credit card for micro-enterprises are some of the exceptional policies announced in the Union Budget.
"The Gramin Credit Score framework will also help serve the credit needs of Assam's vast SHG network comprising over 30 lakh women. The Union Budget envisages adding 75,000 MBBS seats in the next five years. This again complements Assam's own target of building 24 medical colleges by 2030," he added.
The increased allocation under the National Disaster Relief Fund to Rs 12,048 crore and the National Disaster Mitigation Fund to Rs 3,102 crore from Rs 2,300 crore will significantly help in boosting Assam's efforts while dealing with disasters like floods, the CM said.
"The enhanced allocation for NEEPCO from Rs 1,387 crore to Rs 2,300 crore will also aid in boosting energy availability in the state, which will power up our plans for a Viksit Bharat," he added.
Sarma said that the Union Budget for 2025-26 brings with it a new energy that will fuel Assam's growth trajectory, provide a new thrust to the state's entrepreneurs, strengthen its farmers and plantation economy, and fulfil the aspirations of the middle class.