Guwahati, February 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Advantage Assam-Global Investors Summit in Guwahati in presence of Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and various other dignitaries. During his inaugural address, the Prime Minister said India’s growth story will get speed only when there is all round development of Northeast and its people. The Prime Minister said, “The tagline of this summit is very appropriate and gives a big message. ‘Advantage Assam: India’s Expressway to ASEAN’ is not just a statement but it is a comprehensive vision”.

The main aim of the ongoing Summit is to position Assam as India’s Expressway to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The Prime Minister said that the North-East is at the heart of the Union Government's Act East Policy. He emphasized on the point that the Act East Policy envisions increased people to people contact, trade ties and other relations with ASEAN countries.

PM Modi recalled the recent ASEAN India Commemorative Summit celebrating 25 years of partnership between ASEAN and India. He added that ties between India and the ASEAN countries go back thousands of years. He said it was a privilege for India to host Heads of 10 ASEAN countries as honoured guests at the Republic Day function in New Delhi.

Here are the key highlights of Narendra Modi’s address:

  1. Assam is ranked first among the North Eastern States in the Ease of Doing Business report. With present leadership of the state government, Assam is going to further improve its current position to emerge as one of the most sought after states for investment

  2. PM Modi said that India's growth story will pick up more speed when people living in North East region will see fast development in a balanced manner

  3. He said all the schemes of the Union Government are oriented towards bringing about a qualitative change in the lives of the people. He said the aim is to improve "Ease of Living."

  4. The Prime Minister said that the "Ayushman Bharat" scheme announced in the Union Budget is the largest scheme of its kind in the world. He said this healthcare scheme would benefit about 45 to 50 crore people. He also mentioned other steps for healthcare for the poor, that have been taken by the Union Government.

  5. Development of MSME sector is priority for us. In this year’s budget we are giving big relief to MSMEs by reducing rate of income tax to 25% on companies reporting a turnover of up to Rs. 250 crore

  6. Govt in budget announced Ayushman Bharat Yojana, This is one of its kind, biggest programme in the World. Someone who has lived in poverty, who had endured pains of poverty & moved forward, that person always realizes that the biggest concern of poor is treatment of diseases

  7. PM Modi said, “We are restructuring the ‘National Bamboo mission’ with the amount of Rs 1300 crore. This will benefit people of North East, especially the farmers of this region”.

  8. The Prime Minister reiterated the commitment of the Union Government to curb corruption and black money. He said the government has taken up many path breaking economic reforms in last three years, which have simplified procedures for doing business. “It is a result of these reforms that India today ranks 100 among 190 countries in the Doing Business Report of the World Bank, after climbing up 42 ranks, he added.

  9. The Prime Minister outlined the work done to create new transportation infrastructure in the North-East. He congratulated the Chief Minister of Assam, SarbanandaSonowal for creating a business friendly and development friendly environment in Assam.

  10. Quoting the great Assamese musician Bhupen Hazarika, the Prime Minister said it is our collective responsibility to achieve the vision and dreams of our freedom fighters, and create a New India by 2022.

On his arrival, the Prime Minister was received by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, along with other officials. The two-day event, starting today, will showcase the state’s manufacturing opportunities and geostrategic advantages to foreign and domestic investors.  The Summit has been organised by the Assam Government, in association with the industry body the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2018 03:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).