MaharashtraWebIndia portal since 2000
Aa
Text size
Contrast
Links

Your choice is remembered on this device. Your browser's zoom (Ctrl and +) also works.

Menu

Home › Assam › Assam Industry

Assam Industry

Assam has four oil refineries: Digboi (opened in 1901, one of the oldest in the world), Guwahati, Bongaigaon and Numaligarh. Oil India Limited is based at Duliajan. Other industries include fertilisers (Namrup), cement, plywood and tea processing, and a semiconductor assembly plant is being set up at Jagiroad.

The Assam Industrial Development Corporation develops industrial estates and growth centres.

Key industries

Makhana (fox nuts)

Assam is one of India's three main makhana-growing states, with Bihar and West Bengal. Makhana, the fox nut or gorgon nut (Euryale ferox), is an aquatic crop of shallow ponds, lakes and wetlands, which the state has in plenty. The seeds are gathered by hand from the water bed, mainly from about July to October, then dried, roasted and popped into the light white grains sold as a snack. The Government of India's Central Sector Scheme for the Development of Makhana (2025-26 to 2030-31) supports seed, farmer training, processing and exports, and aims to spread the crop beyond its traditional areas. More on the crop: makhana in Bihar, which grows nearly three-fourths of India's crop.

Specialties of Assam

Assam tea

Assam is India's largest tea-growing state, with hundreds of estates and many thousands of small growers in the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys, especially in Upper Assam (Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar and Golaghat). Assam tea is strong and malty; the state makes both CTC tea and orthodox (whole-leaf) tea. Tea is auctioned at Guwahati, and the industry is regulated by the Tea Board of India.

Muga silk

Muga, the golden silk of Assam, comes only from the Brahmaputra valley: its silkworms feed on the leaves of som and soalu trees. The cloth keeps its natural golden shine and lasts for generations, and is woven into mekhela chadors, the traditional dress of Assamese women, notably at Sualkuchi near Guwahati.

Help for entrepreneurs and local industries

Every district has a District Industries Centre (DIC), run by the state's industries department. It is the first place to go to register a unit, to apply for the state's incentives and subsidies, and for help with central schemes such as PMEGP.

From the Assam government

From the Government of India

  • Udyam Registration: free online registration for micro, small and medium enterprises, with an Aadhaar number; the Udyam certificate is needed for most MSME schemes and for priority-sector bank loans
  • Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): loans to start a new micro enterprise, with a government subsidy of 15 to 35 per cent of the project cost (higher in rural areas and for women, SC/ST and other special categories); apply through the District Industries Centre or the Khadi and Village Industries Commission
  • Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana: loans without collateral from banks, small finance banks and microfinance institutions: Shishu up to Rs 50,000, Kishor up to Rs 5 lakh, Tarun up to Rs 10 lakh, and Tarun Plus up to Rs 20 lakh for those who have repaid a Tarun loan
  • Stand-Up India: bank loans of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore to set up a new enterprise, for women and for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs
  • Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE): guarantees bank loans to micro and small enterprises, so they can borrow without collateral or a third-party guarantee
  • Startup India: recognition by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, which brings tax and patent benefits, the Startup India Seed Fund and mentoring
  • PM Vishwakarma: for artisans and craftspeople in 18 traditional trades: recognition, skill training with a stipend, a toolkit grant and low-interest loans without collateral
  • PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME): for small food-processing units: a 35 per cent credit-linked subsidy (up to Rs 10 lakh a unit), seed capital for self-help groups, and help with branding and marketing
  • Government e-Marketplace (GeM): sell goods and services online to government departments and public sector companies
  • MSME Samadhaan: file a case when a buyer has not paid a micro or small enterprise within 45 days
  • MSME Champions: the Ministry of MSME's help desk for complaints and problems with finance, approvals and markets
  • MSME Development and Facilitation Offices: the Ministry of MSME's offices in every state: advice, training, testing and the ministry's schemes
  • Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI): the bank for small industries: loans, and refinance through other lenders
  • National Single Window System: one place to apply for central approvals and licences, and for many states' approvals
  • One District One Product: promotes a chosen product of each district, with help to find buyers and export
  • NIESBUD: the national institute for entrepreneurship training, under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
  • myScheme: search central and state government schemes by state, occupation and other details

Schemes, limits and subsidies change with each budget: check the official site before applying.

Sources

Summarised from the state's industrial policy and the official profiles linked below. Makhana: the Press Information Bureau's note "India's Makhana Sector" (August 2026), APEDA's study of makhana exports. Specialties: Assam tea (Geographical Indication: Assam (Orthodox)); Muga silk (Geographical Indication: Muga Silk of Assam).

Reference links