GUWAHATI: To expedite the realisation of the growth vision of Assam, the State government signed an MoU with the policy think tank 'Pahle India Foundation' on Wednesday to study new areas in the district's development, including existing gaps and estimations of gross domestic product.
Additional Chief Secretary, Transformation and Development Department, Asish Bhutani, signed the understanding on behalf of the Assam government and Executive Director, Pahle India Foundation, Ravi Pokharna.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that with the help of the understanding with Pahle India Foundation, the district administration across the state will find more avenues for identifying new areas of revenue at the district level, which can improve the state's GDP.
"In our vision for economic growth, our government has taken the initiative for district-led economic development," the CM said.
The MoU will help promote the district as the state's fulcrum of administration and the centre of growth.
"To realise this vision, extensive research is required at the district level to estimate the District Gross Domestic product, which would help prepare the district vision document," the CM added.
"Assam is one of the fastest-growing states today. The state's Gross Domestic Product is rising, which reflects the state's economic and financial growth. To realise the potential of all the sectors of the state's economy, the state government has emphasised transforming the districts as the fulcrum of administrative and economic activities. In the proposed setup, unlike the conventional way of functioning, the DCs will focus on improving the GDP of their respective districts," the CM added.
Moreover, the District Commissioners will also concentrate on GST generation, raising per capita income, power consumption, industrial activity, agricultural diversification, the creation of the industrial land bank, etc. The DCs will work to bring a holistic approach to the functions of all district-level departments.
"Given this, the State government's partnership with the Pahle India Foundation will have a far-reaching impact. This will allow an overhaul of the state's economic potential and an analysis of the steps taken for holistic development. It will guide the districts in mitigating the data gap in all three economic sectors, i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, for the compilation of the District Domestic Product and Gross State Domestic Product. The MoU will also guide the districts in estimating Gross Fixed Capital Formation and Private Final Consumption Expenditure for the state," Sarma further said.