India - 3 weeks ago

Rail & IT Boost: Major Investments Announced for Assam

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Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Electronics & IT, and Information & Broadcasting, attended the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit in Guwahati.

During the summit, he announced several new initiatives and projects related to the Railway and IT industries, which will significantly contribute to Assam’s development vision. He reiterated that the North East is the “New Engine” of India’s development.

Key Announcements:

A new railway rolling stock manufacturing facility will be established at Basbari in Bodoland, fulfilling a crucial commitment under the Bodoland agreement.
A midlife reconstruction facility for locomotives will be set up at Lumding.
Guwahati Railway Station is being transformed into a world-class station, featuring a 12-story IT park.
Two Amrit Bharat Trains are scheduled for Assam within the next 10 months.
Two new intercity trains will be introduced soon: (i) Guwahati – Silchar, and (ii) Guwahati – Agartala.
Quadrupling work will be carried out in the strategic Chicken Neck area.
The Kokrajhar – Gelephu project will establish railway connectivity with Bhutan.
Six new Gati Shakti terminals have been sanctioned.
A semiconductor hub will be set up in Assam.
An electronics manufacturing hub will be established in Kamrup district.

Budget Allocation (in Crores):

Category	2009-14 (Annual Avg.)	2025-26
Budget Allocation	₹2,122 Cr	₹10,440 Cr

Infrastructure Progress (Figures in KM):

Category	2009-14 (Avg. per Year)	2014-25 (Avg. per Year)
New Tracks	67 km	166 km (2.5x)
Electrification	0 km	146 km

Since 2014, 1,824 km of new tracks have been constructed in Assam and the North East, exceeding the total rail network of Sri Lanka.
1,604 km of railway electrification has been completed since 2014.
Ongoing new track projects: 18 projects covering 1,368 km with a total investment of ₹74,972 Cr.
Future projects: Detailed project reports (DPRs) for 18 new projects (2,200 km) are under preparation, with a projected investment of ₹1,10,000 Cr.
60 Amrit stations are being developed at a cost of ₹2,039 Cr.
Rail flyovers/under-bridges:
- Constructed since 2014: Cost > ₹5,500 Cr.
- Under construction: 115 flyovers/under-bridges at a cost of ₹2,765 Cr.
Two Gati Shakti cargo terminals have been commissioned in Assam (Moinarband and Cinnamara), with six more under development (Chaygaon, New Bongaigaon, Bihara, Hilara, Baihata, and Rangjuli).
A Wagon Workshop will be set up in Basbari, Bodoland, at a cost of ₹300 Cr.

Upcoming Train Services:

Vande Bharat: Currently, one Vande Bharat train is operational in the Northeast. Another will run between Guwahati and Agartala.
Amrit Bharat Trains: Two new Amrit Bharat trains will operate between Guwahati – Delhi and Guwahati – Chennai.

Passenger Amenities (Since 2014):

Lifts: 43
Escalators: 37
Wi-Fi-enabled stations: 245
47,000 sq. meters (220 bighas) of land allocated for a semiconductor ecosystem at Jagi Road.

North East Region: Amrit Stations

Sixty (60) stations are being redeveloped into Amrit Stations, with investments exceeding ₹2,000 Cr.

State-wise Amrit Stations:

Arunachal Pradesh (1): Naharlagun (Itanagar).
Assam (50): Includes major stations like Guwahati, Kamakhya Jn, Dibrugarh, Lumding, Silchar, New Bongaigaon, and Tinsukia.
Manipur (1): Imphal.
Meghalaya (1): Mendipathar.
Mizoram (1): Sairang (Aizawl).
Nagaland (1): Dimapur.
Sikkim (1): Rangpo.
Tripura (4): Agartala, Dharmanagar, Kumarghat, Udaipur.

Progress of Amrit Stations:

Station	State	Cost (₹ Cr)	Status
Imphal	Manipur	202.5	Tender awarded (Jan 2023), work in progress.
Mendipathar	Meghalaya	39.5	Tender awarded (June 2022), structural work in progress.
Sairang (Aizawl)	Mizoram	76	Tender awarded (Nov 2024), resource mobilization in progress.
Dimapur	Nagaland	283	Tender awarded (Dec 2024).
Rangpo	Sikkim	187	Work sanctioned, NIT issued (Sep 2024), tender finalization by Mar 2025.

Major Sanctioned Projects (Under Execution)

Project	Total Length (km)	Completed (km)	Pending (km)	Cost (₹ Cr)	2025-26 Outlay (₹ Cr)
Jiribam – Imphal	111	55	56	14,322	1,405
Dimapur – Kohima	82	17	65	6,663	1,674
Sivok – Rangpo	44	0	44	7,876	2,940
Bhairabi – Sairang	51	0	51	9,362	310

Bhutan Connectivity Projects

Kokrajhar (Assam) – Gelephu (Bhutan) new railway line (69 km)
- Key Infrastructure:
  - Bridges: 2 major, 29 minor.
  - Viaduct: 10,913m (2).
  - Stations: 7 (6 in Assam, 1 in Bhutan)

Electronics & IT Sector (MEITY Initiatives)

India Semiconductor Mission

Focuses on the entire value chain, from design to manufacturing.
Five major semiconductor projects with a total investment of ₹1.5 Lakh Cr approved.
85,000 engineers are receiving training in semiconductor technologies.

Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Electronics

Electronics manufacturing has grown from ₹1.9 Lakh Cr (2014) to ₹9.8 Lakh Cr (2024).
Mobile manufacturing: Grew from ₹19,000 Cr (2014) to ₹4.2 Lakh Cr (2024).
98% of mobile phones sold in India are now manufactured domestically.

Key Semiconductor & Electronics Projects in Assam

Tata Electronics OSAT Facility in Morigaon: ₹27,120 Cr investment; 48M semiconductor units/day.
Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Kamrup District: ₹120 Cr project; 70% infrastructure completed.
Semiconductor Skilling Initiatives: MoU between NIELIT and Gauhati University; Assam engineers undergoing training in Taiwan and Tata plants in Kolar & Hosur.