A state that built its economy on tea and oil is now pitching hard for pipes and textiles. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Welspun World's sprawling manufacturing facility in Anjar, Kutch on Saturday, September 26, 2026, emerging from the tour with a clear pitch: Assam could be the location of the conglomerate's next major chapter.

Sarma described the scale and sophistication of Welspun's operations as 'truly impressive' and held what he called a 'wonderful conversation' with Welspun Group Chairman B.K. Goenka. The meeting was not a courtesy call — it was a sales pitch wrapped in diplomacy, with Assam's investor-centric, customised industrial policies forming the centrepiece of the conversation.

Anjar's megaplant and what Assam is selling

Welspun's Anjar facility is one of India's most integrated manufacturing campuses, spanning textiles and home products at a scale that few states can match as a reference point. For CM Sarma, walking those floors was both a learning exercise and a statement of intent — if Gujarat can host this, Assam wants a piece of the next expansion.

Since 2021, the Assam government has introduced a suite of investor-centric industrial policies offering customised incentives designed to attract manufacturing units away from traditionally dominant industrial corridors in western and southern India. The pitch is straightforward: tailored policy, lower competition for land and labour, and a government that positions itself as a partner rather than a regulator.

Assam workers at Anjar — and the inclusive hiring angle

One moment from the visit stood out beyond the boardroom. Sarma took time to meet employees from Assam already working at the Kutch plant, hearing their experiences firsthand. He also met Divyang (differently-abled) colleagues employed at the facility — a detail that signals Welspun's inclusive hiring practices and one that Assam's government, which has emphasised inclusive growth in its own employment push, would clearly like replicated closer to home.

The subtext is significant. Young workers from Assam are already travelling thousands of kilometres to take up manufacturing jobs in Gujarat. Every such worker is an argument for why that factory floor should be in Assam instead.

What a Welspun-Assam deal would mean

Assam has been deliberately courting established industrial groups — particularly from Gujarat and other western states — as part of a broader strategy to diversify beyond tea and petroleum. A Welspun commitment, even a partial one, would validate that strategy and signal to other large manufacturers that the Northeast is open and investable.

No MoU or formal announcement has been made. But when a Chief Minister personally tours a chairman's flagship plant, frames the visit publicly, and plants the phrase 'next big chapter could well unfold in Assam,' the conversation has moved well past pleasantries.

The next move belongs to Welspun — and Assam is clearly betting it knows which way Gujarat's export playbook eventually points.