ROLE, OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES OF COTTAGE & SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES IN ASSAM

Abstract

Assam is one of the North-Eastern States in India among a union territories and 28 states. It is a developing state with 36 million population as of the year 2021 with an area of 78,43859 Sq. K.M and density of 397 people. In a backward state like Assam, Cottage & Small scale industries plays a significant role to create an industrial climate for the agents of economic development i.e. entrepreneurs to prove their efficiency to accelerate the pace of economic development of an area and of a nation. After independence of India, it was realiased that Cottage and Small Scale Industries have occupied a dominant place in Indian economy, especially in Assam’s economy where most of the areas (basically rural) occupied by a large section of population are yet to be developed industrially. The most important factor for economic development of a country is its industrialization. In the process of industrialization, emphasis is given to the three maor groups of industries, large scale industries, small-scale industries and cottage industries. We propose to study in this paper the problems and prospects of small scale and cottage industries in Assam, where large and medium scale industries are completely absent and whose development is vitally linked with various programmes and policies designed to remove poverty, unempolyment and backwardness of the rural people.