Guwahati, Nov 5 (IANS) In what may give the required industrial boost to Assam, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved is going to set up one of its biggest production units in Assam, which is expected to give direct employment to over 5,000 youth of the state.
Ramdev said this on Saturday while addressing a press conference in Guwahati and added that the proposed production unit at Balipara in northern Assam's Sonitpur district will have the capacity to roll out 1 million products every year.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is expected to lay the foundation stone of the industrial unit at Balipara on Sunday.
"The industrial unit will directly give employment opportunity to over 5,000 youth. Besides, over 50,000 farmers of the area will be benefited due to the project and it would also help thousands of other people of Assam through indirect engagement in series of activities related to the proposed industrial unit in form of supply of raw materials, retailing etc." Ramdev said.
He said that the unit will be completed by January next year and it is expected to start production by March next year. "Our efforts will be to start the production by January itself. However, our deadline is March 2017, by when the production will surely start," he added.
He said that Patanjali had already deposited Rs. 13.82 crore as fixed by the government of Assam as the land lease value for the 120 acres of land taken by Patanjali for the project.
The Yoga guru, who is in Assam on a two day visit, added that the apparel brand to be launched by Patanjali would promote Assam's Eri, Muga and Pat silk.
"We (Patanjali) are going to make it big in apparel sector soon. We are going to promote the Pat, Muga and Eri silk of Assam under our apparel brand. Initially, we are going to help the artisans involved with these three silks and help them market their products in international markets," he added.
He expressed concern over the fact that India's apparel and textiles market was largely dominated by foreign brands at present.
"Our plan is to capture at least Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore of the apparel market under our Swadeshi apparel brand," he said.
