Guwahati, March 9: Industry captains today gave a big thumbs up to a “ new Assam” and Dispur’s efforts to attract investors, with Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, asserting they were here out of choice and because of the opportunities and potential in the state.

Tata, along with other industry bigwigs, attended a joint news conference after the first meeting of the Assam Investment Advisory Board, of which they are members, convened by Dispur this morning.

R.K. Krishna Kumar, director, Tata Group, showed the group’s commitment by contributing Rs 10 crore for setting up a corpus that would help in development of skills, among others, on a private-public partnership model.

The Tata Housing Development Company Limited later signed two MOUs with the government — one for creation of commercial spaces, IT parks, business hubs and the second with the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority for setting up commercial properties in the city.

The two MOUs were signed in the presence of chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Tata, Kumar and chief secretary P.C. Sharma.

The meeting of business honchos today was the culmination of concerted efforts by Gogoi, industry minister Pradyut Bordoloi and chief secretary P.C. Sharma for several years to usher in rapid development through inclusive growth with stress on the rural sector.

Shubhabrata Bhattacharya, vice-president, corporate relations, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, B.M. Khaitan, chairman, Eveready Industries, M.S. Banga, president, Unilever (foods, home, personnel care), V.N. Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group, Rakesh Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises, .P. Bhatt, chairman, SBI, Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO, HSBC India, Ronen Sen, former diplomat, Ranjit Barthakur, chairman, Globally Managed Services, H.P. Barooah, chairman, Barooah and Associates, shared the dais with Gogoi and Tata.

Senior government officials, including additional chief secretary Surajit Mitra and Ravi Capoor, state industries commissioner, were also present.

Ratan Tata rounded off the brief media interaction by asserting: “We are here because we have been drawn by the opportunities and potential of the state. It is a new Assam. We were called because we run successful businesses. There were law and order issues and lack of development earlier. But today we see a new Assam. And we have committed ourselves to its development. But we are here by choice, drawn to a state of great potential and opportunities. Today is just the first meet but you will see some progress.”

Kumar of Tata group and Banga of Unilever said their experience in Assam had been very positive.

“Our unit here is a vibrant one, employing around 4,000 people,” Banga said.

Kumar said there has been a dramatic change in Assam and “we are absolutely confident of doing business. The scene is very inspiring.”

The advisory board, which met for nearly two hours, will be evaluating and approving investment strategies, defining investment policies and guidelines, facilitating generation of investments, creating framework for reviewing and monitoring progress on agreed investment objectives, streamlining investment process and suggesting modification based on investor feedback.

Though J. Godrej, chairman, Godrej and Boyce Group, Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries, M.S. Swaminathan, founder chairman of Swaminathan Research Foundation, could not attend the meet, they are members of the 19-member advisory board.