(The Tribune)
In a major boost to economic development in the Northern states, Vedanta Group on Friday said the company will make an investment of Rs 80,000 crore in the Northeast region.
Chairman and MD of Vedanta Group, Anil Agarwal, announced this at the Rising Investor Summit 2025 in New Delhi on Friday.
The investment will be made in the fields of oil and gas, critical minerals, refining facilities, power, optical fibre, system integration, renewable energy, transmission sectors and data centres in six North Eastern states.
Vedanta is undertaking one of the largest exploration and development programmes to unlock the hydrocarbons in the Northeast. Earlier this year, the company announced a Rs. 50,000 crore investment in Assam at the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit.
The hydrocarbons and minerals conglomerate also announced additional investments of Rs. 30,000 crore across Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram at the Rising Northeast Summit.
“Today, the states of the North-East are growing in double digits. The opportunities are growing even faster. Under the Prime Minister’s leadership, this region has become a key engine of growth for Viksit Bharat. The private sector is ready to be a partner for prosperity. Vedanta is fully committed to investment in the region which has the most amazing natural resources potential, from oil and gas to critical minerals and an exceptional pool of talented human resources,” said Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group.
The investment will potentially generate up to 1 lakh jobs and enable socio-economic development of the region, according to the company. Vedanta is also committed to expanding its social impact initiatives such as Nand Ghars (modernised anganwadis that function as holistic centres for woman & child development), handloom skill centres, digital classrooms for women and children, and promoting sports to ensure a brighter, more inclusive future for the youth of the region, the company said.
Group’s Cairn Oil & Gas has been producing from the Hazarigaon field in Assam, the first DSF (Discovered Small Field) block to go under production in the Northeast.
Cairn has also been supplying gas to the neighbouring Tea estates, giving a boost to tea production in Assam and enabling farmers to switch from expensive coal-based energy sources to clean gas.
Recently, Vedanta secured vanadium and graphite mineral blocks in Arunachal Pradesh through critical mineral auctions. Once explored, these critical mineral blocks will provide vital raw materials to India’s hi-tech manufacturing and clean energy sectors. Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya also have immense natural resources that can be responsibly harnessed for the growth of the region and the country.
Vedanta and its sister entities have also invested in the commissioning of a 300 circuit-kilometre transmission system network which allows the transfer of 1,000 MW power from Assam to Meghalaya. (ANI)
