PM Modi in Assam today, launches key projects including IIM, National Data Centre

Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reached Assam to inaugurate key projects worth over ₹5,500 crore, including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati. The Prime Minister made a historic landing at the first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) in the Northeast aboard a C-130J aircraft in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. Modi took off from the Chabua airfield after his arrival and landed at the ELF in Moran on a stretch of National Highway-37.

The ₹100-crore ELF, a 4.2-km reinforced stretch on the Moran Bypass, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister and will act as a strategic and multi-functional runway for Indian Air Force fighter jets and transport aircraft, strengthening defence, logistics, and disaster response, officials said.

The facility is designed for both civil and military use and will serve as an alternative to the Dibrugarh airport in case of emergencies.

The Prime Minister was received at the ELF by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, and other ministers of the Assam cabinet.

The IIM is expected to give a major boost to higher and management education in the northeastern region. In 2025, the central government approved the establishment of the IIM in Guwahati. This is the second IIM in the Northeast and the 22nd in the country. The first IIM in the region is located in Shillong.

The National Data Centre (NDC) for the northeastern region has been established at Amingaon in Kamrup district, near Lachit Ghat. The state-of-the-art data centre, with a total sanctioned load of 8.5 MW and an average rack capacity of 10 kW per rack, will host mission-critical applications of various government departments and also function as a disaster recovery centre for other NDCs.

Modi also flagged off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme. Of these, 100 buses are for Guwahati, 50 each for Nagpur and Bhavnagar, and 25 for Chandigarh.

He will also inaugurate the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu across the Brahmaputra in Guwahati, built at a cost of around ₹3,030 crore. The six-lane extradosed prestressed concrete (PSC) bridge will connect Guwahati with North Guwahati and is the first extradosed bridge in the Northeast.

It will reduce travel time between Guwahati and North Guwahati to just seven minutes. Currently, only the Saraighat Bridge in the Jalukbari area connects the two banks of the Brahmaputra in the capital region, with travel time taking around 30 minutes.

Considering the high seismicity of the region, the bridge incorporates base isolation technology using friction pendulum bearings, according to a release from the Prime Minister’s Office.

High-performance stay cables have been used to ensure durability and long-term structural performance.

“A Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS) has also been incorporated for real-time condition monitoring, early damage detection, and improved safety and service life of the extradosed bridge,” the PMO said.