Assam is in the North-East of India in the Eastern Himalayan foothills, on the borders of Bangladesh and Bhutan. The official capital is Dispur but the main commercial capital is Guwahati. The region is famous for its tea, petroleum and natural gas. The oil fields in Upper Assam were discovered in the 19th Century shortly after it was discovered by the US. Assam Oil was one of the major Petroleum companies which have now merged with Indian Oil, a public sector undertaking of the Government of India.

The state has dense vegetation, wild life and forests. It had a timber industry, but now there is a ban on felling of trees. The languages are Assamese, Bod and Karbi. The area has inter-ethnic problems and separatist movements which make the state politically unstable.