Floriculture has been identified as a sunrise industry in India, and its market size in the country is projected to grow to Rs 55,000 crore by 2025. The rich diversity of flower species and favourable climatic conditions make Assam an ideal place for commercial cultivation of flowers to get large shares of the floriculture market in the country. While this potential has remained untapped, the growing demand for flowers in the state is met by supplies primarily from neighbouring West Bengal which results in an outflow of several crores of rupees every year. The Assam Cabinet's decision to expand the area under flower cultivation will give a push for increasing production under the State Floriculture Mission. Flowers being highly perishable, strengthening the supply chain through the establishment of a cold chain from farm gates to long-distance markets getting equal priority will be critical for the successful implementation of the Cabinet decision. Allocation of quantum shares of initial investment of Rs 150 crore for the creation of pack houses, pre-cooling facilities, transport vehicles, refrigerated vans and availability of plastic crates identified by the State Cabinet among focused activities under the mission will help build the necessary infrastructure. The area under floriculture in the state is proposed to be expanded from 2000 hectares to 3,288 hectares over the next three years but compared to the total area of 3.40 lakh hectares under floriculture in the country, the state share will continue to be less than one per cent even after expansion. Flower demand has picked up in the state following the post-COVID economic revival that witnessed a significant rise in religious and socio-cultural festivals, wedding ceremonies, and major national and international events in Guwahati and other places in the state. Traditional Flower growers in pockets like Hajo getting timely and adequate support in the supply of quality seeds and refrigerated vans will be crucial to growing and supplying flower varieties that can compete with flowers that come in baskets from markets in West Bengal in terms of size, freshness, and fragrance. The production of flowers in Hajo and other pockets is informal and unorganized while the supplies also arrive in the city market freshness and fragrances get lost en route due to the lack of a modern supply chain. Even for door-to-door supplies for meeting the demand of daily religious offerings by residents of different localities, traders from Hajo are seen using plastic bags and delivering on bicycles and as a result, the freshness of flowers is further lost. Apart from increasing the production of traditional and loose flowers, the mission supporting cut-flower production can help growers and local entrepreneurs earn more from their floriculture business by tapping expanding export market of Indian flowers. For these, the traditional flower growers will need a supply of quality imported seeds and specialized training for hi-tech production under a protected environment and controlled climatic conditions of the greenhouse. Exposure visits of traditional flower growers and traders to major flower-producing states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal can be facilitated to help them identify the gap between market demand and production, besides supply essentials in domestic as well as export markets. India currently exports over 23,000 MT of flowers and floricultural products worth Rs 770 crore and flower growers in the state getting a share of this lucrative export market needs to be explored in right earnest. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) being mandated for export promotion and development of floriculture can play an important role in this regard but will require collaboration by the State Horticulture department. The Cabinet's decision to focus on value addition in the floriculture sector such as the extraction of aromatic and essential oils, and the incense sticks industry will open entrepreneurial ventures for local youth. The use of flowers in soap making for colour and scent is another important segment of the floriculture industry that can be tapped by local growers and entrepreneurs. Assessing the growth demand for potted flowers, nursery plants, landscaping needs, rooftop and balcony gardens in multi-storeyed apartments and providing information on these markets in Guwahati and other capital cities in the Northeast will be useful for traditional flower growers to diversify their production and business. In the absence of adequate information about local production and availability, a large section of the buyer in the state often depends on online purchases for supplies from outside the state. While plant and flower nurseries have come up as new commercial activities in the state's floriculture sector the gap there is a visible gap between such entrepreneurs and buyers. Building capacities of flower growers, traders and entrepreneurs to make the best use of digital technology for marketing will bridge the gap and market linkage for floricultural produce in the state will also improve. Stakeholder of the mission remaining updated with the latest information on the market, and available technologies for boosting production and improving quality is vital for a giant leap in floriculture in Assam.