UP's ODOP Scheme Gets Wings, Goes Global From Local

Lucknow, July 5 (TNA) With both prime minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath pitching for the ambitious scheme ODOP (One District, One Product), launched to take the slogan of "Vocal for Local”, its products have now taken wings and have gone global.

Be it Dussehra or Holi, Deepawali, New Year or any special event, now only ODOP products are being given to special guests in the form of gift hampers or souvenirs. The Chief Minister almost compulsorily gives gift hampers of ODOP products to the special guests who call on him.

Recently, there was tremendous branding of ODOP products of the state when Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented ODOP products of Uttar Pradesh to their heads of state and prime ministers during the meeting of G-7 countries. This isn't the first time though.

Even before this, on the inauguration of Kushinagar International Airport, the ODOP product of Siddharthanagar, considered to be the Prasad of Lord Buddha, was given as a gift to the guests from Buddhist countries.

It is pertinent to point out here that on the first foundation day of Uttar Pradesh on 24 January 2018, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched this very ambitious scheme in the presence of the then Governor Ram Naik. The objective was the overall development of the state, providing employment at the local level, while preserving and promoting the traditional arts, skills, cultural heritage of the state.

Within four years of its launch, this scheme is scripting a new success story. No wonder the Chief Minister mentions this scheme in his every address. Recently, in his press conference on the completion of 100 days of the government, the Chief Minister said that ODOP is a symbol of our heritage. There has been a record increase in the exports of the state due to the effective implementation of this scheme.

In the last five years, exports increased from Rs 88 thousand crores to Rs 1.56 lakh crores. He also mentioned the G-7 summit where the Chief Minister pointed out how, "The Prime Minister once again demonstrated his commitment to Vocal for Local by presenting the ODOP products of Uttar Pradesh to the Heads of Government present there at the G7 Summit held in Germany".

The government is making every effort to bring happiness in the lives of the people associated with it. The Common Facility Center will play an important role in this. These will be such centers where all the facilities required for grading, packing, store time of ODOP product of the concerned district will be available under one roof.

Four such CFC centres – Sitapur, Agra, Azamgarh, Siddharthnagar and Ambedkar Nagar were inaugurated by the Chief Minister. Such CFCs have to be made in every district. Besides this, self-help centers have been established in 35 districts with the help of SIDBI for ODOP. Such centers are to be set up in every district.

This is an era of online market and therefore, ODOP products have also been made available by the government on online platforms. The government is also continuously expanding this platform. For example, recently an MoU has been signed between the government and Amazon. Amazon has set up a digital hub in Kanpur. This will provide a huge platform for ODOP units to sell their products in the country and the world.