After the success of One District, One Product Summit in lucknow on August 10, the state government has decided to set up Common Facility Centres (CFCs) in all the 75 districts of the state for promoting efficiency and productivity in micro and small industries covered under ODOP scheme.
“Though the ODOP scheme was launched earlier this year, there was no specific scheme for addressing issues of micro and small entrepreneurs. They were covered by micro, small and medium enterprises sector and bigger units used to corner the benefits of all schemes of the MSME department. The CFC is ODOP-targeted scheme and is likely to benefit micro and small entrepreneurs,” said an official of MSME department.
The state government has made a provision of Rs 250 crore for ODOP scheme in the current fiscal. The government is likely to seek supplementary grant of Rs 25 crore for CFC in its first supplementary budget of the current fiscal to be tabled in the Assembly, the monsoon session of which commences from August 23.
Official sources said the CFCs would offer various services to artisans and entrepreneurs as per local need of each district, including raw material depot, test laboratories, new machines and packaging and designing, at affordable cost.
The government will also assist entrepreneurs in obtaining loans from public sector banks and also provide 25 per cent of the project cost as margin money.
The entrepreneurs will be eligible for 25 per cent concession if they repay the loan to the banks as per schedule.
A MSME department official said that the government had set an ambitious target of exports during the financial year, drawing strength from multi-pronged action plan.
The government has undertaken to promote the sector, including the flagship ODOP scheme, with a liberal outlay to support them.
“We would also participate in major MSME trade fairs across the globe in the current fiscal, including those in Hong Kong, Japan, Italy and the Philippines,” the official said.
He said the state would leverage various Central schemes, including Stand-Up India, Start-up India and MUDRA, for a turnaround of fortunes of the beleaguered traditional industries.
There are plans to sew alliances with big shopping malls for marketing of traditional products.
UP is famous for product-specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts like Varanasi (Banarasi silk sari), Bhadohi (carpet), lucknow (chikan), Kanpur (leather goods), Agra (footwear), Aligarh (lock), Moradabad (brassware), Meerut (sports goods), Saharanpur (wooden products) etc.