Uttar Pradesh intends to rope in the Indian diplomatic mission in USA and European countries in its bid to promote exports from the state. UPO has set the target of boosting the exports from the state to Rs 3 lakh crore in the next five years.
The Indian embassies in the US, UK, Germany, Australia, Israel, Singapore, etc. will promote the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) products, apart from traditional handicrafts and indigenous products, under the state’s flagship One District One Product (ODOP) scheme.
“Indian diplomatic missions will provide the much-needed traction and visibility to our traditional products in key export destinations across the globe,” Additional Chief Secretary (MSME and export promotion) Navneet Sehgal said.
Bucking the pandemic headwinds, the UP merchandise exports jumped 30 per cent from Rs 1.07 lakh crore in 2020-21 to more than Rs 1.40 Lakh crore in 2021-22, of which the ODOP basket contributed 72 per cent.
The MSME department has already tied up with leading e-commerce platforms viz. Flipkart and Amazon to market the state’s merchandise basket and would make a similar pact with e-bay as well, according to Sehgal.
UP will also utilise the open network for digital commerce (ONDC) channel to foster merchandise exports. Promoted by the Centre, the ONDC is mandated to promote the exchange of goods and services over digital networks. It is based on open-sourced and open network protocols, independent of any specific platform, thus providing an expansive selling-buying experience for institutional entities.
Among the top-selling UP products are leather goods, carpets, hand woven textiles, brassware, glassware, sports goods, etc.
The ODOP scheme, which was launched during the maiden UP Foundation Day celebrations in January 2018, is themed at promoting the state’s traditional products and creating local level jobs. In fact, the state government has been organising virtual global buyer-seller meets over the past two years to augment MSME and ODOP exports.
“We are also looking at launching exclusive ODOP marts at fuel retail pumps, railway stations, airports and bus terminals in the country. We will invite bids from private companies to set up such marts and work on a commission basis,” Sehgal said.
The Yogi Adityanath government is bullish on the potential of the MSME and ODOP verticals to create employment opportunities, and actively contribute to achieving the ambitious goal of UP becoming India’s first trillion dollar economy in the next few years.
The state is promoting the ‘flatted factory’ concept to economise on space for non-polluting MSME industries. A flatted factory is a multi-storied industrial building, accommodating a host of industrial and assembly units, apart from serving as industrial warehouses.