Bhoomika Singh
The union minister, Piyush Goyal unveiled the unabridged One District One Product (ODOP) Gift Catalog containing 300 plus products and ODOP Storefront on GeM in New Delhi on August 29, 2022. After the launch of the catalogue, during his address, the minister called for the integration of the ODOP initiative with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
He said that ONDC would help in further expanding the frontiers of ODOP by bringing buyers and sellers together on a democratic platform. Terming ODOP as an earnest effort to highlight the tremendous potential that the rich culture and tradition that India has to offer, he mentions that India’s districts and villages are home to crores of talented weavers, artisans, and craftsmen.
The Minister observed that for many decades, the fruits of development were asymmetric and confined to some regions. He underscored that there has been a fundamental shift in the approach in the last 8 years and said that ODOP is aligned with this vision of taking prosperity to every part of the country.
He stressed that India can’t develop unless the remotest corners of the nation are also equal stakeholders in the development and benefit equally from the fruits of progress. He expressed confidence that ODOP would help bring prosperity to those at the bottom of the pyramid.
Quoting MP Modi, Goyal said that ‘each district of our country has a potential equal to that of one country…We need to understand this power and channel this potential.
Goyal asked that flagship programs of the government such as Startup India, Make in India, districts as export hubs etc. are converged with the vision of ODOP. He asked all the Ministries of GoI to help further expand the mandate of ODOP through complementary initiatives.
He opined that the G20 summit which is set to take place in India soon is a great opportunity to showcase ODOP Products. He suggested that the delegates of G20 be given exposure to ODOP products through well-curated exhibitions of good quality ODOP products and tours of craft villages.
Goyal proposed five action agendas to make ODOP a true game changer. He added that the catalogue must serve as a high-quality database of high-quality suppliers. He asked states to get ODOP products catalogued in a manner that improves access and selection and to undertake Search Engine Optimization.
The minister said that there was a need to hold training sessions to help weavers/artisans with GeM onboarding and cataloguing. The ODOP storefront on GeM went live with 75 categories covering products across states and UTs. The purpose of the storefront is to enable direct procurement of ODOP products for gifting/ office use by various line ministries, government bodies, and foreign missions abroad. This will enable an international audience for India’s rich and diverse products.
Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry, and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Anurag Jain, who was also present at the launch, highlighted how the ODOP initiative is working to transform the lives of artisans, women, craftsmen, and farmers. He also spoke about the various programs being undertaken including exhibitions, buyer-seller meets, and registration drives.
