Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today called for the integration of One District One Product (ODOP) initiative with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The Minister said that ONDC would help in further expanding the frontiers of ODOP by bringing buyers and sellers together on a democratic platform. He was delivering his address after launching the ODOP Gift Catalog and ODOP Storefront on GeM in New Delhi today.
Terming ODOP as an earnest effort to highlight the tremendous potential that the rich culture and tradition that India has to offer, Shri Goyal said 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 thinking of the government in the last 8 years and said that ODOP is aligned with this vision of taking prosperity to each and every part of the country.
Shri Goyal stressed that India can’t develop unless remotest corners of the nation are also equal stake holders in development and benefits equally from fruits of progress. He expressed confidence that ODOP would help bring prosperity to those at the bottom of the pyramid.
Quoting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Goyal said that ‘each district of our country has a potential equal to that of one country…We need to understand this power and channelize this potential’.
Referring to the success that ODOP has seen in several states like Uttar Pradesh, the Minister said that convergence or ‘samanvay’ is a critical factor that would propel the success of ODOP. Shri Goyal asked that flagship programs of the government such as Startup India, Make in India, district as export hubs etc. be converged with the vision of ODOP. He asked all the Ministries of GoI to help further expand the mandate of ODOP through complementary initiatives.
The Minister asked Ministries, Departments and other government bodies to consider ODOP products exclusively for gifting purposes both within and outside India. 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 an exposure to ODOP products through well curated exhibitions of good quality ODOP products and tours of craft villages.
Shri Goyal also called upon students of eminent institutions like NIFT, NID and IIFT to find creative methods to amplify ODOP. The Minister also dwelt upon the need to brand ODOP products, most of which are natural and eco-friendly as sustainable and good for the planet. In this context, Shri Goyal also called for expansion of the list of GI tagged products by simplifying, streamlining and fast tracking the GI tagging process.
The Minister also called for the expansion of availability of genuine ODOP products to counter fakes in the market and said that strict action must be taken against those who sell counterfeit products. For arts and crafts that are in crisis because of the less number of artisans engaged in their production, Shri Goyal said that more and more artisans must be trained to take up these crafts so that they may be safeguarded.
Shri Goyal proposed 5 action agendas to make ODOP a true game changer. He asked that the ODOP catalog be made exhaustive to serve as a one stop gifting destination for Ministries, Missions, State Governments and Industry. 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 it improves access and selection and to undertake Search Engine Optimization.
Speaking of the need to improve packaging, Shri Goyal said that each ODOP product has a unique story and characteristics which should be highlighted. Shri Goyal said that there was a need to hold training sessions to help weavers/artisans with GeM onboarding and cataloguing. He opined that Common Service Centres and Post Offices could be leveraged to provide this training.
Calling for greater international engagement, the Minister said that ODOP must form a part of international exhibitions, events, meetings and conferences. He asked Indian Missions to ensure that ODOP products received international attention.
The Minister asked that for festivals and celebrations, people of the nation must consider gifting atleast one ODOP product to friends and family. I believe this is an opportune time to plan and execute this project, in order to realize our collective vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in this Amrit Kaal, he said.
*******
AD/KP/MS
