Uttar Pradesh plans to elevate its ODOP scheme by 2025-26

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday said it is set to take its flagship One District One Product (ODOP) scheme to unprecedented heights in 2025-26 and has finalised category-wise budget allocations to enhance its effectiveness.

With a comprehensive and visionary action plan in place, the initiative aims to deepen the impact of entrepreneurship, self-employment, and skill development across the state, an official statement said.

"The new roadmap includes provisions for financing for self-employment, skill upgradation, and toolkits, ensuring holistic support to local artisans and entrepreneurs.

"This strengthened ODOP model is expected to create vast employment opportunities and reinforce Uttar Pradesh's emergence as a key player on the nation's economic map," the UP government said.

Targets will be set for each district, and pending cases will be renewed and forwarded to banks for the 2024-25 period, it said.

Additionally, disbursal will be ensured for loans that have been approved but not yet distributed. Under the scheme, 20 per cent of the annual target will be approved and distributed, it added.

"Beneficiaries who successfully established enterprises through the first phase of loans will now be eligible for a second loan. A new system will be introduced by amending the government policy to provide these loans. This initiative will particularly benefit entrepreneurs who have made significant strides with limited resources," it added.

The government said that to further elevate the ODOP program, the government is working towards getting the ODOP 2.0 action plan approved.

Building on previous experiences, current schemes will be simplified. The inauguration of Common Facility Center (CFC) projects in Unnao, Bijnor, and Gonda is planned, with new projects also in the pipeline.

The ODOP scheme will be expanded to include new aspects of branding, packaging, marketing, and quality enhancement. With the support of sectoral experts, the state's special products will be promoted on both national and international platforms.

Additionally, efforts are underway to integrate traditional food items from various districts into the formal economy, it said.

The scheme has allocated a budget for training, toolkits, and skill upgradation. District-wise annual targets will be set, and trainees will be selected through the e-portal. The list of beneficiaries will be shared with selected training institutes for further action, it added.