Under the ODOP- Districts as Export Hubs initiative, products with export potential have been identified from all 765 districts of the country, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash said in reply to a parliamentary question today. One District One Product - Districts as Export Hubs Initiative (ODOP - DEH) is not a scheme but rather an initiative aimed at fostering balanced regional development across all districts of the country. The idea is to select, brand, and promote one product from each district (One District – One Product) of the country for enabling holistic socioeconomic growth across all regions.  ODOP has been merged with ‘Districts as Export Hubs Initiative’ being run by the Department of Commerce (DoC) with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as a major stakeholder.

Under the ODOP-‘Districts as Export Hubs initiative, products have been identified from all 36 districts from the State of Maharashtra.

ODOP-Districts as Export Hubs initiative is working with manufacturers/producers across districts along verticals like design, production, manufacturing, packaging, and market creation to boost sales both in the domestic as well as international market.

ODOP has been merged with ‘Districts as Export Hubs Initiative’ (DEH) being run by the Department of Commerce (DoC) with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as a major stakeholder. DEH Initiative highlights the need to channelize the potential and diverse identity in each district of the country to make them export hubs. DoC through Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has been working with the States/UTs and the districts directly to create institutional mechanisms to facilitate exports of identified products/services from the districts. Under this initiative, products and services with export potential have been identified in 734 districts of the country in consultation with all the stakeholders including the States/UTs.

Districts Export Action Plans have been prepared for identified products and services for overseas markets, which includes specific actions required to support local exporters / manufacturers in producing/manufacturing identified products in adequate quantity and with the requisite quality, for reaching potential buyers outside India. The aim is to benefit both producers and manufacturers by addressing challenges for exports of such identified products/services, identifying infrastructural bottlenecks, supply chain gaps, improving market accessibility and handholding for increasing exports.

Through DEH initiative, Government of India is significantly increasing the manufacturing and exports from urban areas while focusing on generating interest and economic activity in the rural hinterland to push new businesses to export.

As ODOP-Districts as Export Hubs is not a scheme, there is no financial assistance provided.

• Engagement with Indian Embassies: Facilitated the procurement of ODOP products by multiple Indian Embassies for gifting and placement including the Indian Embassy in Croatia, Nigeria, Argentina, etc.
• Export Training Workshop: The ODOP-DEH Initiative in collaboration with the Department of Post organized the first Export Training Workshop on 11th January 2023. 160+ exports from 5 States (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, J&K, and Meghalaya) participated. Training workshop was conducted for using the Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra portal. Training included basic requirements for exports along with major market opportunities.
• Lakadong Turmeric, West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya - Facilitated a consignment of 30 tonnes of Lakadong Turmeric from Shillong, Meghalaya in February 2022.
• Indo-Japan Mango Festival, Tokyo, Japan -As a result of sustained efforts by the Embassy of India, Tokyo, Japan, and the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) - trade promotion for Indian mangoes in Japan has been undertaken under two editions of 'Mango Festival of India in Tokyo, Japan'. A key achievement of the same is the launch of aromatic, delicious, and nutritious Indian Mangoes in 127 convenience stores of Lawson (29th March 2022) and in the wholesale markets of Nishikasai and Akita Prefecture (28th March 2022).
• Walnuts, Budgam, Jammu & Kashmir (26th September 2021) – Initiative in partnership with JKTPO facilitated import substitution of over 2000 KGs of walnuts from Budgam, Kashmir to Bangalore, Karnataka on 26th September 2021.
• Sui Dhaaga: India-Russia Buyer Seller Meet for Textile Products (22nd September 2021) - Initiative in partnership with the Embassy of India, Moscow held a buyer-seller meet on textile products focussing on rayon and polyester.
• Multiple ODOP products were displayed at the World Economic Forum held from January 2023 at Davos in Switzerland.
• ODOP also showcased and supported the celebration of the International Day of Yoga (IDY) at the at Times Square in New York on June 21, 2022 in collaboration with the Consulate General of India, New York.

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AD/MS

One District One Product initiative promotes district level export capacity and market access without direct financial assistance. ODOP DEH identifies and promotes one product or service from each district to build district level export capacity. Integrated with the Department of Commerce and supported by DGFT and DPIIT, the initiative has prepared District Export Action Plans to scale production, assure quality, address infrastructure and supply chain gaps, and improve market access. It operates through institutional facilitation, capacity building, export training, diplomatic promotion and trade events, and does not provide direct financial assistance.