UP govt to rope in Amazon, Wipro, GE at 'One District, One Product' summit

President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the state's flagship 'One District, One Product' summit on Friday

To give a major push to Uttar Pradesh's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and cottage industries, the Yogi Adityanath government will exchange memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with top companies such as Amazon, Wipro and GE on Friday. 

President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the state's flagship 'One District, One Product' summit aimed at showcasing its traditional cottage industries and crafts. 

On the occasion, the government will exchange MoUs with e-commerce major Amazon, Wipro, GE Healthcare, Quality Circle of India (QCI) and India's leading bourses -- the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE). These entities would help the MSMEs and cottage industries by providing training, branding, marketing and other institutional support.

For example, Amazon will extend marketing support to traditional industries in 9 districts, including Gorakhpur, Agra, Meerut, Varanasi, Kanpur and Aligarh. The company will showcase local products over its online marketplace and create a micro-site dedicated to the ODOP scheme.

Talking to the media in Lucknow on Thursday, UP MSME Minister Satyadev Pachauri said that the state was the first to implement the ODOP scheme and soon other Indian states would also replicate it to support their respective traditional and cottage industries.

"Through these tie-ups, we want to promote cottage industries to tap the export market," he said, adding that the government was eyeing total exports worth almost Rs 2 trillion during the current financial year on the back of the flagship ODOP programme.

He said that bank loans worth Rs 10 billion would be provided to 4,085 micro and small producers at the summit to help them expand their businesses and turn exporters. There are about 600,000 cottage units in UP and the government is targeting to increase their number by 100,000 each year to breach the one million figure in the next five years.

"There are about 250 cottage industries in the Pilibhit district manufacturing wooden flute, which are also exported to African countries. They source their raw material -- bamboo -- from Assam. For such units, we would set up a common depot of bamboo sticks, so that the producers procure their raw material from there without any hassles," explained Pachauri.

The primary articles of exports from UP include leather goods, carpets, textiles, pearls, furniture, glassware, brassware, woodworks, iron and steel articles, and machinery equipment, among others. 

Meanwhile, the three-day summit will comprise an exhibition and 8 technical sessions, which will be attended by 5,000 people, including entrepreneurs, bankers, experts, buyers, and sellers, etc.

The government plans to participate in MSME trade fairs across the globe during the current financial year, including in Hong Kong, Japan, Italy and the Philippines, to promote the sector.

After coming to power in March 2017, the Adityanath government had announced to accord priority to the sector, since it is the second largest job creator in UP after agriculture. The state currently has over five million MSME units.