UP to provide loans totalling Rs 5,000 cr to MSMEs under ODOP scheme

Adityanath government has tied up with commercial banks for extending credit line

Uttar Pradesh government has tied up with commercial banks for providing loans totalling Rs 5,000 crore to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) under its flagship One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme.

The loans would be disbursed to ODOP entrepreneurs on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, 2019, UP principal secretary MSME Navneet Sehgal said.

ODOP, launched in January 2018, is aimed at scaling up traditional industries associated with each of the 75 districts in UP. The Adityanath government has already tied up with e-commerce major Amazon to market ‘UP Khadi’ products over its online platform apart from handholding artisans.

“The state government would also provide subsidies on capital expenditure (capex) and interest payment to borrowers under the ODOP scheme,” he told Business Standard.

An ODOP Museum will be set up in Lucknow to showcase traditional handicrafts and indigenous products of UP. Dedicated retail stores are also proposed to be set up across the state in collaboration with private players under the public private partnership (PPP) model.

The government is also drafting an action plan to promote ODOP products in foreign countries through exhibitions, displays and branding.

Meanwhile, Sehgal asked officials to prepare district-wise database of entrepreneurs associated with the manufacture of these products and handicrafts.

So far, UP had facilitated disbursal of loans worth Rs 17,500 crore to 185,000 beneficiaries at special ODOP summits in Lucknow, Varanasi, Meerut, Gorakhpur and Moradabad.

Going forward, the government expects the ODOP programme to boost UP MSME exports to almost Rs 2 trillion from the current level of Rs 1 trillion.

UP is uniquely famous for product specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts, which are Varanasi (Banarasi silk saris), Bhadohi (carpets), Lucknow (chikan), Kanpur (leather goods), Agra (leather footwear), Aligarh (locks), Moradabad (brassware), Meerut (sports goods), Saharanpur (wooden products), etc. The website also showcases such merchandise.