UP govt to open ODOP stores at airports, railway stations and all cities

The outlets will sell products made by local artisans and entrepreneurs from various districts

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s One District One Product (ODOP) project , which envisages having exclusive stores across the state and at all airports and railway stations in the country, has received a shot in the arm. The state cabinet has approved a proposal of establishing ODOP as a brand through a chain of retail stores.

These ODOP stores will sell special products made by local artisans and entrepreneurs in various districts and the state government will provide financial support to them.

As per this, the retail stores will provide space to promote the sale of ODOP products. The state government will provide financial support to one ODOP store at each airport and railway station, while in the panchayats, municipal bodies and big cities, many store owners may avail this facility. While every city and panchayat in UP can avail the facility under this scheme, ODOP stores outside the state will be opened only at airports and railways stations.

The branding scheme will be applicable for three years under which the outlets in the Panchayat will get Rs 40,000 as financial assistance.  Those in municipal areas will get Rs 60,000 from the state government while in big cities the assistance would be Rs one lakh. The state government plans to open such stores in all 16 municipal corporations soon.

Those setting up ODOP stores at airports in Mumbai and Delhi will be provided Rs five lakh for electricity, decoration and rent, while stores in railway stations in these cities would get Rs two lakh. The UP government will provide financial support of Rs four lakh for opening ODOP stores at airports in Lucknow, Varanasi, Pune, Cochin, Baroda, Amritsar, Nagpur, Indore, Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam and Triputi among other cities. For the railway stations in these cities, the state’s help would be of Rs 1.5 lakh. A committee set up by the state government will decide the name of applicants who would wish to open ODOP stores.