In 2017, UP was one of the POOREST states of India But then, a policy made UP go from the POOREST to being the 2nd LARGEST economy in just 6 yrs! The crazy part? It’s so good that Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, & even the Centre copied it Here’s what made UP go from zero to hero: Until few yrs ago, UP was one of the poorest & backward states of India along with Bihar & Jharkhand. But now it has become the 2nd largest economy & holds a share of 9.2% in India’s GDP. According to SOIC, it has outpaced Tamil Nadu (9.1%), Gujarat (8.2%) & West Bengal (7.5%). The state has also moved from 14th to 2nd position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings. So, how did this transition from rags to riches happen? Well, to begin with, the UP govt brought in one particular initiative that took the spotlight and brought a fundamental change: One District One Product (ODOP) The idea of this scheme is to identify, brand, & promote one unique product from each district. So, 75 unique products from 75 districts were selected. It is inspired from a Japanese business development concept that gained popularity in 1979. The idea then was to identify, focus, and support one product from each region to boost the local economy and raise the standard of living. For UP, the goal of this policy is to give global recognition to UP’s local products. And along the way: 👉 Generate employment. 👉 Enable holistic socio-economic growth. 👉 Attract investments in the district to boost manufacturing & exports. 👉Create an ecosystem for innovation at the district level that can compete with domestic as well as international markets. Let’s understand this better with an example. Kalanamak rice is a type that is grown only in Siddharthnagar of UP & some parts of Nepal. The legend is that Lord Buddha gave kalanamak rice to the people of the Shravasti as a gift when he visited the region after enlightenment. In 2018, this rice was on the verge of extinction — only 2950 farmers were farming kalanamak rice because it needed more attention than normal rice & there was no monetary benefit as well. But within 3 yrs, the number of kalanamak rice farmers increased to 13500 because of ODOP. Now, the govt generated a global demand for kalanamak rice by focusing on 3 key strategies: 1️⃣ Recognition The state govt launched a 3-day Kalanamak Rice Festival. By this initiative, farmers got to understand the demand and exporters got to know about the quality of rice. Once it was established that there is a demand to be fulfilled, next came: 2️⃣ Packaging & Branding Buddha has a global appeal, but the same can’t be said about kalanamak rice. So, kalanamak rice was rebranded as — Buddha Rice. The packaging had Buddha to attract Central and South Asian countries where Buddhism is widely practised. And Lord Buddha's famous quote, "The unique aroma of the rice will remind people of me," was also used on the packaging as a promotional strategy. Now that a demand was created, it was time to expand the reach. 3️⃣ Market Reach The rice was made available on Amazon & Flipkart. It is now being exported to USA, UK, & Singapore. Govt sanctioned ₹12 Cr to promote kalanamak rice production, processing, packaging, & branding. Just like kalanamak rice, Lucknow is now famous for chikankari & zari work, Jhansi for soft toys, and Gorakhpur for handicrafts. ODOP was launched in 2018 in UP. And its impact can be clearly seen as UP’s GSDP has grown from ₹12.47L Cr in 2016-17 to ₹20.48L Cr in 2022-23. To ensure that ODOP becomes a success in UP, the then Chief Secretary of UP govt, Mr. Navneet Sehgal (@navneetsehgal3), created time-bound goals. He created the blueprint of the ODOP ecosystem, which helped take the ODOP products to national & international markets. The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has also been involved to advise on the designing part of the ODOP products. The state govt also exhibited the ODOP products at the Hong Kong Handloom Fair, the Textile Expo Istanbul, Cairo Fashion Week, and Dubai Expo. The ODOP scheme was so successful that it was adopted by Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, J&K and later on even by the central govt. Diversity is a key hallmark of our nation which is respected all over the world. We have food, textiles, art, & beauty — from diverse cultures to offer. But some of these sacred crafts & food items needed some safeguarding & nurturing to make the best out of them. So, the central govt approved ODOP for 713 districts of 35 States & UTs — under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme. To name a few — incense sticks from West Tripura, hand block print art from Barmer, Rajasthan, and arabica coffee from Kannur, Kerala are making waves in the markets. Because of ODOP, craftsmen are becoming entrepreneurs. They are creating businesses that will keep generating cash flow irrespective of festive seasons. They no longer have to depend on middlemen for sales & can make more money this way. Lastly, let’s look at the state govt initiatives that make ODOP lucrative for the people of UP: 👉 Credit-Linked Grant:  A credit-linked grant of 35% would be provided to support groups such as self-help groups (SHGs), producer co-operatives, etc. for their operation. 👉 Seed Capital: Seed capital is provided at ₹40,000 per SHG member involved in food processing. 👉 Branding & Marketing: Branding & marketing support is provided through grants of up to 50% of total expenditure. 👉 Training: Training is provided with a focus on entrepreneurship development, FSSAI standards, GST registration, Geographical Indication registration, & so on. ODOP is such a massive success that, of UP's ₹1,20,536 Cr exports in 2020-21, — ₹96,000 Cr or 70% were of ODOP products! The govt is eyeing to achieve ₹1.92L Cr exports by 2025-26, in line with the state's target of becoming a $1 trillion economy in the next 5 years.