The first consignment of Kashmiri walnuts was recently flagged off from Budgam in Jammu & Kashmir. A truck carrying 2,000 kg of walnuts was despatched to Bengaluru under the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative of the ministry of commerce & industry.

Kashmir accounts for 90 per cent of India’s walnut production. With their superior quality and taste, the Kashmiri walnuts are a great source of nutrients and hence widely in demand across the globe. There is immense potential for this product to make its place in the local and global markets.

Last week, the Uttar Pradesh government named actor Kangana Ranaut as the brand ambassador of its One District One Product programme. The UP government had launched the ODOP programme with the aim to create product-specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts of the state.

One District One Product 

• One District One Product (ODOP) is an initiative which is seen as a transformational step forward towards realizing the true potential of a district, fuel economic growth and generate employment and rural entrepreneurship.

• ODOP initiative is operationally merged with ‘Districts as Export Hub’ initiative being implemented by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as a major stakeholder.

• The department of commerce through DGFT is engaging with central and state government agencies to promote the initiative of ODOP. 

The objective is to convert each district of the country into an export hub by:

• Identifying products with export potential in the district.

• Addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products.

• Supporting local exporters/manufacturers to scale up manufacturing.

• Find potential buyers outside India with the aim of promoting exports.

• Promoting manufacturing & services industry in the district and generate employment.

• Under the initial phase of the ODOP programme, 106 products have been identified from 103 districts across 27 states. 68 products out of the 106 products are available on big ecommerce platforms. 

• With a view to promote manufacturing and exports, an analysis of specific interventions such as marketing, technology, design, etc is underway along with identification of the agency responsible for the same.

• By scaling it up as a national movement, the government can look at creating a pool of 739 products from 739 districts in India that can be regulated.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store