Now Reading: ODOP scheme helps Agra artisans gain skills and new homes
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ODOP scheme helps Agra artisans gain skills and new homes
Uttar Pradesh's One District One Product (ODOP) initiative is helping artisans in Agra learn new skills and expand their businesses beyond local markets. After 90 days of training at a Common Facility…
Uttar Pradesh's One District One Product (ODOP) initiative is helping artisans in Agra learn new skills and expand their businesses beyond local markets. After 90 days of training at a Common Facility Centre in Nawada village, Lakshmi now works with leather and non-leather products. Rajendra Soni, a footwear maker from a family business in Anguthi village, used exhibitions in Delhi and Lucknow to secure larger orders, and has bought his own home with the increased income.
The ODOP scheme provides bank loans, 10-25% subsidies, toolkits and sewing machines, and under the Chief Minister's Youth Entrepreneur Scheme, assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh. Soni received a credit limit of Rs 3 lakh and subsidies of Rs 10,000 twice a year. Nearly 1,600 artisans have been trained at the Nawada centre since June 2022. Agra's leather sector exports about Rs 4,000 crore annually, supports 150 export units and employs 4-5 lakh people.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Uttar Pradesh launched ODOP in 2018 to boost traditional industries in each district, with leather and footwear identified for Agra. The scheme's success hinges on connecting informal artisans to formal markets, not just credit. Agra's leather cluster is dominated by micro-units, most lack the capital to attend trade fairs. Exhibition access is the link that turns a loan into a sale. The next test is whether trained women like Lakshmi can sustain income once subsidies end. The state's export target for leather goods is Rs 10,000 crore by 2027, up from Rs 4,000 crore now.
Source: indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
