The government plans to launch district-based pilots under the One District One Product (ODOP) and One Village One Product (OVOP) initiatives to connect micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with larger markets. The initiative will create value chains linking MSMEs with large firms, exporters, aggregators and logistics providers.
The plan, outlined under the government’s five-year strategic framework, aims to identify commercially viable products at the district and village levels and connect businesses producing those products with larger domestic and international markets.
Phase one
According to the plan, the government will pilot ODOP and OVOP in selected areas and identify region-specific heritage, traditional and commercially viable products during the first year.
At the same time, authorities will map the support requirements of MSMEs to improve their productive capacity, including finance, training and incentives.
Training programmes will also be designed to help MSME entrepreneurs improve their branding, exporting and packaging capabilities. The government also plans to facilitate the inclusion of MSME businesses on national and international online platforms to expand their market access.
The SME Foundation, Ministry of Industries and Ministry of Textiles and Jute will be involved in implementing the initial activities.
The first-year outputs will include an ODOP piloting report, a mapping report on service requirements and training programme modules.
Phase two
In the second phase, covering one to three years, the government plans to review the pilot results, make necessary adjustments and extend ODOP to other districts.
Based on identified capacity-building needs, MSMEs will receive incentives and other necessary support.
The strategy also sets a target of providing capacity-building training to 1,000 MSME entrepreneurs on productivity improvement, quality upgrading, packaging, digital marketing, bookkeeping and value-chain participation during this period.
Progress will be measured by indicators including the number of districts with operational ODOP programmes, the average sales or revenue growth of ODOP-supported MSMEs, the share of incentives provided to MSMEs and the number of training workshops conducted.
Long-term plan
The longer-term plan is to scale up ODOP into a nationally coordinated, product-based industrial development programme covering all districts, with clearly identified competitive products.
The government also plans to establish district-level value-chain platforms connecting MSMEs with large firms, exporters, logistics providers, financial institutions and business development service providers.
The plan further proposes the development of cluster-based infrastructure, including common facility centres, testing laboratories and packaging hubs.
Under the five-year target, the government will measure progress through the number of commercially viable products brought under the ODOP programme, the number or percentage of MSMEs supplying large firms or exporters, and the number of MSMEs using digital tools such as digital payments, e-commerce and enterprise systems.
