Lucknow, Jan 4 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wants that postage stamps on each product of the state government's flagship 'One District-One Product' (ODOP) scheme should be released.
The proposal came after the state bagged first prize for its performance in the ODOP scheme on Wednesday.
The award was presented by Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to additional chief secretary MSME Amit Mohan Prasad at a ceremony held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi.
Prasad said: "This achievement has been possible due to the remarkable vision of Chief Minister Adityanath, who initiated this programme in 2018, and all other states are now following the suit."
The chief minister, according to the government spokesman, also advocated for grading of ODOP articles in the state and directed officials to issue stamps for each of the products to give them global recognition.
He said that the products under the ODOP scheme should not be restricted to coffee table books, but they should have global recognition. Thus, efforts like releasing stamps on each product should be made, he added.
"Every district's product should also be graded so that information about good products can be issued. Combining it with packaging and technology will help in getting global recognition for the products," he said.
Crediting an improvement in law and order as the reason for the emerging as a top investment destination in the country, he said that during the Global Investors Summit, the state received investment proposals of Rs 40 lakh crore, which when implemented, would generate around 1.10 crore jobs.
Referring to the ODOP scheme, Adityanath said that the state was the first state to actively support the Vocal for Local campaign initiated by the Central government.
"The MSME sector has given a new identity to UP. The ODOP scheme has empowered micro, small and medium enterprises, providing a new direction to traditional entrepreneurs who used to migrate for lack of opportunities in the past. The scheme has made the state an export hub, with exports increasing almost three times. UP is the first state to introduce the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and PLEDGE Scheme which have led to significant growth in the MSME units in the state," he said.
The state currently has 96 lakh MSME units.
Urging bankers to provide easy loans to small capital holders, the chief minister said that it would boost business and bankers' confidence in small capital holders, thereby leading to prosperity in the state.