The One District One Product (ODOP) initiative is transforming Uttar Pradesh's deep-rooted craft heritage into a vibrant national treasure. The powerful collaboration between the state government's visionary scheme and Flipkart's Samarth program is enabling artisans to expand beyond local markets and find their rightful place in the digital landscape. From candle makers in Kanpur to leather artisans reimagining seasonal work, artisans across UP are not just surviving but thriving.
For centuries, Uttar Pradesh has been a land of rich culture and heritage with artisans creating craft stories that have been passed down through generations. Despite their distinctiveness, these crafts often struggle to move beyond the neighboring markets. The One District One Product (ODOP) initiative of the state government aims to preserve and uplift this deep-rooted heritage.
Recognizing the hardships of the local artisans and fostering localized entrepreneurship, the Government of Uttar Pradesh launched the ODOP initiative in 2018. It aims to address the value chain and infrastructural gaps in promoting the traditional crafts unique to each of the state’s districts.
To truly unlock the potential of these crafts and bring them into the folds of e-commerce, the government has collaborated with Flipkart’s dedicated Samarth program. Read to learn how this partnership is enabling artisans to overcome geographical barriers and reach customers across every corner of India, ensuring their invaluable craft finds the wider audience it deserves.
Reigniting Lost Arts
At the heart of the ODOP initiative lies a simple but powerful idea: every district in Uttar Pradesh holds a unique cultural treasure, and these traditional crafts deserve both recognition and reach. A state-driven initiative, ODOP places craft revival and sustainable livelihoods at its core. By identifying a distinctive, often GI-tagged product in each of the state’s 75 districts, such as the handwoven Banarasi silk of Varanasi or Lucknow’s chikankari embroidery and more, the program aims to preserve endangered artisanal traditions that have long been part of the region’s cultural fabric.
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Shri Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary, MSME & Export Promotion, Government of Uttar Pradesh, sheds light on the inception and core intent of this flagship scheme.
“There are many traditional crafts being practiced, but because they had not been marketed or branded at a scale that is required they were tied up with the geography where the production was happening. We wanted to change that.” This initiative aims to liberate these exquisite crafts from their localized confines, providing them with the necessary branding and wider market access to truly flourish.
Speaking about the transformative impact of the ODOP program, Shri K. Vijeyandra Pandian IAS, Commissioner & Director, Directorate of Industries, Government of Uttar Pradesh says, “A lot of traditional artisans had moved away from their craft because it didn’t seem like a lucrative option. They left to do labor work instead. But once they saw the craft and the business picking up via the ODOP program, many of them came back. Now, ODOP is actually helping show the next generation that these crafts have real potential.”
Unlocking Unimaginable Opportunities: Flipkart Samarth Meets ODOP
The government’s initiative set the stage for identifying and promoting unique regional products, and Flipkart’s transformative Samarth program provided a crucial bridge to widespread market access.
“Flipkart Samarth enables inclusive growth by bringing market access to MSMEs, small businesses, artisans, weavers, women entrepreneurs and farmers,” says Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group. He adds, “If you are able to bring technology and these heritage sectors together and bring market access to them, you are creating a huge inclusive growth opportunity.”
Launched in 2019 with the goal of driving inclusive e-commerce, Flipkart Samarth supports traditionally underrepresented communities including women-led enterprises, persons with disabilities, and rural artisans by offering them dedicated onboarding support, training in online selling, and sustained visibility on the platform. By bridging the gap between grassroots talent and pan-India customers, the program helps preserve India’s rich cultural heritage while enabling economic independence and long-term growth for thousands of small businesses.
Hands That Tell Stories
The true heart of the ODOP and Flipkart Samarth collaboration beats in the transformative stories of the artisans themselves. Read more in the artisans’ own words.
Weaving Stability into Seasonal Crafts
My name is Mohammed Fareed Khan. My father started a business of making leather jackets and selling them in the local market. I joined this business in 2014, and I have always wanted to scale it and employ local people, so they do not have to leave their cities and villages to work elsewhere.
The leather jacket business is a seasonal business in Uttar Pradesh. So, all the workers who did not have a job stayed at home for 6 months. These are small-time workers who were not able to save their art and were about to stop work. But now, after listing their products online, they are able to work round the year. They have a new identity.
We joined Flipkart Samarth in 2023, and it really helped our business grow by reaching more customers. The online platform unlocked a new avenue for growth, connecting us with customers well beyond Kanpur. Around the same time, we were recognised under the Uttar Pradesh government’s ODOP initiative, which brought us into the spotlight and strengthened our position further in the evolving leather goods industry.
This benefits both us and the customers. First, the customer gets a good price and good handiwork. Second, we get a good price and can work around the year.
Lighting Up Lives Through Community-Led Enterprise
My name is Richa Shukla. I had a government job, and I left it to go back to my village. I founded my own company. The idea behind Scarlet Blinks was to help the community and promote artisans.
We make very simple candles, an art which can easily be taught to women. After training women from disadvantaged backgrounds, we started making these products with the intention of selling them. The biggest challenge was establishing the distribution channel.
The state government came up with a great initiative – ODOP – and partnered with Flipkart. I first came across the Flipkart Samarth program during an ODOP event in Lucknow, and it immediately resonated with me because of the valuable support the program offered – ranging from market insights to help with daily operations. Partnering with Flipkart Samarth has been a game-changer. Going online enabled us to reach every place in the country because Flipkart serves all the PIN codes of India.
After joining ODOP, we were able to multifold our social impact, supporting women who need jobs to support their families. We are now aligning the potter communities and procuring their products so that they can have a recurring business too.
Looking At the Impact: A Digital Lifeline for India’s Heritage
The synergy between the ODOP initiative and Flipkart Samarth has created a tangible and widespread impact, transforming the landscape for traditional artisans across Uttar Pradesh. Rajneesh Kumar captures this potential when he says, “Just imagine the impact of showcasing these products to billions across the country through a digital platform. It can open up incredible, life-changing opportunities for the people behind them.”
The numbers themselves paint a compelling picture. “Flipkart created a microsite which was dedicated to ODOP products. And I am glad to inform you that we now have almost 56,000 product categories that are being marketed through this space,” says Alok Kumar, highlighting the impact this collaboration had.
The success of the ODOP initiative in partnership with Flipkart Samarth offers a compelling blueprint for inclusive economic development. It reaffirms a shared, vital goal: to not only make Uttar Pradesh’s incredible artisans visible but to ensure their long-term viability and prosperity in the dynamic new economy.
