Parliament Question: Strengthening Local Production and Market Access

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3999. TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 17TH MARCH, 2026. STRENGTHENING LOCAL PRODUCTION AND MARKET ACCESS 3999. SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA: Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री (a) whether the Government is implementing initiatives such as One District One Product, export-promotion programmes and logistics-improvement measures nationwide to strengthen local production and market access, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether districts of Katni, Panna and town of Khajuraho in Khajuraho Lok Sabha region have been identified for ODOP, export-promotion or logistics- support initiatives and the sectors prioritised, if so, the details thereof; (c) the infrastructure, marketing support or export facilitation provided locally and the employment generated; (d) the manner in which such initiatives remain limited in these districts, the reasons therefor and corrective steps taken thereon; and (e) the steps taken to integrate local agriculture, handicrafts, tourism products and small industries with national and export markets to enhance income opportunities in this region? ANSWER वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) & (b): The Government is implementing One District One Product initiative, Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) and logistics improvement measures across the country to boost local production and market access. The Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce, aims to promote exports, manufacturing, and employment generation at the grassroots level and foster balanced regional development across the country by actively involving States and Districts as key stakeholders in export promotion. Institutional mechanisms in the form of State Export Promotion Committees (SEPCs) at the State/UT level and District Export Promotion Committees (DEPCs) at the district levelhave been constituted to facilitate export promotion and address bottlenecks affecting export growth. One District One Product’ (ODOP) is an initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with the aim to select, brand, and promote at least one product from each district of the country for enabling holistic growth across all regions. The selection of ODOP products is undertaken by the respective State/UT Governments. Madhya Pradesh has identified Sandstone (Katni Stone) from Katni district and Amla (Indian Gooseberry) from Panna district. Workshops and export promotion activities such as Amla processing and marketing related programmes have been organised at the district and divisional levels to promote ODOP products, MSME exports and to encourage entrepreneurship. The Government has taken various measures for logistics improvement in the country. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (PMGS NMP), launched in October 2021, is a transformative approach which has brought synergy among various Ministries including Railways and Roadways, to ensure integrated and coordinated planning and execution of infrastructure projects. This aims to provide seamless and efficient connectivity for movement of people, goods and services across various modes of transport, thereby enhancing logistics efficiency and last mile connectivity. Till date, 356 projects worth total estimated cost of Rs. 16.18 Lakh Crore have been evaluated through Network Planning Group (NPG) mechanism under the PMGS NMP framework, of which, total 24 projects fall in the Madhya Pradesh aiming to improve logistics and multi modal connectivity in the State including districts of Katni, Panna, etc. Further, the National Logistics Policy (NLP), launched in 2022, targets to create a cost efficient, resilient, and sustainable logistics ecosystem. Focus areas in the National Logistics Policy include the Sectoral Plan for Efficient Logistics (SPEL) for major sectors of the economy like Coal, Cement, Fertilizer, Steel, Pharma etc. examining existing supply chain networks and promoting multi-modal transport, digitalization and automation. (c) to (e): As per the information received from State of Madhya Pradesh, in Katni, an Investment Facilitation Centre has been established by the ODOP Cell, Madhya Pradesh to facilitate investment and industry promotion. Further in Panna, under ODOP (Amla), five processing units have been established which are providing employment to approximately 10 persons per unit (around 50 persons in total). These units support value addition, marketing and local entrepreneurship in horticulture products. Steps are being taken through ODOP promotion, export awareness programmes, MSME facilitation, value addition in agricultural and horticultural products, and investment promotion initiatives. The ODOP Cell of Madhya Pradesh undertakes promotional and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen technology adoption, branding and export linkages of district products.Further, district-level departments and agencies undertake activities such as training programmes, workshops, processing units, export awareness events and coordination with export promotion organisations to connect local producers with national and export markets from time to time. To promote local agriculture and handicrafts, GI tagging of unique products has been taken up as a focused mission in Madhya Pradesh, with a State-level nodal officer designated for the purpose. ODOP and GI promotion are regularly reviewed by the District/State Administration. A continuous evaluation mechanism for monitoring ODOP progress at the district level is also being developed by the State. *******