The virtual ODOP fair in UP proved to be a grand success

Sandeep Mitra.

Lucknow: October 25, 2020. The ongoing One District One Product ( ODOP) virtual fair, organized as an experiment during the ongoing times of corona pandemic, arguably the first of its kind across India, has proved to be a grand success during these times. Going by its success, the state government has decided to extend the fair till October 27, 2020. The fair was inaugurated by the hon’ble Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on October 19th and more than 1000 buyers from 35 countries are participating in it. Apart from this, over 700 craftsmen and sellers have put up their stalls at the fair. Widely publicized on online platforms like Facebook, Google, etc. by the ODOP cell, FICCI and the MSME department, the fair is attracting immense response. The fair has seen more than 24,000 logins and stalls visits to the tune of about 40,000. A total of 47273 cards were exchanged during the fair while it registered the presence of about 7000 persons to the online auditorium.
The fair, organized by FICCI, also aimed to help the traditional specialty products get a platform at the national and international level and to assist craftsmen and artisans to get recognition in newer markets.
It has also proved to be of great relief for the harassed entrepreneurs due to recession in Covid times. The fair is providing them an opportunity to highlight and sell their products in the online markets and besides local consumers, it is also attracting buyers from across the globe. The high transactions of the products was recorded during the virtual fair, said Divjot Singh Anand, the Assistant Director- UP State Council of FICCI.