VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has won six of the total 12 awards presented under the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, said Principal Secretary (Industries and Commerce) Sunitha on Wednesday.
While Araku Coffee from Alluri Sitarama Raju district and Uppada Jamdani sarees from Kakinada district secured gold medals, Ponduru cotton sarees from Srikakulam and Gadwal sarees from Kurnool won the bronze award. Additionally, Madanapalle silk sarees of Annamayya district and Mangalagiri handloom sarees of Guntur received special mentions.
Launched by the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the ODOP initiative is aimed at acknowledging the work done by the States and Union Territories, and their contributions towards the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The State had submitted applications for 26 products, including textiles, handicrafts, handloom, fisheries, and industrial sectors. Of the total, 14 products had made it to the shortlist.
Highlighting that the State had won five awards for handloom products, principal secretary Sunitha said the government’s initiatives such as providing aid to 81,783 weavers’ families under Netanna Nestham, subsidised yarn, marketing support through APCO, and cash credit facilities for handloom weavers’ cooperative societies helped in the uplift of the industry.