Railways operating record-breaking 9,111 trips during summer season of 2024
This marks a substantial rise compared to the summer of 2023, where a total of 6,369 trips were offered.
The Ministry of Railways has launched the ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) scheme in Indian Railways with the objective of promoting the ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of the government, providing a market for local/indigenous products and creating additional income opportunities for the marginalised sections of society.
Under the scheme, OSOP outlets at railway stations are allotted for showcasing, selling and giving high visibility to indigenous/local products. The pilot of the scheme was started on 25 March 2022 and as on 1st May 2023, 728 stations have been covered with 785 OSOP outlets in 21 states and three Union Territories across the country. These OSOP stalls are designed through the National Design Institute for uniformity. Cumulative direct beneficiaries between March 2022 and 1st May are 25,109.
‘One Station One Product’ is specific to that place and includes artefacts made by indigenous tribes, handlooms by local weavers, handicrafts like world-famous wood carving, chikankari and zari-zardozi work on clothes, or spices tea, coffee and other processed/semi-processed food items/products indigenously grown in the area.
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For example in North East India, varieties of Assamese Pitha, traditional Rajbongshi Dress, Jhapi, local textiles, and Jute Products (Cap, Gamocha, Doll) are available on OSOP Stalls. In Jammu and Kashmir area, Kashmiri Girda, Kashmiri Kahwa and Dry Fruits are famous while in South India cashew products, spices, and Chinnalapatti Handloom Sarees are catching the attention of passengers. In the Western part of the country, Embroidery & Zari Zardozi, Coconut Halva, locally grown fruits, processed foods, and Bandhani are famous.
Product categories, under this scheme, include handicrafts/artEfacts, textiles and handlooms, traditional garments, local agricultural produce (including millets) and processed/semi-processed foods.
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