President Ramnath Kovind on Friday inaugurated the “One District One Product (ODOP)” summit in the state capital and expressed hope that the changing environment in Uttar Pradesh would make the state a trillion-dollar economy sooner than later.

Speaking at the inauguration session, the President said he can feel the excitement among the summit participants, which was reflective of how the mood and atmosphere in the state had changed in the recent past.

#PresidentKovind inaugurates ‘One District One Product’ Summit in Lucknow; expresses confidence that the scheme will enhance skills of local people and will result in economic progress of artisans of Uttar Pradesh. Calls MSME the backbone of our economy pic.twitter.com/Zl1LWylnIG

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— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 10, 2018

After inaugurating the summit the president also inspected the ODOP exhibition of all the 75 districts and by pressing a button gave loan worth Rs 1,006 crore to small-time businessmen.

Lauding the holding of such a summit by the state government, the President also remembered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Kovind further said that Uttar Pradesh was a state with a lot of talent and added that the need of the hour was to harness it. He also congratulated Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for coming up with the idea of ODOP.

In his address, the Chief Minister said soon after the BJP took over the reins of the government in the state, the atmosphere had changed and now investors were making a beeline to invest here.

Through ODOP, he said, every year 5 lakh persons would be given employment in the state every year.

“We are promoting talent, business and for start-ups have earmarked a fund of Rs 250 crore in our budget,” Adityanath stated.

“What we inherited from the preceding government in known to everybody and we have tried out best to turn it around,” the Chief Minister said while also claiming a definite change in the law and order situation of the state.

There would be eight sessions in the summit covering sectors, like credit and finance, craft and tourism, agro and foods, and handloom and textiles and would discuss in detail the ways to improve marketing processes and ensure quality through use of technology, an official told IANS.