Himachal Govt to Bring Buyers & Sellers Under One Roof at HIM MSME Fest

The Himachal Pradesh government aims to showcase the state’s unique offerings at the three-day HIM MSME Fest, scheduled from January 3 to 5, 2026, in Shimla. The event is designed to connect craftspersons, artisans, entrepreneurs, and startup founders with industry stakeholders, investors, and experts.

It will also feature a ‘Buyer-Seller Meet’ to showcase the state’s One District One Product (ODOP) offerings. The government intends the event to serve as a dynamic marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of Himachal’s signature products, with focused platforms for haldi milk and dairy items, garlic and ginger, fruit wine, sea buckthorn, and potatoes.

Organised under the state’s Department of Industries, the event aims to encourage entrepreneurship beyond traditional craft identities. It will include product presentations highlighting quality and market potential, stall visits for firsthand experiences, roundtable dialogues fostering policy and business discussions and one-to-one meetings facilitating direct trade and collaboration.

The ODOP initiative, first launched in Uttar Pradesh, was later adopted nationwide. It aims to promote balanced regional development by identifying, branding, and marketing one unique product per district across India. In 2021, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) introduced the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, following the ODOP approach. The scheme had an outlay of ₹10,000 crore and ran for a five-year period from the financial year 2020-21 to 2024-25.

Expenditure under the scheme was shared 60:40 between the Centre and State governments, 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states, 60:40 with Union Territories (UTs) with legislatures and 100% by the Centre for other UTs.

States and Union Territories seleceted key products based on local production, traditional crafts, GI‑tagged items, or agricultural output. Over 1,100 products across more than 760 districts have been mapped.

In Himachal Pradesh, the ODOP initiative has identified 12 products from different districts, including turmeric in Bilaspur, apples in Chamba, Kullu, and Shimla, milk and dairy products in Hamirpur, mangoes in Kangra, fruit wine in Kinnaur, sea buckthorn in Lahaul & Spiti, peas and vegetables in Mandi, ginger and garlic in Sirmaur, mushrooms in Solan, and potatoes in Una, highlighting the state’s diverse agricultural and craft strengths.

In February 2024, the Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, KM Shobha Karandlaje, informed the Rajya Sabha that under the ODOP initiative, the Centre has released ₹70.50 crore for implementing various components of the PMFME scheme up to January 2024.

Under the PMFME scheme, several key structures have been established in Himachal Pradesh to facilitate food processing entrepreneurship. These include the formation of the State Nodal Agency (SNA), State Level Approval Committee (SLAC) and District Level Committees (DLCs). Two State Level Training Institutes (SLTIs) have been nominated for capacity building, and three incubation centres have been approved. Additionally, 37 District Resource Persons (DRPs) have been appointed to assist prospective entrepreneurs with proposals and applications.

Significant financial support has also been provided under the scheme. 1,284 loans have been sanctioned and 1,152 loans disbursed under the credit-linked subsidy. Under seed capital, ₹54.49 crore has been released to benefit 14,544 Self Help Group (SHG) members. Furthermore, 489 beneficiaries, 11 master trainers, 26 district-level trainers, and 11 DRPs have been trained under the Food Processing Entrepreneurship Development Programme.

In Himachal Pradesh, under ODOP, credit-linked subsidy has been sanctioned for 999 micro food processing enterprises and ₹54.59 crore in seed capital has been released to 14,544 SHG members. At the national level, 13,070 micro food processing enterprises have received credit-linked subsidy, 76 ODOP-based incubation centres have been approved and 14 brands launched to support marketing and branding of micro food processing units.