Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 3 (KNN) Kerala Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said on Thursday that the state’s first Unity Mall (Ekta Mall) for promoting regional products, especially those with Geographical Indication (GI) tag, will come up on the Technopark campus.

The State Cabinet had approved the proposed mall, revealed the minister and said the proposal would be submitted to the Union Ministry on November 3 at the World Food India 2023 expo in New Delhi. 

He said a permanent international convention centre set up by Kinfra for MSME trade fairs would also be inaugurated by December-end.     

The minister mentioned this while inaugurating a Business to Business (B2B) meet organised by the Department of Industries and Commerce (DI&C) on the sidelines of the trade fair being held as part of the week-long Keraleeyam programme at Putharikandam Maidanam.

“All States can showcase their products at the Unity Mall. Products of MSME and those under One District One Product (ODOP) scheme from Kerala can be sold here,” he said.

Proposed in the Union Budget for all States, the Unity Mall aims at promoting and selling each State’s own ODOP, GI and other handicraft products.

He noted that the B2B meet at the expo would help explore new markets for domestic products. As many as 36 GI products from the State are on display at the expo organised by the Industries department.

Suman Billa, Principal Secretary (Industries), said the department was working on an ambitious programme with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to facilitate MSME units to reach out and tap faraway markets.

The trade fair showcases premium quality products that are exported to global markets from the State. Kerala’s major achievements in the industries sector from 1961 to 2022 have also been displayed.

(KNN Bureau)