Guwahati, Oct 16 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has achieved significant progress under the Ministry of Railways’ One Station, One Product (OSOP) initiative, officials said on Thursday.

The OSOP initiative aims to promote local artisans and entrepreneurs by providing them with a platform to showcase and sell their indigenous products at railway stations.

NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that as of October 2025, a total of 112 stations under the jurisdiction of the NFR have operational OSOP outlets, covering 135 functional units.

He said that under this initiative, the Alipurduar Division (in West Bengal) has made 12 stations operational, Katihar Division (Bihar) 23 and Assam’s Lumding Division 32, Rangiya Division 20 and Tinsukia Division 25.

In terms of geographical spread, OSOP outlets are now operational at 71 stations in Assam, 26 in West Bengal, 8 in Bihar, 4 in Tripura, 2 in Arunachal Pradesh and 1 in Nagaland, Sharma.

He said that this initiative has provided a major boost to local crafts, traditional products and self-employment opportunities across the Northeast region, in line with the vision of the ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative.

In addition to OSOP, NFR is also implementing the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra (PMBJK) scheme to ensure the availability of quality generic medicines at affordable prices to passengers and local citizens.

There are five currently functional PMBJK units at Katihar, Badarpur, Agartala, New Tinsukia and New Coochbehar.

These initiatives underscore Northeast Frontier Railway’s continued commitment to social welfare, economic empowerment, and passenger convenience, while simultaneously promoting the traditional crafts and livelihood of local communities across the region, the NFR official said.

The Northeast Frontier Railway operates in the Northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of northern Bihar.

Meanwhile, the OSOP initiative is similar to the ‘One District, One Product (ODOP)’ plan. Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) in December 2023 approved ODOP for 713 districts in 35 states and Union Territories under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme on recommendations from the states and Union Territories and in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

–IANS

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