Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for presenting a brass turtle crafted by artisans of Moradabad — widely known as Pital Nagri (the Brass City) — to the President of Seychelles, calling it a moment of immense pride for the state's 25 crore residents.

Context

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), CM Yogi credited Prime Minister Modi's 'visionary leadership' for elevating Uttar Pradesh's traditional craft heritage onto the global stage. The Chief Minister stated that the gifting of the brass turtle — an exquisite piece handcrafted by Moradabad's artisans — to the Seychelles President reflects the growing international recognition of the state's artisanal skill. He wrote, 'प्रदेश की स्थानीय शिल्प कला को नव्य एवं भव्य पहचान दिलाने हेतु प्रधानमंत्री जी का हार्दिक आभार' ('Heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister for giving new and grand recognition to the state's local craft art').

Policy Backdrop

Moradabad, located in western Uttar Pradesh, has been a globally significant centre for brassware manufacturing for centuries, exporting handicrafts to markets across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. The city's artisans produce a wide range of decorative and functional brass items, and the cluster is a key contributor to India's handicraft export earnings. The selection of a Moradabad brass piece as a state gift aligns with the broader 'Vocal for Local' and One District One Product (ODOP) framework, under which Moradabad's brassware has been designated as the district's signature product. The ODOP scheme, championed by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh and subsequently adopted at the national level, aims to promote and brand indigenous craft clusters to boost artisan incomes and exports.

Stakeholders and Impact

The gesture carries symbolic weight for Moradabad's estimated hundreds of thousands of craftspeople and small-scale manufacturers who depend on the brassware trade for their livelihoods. When a handcrafted piece from a local cluster is presented as a diplomatic gift at the highest level, it functions as an endorsement that can generate international buyer interest and strengthen the cluster's export brand. For the Seychelles, an island nation with which India maintains warm bilateral ties, the gift signals cultural diplomacy rooted in India's artisanal heritage. CM Yogi's public acknowledgement also reinforces the state government's positioning of 'New Uttar Pradesh' as an economically dynamic and culturally vibrant entity on the national and global map.

What's Next

The spotlight on Moradabad brassware at the diplomatic level is likely to prompt the Uttar Pradesh government to accelerate promotional efforts for the cluster, potentially through international trade fairs, GI-tag marketing campaigns, and export facilitation drives. With the ODOP framework already providing institutional support, artisan cooperatives and exporters in Moradabad may seek to leverage this visibility to open new markets. The episode also sets a precedent for other Uttar Pradesh ODOP products — from Lucknow chikankari to Varanasi silk — to be considered as diplomatic gifts in future high-level engagements.