When Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address toward a small district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, he put a centuries-old berry — and the women quietly building an economy around it — on the national map. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath responded on Sunday, September 27, 2026, welcoming the Prime Minister's mention of Pratapgarh's amla (Indian gooseberry) and the self-help groups transforming it into rural livelihoods.

In his post, CM Yogi wrote — 'आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री जी ने आज मन की बात में प्रतापगढ़ के आंवले और मातृशक्ति का उल्लेख कर समूचे उत्तर प्रदेश को गौरवान्वित किया है' — 'The honourable Prime Minister, by mentioning Pratapgarh's amla and the women's power driving it in Mann Ki Baat today, has made all of Uttar Pradesh proud.'

Pratapgarh's Amla Economy: 100 Units and Counting

The district of Pratapgarh, long recognised as a hub of amla cultivation, now hosts approximately 100 amla processing units — a figure CM Yogi cited as direct evidence of the scheme's momentum. These units convert raw gooseberries into value-added products, extending the supply chain well beyond the farm gate and creating sustained employment in a traditionally agrarian belt.

At the heart of this expansion are the Savitri Phule and Vindhyavasini Self-Help Groups — women-led collectives that have plugged into the processing ecosystem, building income and agency simultaneously. The CM framed their work as 'मातृशक्ति के स्वावलंबन का सशक्त आधार' — 'a powerful foundation of women's self-reliance' — connecting individual enterprise to a broader state ambition.

ODOP: The Policy Engine Behind the Push

The structural backbone here is the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, launched by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2018 to identify and champion each district's most distinctive product. For Pratapgarh, that product is amla — chosen for its deep agricultural roots and its potential for processing-led value addition.

ODOP has since been extended across districts statewide, creating a template that links traditional crafts and crops to formal supply chains, export readiness, and women's self-help group networks. Pratapgarh's trajectory — from legacy crop to organised industry — is among its more visible outcomes.

From 'Atmanirbhar UP' to 'Viksit UP'

CM Yogi explicitly framed the amla story inside a larger developmental arc: the journey from 'Atmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh' (self-reliant UP) to 'Viksit Uttar Pradesh' (developed UP). It is a deliberate linguistic bridge — connecting the national Atmanirbhar Bharat framework championed by Prime Minister Modi with the state's own ambitions for rural industrialisation.

A Mann Ki Baat mention from the Prime Minister carries real amplification weight. The programme, running since October 2014, has consistently been used to spotlight grassroots initiatives, and a feature on Pratapgarh's amla cluster sends a signal to other districts — and investors — about what organised local enterprise can unlock.

Pratapgarh's amla farmers and the women packing gooseberries into India's kitchens did not wait for attention. But now that the Prime Minister has given it, the pressure on the state to match the spotlight with scale is real.