The present district Deoria is situated in eastern zone of Uttar Pradesh. According to official gazzettes, the district name ‘Deoria’ is taken by its headquarter name ‘Deoria’ and the term ‘DEORIA’ generally means a place where there are temples.

In previous time it was a part and parcel of Deoria district. By separating from Deoria it came into existence as a district on 16th March 1946. Deoria comprises of 5 revenue subdivisions, 16 blocks, 2 Ngar Palika Parishad, 9 town areas and 2019 villages. Deoria has a rich cultural and historical importance not only in the state of Uttar Pradesh but in India also. Gandhiji addressed Deoria public meetings in 1920.Baba Raghav Das had started movement in april’ 1930 regarding ‘Namak Movement’. In 1931, there were wide movement against government & landlords in this district. Many more people joined Congress as volunteers & marched several places of the district. Shri Purushottam Das Tondon in 1931 & Rafi Ahmad Kidwai in 1935 visited different places of this district. During Quit India Movement, as much as 580 people were sent behind the bar for different duration. The river Ghaghara is flowing through the district, a Ganges tributary originating in Nepal that sometimes causes severe floods. The Ghaghra is interconnected through many other small rivers following meandering courses across the Gangetic Plain.

This district is located between 26o & 28o north latitude and 83o & 85oeast longitude. Deoria District is surrounded by district Kushinagar in North, district Gopalganj & Siwan (Bihar state) in East, district Mau & district Ballia in south and district Deoria in West. Deoria district headquarter is situated at 53 km. milestone from Deoria by road towards east. The geographical area of the district is measured as 2540 Sq.Km.District headquarter is situated at 50 km from Deoria on Deoria-Siwan broad gauge railway line towards Siwan. Ghaghara, Rapti & Chhoti Gandak are the main rivers in this district. Besides these, gorra, bathua, kurna, majhne, nakta are small rivers/nala which originates from above mentioned rivers. Climate of the district is 'SAMSITOSN'. May & June are hot and December & January months of the year are cold. Soil of different types is found in the district. Domat, Bhat, Matiyar & Balui Domat is found commonly. Productive & densely populated this district of Uttar Pradesh is situated at the north-east end of the state. Currently, Deoria district has five tehsils namely Deoria, Sadar, Salempur, Rudrapur , Berhaj & Bhatparrani.

The topography of Deoria is comprised of alluvial soil, sand, gravels. The mountain, plateau and other geographical reliefs are missing as an entire district belongs to Gangatic North Eastern Plain Zone. The general slope of relief is west to east and stretch is about 130 KM. The major river is Saryu (Ghaghara). Rainfall is quite high at about 1,210 mm; the climate is moist subhumid to dry sub-humid. 73% of the land area is cultivated and about half of the cultivated land is irrigated. Tube wells are the major source of irrigation. Summers are extremely hot with temperatures rising to the 40-to-46-degree Celsius range.

As given in the following table, MSME industries across the sectors of food/agro-based industries, repair & servicing, wood, metal, apparel, chemical, leather, engineering etc. are the key economy drivers of the district. Repairing service industries, Food Products, Ready garments contribute most in terms of employment and revenue, food products are highest among all the enterprises and work force is employed in this vertical.

Ready-made garments and Embroidery sector of MSME with 150 units in the district are the most prominent and economy contributing sector of the district. It is followed by the sectors such as decorative items, food products, misc. manufacturing and repairing services with respective 15, 49,44 & 92 units. The area of Deoria district is spread over the 2540 sq. km. The density of population is 1221 person per square km. The total urban population of District is 316803 and the total rural population is 2784143 .

The total export from Deoria is approximately INR 745.46 Cr for the period September 2020 to November 2021. The following table depicts the value of export of seven major products from Deoria:

Deoria is an ancient city in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. Deoria is known for production of Jhalar, jhumar and other decorative items.
Over the recent years, the artisan’s interest in producing the decorative items has weaned due to poor infrastructure, lack of modern technology and no direct market linkages leading to their inability to attract consumer compared to cheap Chinese products. This has also led to poor income for the artisans of around Rs 200- 400 women failing to attract young generation to practise this ancient craft. Decorative items in Deoria are one of the biggest artisan-based cluster of India with about 600 artisans associated and with a turnover of about INR 5 crore. The pockets include, Barhaj, Deoria, Salempur, Bhatpar rani, Lar, Baitalpur etc. Owing to its rich heritage, size, and contribution to the district’s economy, the GoUP has selected this craft under ODOP programme.

Decorative item was selected as the focus product for the district of Deoria under ODOP program. Decorative item is an ancient art nurtured over generations in the rural areas of the district. Decorative Items craft from Deoria is uniquely identified due to its of being made in Deoria which is locally available in the region too. The decorative item in the district is known for its jhalar, jhumar, parda, mejposh, soft toys made by thread, small items used to decorate the living room like hanging curtain etc. Decorative item has been identified as ODOP product to sustain this ancient craft and promote them into the international market

The following are the key products manufactured in the cluster: 1- Soft Toys: These are the soft toys made from the cotton, wool, and thread 2- Artificial Flowers: These are the artificial flowers which is being used to decorate the living area by position it either on the wall or tale.
3- Parda, hanging items: These products are usually developed through handcrafted for hanging on the door, main entrance or on the wall of room.

There is no GI tag is conferred yet to the decorative products of the Deoria. ;

There are no industry associations to help and to raise the voice of Decorative item artisans and workers.;

The following table lists the HS codes under which the products are exported from the district:;

During recent years the demand of decorative items has been increased. This is the reason and catalysing agent to arise the interest of many women artisans in this field. The decorative items are handmade and very economical hence can be exchanged as gift items also. Based on a conversation with local artisans and traders the gulf countries have emerged as new importing destinations for these decorative items. The local artisans and the traders are very happy to see this increase of taste which is certainly lead the way of artisans.

Decorative items can be diversified. Diversification is needed to attract more and more customers. Since these products are being crafted as Jhalar, jhumar, parda, mejposh etc. which can be extended to produce soft toys in varieties, certain other items like jhula, decorative valet, ladies’ bag, purses etc which can be used to give and take as small souvenirs. This diversification shall lead to find more orders not only from the local customers but from outside of India too.

In Deoria, there are 6 specific clusters or pocket for KE & readymade garment manufacturing. The micro and small enterprises and tailors run it from their own houses or small area which is not standard for manufacturing, and these are spread across the district. There are around 150 micro-KE & readymade garments manufacturing enterprises handling the key operations of value chain of RMG. Readymade Garments industry operates in an isolated framework. Most of the units outsourced their work from small groups, called job workers, of about 10-12 persons at various stages of the operation on contractual basis. There are numerous people involved in fabric weaving and about various tailors doing a job of stitching garments and finishing them. Only around 10 to 15 percent of tailors are registered with DIEPC and they have been allotted tailor card and majority of them were those who took Trainings. Cutting, Stitching, bundling, pressing & packaging are the key operation in the production of Readymade Garments.

In cluster major product which is manufactured is Pants, Shirts, lady’s kurta & Gents Kurta. Due to unavailability of designing and product development centre most of the product are manufactured in this cluster are old and traditional design which take maximum time and low demand in market. Also, these are not certified by any competent agency, so they get less price in the market. Major market for Pants, Shirts, jacket, which are manufactured here are Western UP, Bihar west Bengal & Nepal. Most of the RMG are purchased by the low income or Middle class because their rates are inexpensive. Only few units who have inhouse testing and designing facility are manufacturing for big brands on demand basis like, Raymond’s, Bombay dyeing, pantaloons, fab India, etc.

No GI tag has been awarded to the readymade garment products manufactured in Deoria .;

There is no major industry association in the district to the raise the voice of artisans/traders and manufacturers.;

HS codes under which the product is exported from the district.;

India's exports represent 2.1% of world exports for this product & it’s ranking is number 11, behind China. While the value of India’s exports over the last 5 years has fluctuated but with an overall decrease by CAGR 1.49%, as per data FY F2015-16 to 2018-19 for exports from the state of UP, it is observed that there has been an increase by CAGR 24.16%. Being in the same region, India is primarily in competition with China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan and Italy who account for 19.2% ,14.4 %, 6.2%, 5.1% and 4.8% of world exports for this product i.e. China nearly nine times or more than India’s level of exports. ;

While analysing export potential and markets that India (UP) can target, it is also necessary to look at Free trade agreements that India has with all countries. Below given table lists all types of agreement that India has.

Product Diversification – This plays a vital role in any products exports as it is a product uplifting strategy. Most of the SMEs aren’t bothered about changing their product range and they fail to understand that it is an integral part of comprehensive marketing. Diversification can be brought in the cluster by: Development of New Products, Modification of existing products, E-Commerce Collaboration, virtual Expo, Training on digital marketing, Marketing and display centre, Quality enhancement and Product Promotion etc.