Rs 2,600 cr package for leather & footwear industry unveiled

Union Minister Suresh Prabhu unveiled the Central government’s Rs 2,600 crore package for the leather and footwear industry, saying it had the potential of generating over three lakh jobs and formalising another two lakh in the next three years. The Union Cabinet had last month okayed the package for employment generation in the leather and footwear sectors,with an approved expenditure of Rs 2,600 crore over three financial years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

“The special package has the potential to generate 3.24 lakh new jobs and assist in formalisation of two lakh jobs in three years… this is about half a million jobs (overall),” Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry, said after inaugurating the 33rd India International Leather Fair (IILF) 2018 here.

Underlining the Centre’s commitment to the leather industry,he said the government wanted to set up mega leather, footwear and accessories clusters and would provide infrastructure support in this regard.

Prabhu, who pointed out at the implementation of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) in Tamil Nadu, especially for the textile sector in Tirupur, assured to provide assistance for upgradation and installation of such facilities for the leather industry also, as it would ensure that the traditional sectors work in an environment friendly manner.

On the exports front, he said there has been a decline, but that efforts were on to “re-engage” with global countries, and added that India should be part of a global supply chain. Exports should contribute towards at least 40 per cent of India’s GDP, he added.