Archives

Press Releases

Back

ANAND SHARMA CALLS FOR DIVERSIFICATION OF NEW MARKETS AND INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF LEATHER SECTOR

Date : 03 Nov 2009
Location : New Delhi
 

            Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, while meeting a delegation from Footwear design & Development Institute (FDDI), led by Sri Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, here today, said that it would be imperative to diversify into new markets while carving out a greater niche into existing markets and added that the leather industry has to focus more on higher unit value realization in line with the creation of an India brand consciousness.  While appreciating the performance of FDDI, Shri Sharma emphasized that the institutes providing technical training are crucial not only for the growth of the industry but also for providing employment opportunities and expressed confidence that FDDI would fulfill this responsibility.   During the meeting, a presentation was made by FDDI about their performance details and new initiatives to compete global challenges. 

The Minister underlined that the government is committed towards the integrated development of Leather sector, which has tremendous potential for growth and high impact on social equity. “To give thrust to the sector an allocation of Rs. 1300 crore has been made for the leather sector during the XI Plan. Our various programmes, interventions and trade policies are targeted towards the sustainable development of the Leather industry”, the Minister added. 

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has initiated a major initiative during the 11^th Five Year Plan (2007-12) under “Indian Leather Development Programme” (ILDP) with an outlay of Rs. 1300 crore for overall development of the leather sector by augmenting raw material base, enhancing capacity, addressing environmental concerns, human resource development, infrastructure development, attracting investment and global marketing of Indian Leather. Sub-schemes with an outlay of Rs. 1237.52 crores under ILDP have been approved and are at various stages of implementation.  

For addressing the issue of shortage of manpower for the leather industry, human resource development programmes has been identified as an important initiative during the 11^th Five Year Plan period and the Central Government has approved sub-schemes with outlay of Rs. 442.09 crores under ILDP out of total approved outlay of Rs. 1237.52 crores (approximately 36% of the total approved outlay) for this purpose.  FDDI has been awarded certifications and accreditations from some of the most reputed organizations such as ISO 9001, ISO14001, and ISO 17025 etc.  In the process of bridging the critical gap in infrastructure and the qualitative human resource requirement in the Industry, DIPP has sanctioned the establishment of three full fledged campuses at Tamilnadu, West Bengal and Haryana and one training centre at Chhindwara, MP during the XI Plan.

*********

RJ/MRS