Action plan to boost leather sector

The government is drawing up an ambitious scheme for the labour-intensive leather sector and a draft has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations before the Cabinet takes a final view.

"The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has circulated a Cabinet Note regarding development of the leather sector under a mission mode to the ministries concerned and Prime Minister's Office," an official said.

Leather and footwear sector is among six key sectors identified under the 10-year National Manufacturing Initiative for accelerating economic growth and employment generation.

The government has constituted a high-level committee on manufacturing headed by PM Manmohan Singh. The policy package under preparation will address issues in the leather industry such as obsolete technology, lack of standardisation and poor marketing infrastructure for the leather industry employing 2.5 million people.

The Mission Mode defining milestones for each of the tasks was suggested by National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) and the Prime Minister's office had also identified the leather industry to be brought under government priorities.

A $700 crore export target has been set for 2010 for the sector, which has undergone structural changes in last two decades.