 "Suppliers of several non-leather footwear brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance, and Reebok are betting big on Tamil Nadu as a manufacturing hub, with the state already in the process of grooming a supplier ecosystem, for which India is almost")
The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to leverage the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom (UK) through a proposed policy to boost the manufacturing and exports of the state’s traditional leather goods industry.
The proposed UP Footwear, Leather and Non-Leather Sector Development Policy 2025 will focus on a cluster-based development model to promote the sector. This comes as India is aiming to augment its leather and footwear exports to $50 billion by 2030.
Under the India-UK FTA, the current tariffs of up to 17 per cent on Indian leather and footwear products, will be reduced to 0 per cent gradually in 5 years.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials in the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) department framing the policy to focus on integrating production, design, research, and training on a single platform to attract private investment. “This integrated approach would help establish a complete and localised ‘design-to-delivery’ ecosystem within UP,” he said.
Additionally, the policy is expected to focus on skilling, packaging and marketing to enhance product quality and competitiveness. Around 2.2 million new jobs are expected to be generated in the sector after the implementation of the proposal.
The composite UP leather industry is estimated to be worth ₹20,000 crore, including exports, and comprises two nerve centres — Kanpur-Unnao and Agra. The Kanpur-Unnao cluster alone generates an annual economy of about ₹12,000 crore, and exports leather goods to Gulf countries, Europe, China, Iran, and others.
The UP government plans to utilise the state's robust network of skilled artisans, raw materials, and leather hubs, along with supporting units manufacturing specialised machinery for leather stitching, cutting, moulding, and production of non-leather industrial safety shoes.
Besides, it will also provide incentives to ancillaries producing components like buckles, zips, soles, insoles, laces, dyes, chemicals, heels, threads, tags, and labels for the industry.
According to Hasan Yaqoob, co-chairman, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)-UP chapter, there is a possibility of a 20-25 per cent rise in leather and footwear exports and creation of new job opportunities following the FTA.
