Agra set to receive bountiful of footwear projects

27 Nov '08

2 min read

Agra is central to the leather and footwear industry in India. Rough estimates suggest over 200,000 people could be employed in this business in Agra and accounts for a large chunk of the nearly Rs 15 billion exports of leather and footwear from India.

The Minister of State for Commerce Mr Jairam Ramesh had recently announced a Rs 1.6 billion package to boost the local shoe industry and before that the Chief Minister of the state had announced a waiver on shoes costing up to Rs.300.

The package comprises a Rs.600-million leather park, a Rs.200-million footwear design development centre, a Rs.100-million design studio, a testing laboratory and a permanent exhibition ground to be developed at an investment of Rs.500-600 million.

Now, the UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) will soon take up construction of a Rs 2,000 million leather park project, the work for which is expected to begin by the end of this month.

Another project in the pipeline is a footwear market project which is expected to boost the ailing footwear market in the city. Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), has also announced setting up a branch of the institute in the city and is expected to train around 12,000 people to meet the shortage of skilled employees in the next three years.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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