Leather sector can create 2 million jobs in 5 years, says Skill Development Minister
Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said the skills needed to produce leather garments must be preserved and people should be encouraged to make this a means of sustainable livelihood.
Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), said at an award ceremony that the leather sector in India was export-driven and had the potential to create two million jobs in the next five years, according to a government press release.
At the event, Pandey distributed Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certificates to graduating trainees under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) of Skill India. These trainees were trained, assessed, and certified on their existing skill sets across leather companies with the due effort of the Leather Sector Skill Council (LSSC).
The minister was quoted saying:
"Globally, India is the second largest producer of leather garments and footwear, and with this phenomenal market potential, the sector seems promising in the years to come. When we look back at our past, India has always had a rich heritage of leather crafts like footwear and accessories. These were prepared by highly skilled craftsmen from various clusters like Agra, Kanpur, Ambur, and other regions."
He added that these skills needed to be preserved and people should be encouraged to make them a means of sustainable livelihood.
“There are many opportunities for entrepreneurship in traditional leather trades and new forms of leather substitutes. We need to cater to basic needs as well as luxury segments, with vast potential for exports. On this occasion, I advise the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to review their manufacturing processes in terms of quality of output and wastage reduction by skilled professionals," he said.
The Budget 2019 had taken a step towards increasing opportunities in the leather sector by announcing that export duty be rationalised on raw and semi-finished leather.
Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Panaruna Aqeel had said the measures would help in boosting exports and achieve significant level of growth in leather shipments.
"Easy and timely availability of credit with affordable interest rates is extremely important for the labour intensive sector," he said, adding, "It is crucial to provide duty free facility to exports to reduce financial burden in importing raw material and inputs."
(Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India)
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)
