Leather Sector On Track To Be Rs 4-Trn Industry

New Delhi: The Budget announcement for rolling out a focused product scheme for footwear and leather sectors will help boost domestic manufacturing, exports and job creation in the country, a senior government official said on Thursday. The scheme is expected to facilitate employment for 22 lakh persons, generate a turnover of Rs4 lakh crore and exports of over Rs1.1 lakh crore.

Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Vimal Anand said the scheme will support areas like design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery required for production of footwear and products.

“The Union Budget 2025 has delivered a much-needed boost to the leather and footwear sectors by enhancing credit access, rationalising duties, and maintaining key policy frameworks.

The industry is poised for significant growth with the newly introduced special package and export-oriented incentives,” Anand told reporters here.

He added the budget also announced full exemption BCD (basic customs duty) on Wet Blue leather to facilitate imports for domestic value addition and employment, and exempted crust leather from 20 per cent export duty to facilitate exports by small tanners.

“These are very big incentives for the sector,” he said. Speaking at the briefing, Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Rajendra Kumar Jalan said the scheme is expected to facilitate employment generation and boost exports.

He further said it will enhance production and productivity by attracting investments and will strengthen the component and machinery ecosystem of the sector.