Leather industry welcomes special package by Centre

KANPUR : The chairman of the Council for Leather Export (CLE) Mukhtarul Amin on Saturday welcomed the Rs 2600 crore package to the leather industry announced by the Centre. The Union cabinet on Friday had announced the special package for the leather and footwear industry, which, law and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said has the potential to generate over 300,000 new jobs in the next three years and assist in the formalization of 200,000 jobs.

“This is the biggest package to the leather industry in its history,” said Amin while addressing reporters in Kanpur — a leather goods manufacturing hub.

“During the tenth plan, the leather industry was given a package of Rs 400 crore and Rs 1100 crore were given to it in the eleventh plan,” he said while insisting that the special package has the potential to generate 3.24 lakh new jobs in three years.

He said the package will immensely benefit the industry in Kanpur in five ways.

“It will not only gear up the process of developing a high-tech leather cluster at Ramaipur but will also assist the tannery owners to modernise their existing units to meet the global standards and the ever-growing demand of leather goods,” he said.

Besides, the tannery industry will now get skilled and trained workers as the package has proposed placement linked skill development training to unemployed persons.

Under the package, placement of 75% of trained persons has been made mandatory. An allocation of Rs 696 crore was made for skill development and training of workers during the period of three years.

The Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) at the tanneries will be upgraded for which a provision of Rs 782 crore has been made in the package.

The package will also help new entrepreneurs as they would be able to get fiscal assistance and subsidy. Regional chairman of the CLE Javed Iqbal and Taj Alam were also present.