The Hindu Business Line : Leather sector to involve women SHGs to create jobs

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Chennai Feb. 2 The leather industry is involving women self-help groups (SHGs) in leather products manufacturing to support employment generation and expand capacities available for exporters, according to Mr Mukhtarul Amin, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports.

The first such initiative to be taken by the Tata group, which will help NGOs set up small leather units, `work stations', which would support leather exporters by carrying out job work or processing involving semi-skilled work. Such facilities can also be a preliminary training ground for absorbing workers into the export units, he said.

Outlining initiatives taken by the industry in employment generation, he said the SHG linkage would first be tried out in Kanchipuram and extended to other production centres across the country.

Skilled human resource development, infrastructure and land availability are key factors that will decide the pace of growth for leather industry. To fully exploit the opportunities in the global market, the country's leather products export would have to increase to $7 billion in 2010-11 from $3 billion now.

The industry is hoping to get two leather tanning clusters established. The location of one such common infrastructure facility has been finalised near Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. IL&FS is to set up the facility. The location of the other cluster is yet to be finalised.

The industry needs such facilities to meet the needs for expansion to meet the growing demand for leather products from the global markets, he said.

He said the industry needed to double the tanning capacity to 4 million sq ft, quadruple footwear output to one million pairs a day apart from expanding output of leather articles and garments.

The CLE's perspective plan calls for the establishment of five SEZs in all the leather production centres. It has also called for the establishment of 15 integrated leather industrial parks each spread over 25-100 acres involving investments of up to Rs 100 crore. They would each generate over 5,000 jobs, he said.

Apart from expansion by Indian companies, the CLE is also inviting foreign direct investment. The council would be holding road-shows in Spain, France and the UK to attract investments, he said.

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