The leather
industry as a whole employs around 2.5 million persons whose segment-wise and
state-wise position are as below:-
Employment in various segments in Leather
Industry
|
Industry Segment
|
Workforce (All over
India)
In million
|
Percentage of Total
|
|
Flaying,
curing, handling & transport etc. of raw material – (Self-employment)
|
1.00
|
40%
|
|
Tanning and
finishing (organized)
|
0.10
|
4%
|
|
Footwear
& Footwear components - (organized)
|
0.20
|
8%
|
|
Footwear
& Footwear components (cottage, household and rural artisans in
unorganized sector)
|
0.90
|
36%
|
|
Leather
Garments, Goods etc. (Organized sector)
|
0.30
|
12%
|
|
Total
|
2.50
|
100%
|
(State-wise
distribution)
|
S. No.
|
State
|
Percentage of Total
People Employed
|
|
1.
|
Tamil Nadu
|
42%
|
|
2.
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
26%
|
|
3.
|
West Bengal
|
7%
|
|
4.
|
Haryana
|
5%
|
|
5.
|
Punjab
|
4%
|
|
6.
|
Delhi
|
3%
|
|
7.
|
Maharashtra
|
2%
|
|
8.
|
Karnataka
|
2%
|
|
9.
|
Rajasthan
|
2%
|
|
10.
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
1%
|
|
11.
|
Others
|
6%
|
|
|
Total
|
100%
|
Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP) is
being implemented for development of leather sector in 12th FYP
with an outlay of Rs.990.36 crore in the country. The major objective of ILDP
is to augment raw material base, enhance capacity, modernization and
up-gradation of leather units, address environmental concerns, human resource
development, support to traditional leather artisans, address infrastructure
constraints and establish institutional facilities. The ILDP comprises the
following six sub-schemes:
(i) Integrated
Development of Leather Sector (IDLS) - Under this
sub-scheme, assistance is provided for technology up-gradation/modernization
and/or expansion and setting up of a new unit in the leather sector. The
Sub-scheme provides assistance in form of investment grant to the extent of 30%
of cost of new plant and machinery for micro and small enterprises and 20% of
cost of new plant and machinery for other units subject to a ceiling of Rs. 2
crore for each product line.
(ii) Human
Resource Development (HRD) - HRD mission
targets potential work force for leather sector and lays stress on skill
development and technical development. This project is intended to train and
prepare individuals to be fit to work in medium to large industrial units. Up
gradation of skills of persons already employed in the sector, besides training
for trainers/supervisors, is also undertaken. Under Placement Linked Skill
Development Training, at least 75% of trained persons are placed in the
industry as per the guidelines.
(iii)
Support to Artisan - There are
various clusters in India making traditional footwear and other leather goods.
The aim of this scheme is to promote the clusters at various forums as they are
an integral part of rural Indian economy and have potential for generating
local employment and export. The artisan clusters all over India would be
supported for enhancing their design and product development, capacity
building, providing marketing support, establishing common facility center and
marketing support/linkage. The broad objective of this component is to ensure
better and higher returns to the artisans resulting into socio-economic
upliftment.
(iv)
Establishment of Institutional Facilities - The
sub-scheme of ILDP aims at providing institutional facilities by way of
establishing new campuses of FDDI to meet the growing demand of the leather
industry for footwear technologies, designers, supervisors and mechanics. Two
new branches of FDDI in Punjab and Gujarat are being set up.
(v)
Leather Technology, Innovation & Environmental Issues - This
sub-scheme provides financial support to Leather Cluster to meet the prescribed
pollution control discharge norms and environmental issues. This covers
establishment/ expansion/ up gradation of CETPs, Technology benchmarking for
implementing cleaner technologies for environment management, utilization of
solid waste from tanneries and conducting workshops to educate and train the
tanners and tannery workers.
(vi)
Mega Leather Cluster - The major
objective of developing Mega Leather Clusters is to create state of the art
infrastructure and to integrate the production chain in a manner that caters to
the business needs of the leather industry so as to cater to the domestic
market and exports. These mega clusters will assist the entrepreneurs to set up
units with modern infrastructure, latest technology, and adequate training and
Human Resource Development (HRD) inputs. The development of Mega Leather
Clusters would help in creating additional employment opportunity, particularly
for the weaker sections of society. Mega Leather Clusters (MLC) for the
development of leather industry will have common facilities. The project cost
would cover various infrastructure development components like Core
Infrastructure, Special Infrastructure, Production Infrastructure, HRD &
Social Infrastructure, R&D Infrastructure and Export services related
infrastructure.
Being a Central Sector Scheme, funds
are not allocated/released to State/UT. It is released to concerned
implementing agencies. Year wise funds allocated/released and utilized under
ILDP for the last three years are given below:-
|
Year
|
Funds
allocated (Rs. in crore)
|
Funds
released/utilized (Rs. in crore)
|
|
2012-13
|
90.00
|
90.00
|
|
2013-14
|
150.01
|
150.01
|
|
2014-15
|
270.00
|
270.00
|
Besides support under ILDP,
assistance has been provided for installation of one Common Hazardous Waste
Disposal Facility and one Common Effluent Treatment Plant in Unnao (Kanpur),
Uttar Pradesh
and for three Common Effluent Treatment Plants with Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)
at Thuthipet (Ambur), Maligaithope (Ambur) and Valayampet (Vaniyambadi) in
Tamilnadu under Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) being
implemented by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
Further, assistance to leather
industry has also been provided through the following projects by Department of
Commerce:-
a)
Establishment
of two CETPs/Leather Industrial park at Industrial park at Industrial Growth
Centre, Lassipora, Pulwama and Industrial Growth Centre, Samba, Jammu &
Kashmir,
b)
Proposal
of the CLE for undertaking Animal Welfare Projects in West Bengal and Karntaka,
c)
Development
of additional infrastructure in the Ambur Trade Centre like fire fighting work,
Car parking and internal road work at Ambur (Tamilnadu),
d)
Establishment
of Testing Laboratory at Ranipet (Tamilnadu),
e)
Infrastructure
upgradation of Design Studio in Kolkata (West Bengal),
f)
Establishment
of Common Facility Centre in the leather cluster of Jalandhar (Punjab),
g)
Establishment
of Trade Centre at Agra (Uttar Pradesh),
h)
Common
Facility Centre in Melvisharam, Tamilnadu,
i)
Upgradation
of Ranitec Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), District Vellore, Tamilnadu,
j)
Upgradation
of CETP in Madhavaram Leather Cluster, District Chennai, Tamilnadu.
This
information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the
Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply
in Lok Sabha today.
*********
RC/nb