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The Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Vimal Anand has said that the focused product scheme for footwear and leather sectors under the Union Budget 2025, will help to boost domestic manufacturing, credit access, exports and job creation in India. He added the scheme will support areas like design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery required for production of footwear and products. 

He noted that ‘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.’ Further, the full exemption of BCD (basic customs duty) on Wet Blue leather will support domestic value addition and employment, besides the exemption of 20 per cent export duty on crust leather will ease exports by the tanners.

Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Rajendra Kumar Jalan has said the scheme will enhance production and productivity by attracting investments and will strengthen the component and machinery ecosystem of the sector. About exports he said CLE has also worked out a target of $47 billion by 2030. Of this, $13.7 billion is for the export sector. The total leather export of India in 2024 amounted about $4.6 billion.