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Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, at the India International Footwear Fair (IIFF) 2024, has asked the footwear manufacturers to aim $50 billion export target by 2030. As per industry estimates, India’s footwear exports are now at a mere $2 billion. India is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of footwear, and Goyal said the country has to become the world’s largest manufacturer going ahead.

He told the industry people ‘Today you are creating more than 40 lakh jobs. My own sense is, this will go up to 1 crore jobs. You have the ability. We have the market. We have the world market to capture. It only needs a little bit of self-confidence, open mind to accept change. Change is always a little difficult initially.’

Footwear sector almost contributes 2 per cent to GDP, and it employs 40 per cent women. Nearly 90-95 per cent of the manufacturers are MSMEs. He requested the footwear markers to leverage the free trade agreements (FTAs) that India has already signed with various countries.