Indian government to fund global promotion of footwear brands

The Indian ministry of commerce and industry has called for proposals from footwear and leather companies to provide funds to facilitate global promotions of brands. Funds will be granted under the Indian Footwear, Leather and Accessories Development Programme sub-scheme. The sector requires to be promoted as it has huge potential, said a ministry official.

The government of India will offer up to 50 per cent of the total project cost for certain activities such as registering brands and logos overseas, departmental store displays, publicity campaigns and catalogue publications among other things. The financial support will be limited to ₹3 crore per year for each brand for a period of three years.

The sub-scheme will help Indian leather, footwear and accessories manufacturers to achieve higher valuations for their items and bring Indian products in the international markets.

Companies that are undertaking brand promotion programmes, had cash profits in the last 3 years and domestic and export sales of at least ₹75 crore per year are eligible for the sub-scheme, said a news agency report quoting the ministry official.

Indian leather and footwear exports essentially cater to global brands and the companies now have the knowledge and experience required to create their own brands in the international markets.

The official also said that domestic firms are currently not taking many initiatives to market their products globally.