KVIC opens first footwear training centre in Delhi

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 20, 2020

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has inaugurated its first training centre in Delhi to teach leather artisans to produce footwear through a two month course.

KVIC and the Central Footwear Training Institute’s new ‘KVIC-CFTI Footwear Training-cum-Production Centre’ in Gandhi Darshan, in Rajghat, was officially opened on Thursday, the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises announced. The training centre aims to improve employment opportunities for leather artisans and help to improve the quality of footwear manufactured in India.
 
“Through this training centre, we are trying to rope in maximum people with shoe-making activities,” said KVIC’s chairman VK Saxena, the Press Trust of India reported.

“The programme has been so designed that in just two months, the artisans will be able to manufacture all kinds of footwear. This will increase their income by manifold.”
 
Artisans who complete the centre’s two month training programme will also receive support to help them launch their own footwear production business, the Press Trust of India reported. The artisans will also receive a tool kit worth Rs 5,000 ($66.71) to enable them to continue to produce footwear after the course.
 
KVIC also plans to set up a similar footwear training centre in Varanasi. The government has named the leather and footwear industries as having high growth potential. In line with this, KVIC is working to increase domestic production and exports as part of the Union Government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.