Leather industry demands incentives to boost growth, expand globally

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Oct 27, 2021

The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) has urged the government to bring a leather park scheme to help the industry boost production to cater to large brands and manufacturers from across the globe.
 

The council also demanded customs duty exemption coupled with interest-free credit to help the industry recover from the pandemic and boost exports from the country in the coming months.
 
“The benefits of the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) should also be extended to the leather sector. A leather park scheme could provide the needed impetus. Hence, the leather sector may be covered in a leather park scheme on similar lines of scheme announced for textile parks, as there is substantial similarity between textile and leather industry,” CLE chairman, Sanjay Leekha, said in a statement.

“To meet the additional working capital requirements of the industry to meet their export commitments, additional credit with lower interest rates and flexible repayment options may be considered,” he added.
 
The PLI scheme currently covers 13 sectors including textiles, steel, and pharmaceuticals among others. The scheme aims to make domestically manufactured products competitive in the global market and boost India’s exports as well as create significant employment opportunities across the country.