Union Minister Giriraj Singh has called on India’s footwear manufacturers to leverage government support schemes and focus on innovation, design and quality to expand India’s share in the global market during the 10th India International Footwear Fair.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday urged India’s footwear makers to use government support, including the Production-Linked Incentive scheme, to strengthen innovation, manufacturing capacity and export competitiveness. Speaking at the opening of the 10th India International Footwear Fair, Singh said technical textiles are becoming more important to the sector and called on manufacturers to build stronger links with technology partners and overseas buyers.
The minister said the fair should evolve into a larger international marketplace with broader participation from exhibitors, investors and customers, as India looks to deepen its place in global footwear supply chains. He also pressed the industry to focus on design, quality and value addition, arguing that these steps would help it respond to changing demand and support India’s ambitions as a manufacturing hub.
The comments come against the backdrop of the government’s wider push to lift domestic manufacturing through incentive schemes. According to government-backed material on the textile PLI programme, the scheme was approved in 2021 with an outlay of ₹10,683 crore and is aimed at man-made fibre apparel, fabrics and technical textiles. It is designed to draw investment, raise output and create jobs, with a June update showing 22 new applicants added in the latest round and total committed investment rising to ₹12,822.67 crore.
India Trade Promotion Organisation chairman Jawed Ashraf said the footwear industry already employs about 4.5 million people and accounts for 12% to 13% of global production, but still makes up only around 2% of world exports. Ashraf said the challenge is to expand that share and urged a joint effort by government, industry and ITPO to raise exports to 10%.
The fair, organised by ITPO over three days, brings together manufacturers, exporters, importers, buyers and technology suppliers from India and abroad. The event is meant to showcase new products and build commercial ties across the footwear value chain, with non-leather footwear seen as one of the sector’s biggest growth areas.
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