Although the Indian leather/leather goods industry is registered with tepid growth of around 7 percent over the last

five
years (mainly due to recession in the export markets), the industry is expected to bounce back in line with the global
recovery and witness growth of around 23 percent over the next five years.
Growing quality consciousness and strict import quality benchmarks would require the industry to upgrade itself to best
practices pursued globally.
The industry is blessed to be endowed with raw material, livestock, skilled manpower, compliance to international
standards and delegated support of allied industries, enabling it to become a pillar of the economy in terms of foreign
trade, employment generation and growth.

o Rising disposable incomes over the long term are expected to drive demand for discretionary spend goods ,
such as high end shoes, wallets, handbags etc
o Growing fashion consciousness among the youth in rural India is expected to expand demand for value added
leather goods into tier-II and tier-III towns.

The huge pool of surplus skilled and unskilled labour coupled with increasing cost of labour in China is
expected to give India an advantage in terms of labour

The wide and diverse raw material base is expected to give India an advantage in terms of sustainability of
production.

The leather sector has been receiving favourable tax treatment in terms of sales tax, central excise duty and
customs duty.

The government has also allowed 100 percent FDI in the sector and 100 percent repatriation of profits and
dividends, thereby incentivising foreign players to invest in the sector.

Although India has gradually liberalised its cumbersome compliance and documentation policies for global trade, it
still lags behind most of the developed countries and even similarly placed developing countries.
Indias cost of logistics, as a share of the GDP, is one of the highest in the world (1213 percent of the GDP)
compared to the developed markets (below 10 percent of the GDP). This is reflected in the transportation cost per
kilometre, which may hamper the industrys competitiveness as the industry is export-based and has to reach a wide
retail market.
The slow pace of reforms in the Indian power sector has had a specific detrimental effect on the leather industry in
the form of additional cost of power back-up.
ii

Major clusters
Patiala
Bhatinda,
Muktsar,
Fazilka,
Firozpur
Kotakpura,
Gurdaspur
Amritsar

Major clusters
Patna,
Muzaffarpur,
Bettiah,
Aurangabad,
Munger,
Purnia
Katihar

Major clusters
Solan
Baddi
Major product
Leather finishing

Major product
Cattle Hides
Goat Skins

Major product
Soft Leather Shoes
Traditional Footwear

Major clusters
Berhampur
Bhubaneswar
Cuttack
Jatni

Major clusters
Saurashtra
Major product
Vegetable leather
shoe

Major clusters
Mumbai
Kolhapur
Bhiwandi
Major product
Leather sandals

Major product
Footwear

Major clusters
Madagao
Mapusa
Panaji
Zuari
Ponda

Major product
Raw Hides and skin

Major clusters
Chennai
Ambur
Ranipet
Vaniyambadi
Vellore
Pernambut
Major product
Finished leather
Shoe uppers
Finished shoes

Major clusters
Hyderabad,
Bhimavaram
Cuddapah
Eluru
Karim Nagar
Major product
Hides
Skins

Source: KPMG in India Analysis as on 14 March 2014

iii

Finishing of leather

0.23

0.35

0.58

0.11

0.23

Leather goods

0.30

0.41

0.62

0.11

0.21

Footwear

0.78

1.01

1.44

0.23

0.43

Leather apparel
Micro enterprises in leatherbased goods manufacturing
(including artisans)
Unorganised sector employment
in leather-based goods
repairing (cobblers etc.)

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.00

0.01

0.92

1.37

2.14

0.45

0.77

0.85

1.27

2.01

0.42

0.74

The period 201722 will see a marginally higher growth in employment vis-a-vis 201317 with the industry not
expected to witness significant changes in operations through automation resulting in consistent employment elasticity
factors over the next nine-year period.

Entry-level operators have limited knowledge on machines handling and troubleshooting

aspects
Entry-level workers have very less awareness on hygiene and sanitation. This directly
affects the productivity.
Experienced procurement personnel are a rarity and mostly come from rural background
with poor communication skills.
Lack of knowledge on customer standards and new global market trends
Experienced designers are scarce and switch jobs frequently
Most institutes offer training in apparels. There is dearth of sector-specific designers

Lack the ability to undertake high-level due diligence required for quality checks

Lack the ability to handle contingencies, manage people and allocate work

Lack of experience in handling machines

There is scarcity of experienced planners and they usually lack people management skills
Lack of understanding of the process
Poor communication skills
Unable to manage contingencies and handle high pressure situations at work
iv

 Training institutes offer a wide variety of courses, which includes undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and
certificate courses in areas, such as footwear design and technology. Within design also, there are two types of
courses (i) technical design (which includes pattern making, cutting, designing)and (ii) style designers (fashion
and trends)
Typically course requirements for undergraduate, diploma and certificate courses is senior secondary education
(10+2) while post graduate diplomas require a the candidate to have qualified post graduation.
Admission to B.Tech/M.Tech programmes is typically through entrance examinations and requires the candidate to
have a background in science or engineering.
Institutes are increasingly offering technology oriented courses such as CAD for the designing stream and training
on modern machinery, due to growing automation in the industry.
Skill gap in the sector is most acute at the entry level, which includes shop floors,
designers and merchandisers.
Majority of this workforce lack basic technical skills and customer orientation.
Hence, there is requirement of product specific training, which includes training on
modern machinery.
Due to the low operating margins of the sector, there is little or no premium
attached to training during the initial years of the workforce.
The firms also experience significant attrition during the initial year, which often
offsets the investment in training.
Most players provide training on the job through experienced staff or by hiring
external trainers.
There is no single body that gives accreditation to leather sector courses across
India. As a result of this, there is a wide variation in the curricula and quality of
training received by workforce across India.
A lot of them are looking at bodies such as SSC for standardisation and
accreditation. Hence, there is need to improve coordination between the industry
and the academia.
People often join courses to get a job rather than get skilled. Even after joining,
there is often a mismatch between industrys pay and students aspirations.
While the training institutions may try to match the demand of the industry by
taking in the requisite number of students for training but the real challenge is to
motivate these students to take up the job and retain it
The sector employs majority of people from the rural sections of the society, and
most of them are illiterate. These people are unaware of the schemes and the
support that government provides them.

Consolidation, integration and

organisation of industry.

Though certain large players have gone in for consolidation by taking over
smaller players, it is of prime importance for the industry to move from
unorganised to organised
Initiatives by government for continued liberalisation of foreign investment
will enable the industry to establish larger scale and best practice driven
companies

To have international
standards and Quality Control.

International quality control needs to be adhered for exports such that the
manufacturing quality of India meets with the international standards.
Envisaged job roles as supervisors and quality control managers in various
segments would be in demand

To design course content in

alignment with global trends

Courses in design and development should be appropriately cover the

global trends

Introduction of management
principles in the curriculum

At the middle-management level there is a severe lack in understanding

the management principles, which is required to be addressed.

Creation of training
infrastructure

Set up and operation of training requires a long-term view and significant

upfront investment making it akin to most sectors where government
participation becomes necessary
Industry players should attempt for creation of training infrastructure with
the help of PPP initiatives. This will help in developing external training
Establishment of a nodal leather training institute with adequate
infrastructure with the help of industries/PPP initiatives

Provide incentives in the form

of skills premium

Developing more credibility and enhancing perception of the utility of

training through implementation of innovative training practices like
apprenticeship.
Monetary and progression incentives for trained vis--vis untrained
personnel by companies.

Initiatives to make the industry

lucrative to attract more manpower.

Greater investment is required from industry players in employee welfare

and ensuring the basic safety systems are in place
A closer look at pay and progression policies is also warranted given
that growth and profitability outlook for the industry is positive, sharing the
benefits of growth with employees would be important

Government initiatives to
develop infrastructure for growth of
the industry

Development of enabling infrastructure will create the base for

achievement of greater scale efficiencies.
Encouragement of public private partnerships will ensure a faster pace of
enabling infrastructure development
vi

3.1

Industry Size, Growth trends

3.2

Value Chain

3.3

Competitiveness of the industry

3.4

Government policies

3.5

SWOT analysis

4.1

Finished Leather

4.2

Leather Garments

4.3

Footwear

4.4

Leather Goods

6.1

Human resource growth projections

6.2

Critical job roles

6.3

Emerging skill requirements in the industry

Compounded Annual Growth Rate

Calcutta Leather Complex
Council for Leather Exports
Foreign Direct Investment
Gross Domestic Product
Human Resource Development
leather Industries Development Corporation of A.P
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
National Industrial Classification
National Skill Development Corporation
The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited
Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Standards
Sector Skill Council
Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation)

NSDC had conducted sector-wise skill gap studies for 19 high priority sectors in 200809 .
KPMG has been engaged as a consultant to help evaluate the skill gap across 25 sectors and
develop actionable recommendations for its stakeholders.
Mandate includes sector and sub-sector level analysis, demand-supply projection, estimation of
incremental man-power requirement between 2013-2017 and 2017-2022, identification of keyemployment clusters, and SWOT analysis of each sector
Study also aims to take qualitative insights from stakeholders on enablers and challenges for
each sector, way forward in terms of specific policy level actionable recommendations,

Study led by industry Sector Skill Councils and a panel of professionals from different subsectors were consulted for their inputs on industry trends, key takeaways in terms of skill
requirement, qualitative insights to understand specific interventions required for each sector
and to validate the quantitative results and recommendations
6 sectors were added to the list of NSDC priority sectors for studying the skill gaps
Updated study also includes
Identification of top 20 job-roles in each sector, case studies around good training practices, subsector level indicators and growth factors
Study also includes understanding of existing training infrastructure, work-force characteristics
and employment clusters,
Macro economic factors, central and state governments policies and their envisaged impact
Synchronisation of the sector wise demand from the district level skill gap studies
Recommendations for key stakeholders - Industry, NSDC, Training organizations and Government

Environment scans every year till 2015-16 including SWOT analysis for the sector

 Production of hides and skins as part of ranching

Production of hides and skins as part of slaughtering
Manufacture of leather apparel
Manufacture of imitation leather not based on natural leather
15111 Flaying and curing of raw hides and skins
15112 Tanning and finishing of sole leather
15113 Tanning and finishing of industrial leather
15114 Scraping, currying, tanning, bleaching, shearing, and plucking and dyeing of fur
skins and hides with hair on them
15115 Finishing of upper leather, lining leather and garment leather etc.
15116 Embroidering and embossing of leather articles
15119 Other tanning, curing, finishing, embossing etc. of leather
Manufacture of leather wearing apparel
Manufacture of leather gloves and hats
Manufacture of footwear
Manufacture of saddles for bicycles
Manufacture of precious metal watch straps
Manufacture of non-precious metal watch straps
Manufacture of linemens safety belts and other belts for occupational use,
15121 Manufacture of travel goods, such as suitcase, bags, holdalls etc.
15122 Manufacture of purse, ladies handbags, artistic leather presented articles and
novelties
15123 Manufacture of saddlery and harness
15129 Manufacture of other consumer goods of leather and substitutes of leather
Manufacture of footwear of textile material without applied soles
Manufacture of plastic footwear parts
Manufacture of rubber boot and shoe heels and soles and other rubber, footwear parts
Manufacture of wooden shoe parts (e.g., heels and lasts)
15201 Manufacture of leather footwear, such as shoes, sandals, similar footwear and
leather-cum- rubber/plastic cloth for sandals and similar footwear 15202 Manufacture of
footwear primarily made of vulcanised or moulded rubber and plastic
15209 Manufacture of other footwear NEC
Source: NIC Classification 2008, KPMG Analysis
7

 Although the Indian leather/leather goods industry is registered with tepid growth of around 7 percent over the last five
years (mainly due to recession in the export markets), the industry is expected to bounce back in line with the global
recovery and witness growth of around 23 percent over the next five years.
Key segments for human resource development in the industry include:
Finished leather
Leather footwear
Leather goods
There is a huge skill gap in various parts of the leather goods value chain, which need to be addressed. This includes
the leather goods sector as well as ancillary industries, such as tanneries, and sales channels, such as modern retail,
including organised market and e-commerce.
Growing quality consciousness and strict import quality benchmarks would require the industry to upgrade itself to best
practices pursued globally.

Over and above QAQC (Quality Assurance/Quality Control) practices, there is a growing need to train more specialised
staff with technical skills and capability of working on imported machines in specific sub-segments as the industry
transitions from a cottage-based model to a factory model.
Focus also needs to be shifted to the front-end staff for developing customer relationship management skills for
maintaining sustained healthy relationships with the institutional players, such as foreign luxury brands, global retailers
and the domestic corporate retail chains.
The role of well-versed senior-level executives in strategy and business development is also seen to be critical in this
regard.

Companies are increasingly realising the potential of employing women workforce, and to enhance their prospects and
spur growth of this sector specific programmes for women need to be brought in
Demand growth for leather goods is expected from
footwear, bags, purses, furniture etc. all driven by the
Indian consumption boom
Penetration of export markets is expected to rise in the
wake of increased sourcing by global retail majors, such as
TESCO, Wal-mart etc. along with luxury brands, such as
Gucci, Louis Vuitton.

India has a large and diverse livestock base, which secures

the industry in terms of raw material requirement
India also has a large pool of skilled and unskilled labour
that can increase its competitiveness in the global market,
in terms of cost.

s
Organised retail is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25
percent to reach USD200 Billion by 2020.
Improvement in the supply chain infrastructure at the
back-end and sourcing by the retailers for their global
operations will spur the sector to higher growth
levels.

The government has given several fiscal support

measures to the SMEs in the industry in the form of
excise cuts, duty rebates and interest subvention.
Recent policy measures have also focused on the
development of leather clusters, Mega Leather Parks
and development of design and training institutes.

 Most of the production

was being done by
small manufacturers.
The sector was highly
unorganised, dominated
by the cottage industry
with minimal presence
of corporate players.

The period is expected

to see proliferation of
leather goods in the
luxury consumer goods
market in India.
The sector is also
expected to see a lot of
sales shifting to online
channel in line with the
e-commerce boom in
the country.

The period saw some

This period saw the
consolidation by players
entry of corporate
within the value chain.
players and the
professionalisation of
Garment and footwear
domestic family
manufacturers
businesses.
integrated backwards
by establishing linkages The industry expanded
with tanneries.
geographically beyond
its traditional hubs,
with the sector
becoming a major
contributor to Indias
exports.

40

100

24
22
12

Saddlery/Harness Leather garments

780

4,684

Finished leather

8,587

Leather goods

9,368

Footwear

15,614

Leather/leather
goods Industry

39,035

Source: Council for Leather Exports (CLE) as on 16 Mar 2014

The industry is blessed to be endowed with raw material, livestock, skilled manpower, compliance to international
standards and delegated support of allied industries, enabling it to become a pillar of the economy in terms of foreign trade,
employment generation and growth.
The top 10 players in terms of export are: Tata International Ltd., Florind Shoes Ltd., Punihani International, Farida Shoes
Ltd., Mirza Tanners Ltd., T. Abdul Wahid & Company, Hindustan Lever Ltd., Super House Leather Ltd., RSL Industries Ltd.
and Presidency Kid Leather Ltd.

Source: Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce (IICC), Indian Leather and Tanning Industry, 2010
10

25.00%

23.68%

20.00%
15.00%

16.57%

15.99%

10.00%
5.00%
1.44%

0.00%
-5.00%

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10
-5.41%

-10.00%

2010-11

2011-12

% Growth
Source: Central Leather Export, Council;Planning Commission, 2013

571

micro

38

41

small
1239

export

medium

large

domestic
62

59

2014

2020

162
130
Source: Leather and leather products industry in selected Asia-Pacific
countries An In depth Study of Competitiveness

Source: Central Leather Export, Council; Planning Commission, 2013

Today the leather industry produces approx. INR1055 billion worth of leather in various forms. Out of this, INR661 billion
(62 percent) is consumed domestically and the remaining is exported (37 percent). This share of consumption and export is
estimated to change and in 2020 India will account for INR1.4 trillion (59.1 percent) worth of domestic consumption and
earn INR673 billion (40.9 percent) worth from exports.
Indian leather industry is increasing focus on the US and the Euro market. Though there is a slowdown in the market, focus
still lies to capture the erstwhile Chinese market share in those countries. Further, the increase in production costs and
shortage of labours in China has also led to opening of a corridor for the India market.

The leather industry in India is stretched over organised as well as unorganised sector subjugated by the presence of
family businesses. The small scale, cottage and artisan sectors occupy over 90 percent of the total production in India.
Source: Central Leather Export, Council Planning Commission
11

Dairy/Draught animals

Tanning

Design and Art

Footwear
Garments

Meat animals

Finishing

Leather chemicals
Goods
Non-leather components

Slaughter house

Saddlers
Leather cloth

Marketing of
transititional inputs

Qualified
labour

Consistent
policies

Components and
end products

Design and
art centres

Support
institutions

Access to
chemicals

Research and
development

Trade and
consumption

The leather industry utilises the by-products of slaughterhouses and converts the raw material into various types of leather
and end products. The leather production-consumption chain consists of three processing stages, requiring different
combinations of materials, inputs, labour and capital.
The first phase is the recovery of raw materials that has straight link with animal production activities. Hides and skins are
recovered from dairy, draught animals or animals from slaughter houses.
The second phase is leather tanning and finishing, which involves severe capital investments.
The third phase is the making of leather products, which is a labour intensive process.
Source: Strategies for Enhancing the Competitiveness of Leather Industry in India as accessed on 16 Mar 2014
12

25.24

USD

15.13

Japan

Italy

2.59

Korea

1.15

Brazil

Thailand

1.1

Mexico

1.08

Philippines

0.75

China

0.48

Indonesia

India

0.43

Vietnam

6.93
4.16

India has the most inexpensive labour force in

the leather industry thus, making it highly
competitive in the global leather goods trade.
Indias labour cost structure is also very less
when compared to other emerging economies,
such as Brazil, Mexico, Philippines and China.
The leather industry in India mainly derives its
labour advantage due to its cottage-based
model of work consisting of many small
enterprises outside the purview of the organised
market.
The loss of efficiency in terms of production
and use of capital in this kind of decentralised
model is more than made up by the labour gains
hence, making Indian leather exports overall
competitive

Although India has gradually liberalised its

cumbersome compliance and documentation
policies for global trade, it still lags behind most
36
of the developed countries and even similarly
placed developing countries.
25
The extended bureaucratic procedures and
22
20
hurdles have resulted in significant time over15
14
runs and increased turn-around time.
12
11 10
10
9
9
8
8
8
7
India is mainly an export hub and consists of
6 6 7
5
5
5
3
3
small enterprises; the delays and additional
costs in terms of trade facilitation result can
documents for exportstime for exports (days) documents for
time for import (days)
hamper the sectors competitiveness in world
imports
trade.
India

China

USA

Indonesia

Taiwan

Korea

Source: Strategies and Roadmap for the Leather Industry, Deloitte-NMCC Report, 2009 as on 14 Mar 2014
13

1.1

0.44

0.39

2003

2004

0.7

0.6

0.51

2005

2006

2007

2008

Indias cost of logistics, as a share of the GDP, is one of

the highest in the world (1213 percent of the GDP)
compared to the developed markets (below 10 percent of
the GDP)
This is reflected in the transportation cost per kilometre,
which may hamper the industrys competitiveness as the
industry is export-based and has to reach a wide retail
market.

7
5.5

5
3.7
2

France

Japan

Canada

India

China

91

76

38

23

14

0
micro

small/medium
China

Chinas labour cost in the leather industry has nearly

tripled in a period of five years given the emergence of
new industries , such as electronics and hi-tech devices.
This opens up opportunities for countries, such as India,
to tap the trade that may flow out of China due to the
increased labour cost, provided that the other factors of
production remain same.

The slow pace of reforms in the Indian power sector has

had a specific detrimental effect on the leather industry in
the form of additional cost of power back-up.
This has a serious effect on the industry as majority of
the firms are small enterprises and the additional cost can
be high due to lack of scale of the enterprise, thus
hampering the cost competitiveness.

large/very large
India

Source: Strategies and Roadmap for the Leather Industry, Deloitte-NMCC Report, 2009 as on 14 March 2014
14

 India will soon have a

demographic sweet-spot with a
huge share of young population
that will increase demand for
essential products.
Rising disposable incomes over
the long term are expected to
drive demand for discretionary
spend goods , such as high end
shoes, wallets, handbags etc.
Growing fashion consciousness
among the youth in rural India is
expected to expand demand for
value added leather goods into
tier-II and tier-III towns.

The wide and diverse raw material

base is expected to give India an
advantage in terms of
sustainability of production.
The huge pool of surplus skilled
and unskilled labour coupled with
increasing cost of labour in China
is expected to give India an
advantage in terms of labour
Retailers are also pushing leather
goods through alternate channels,
such as online retail thereby
driving. consumption from a supply
side. With e-commerce
penetration expected to increase
rapidly in India, the market for
leather goods is further expected
to expand.

Leather factories wreak havoc on the environment.

Increasing cost of production per unit area of
finished leather.
Expansion of production capacities issue in
Tamil Nadu due to local laws despite compliance
Increasing demand of raw material raw hides,
skins and semi-finished leathers
Groundwater near tanneries has been found to
contain highly elevated levels of lead, cyanide and
formaldehyde.

The leather sector has been

receiving favourable tax treatment
in terms of sales tax, central
excise duty and customs duty.
The government has also set up an
India Opportunities Venture Fund
to provide venture capital/angel
funding for players in the sector to
scale up.
The government has also allowed
100 percent FDI in the sector and
100 percent repatriation of profits
and dividends, thereby
incentivising foreign players to
invest in the sector.
Additionally, the government has
also incentivised setting up of
industrial parks, design institutes
and other technical support
institutions to aid value addition in
the sector.

Low level of technology in small tanneries

Varying levels of technology in the factories depends
on the size of the factories.
Poor capacity utilisation in most tanneries leading
higher financial cost and overheads.
Low quality of shoes threat of shift in production to
other areas or countries where wages levels are low if
the quality is maintained at same level.

Source: Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce (IICC), Strategies for Enhancing the Competitiveness of Leather Industry in India
15

The scheme is a part of the tenth plan and is being expanded into the eleventh plan with the
inclusion of more units.

The scheme would provide assistance in the form of investment grant at 30 percent to SSI and 20
percent to non-SSI subject to a ceiling of INR2 crores.

The project initially proposed as part of the tenth five-year plan has been carried forward to the
eleventh five-year plan.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has transferred the requisite land to LIDCAP, the nodal agency
implementing the project.

A provision of INR29 crores has been approved for development of the infrastructure of the tanning
park.

The institute would be a branch of the Footwear Design and Development Institute, Noida, and would
be equipped with the latest facilities to provide training of international standards

The assistance to the project is to the tune of INR13 crores spread across the tenth and eleventh fiveyear plans.

This is an ongoing scheme of the tenth five-year plan and aims to build a footwear complex near
Chennai on 153 acres of land and provide infrastructure facilities for large footwear manufacturing
units.

Infrastructure development towards design and development centres, display centre, warehousing,
common power plant etc would be provided.

State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu is the nodal implementing agency and the
scheme has been provided an amount of INR3 crores across the tenth and eleventh five-year plans.

Harness and Saddlery comprise a wide range of products. The industry has identified to upgrade and
develop skilled manpower, standardise and develop components, accessories and tools, low cost
indigenous machinery and improve the production techniques and processes as major areas of
concern.

International Institute of Saddlery Technology and Export Management, a SPV under the guidance of
IIT Kanpur would continue to provide the skilled human resources to meet the growing manpower
demand of the sector.

There are various clusters in India making traditional footwear and leather goods. The aim of the
component is to promote the clusters at various forums as they form an integral part of the rural Indian
economy and has immense for generating local employment and enhance exports.

The artisan clusters would be supported for enhancing their designs as per the changing trends and
fashion and aid them in establishing market and financial linkages.

HRD mission would target non-traditional potential workforce in rural areas. The project would train
individuals to make them ready to work in medium and large enterprises in rural India

The scheme would lay stress on skill development especially cutting and stitching. Besides, training
for skill upgrade of people already employed with the industry would be undertaken.

Source: http://dipp.nic.in/English/Schemes/ILDP/Noti_ILDP_29August2008.pdf
16

1.76
1.12

2012

1.31

2017

1.52

2022

2027

The expected share of footwear in the private final

consumption expenditure is expected to increase from
1.12 percent in 2012 to 1.76 percent in 2027.
This trend coupled with an overall consumption
growth expected in the economy is likely to give a
boost to the leather industry in India.

Indias share of the total world leather export market

is expected to grow up from 3.34 percent in 2012 to
around 6 percent in 2027.
This is expected to be driven by growing trade
liberalisation and a shift towards factory-based
manufacturing from a cottage-based one.

4.94
4.06
3.34

2012

2017

2022

2027

Due to the lack of scale the cottage industries face

trouble in raising cheap capital as they have to majorly
depend on bank loans.
The complex taxation and regulatory structure poses
significant compliances burden on the small
enterprises.
The absence of institutional mechanisms to add skills
to the resource base has lead to a shortage of skilled
workers in the sector.
The absence of the latest technological and design
interventions has not enabled India to make the jump
to the high margin value added leather product
segment.

Source: Planning Commission, Working group on leather.

17

 Indias current and expected demographic dividend is expected to provide a huge pool of cheap
skilled and unskilled labour.
Indias diverse agro base with huge presence of livestock, such as sheep, cow, goat, buffalo etc.
secures raw material for the industry.
The governments policy measures in terms of export subsidies, interest subvention, duty benefits
etc. have enhanced competitiveness.
The Indian leather industry has shown the capability to quickly adapt to global best practices and
has also become a sourcing hub
The Indian leather industry has gradually moved up the value chain by transitioning from just
tanned leather to value added goods.
The lack of investments in infrastructure over the last decade has resulted in increased logistic
and transportation costs for the sector
India mainly being a leather exporting country is exposed to the fluctuations of the global market,
which can hamper planning.
Given the constraints in terms of capital, infrastructure and skilled manpower, few Indian
standards are outdated, which hamper exports
The huge pool of surplus labour make the industry less factory-intensive thereby losing out on
production efficiencies
The large and growing domestic market in India provides ample opportunity for the industry to
expand its presence in the coming years.
The growing fashion consciousness among the youth especially in tier II/III cities is an emerging
opportunity for the leather industry.
The leather industry is currently labour intensive, but with increased mechanisation and use of
IT, cost efficiencies can be obtained
The sudden emergence and rapid growth of e-commerce in India favours the growth of the
industry as leather goods can be transported easily
The growing overall consumption coupled with increasing luxury consumption provides a large
market for value added leather goods.
The large presence of unorganised players in the industry may lead to India missing out on the
benefits of scale and size.
As majority of the businesses are family owned and access to cheap capital , such as private
placement, ECBs etc. may not be possible.
The increasingly strict export norms and standards may lead to additional compliance costs for
the export dependent leather industry.
The traditional competition from China and the emerging competition from eastern-Europe and
other South Asian countries may be a cost factor
The poor network of product development centres, design studios and training institutes may
hamper India's grow in the premium segments.
Sources: KPMG in India analysis
18

s
o

 India has among the biggest livestock population globally,

providing a strong raw material base in cow, goat, buffalo and
sheep leather.
In terms of raw material accessibility in pieces, India is
endowed with 12.55 percent of Bovine hides and skins, 12.29
percent of goat and kid skins, and 3.48 percent of sheep and
lamb skins in the world.

12.55

12.29
3.48

Bovine hide and

skin

Goat and skin

Source: Council for leather exports

The variety of finished leather goods comprise of classic

finishes (polish, glazed, aniline, patent), matt surfaces
(suedes, nubuck), nappa, burnished.
1

Amongst the main producers of finished leather in the world,

the Indian has a long tradition of supplying high-quality
leather for the globe.

West Bengal
26

Uttar Pradesh

45

Indian tanning industry produces more than two billion

square feet of leather per annum. The industry has the tanning
capacity to fulfill 10 percent of worlds leather requirements.
Major tanning hubs in the country are Ambur, Ranipet,
Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Jalandhar etc. There are roughly
2091 tanneries in the country 45 percent in Tamil Nadu, 26
percent in West Bengal, 18 percent in Uttar Pradesh.

Sheep and lamb

skin

Tamil Nadu
18

Others

Source: Council for leather exports as on 14 Mar 2014

61

65.2

66.5

65.5

66.5

66.1

65

64.7

63.2

64.8

69.9

66.5

72

72

72.2

72.3

72

73

31.5
23.8

31.9
23.8

32.2
23.4

32.6
24.4

32.5
25.7

32.9
26.6

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

bovine hides and skins (million pcs)

sheep and lamb skins (million pcs)

light leather-bovine (10 million sq. ft.)

light leather (sheep and goat)

goat and kid skins (million pcs)

Source: Council for Leather Exportsas on 14 Mar 2014

20

children garment

18

leather jacket
leather coats

4
4

India is the second largest producer of leather

garments, next to China. Leather garments form a
significant segment of the industry in India.

leather pants
61

aprons

Leather garments manufacturing capacity is estimated

to be 16 million pieces per annum. India produces
diverse types of leather garments i.e., jackets, long
coats, waist coats/shirts, pant/shorts, motorbike
jackets, industrial leather garments, leather aprons etc.

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

It is a subject of great delight that the Indian leather

apparels are making giant strides in the world of
fashion. National Institute of Fashion Technology and
National Institute of Design lends design support to the
industry. These institutes provides well-trained
personnel and creative designers to the industry.

CAGR
10.3%

industrial
garments
others

34.1

Indias export of leather garments improved from

INR20.9 billion in 2008 to INR34.1 billion in 2012,
growing at a CAGR of 10.28 percent. It accounts for
11.28 percent in Indias total leather trade.

20.9

2008

Indias ranking as the third-largest global supplier of

leather garments is only going to strengthen given the
availability of quality raw material coupled with skilled
craftsmanship.

2012
Source: Council for Leather Exports

Major brands, such as Armani, Zenga, Abercrombie &

Fitch, Marco Polo, Mango, Colehaan, Andrew Maarc
and Guess source leather garments from India.

14.64%
12.69%
8.66%

2007

10.28%

2008

2009

11.80%

2010

2011

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

21

 The footwear sector is a very noteworthy segment of the

leather industry; fairly it is the engine of development for the
entire Indian leather industry
India is the second largest global maker of footwear after
China, accounting for 13 percent of global footwear
production of 16 billion pairs. India produces 2065 million
pairs of footwear, of which about 115 million pairs are
exported. Thus, approx. 95 percent of its production is met
domestically.

CAGR
6.13%
6.26

4.9

2007

2011

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

The major production centres in India are Chennai, Ranipet,

Ambur in Tamil Nadu; Mumbai in Maharashtra, Kanpur in
U.P., Jalandhar in Punjab, Agra, Delhi, Karnal, Ludhiana,
Sonepat, Faridabad, Pune, Kolkata, Calicut and Ernakulam
Footwear exported from India are dress shoes, casuals,
moccasins, sport shoes, horrachies, sandals, ballerinas, boots,
sandals and chappals made of rubber, plastic, P.V.C. and other
materials
The footwear sector is now de-licensed and de-reserved,
paving the way for growth of capacities on modern lines with
state-of-the-art machinery. To further assist this process, the
government has permitted 100 percent foreign direct
investment through the automatic route for the footwear
sector

CAGR 7.6%
126

87

2007

2012

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

The global import of footwear (both leather footwear as well

as non-leather footwear) has increased from INR4.9 trillion in
2007 to INR6.26 trillion in 2011, growing at a CAGR of 6.13
percent

0.1
16

During 2011, the Indias share in the global import is 1.92

percent. Footwear is the engine of growth of the leather
industry in India. Indias export of footwear was valued at
INR126 billion in 201213, accounting for a share of 41.14
percent in Indias total export from the leather sector. Indias
footwear export (leather, uppers and non-leather) is grew at a
CAGR of 7.59 percent in the last five years

1.9
2
Global Production (billion pairs)
India

Rest of the World

India
Export

Domestic

Source: Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

22

Leather gloves of all categories , such as fancy/fashion

gloves, sports gloves, industrial gloves and other leather
gloves is a thrust product among the items of small leather
goods being manufactured and exported from India.
India is the fourth-largest exporter of leather gloves to the
world. India produces about 52 million pairs of industrial
gloves annually. India offers the world the largest technically
trained manpower in leather craft at the most competitive
costs.

14.46

14.06
INR billion

is another sub-sector of the industry with

production capacity of approx. 63 million pieces annually.
The different types of leather goods and accessories made in
India are trunks, suit-cases, vanity-cases, executive-cases,
brief-cases, school satchels, hand bags, shopping bags,
wallets, purses, pouches, passport holders, credit card
holders, diary covers, leather belts, caps etc. India also makes
leather upholstery Sofa seat covers, car seat covers etc.
There has been a constant fluctuation in the export of leather
goods from India. One of the main reasons for that is the
Europe recession. As the Euro Union is gradually crawling out
of recession and economic slump, exports are also growing
again.

11.11

10.04
7.35

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

Industrial gloves

108,706,249

Fancy/fashion gloves

1,704,898

Sports gloves

150,139

Other leather gloves

839,703

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

Saddlers and harness goods are being manufactured in

Kanpur for more than last 100 years. The saddlers
manufacturing started in the 19th century at the British Indian
Corporation in its Copper Alan branch in Kanpur and
simultaneously the British Government started the Ordinance
Equipment Factory at Kanpur to cater to the needs of the
Army.
By virtue of Kanpurs specialisation in vegetable tanned
buffalo hides, and due to the presence of trained manpower,
this has become the most important centre for the
manufacture of saddler goods in India. In fact, Kanpur is the
only centre in India that produces harness and saddler goods.
Almost all the units operating in Kanpur are 100 percent
export-oriented.

Non-leather
harness/saddlers/bridles

10,996,324

Saddlers/bridles

2,941,884

Harness

4,459,858

Source: Council for Leather Exports as on 14 Mar 2014

23

Major clusters
Patiala
Bhatinda,
Muktsar,
Fazilka,
Firozpur
Kotakpura,
Gurdaspur
Amritsar

Major clusters
Patna,
Muzaffarpur,
Bettiah,
Aurangabad,
Munger,
Purnia
Katihar

Major clusters
Solan
Baddi
Major product
Leather finishing

Major product
Cattle Hides
Goat Skins

Major product
Soft Leather Shoes
Traditional Footwear

Major clusters
Berhampur
Bhubaneswar
Cuttack
Jatni

Major clusters
Saurashtra
Major product
Vegetable leather
shoe

Major clusters
Mumbai
Kolhapur
Bhiwandi
Major product
Leather sandals

Major product
Footwear

Major clusters
Madagao
Mapusa
Panaji
Zuari
Ponda

Major product
Raw Hides and skin

Major clusters
Chennai
Ambur
Ranipet
Vaniyambadi
Vellore
Pernambut
Major product
Finished leather
Shoe uppers
Finished shoes

Major clusters
Hyderabad,
Bhimavaram
Cuddapah
Eluru
Karim Nagar
Major product
Hides
Skins

Source: KPMG in India Analysis as on 14 March 2014

25

The Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to revive the leather industry in the
state by promoting seven leather clusters for providing basic infrastructure to artisans and small and
medium enterprises.
The Leather Industries Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh is the nodal state
agency responsible for the development of the sector by coordinating the efforts of SMEs and
artisans and creating the necessary infrastructure.
n a bid to promote leather exports, the Andhra Pradesh Government has proposed
to develop 94 leather industrial parks in the state in a phased manner with an estimated investment
of about INR400 crores.
The Karnataka Leather Industries Development Corporation Ltd. (LIDKAR) was established by
Government of Karnataka in 1976 with the main objective of overall development of the leather
industry in Karnataka and upliftment of socio-economic conditions of leather artisans in the state.
Skill development programs, industrial visits and study tours are conducted.
Market linkages in the form of sales kiosks and access to sale
outlets are provided by the corporation to the artisans.
The corporation ensures adequate publicity for the marketable
goods in the form of ads and mobile publicity.
Establishment of R&D centres, living cum work shops and mini
leather parks are established in thrust areas.
Life insurance schemes, death funds and reward and recognition schemes are
run by the corporation to provide adequate support to the artisan network.
The Leather Industries Development Corporation of Maharashtra is the nodal agency in the state
responsible for driving the leather industry.
To arrange procurement and supply of raw material for those engaged in the Leather Industries or to
make necessary arrangement for the production of leather goods.
To ensure quality control in order to get qualitative product. To take necessary steps for
improvement in production techniques.
To assist and act as an agent for sale of finished products by opening of show rooms, exhibition
counters within and outside the state.
To promote the sale of finished leather goods in foreign market. To arrange and manage training
facilities in production and marketing.
To give financial assistance, loans, subsidy for rendering any legal service, transport, leather and
other industries, agricultural and other sectors for over all development of said community.
To raise the funds from central govt., state govt. and other financial institutions, banks,
corporations, etc. at central and state level for implementing the schemes for the artisan
community.
Source: Select State Government Department Websites, KPMG Analysis
26

This was an ongoing scheme of the tenth plan and aimed to build a footwear complex near
Chennai on 153.65 acres area and provide infrastructure facilities for housing large footwear
manufacturing units. Infrastructure development towards design and testing centres, display
centre, warehousing, common power plant etc. was to be provided.
SIPCOT has only been able to construct common infrastructure and DIPP has decided to recover.
The balance of the government grant is lying with the implementing agency with penal interest.
Also, since the leather industry has shown no interest in establishing units in this location, it may
not.
be feasible to continue the scheme during the next plan period.
West Bengal is one of the leading manufacturers of value added leather products with inherent
advantages in blue goat skin and skilled craftsmen.
Kolkata, the states capital, is the second most important tanning centre n the country. About of
2225 percent of the countrys tanning is done here through 500 odd tanneries majority of them
being small.
The states exports of leather goods constitute about 55 percent of Indias total leather goods
export with the Topsia-Tangra-Tijala belt being a major sourcing hub for Couch, Gucci and Marks &
Spencers.
The CLC (Calcutta Leather Complex) located at Bantala and spread over 450 acres is the major
integrated leather centre in the state with end-end production being done here. The state
government has also initiated creation of another cluster at Shantiniketan with assistance from the
MSME.
In a bid to promote leather production in the state, the government recently sanctioned over 900
acres of land for setting up two leather parks, in Sandila, Hardoi and at Ramaipur in Kanpur.
Expected to attract an investment of INR2,000 crores, the state-of-the-art leather clusters are
expected to be completed in approximately four years.
The clusters would be operated under the mega-cluster model and the UPSIDC (Uttar Pradesh
State Industrial Development Corporation) would be the nodal implementing agency.
The proposed integrated leather parks will be equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure,
technology and production chain to meet the demands of domestic markets and standards for
export. In a bid to promote the small and medium scale leather processing units, the government
has also said 50 per cent space will be set aside for units in this category, to carry out their
production activities at the leather clusters.
To mitigate pollution and ensure environment conservation, leather clusters will also be given
facilities for treating effluents generated in the parks. Provisions for rain water harvesting,
warehousing, raw material banks, exhibition centre, design centre and human resource
development are also proposed in the clusters. A government release issued on Wednesday also
said each park will have to attract an investment of INR1,000 crores and create employment for
nearly 10,000 people .
Source: Select State Government Department Websites, KPMG Analysis
27

Finishing of leather

0.23

0.35

0.58

0.11

0.23

Leather goods

0.30

0.41

0.62

0.11

0.21

Footwear

0.78

1.01

1.44

0.23

0.43

Leather apparel

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.00

0.01

0.92

1.37

2.14

0.45

0.77

0.85

1.27

2.01

0.42

0.74

Micro enterprises in leatherbased goods manufacturing

(including artisans)
Unorganised sector
employment in leather-based
goods repairing (cobblers etc.)

The sector currently employs over 3.09 million employees and is slated to employ more than 6.8 million employees by
2022. This implies additional creation of ~3.7 million jobs in the nine-year period.
The period 201722 will see a marginally higher growth in employment vis-a-vis 201317 with the industry not
expected to witness significant changes in operations through automation resulting in consistent employment
elasticity factors over the next nine-year period.

Source: KPMG in India analysis as on 18 February 2014

29

 The individual, as a part of the job role, lays out, marks, and
cuts leather or non-leather material into parts for articles
using cutting dies.
Critical component of the role is to position leather/nonleather for cutting to ensure good number and quality of cut
pieces, reducing wastage and providing higher accuracy.
Competence to follow design patterns and related instructions
Selects and estimates the material required for making
different components of leather goods
Competencies to match the components as per the design and
requirements
Knowledge of various hand tools, equipment and machinery
Competence to handle various machine operations and
maintain the quality of leather to maintain the right grade
(operators, cutters,stitchers,
skivers, finishers)

Competence to follow design patterns and related instructions

Knowledge of various hand tools, equipment and machinery
Competencies to match the components to avoid any
rejections and avoid wastages
Competencies to assess the quality defects arising from the
previous operations.
Competencies to stitch the components as per the design and
requirements
Competence to follow design patterns and related instructions
Knowledge of various hand tools, equipment and machinery
Competence to handle various machine operations and
maintain the quality of leather to maintain the right grade
Skiving leather edges with skiving knife to reduce thickness of
different sections to be joined together.
Knowledge of preparation and application of cementing
solution by brush at skived portion for joining, taking care not
to splash solution on leather surface while joining
Gluing of lining to leather parts and sews sole, upper and
other components by hand or sewing

Source: KPMG in India analysis as on 18 February 2014

30

 Role of supervisors is crucial since they handle a large number of

personnel and machinery in the tannery operations.
Operators who are experienced with around more than 15 years
of experience may move to the level of supervisors based on
vacancy. School drop outs, secondary or higher secondary is the
qualification for this role.

(Line supervisors, quality

controllers, production
in-charge)

Competence to maintain the quality of the leather without

damaging the leather
Vocational/Diploma candidates with relevant experience or
experienced operators move to the level of quality controllers.
Production planning and to ensure quality and timeliness of
delivery
Cross functional coordination to achieve production targets
Competence to overcome production bottlenecks such as machine
breakdown
Organisational and planning skills to plan, monitor and alter
production schedules when necessary

(Design heads,
merchandising
managers, quality heads.
Admin)

Possess strong operational and managerial skills

They manage teams of workers and deal with personnel issues
such as the recruitment, training and discipline.
They ensure that workplace health and safety requirements and
productivity targets are met and maintain computerised
administration and automated systems.
Possess skills relating to familiarity with various modern
equipments, new technologies and industry specific safety and
security practices
Possess skills relating to customer relationship and managing the
accounts handled by them.
Possess skills relating to marketing and understanding the market
requirements with innovations in selling techniques.

Source: KPMG in India analysis as on 18 February 2014

31

 Ability to understand variations and take corrective

actions
An extensive understanding and knowledge on how
to handle machines and troubleshoot
Ability to understand and adapt to new productions
processes and technologies
Critical component of the role is to position
leather/non-leather for cutting/stitching the right
part together/finishing of leather with appropriate
levels of accuracy to ensure good number and
quality of pieces, reducing wastage and providing
higher accuracy.

Entry-level operators have limited

knowledge on machines handling
and troubleshooting aspects
Entry-level workers have very less
awareness on hygiene and
sanitation. This directly affects
the productivity since training
provided to process line workers
is time consuming and eats into
the production time.
Experienced procurement
personnel are a rarity and mostly
come from rural background with
poor communication skills.

Awareness in hygiene and usage of safety

equipment's before handling chemicals and the
products

Process line machinery is

imported and experienced
operators with hands-onexperience in operating them is
lacking.

Thorough understanding of the organisations

production processes
Strong knowledge of market trends and new
technologies in the sector
Ability to design products based on customers core
and secondary requirements
Strong knowledge and understanding of varying
national and international standards
Fashion designers must possess knowledge of
fashion illustration, styling, global design trends (as
per seasons) and consumer types, garment
construction, application of computer-aided designs
in patterns and different types of fabrics and their
usage

Lack of knowledge on customer

standards and new global market
trends
Experienced designers are scarce
and switch jobs frequently
Most institutes offer training in
apparels. There is dearth of
sector-specific designers

Pattern makers/computer-aided designers require

skills in preparing advanced industrial flat patterns
and cutting techniques
Efficient in using computer-aided design software
Source: KPMG in India Analysis as on -10 March 2014
32

 Understanding quality assurance processes and the

ability to follow the inspection manual

Ability to identify deviations from the company-prescribed

quality levels and report to quality inspector
Ability to conduct quality audits at various levels of the
production process and test products on various
specifications

Lack the ability to

undertake high-level due
diligence required for
quality checks

Lack the ability to handle

contingencies, manage
people and allocate work

Lack of experience in
handling machines

Knowledge of quality control processes, inspection

systems, defects and remedies in products
Managerial capabilities to maintain work ethics and
social compliance
:
In-depth information on the physical and chemical
properties of leather
Testing of durability, heat resistance and washing
techniques to meet clients requirements
Knowledge of the production process of in their
respective department (tannery, finishing, footwear
making, apparel making and leather goods making)
Awareness on the leather technology being used, its
capacity and productivity
Ability to understand and adapt new production
processes and technologies
Experience in identifying and rectifying defects in
products
Ability to plan work, manage people, and handle
contingencies
Ability to understand variations and take corrective
actions
Ability to meet production requirements as per orders

Coordinate with workers and production managers

Source: KPMG in India Analysis as on 10th March 2014
33

 Ability to plan work and manage people

A strong knowledge of the organisations production
process
Ability to handle and manage contingencies

Knowledge and experience requirements:

Raw material management purchase, utilisation and
inventory to ensure availability
Financial management

There is scarcity of
experienced planners and
they usually lack people
management skills
Lack of understanding of
the process

Cost control
Production and productivity
Quality control

Energy management
Personnel management
Strong verbal communication skills
Ability to handle customers and appropriately answer
their queries
Deep understanding of the organisations production
process and the ability to control its execution
Thorough knowledge on market trends and new
technologies in the sector
Knowledge of quality standards, pricing, distribution
channels and trade models
Awareness on product specifications, properties of fabric,
labeling and packaging
Ability to handle logistics, export marketing, retail
management, supply chain systems and inventories

Poor communication skills

There is dearth of
experienced
merchandisers and the
existing one switch jobs
frequently
Unable to manage
contingencies and handle
high pressure situations at
work

Ability to plan and execute orders as per clients

requirements
Negotiation skills
Management of database of buyers and clients

Source: KPMG in India Analysis as on 10th March 2014

34

 Growth in super markets and hyper markets supported by favourable FDI policies
are expected to shift large amount of leather good sales to this channel.
This will spur demand for purchase, warehouse, logistics, operation and
supervisory roles in the industry mainly at the entry level.
Significant rise in the number of jobs is also expected at the retail shop level in
the form of sales personnel and customer relationship executives, who will need to
be trained about the product portfolio being handled.
Add-on human resource requirements, such as cashier, security etc, will also spur
job growth in the sector.

With increasing presence of e-commerce players, number of consumer segments

are expected to shift to the online channel.
Footwear/leather goods being a logistically friendly commodity, unlike durables or
expensive electronics, is expected to play a big role in e-commerce.
This trend is expected to create some demand for highly-skilled personnel in
management roles (procurement, operations, business development) who can tap
this new channel of sale.

With increasing liberalised trade, India is expected to play a major role in the
global leather export goods market.
However, the western markets driven either by domestic laws or protectionism is
expected to impose stricter quality and SPS (Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary
Standards) norms.
This trend is expected to create jobs in the areas of compliance and quality (Quality
Assurance/Quality Control) across the value chain; from sourcing of raw leather to
shipment of finished goods.

Women have traditionally comprised 30 percent of the workforce in the leather

industry.
They have traditionally been active in the labour intensive roles, such as stitching,
cutting etc in the cottage/SME dominated leather industry.
With more mechanisation expected in the industry along with a shift away from the
labour intensive model, the retraining of women in the generic factory skills to
compensate for the loss of opportunity in the traditional sphere is expected.

Sources: KPMG in India analysis as on 12 February 2014

35

 With progressive changes in the demand for leather industry, such as increased
exports to high end markets, sourcing of global brands and a growing luxury
market, the industry is also expected to shift to more mechanisation and a factory
model from a cottage-based model to derive production efficiencies
This would make artisanal skills in the community irrelevant in the new context
and hence, would call for significant investment and development to make the
personnel skill ready for employment in the industry
Roles , such as supervisor, fitter, machine operator along with other conventional
factory roles in storage, transport etc can be expected to be created

India is fast becoming a major destination for luxury goods ranging from jewellery,
automobiles and high-end electronics
Luxury brands around leather, such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. are expected to
increase their presence in India in the coming years given the increasing presence
of super rich in the country
This trend will call for a separate channel for the sale of these luxury goods in India
given the need to maintain the premium image of the product
This will in turn mainly create new jobs in the latter part of the value chain
(especially in retail) in the form sales executives, customer handling personnel who
need to be acquainted with selling skills to high net worth individuals

The leather industry in India in its endeavour to leapfrog to the next level of growth
has identified development of value-added products with higher margins as one of
the key drivers of growth
This calls for establishing modern technical support institutions, such as designing
studios and product development centres, which can leverage he technological
breakthroughs and bring tangible benefits to the leather sector.
This trend is expected to create jobs around design, such as use of CAD, CAM etc.
and around sector specific research and development, such as leather technology,
process engineering etc.

Sources: KPMG in India analysis as on 12 February 2014

36

 Established in 1963 under the Small Industries

Development Organisation, CFTI Agra was
established as Central Footwear Training Centre,
Agra.
It became an autonomous body in 1996, and started
functioning as CFTI.
The campus is spread over 7,500 square metres and
has separate sections for designing, clicking,
closing, lasting, testing and CAD training.
CFTI Chennai, on similar lines is an autonomous
Institution under Ministry of Small Scale Industries,
Government of India, develops Human Resource for
Footwear Industry since 1957.

Established in 1992, IILP was set up with the

primary objective of training people for the
footwear, garment and goods industries.
It is controlled by leather bodies such as Council
for Leather Exports (CLE) and CLRI.
It offers master technician and career courses in
areas, such as leather footwear, leather garments
and leather goods.
Founded in 1948, CLRI is the national apex body for
leather sector development in India. It deals in
areas, such as workforce training, developing new
technologies, planning and consultancy.
CLRI is headquartered in Adyar, Chennai, and has
five regional centres in Kolkata, Kanpur,
Jallandhar, Ahmadabad, and Mumbai.
CLRI provides Bachelors and Masters courses in
leather technology. It also conducts programs and
trainings in areas such as leather technology,
footwear science, Computer Aided Design (CAD)
for garments, CAD for fashion design and leather
goods design.

Established in 1934, GILFT is amongst the oldest

leather training institute in India. It works under the
administrative control of
the Department of
Technical Education and Industrial Training Punjab
and is governed by the Ministry of Technical
Education.
The institute imparts diploma-level training in the
leather technology and leather technology for
footwear.

Source: The lure of leather research, The Hindu website, CLRI website , CFTI website, Leather India website
38

 GLI was established in Kanpur in 1916, and was formerly

known as the Government Leather Working School.
It offers courses in areas, such as leather technology
(tanning), saddler and export management with three
years duration.

The first campus of FDDI was setup in Noida in 1986.

The other campuses are located at Fursatganj, Chennai,
Kolkata, Rohtak, Chhindwara, Jodhpur and Guna.
Another campus at Kozhikode with a capacity to
accommodate 800 students is planned.
FDDI has 3,200 students and faculty/staff members in
eight campuses across India. Courses offered include
Diploma in Footwear, Advanced Diploma in Footwear
Designing and Post-graduate Diploma in Footwear
Technology and Management.
Typically, campuses are established over 1520 acres
space
with
infrastructure
such
as
labs,
auditoriums, lecture theatres and workshops with
modern machinery.

Training courses can broadly be divided into two main categories designing or production/technical courses.
Apart from these, several institutes such as CLRI also offer high-end research programmes in the leather sector.
Growing use of leather and growing awareness of latest trends domestically and internationally is driving a lot of
youngsters to take up training in leather product designing.

Source: The lure of leather research, The Hindu website, CLRI website , CFTI website, Leather India website
39

NB Institute for Rural Technology

Government Leather Institute

National Institute of Fashion
Technology
Karnataka Institute of Leather
Technology
IL&FS and NSDC

Leather technology
Leather technology, footwear technology (CAD),
saddler technology and export management
Fashion technology and design
Training regarding leather and footwear technology;
leather crafting
Initiative to provide training in leather and other
areas through vocational colleges; industry specific
skills training
Courses in leather technology

Anna University
Institute of Government Leather
Leather technology
Working School
College of Leather Technology
Leather technology
Dr. B.R. Ambedkhar Regional
Leather technology
Engineering College
Central Footwear Training Centre Footwear technology
TUV SUD laboratory for Leather and
Training in quality standards and compliance
Footwear Testing

Amtali (Tripura)
Etmadpur, Agra (Uttar
Pradesh)
Chennai (Tamil Nadu),
Delhi,
Kolkata (West Bengal),
Gandhinagar (Gujarat)

Bangalore (Karnataka)
Across Clusters in India
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Kolkata (West Bengal)
Jalandhar (Punjab)
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
Ambur (Tamil Nadu)

Institutes offer a wide variety of courses, which includes undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate
courses in areas, such as footwear design and technology. Within design also, there are two types of courses (i)
technical design (which includes pattern making, cutting, designing)and (ii) style designers (fashion and trends)
Typically course requirements for undergraduate, diploma and certificate courses is senior secondary education
(10+2) while post graduate diplomas require a the candidate to have qualified post graduation.
Admission to B.Tech/M.Tech programmes is typically through entrance examinations and requires the candidate to
have a background in science or engineering.
Institutes are increasingly offering technology oriented courses such as CAD for the designing stream and training
on modern machinery, due to growing automation in the industry.

Source: NB Institute for Rural Technology, NBIRT website, Indian Express website, The Hindu website, India Noon website
40

 The PLSDP was launched by the Government of India to impart basic skills to operate on shop floors to unemployed
persons. The objective was also to cater to the growing workforce requirement of the leather/footwear industry.
The FDDI, in association with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, has participated in the PLSDP for the sector.
Eligibility criteria requires candidates to be of minimum 18 years old, should have reading and writing capability
along with aptitude or should be nominated by a participating industry.
Selection of trainers is done through a screening committee constituted by representatives of local district
administration, local industry and DIPP.
The training is provided through established FDDI centres in major leather clusters such as Agra and Kanpur. As of
March 2011, the FDDI had already trained more than 10,000 youth under this program.

Minimum
attendance of
85 percent

Course planning

Development of course
material

Establishment of
training centres

Basic cutting operator course

4 weeks

Basic closing operator course

4 weeks

Successful
completion
of all course
Minimum
units
grade of 60
percent

Selection of
candidates

Training and
assessment

Selection of
trainees basis the
aptitude test

Certification and
placement of
trainees

Aged minimum 18 years and ability to

read and write.
Aged minimum 18 years and ability to
read and write.

30
30

While the courses being offered are quite basic in nature, areas, such as lasting, finishing, costing, quality checking,
leather grading and sorting have been identified as key areas where training could be imparted.

Source: GJF to promote National Skills Certification & Monetary Reward scheme to train retail jewellery staffs, Economic Times website,DNA India
website,FDDI Website, accessed 10 March 2014; KPMG in India analysis as on 20 February 2014
41

 Skill gap in the sector is most acute at the entry level, which includes shop floors,
designers and merchandisers.
Majority of this workforce lack basic technical skills and customer orientation.
Hence, there is requirement of product specific training, which includes training on
modern machinery.
Since, the need is more acute for entry-level staff, which is typically less
educated, trainers would need to be good in terms of their soft skills and
handholding the trainees through the learning process.
Due to the low operating margins of the sector, there is little or no premium
attached to training during the initial years of the workforce.
The firms also experience significant attrition during the initial year, which often
offsets the investment in training.
Most players provide training on the job through experienced staff or by hiring
external trainers.
The work can be quite demanding and stressing, especially while working
in tanneries and leather production houses. It is important that the entry-level
staff are made aware of the working conditions and other expectations well in
advance to minimise attrition during the initial years.
There is no single body that gives accreditation to leather sector courses across
India. As a result of this, there is a wide variation in the curricula and quality of
training received by workforce across India.
Also, the varying quality of training does not ensure either standard job role or pay
for the trained students.
A lot of them are looking at bodies such as SSC for standardisation and
accreditation. Hence, there is need to improve coordination between the industry
and the academia.
People often join courses to get a job rather than get skilled. Even after joining,
there is often a mismatch between industrys pay and students aspirations.
While the training institutions may try to match the demand of the industry by
taking in the requisite number of students for training but the real challenge is to
motivate these students to take up the job and retain it
There is need to build awareness about the demands of the job as well as typical
career path to deal with these issues.
The sector employs majority of people from the rural sections of the society, and
most of them are illiterate. These people are unaware of the schemes and the
support that government provides them.
Hence, awareness among students about the benefits of training has to be
created through media campaigns to tackle perception problem.
Source: KPMG in India analysis as on 10 March 2014
42

consolidation, integration and organisation

Industry is largely fragmented leading to small

entrepreneurs holding a major share in the industry
The small scale and unorganised nature of the industry
for instance, has led to a situation where small
entrepreneurs neither have the capacity nor the
inclination to invest in human resource development
Pay scales and the work environment in the industry
have also not been very attractive resulting in a
situation where the segment has almost come to
assume the image of one, which is the last resort for a
serious career seeker

Though certain large players have gone in for

consolidation by taking over smaller players, it is of
prime importance for the industry to move from
unorganised to organised

Initiatives by government for continued liberalisation

of foreign investment will enable the industry to
establish larger scale and best practice driven
companies
Development of robust clearing mechanisms will help
the industry

Students trained in ITIs and other vocational training

institutes lack awareness about the global trends
hence, there is a need for constant guidance through
training

With many global brands coming into India, there is

an increasing need for quality testing and supplying
quality products to the companies.

International quality control needs to be adhered for

exports such that the manufacturing quality of India
meets with the international standards.
Envisaged job roles as supervisors and quality control
managers in various segments would be in demand

Introducing standard manufacturing process, such as

lean in curriculum, will help the trainees reduce
wastages during the production process.
Including basic management principles in the
engineering and technical curriculums improve their
knowledge in knowing the overall principles and
practices.
The government can incentivise the industries, which
help to do this by giving it tax breaks for adopting
such a practice.

Courses in design and development should be

appropriately cover the global trends.

At the middle-management level there is a severe

lack in understanding the management principles,
which is required to be addressed.
44

robust institutional framework

Increased number of jobs and preferences amongst L1

workers in the service industry such as in retail,
banking and IT

Set up and operation of training requires a long-term

view and significant upfront investment making it
akin to most sectors where government participation
becomes necessary

Increased number of school dropouts/people at a

larger level have high school/graduation as the
highest levels of education

Industry players should attempt for creation of

training infrastructure with the help of PPP initiatives.
This will help in developing external training

Amongst the L3 workers with higher education

requirements, there is growing interest towards
degrees, such as MBA and other engineering degrees

Establishment of a nodal leather training institute

with adequate infrastructure with the help of
industries/PPP initiatives
Support should be provided for good training curricula

Private entrepreneurs to set up commercial ventures

and provide training

While establishment of institutional infrastructure for

training would address the supply creation concerns,
there is a need for explicit creation of demand for
training. While intuitively, the very existence of skill
gaps suggests the existence of demand for training;
the stakeholders who require training in many cases
do not have any incentive and/or inclination to be
trained.

Similarly, at the factory workforce and supervisory

levels it is sheer inertia arising out of the
prolonged period of working in the traditional manner
that makes it challenging for the employees to
upgrade their skills.

Developing more credibility and enhancing perception

of the utility of training through implementation of
innovative training practices like apprenticeship.
Monetary and progression incentives for trained vis-vis untrained personnel by companies.

SSC should initiate the establishment of a

certification/grading system and its recognition in the
recruitment and progression of employees in the
companies.

45

 Infrastructure creation is poor thereby giving way to

issues in providing a good work environment, pay,
career progression and amenities
Insufficient addition of manpower to the sector, key
reason being the poor image and consequent lack of
attractiveness for the new career seeker
No proper training methodologies and lack of
knowledge of the employee about the sector and the
benefits derived out of the sector

Greater investment is required from industry players

in employee welfare and ensuring the basic safety
systems are in place
A closer look at pay and progression policies is also
warranted given that growth and profitability
outlook for the industry is positive, sharing the
benefits of growth with employees would be
important
While implementing these improvement initiatives is
critical, it is equally important to communicate
improvements to the target group of recruits

appropriate channels
Most of the recruitment happens through campaigns
in villages, referrals, govt. training institutes and
agents, the demand seems to be existing across.
Training providers have been unable to meet the
growing needs of the people.
A better tracking tool for skill requirements can help
workers to choose the desired courses

An IT application for updates on vacancies in leather

manufacturing organisations would assist workers in
searching jobs. Enrolment of job seekers as well as
employers can be managed by the SSC that serve as
centres of excellence for the leather sector.

adequate Infrastructure for

Infrastructure and leather machinery in ITIs and ITCs
offering courses in tanning, finishing, dyeing, printing
and processing operations are not of latest
technology. With increased automation and changing
technology, there is requirement of constantly
upgrading
the skills amongst operators and
supervisors.
Lack of enabled infrastructure to ensure quicker
deliveries and faster movement of goods from the
respective clusters for deliveries or getting raw
materials.

Development of enabling infrastructure will create the

base for achievement of greater scale efficiencies.
Encouragement of public private partnerships will
ensure a faster pace of enabling infrastructure
development.
Rationalisation of distorting regulations/policy
framework for example, rationalisation of indirect tax
regime will necessitate building larger warehouses
and enable achievement of scale economies.
46