India’s Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Anupriya Patel, laid the groundwork for an International Testing Laboratory in Kanpur on Saturday. The lab was set-up per the MoU signed between the Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR- CLRI), an institution under Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the KLC Research Council.
The testing laboratory in Kanpur will be a major boon to the leather industry in the region and will help in meeting the testing requirements of export products per the stipulations set by overseas buyers.
The Leather Sector Skill Council (LSSC) has been undertaking various skill development initiatives in the Kanpur leather cluster, including apprenticeship training for the youth.
Minister Patel awarded Skill Certificates of Leather Sector Skill Council to an individual youngster who had recently completed their apprenticeship training.
Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh India, is a major leather cluster in the country with a long history. Kanpur has the distinction of being the largest manufacturing base of industrial safety boots & saddlery & harness items in the country, besides being a major production centre for finished leather and value added leather products and footwear. This cluster has also been notified as a “Town of Export Excellence” in the Foreign Trade Policy and Kanpur district been enlisted for “Leather Products” under “One District One Product” scheme of Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanpur is playing a vital role in the growth of the country’s leather industry.
The leather industry in Kanpur cluster has taken a significant step for increasing production levels by taking initiatives for establishment of Mega Leather, Footwear & Accessories Development Cluster (MLFAC). The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has already given in-principle approval for the MLFAC in Kanpur. With the setting-up of MLFAC, export from Kanpur will increase significantly in the coming years, besides generation of employment opportunities for the youth.
