§1What this business is

A traditional village leather industry that KVIC supports with technical, marketing and financial help, mainly giving work to SC, ST and minority artisans. The profile notes that footwear is now a need in villages as well as towns, that attractive gents', ladies' and children's footwear is in demand, and that quality products have export scope.

Capacity: 24,000 pairs a year of footwear and leather goods.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A leather artisan or cobbler family ready to scale up with a few workers.

Who it is not for

Someone with no footwear-making skill or design sense.

Advantages

  • Footwear demand keeps rising in villages and towns
  • A KVIC-backed traditional trade
  • Good surplus at full capacity (₹10.16 L)
  • Export scope for quality products

Drawbacks

  • Factory-made and branded shoes compete hard
  • Fashion changes quickly
  • Leather price moves
  • Large working capital (₹7.30 L)

Skills you need

  • Pattern cutting and closing (upper stitching)
  • Lasting and sole fixing
  • Design and sizing
  • Selling to retailers

Why difficulty 3/5: Needs skilled footwear makers and steady designs that sell.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Men, women and children in villages and towns

How it sells

  • Footwear shops and wholesalers
  • Khadi and village industry outlets
  • Exporters

Good to know

  • The profile gives no machinery list, only a ₹5.50 L total for machinery and equipment.

§4Raw material & machinery

  • Leather and other materials₹24.00 L a year in the profile
  • Labels and packing material₹1.20 L a year

From: KVIC Project Profile — Footwear & Leather Goods (PMEGP)

Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar

Athani Leather Cluster · Belagavi →Chitradurga Leather Cluster · Chitradurga →Indore Mahila Garment Leather Toys And Jute Product Cluster · Indore →Leather Craft Cluster · Baran →Leather Craft Cluster Baran · Amethi →Leather Craft Cluster Sikar · Sikar →Palm Leaves Toys And Leather Products Cluster · Vellore →Sanchor Leather Cluster · Jaipur →Tundla Leather Cluster · Firozabad →Zari Embroidery And Leather Craft · Kanpur Nagar →ODOP CFC — JD Welfare Society →Footwear Cluster, Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar · Jhajjar →

In our raw material database

Wet blue and crust leather →

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. Trade licence from the local body
  4. State Pollution Control Board consent (CTE/CTO)
  5. BIS certification under the Footwear Quality Control Order — check whether your unit size is covered yet

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

A KVIC Gramodyog Rojgar Yojana profile; at ₹17.80 L it fits PMEGP, MUDRA, CGTMSE and Stand-Up India.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Building shed (1,000 sq ft) ₹5.00 L + machinery and equipment ₹5.50 L = ₹10.50 L, + working capital ₹7.30 L = ₹17.80 L. (The topic list shows ₹0; the figure here is as printed in the profile.)

Working capital: Working capital ₹7.30 L; raw material ₹24.00 L a year.

Year not printed on the KVIC profile — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

64.03Footwear with uppers of leather42.02Handbags, wallets, cases and similar containers (heading)

Export council / board: Council for Leather Exports (CLE)

  • HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Leather price rise
  • Unsold stock when styles change
  • Quality rules for footwear
  • Credit to shops

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working footwear & leather goods unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Footwear & Leather Goods Unit?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. KVIC Project Profile — Footwear & Leather Goods (PMEGP)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.