Extension of the tannery modernisation fund scheme, setting up of tanneries close to finished product manufacturing centres, and two shore-based tannery complexes, are some of the proposals made by the Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (IFLMEA) for the long-term survival and success of the leather industry.
The Rs 140-crore tannery modernisation fund scheme announced in November 2005 for the 10th Plan period, lapsed with the end of the Plan period on March 31, 2007. Only Rs 40 crore has been utilised by the tanners. According to the chairman of IFLMEA, Zakaria Sait, the scheme needs to be revived for the 11th Plan also “to achieve the goals for which this was notified.”
The fund was to support existing tanneries to undertake a modernisation programme for positive environmental impact, to become competitive by better capacity utilisation, to achieve productivity gains, and to reduce wastage.
Most of these tasks remain unfinished. He said the industry is still dependent on exports, and it has thus been difficult to match the need of the industry for modernisation, technology, and creativity with the challenge to make products which are in tune with the needs and price specifications of international markets.
?The great change being witnessed has been the necessity of the manufacturing facility to be close to the producer of the final product. As such the development of the China tanning industry has thrown a big challenge to the Indian tanning industry and will continue to do so,? Sait told the 24th annual general body meeting of the association.
He said the Indian tanneries have to necessarily start looking to the domestic market.