IndiaSize for footwear soon: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Saturday said that the country will soon come out with a domestic size of footwear which is suitable for Indian people.

At the India International Footwear Fair, he also said that in the next few months, the country will finalise many more trade pacts with zero duty for finished leather products and footwear.

“We have identified the domestic size of footwear which is suitable for Indian People. We will soon come out with an IndiaSize which would help us distinguish our products from the rest of the world,” Goyal said.

The minister said that India will have its own sizing system and metrics instead of sizes of the UK and US.

“It will also help shed the colonial mindset. We will get freedom from dependence on foreign sizes,” he said.

Goyal said that industry can also leverage India’s trade pacts with the UAE and Australia.

“We are hopeful in the next few months, we will finalise many more free trade agreements to help you grow your products with zero duty for finished leather products and footwear,” he said.

Asking industry to get into the non-leather footwear market in a “big way”, he said: “It will increase exports and also domestic market will see Indian markets instead of imported goods serving the Indian markets.”

There is a 10X potential for India to grow into a global footwear manufacturing hub, according to the minister.

He said one more international convention centre would be launched and inaugurated in Dwarka.