Footwear makers want more time to implement BIS order
The Hindu
Footwear makers in the State have appealed to the government to give them more time to implement a recent order from the BIS.
Footwear makers in the State, employing around 50,000 people directly and thousands of others indirectly, have appealed to the government to give them more time to implement a recent order from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for products to adhere to BIS norms.
Footwear makers, numbering over 400 in the micro, small and medium range put together, welcomed the government move, meant to ensure quality and prevent cheap imports.
But the industry is of the view that implementing the order in a hurry, without sufficient preparation will trigger loss of thousands of jobs, spell doom for small and micro units, and end in loss of crores of rupees worth of raw materials and manufactured products.
According to the BIS order, 24 footwear items should adhere to the norms by July 1, 2023. Henceforth a BIS licence will be mandatory for manufacturing, importing, or selling of products under the quality control orders. For some other items, time has been provided up to January 1, 2024 for the norms to be implemented.
Kerala State Small Industries Association president A. Nizaruddin said the situation would lead to a major crisis in the sector, bringing it to a standstill.
V.K.C. Razak of Footwear Manufacturers’ Association said the manufacturers were only happy to adhere to quality norms but implementing them from July 1 for a large number of products was not practical. He pointed out that footwear-making was the second-largest employment provider in the country. Around 75% of units are in the unorganised sector without the financial muscle.
In a recent letter to the authorities, footwear makers said the sector was set to provide employment to around six million people by 2030. India produces at least three billion pairs of footwear a year, and it is likely to go up to six billion by 2030.
With increased terminal entry points (eGates) at Mumbai International airport from 24 to 68, which is the highest number of e-gates at kerbside or landside in the country, the expansion will enhance the airport’s processing capacity to an astounding 7,440 passengers per hour at Terminal 2 (T2) and 2,160 at T1