New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Council for Leather Exports (CLE) on Wednesday urged the government to extend the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to the sector and consider setting up a leather park to boost manufacturing, export and job creation.

CLE Chairman Sanjay Leekha said India's leather and footwear exports stood at USD 5.5 billion at present, which is expected to be doubled by the end of 2025.

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Besides, the market size of the domestic leather and footwear sector will grow from USD 12 billion to USD 20 billion by 2025, he said at the Leather Accessories Footwear Conclave and Awards of North India-LAFCAN-2022.

Leekha sought "the support of the government in achieving the envisaged targets by extending the PLI (scheme) to the leather sector and also considering a leather park scheme similar to the textile sector".

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MSME Minister Narayan Rane said the leather industry has competitive and comparative advantages and also design capabilities.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)