Agra: India is rapidly moving towards becoming a world leader in the footwear market, and the footwear components sector plays a crucial role in this journey. This was stated by Puran Dawar, Regional Chairman of CLE and President of AFMEC, during his address as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the 58th edition of ‘Shoe Tech Agra’ held at Hotel Madhu Resorts in Agra on Wednesday. He said that to keep the Indian footwear industry globally competitive, we need continuous improvement not only in product quality but also in technological innovation and design.
Puran Dawar also emphasized the need to expand our basket so that we can supply various types of footwear and footwear components, strengthening our position in global competition. He stressed the importance of increasing the export of Indian footwear and highlighted that components’ role in the growth of this sector is becoming even more significant. To establish a strong presence in foreign markets, we must adopt new products and technological solutions while also increasing production capacity.
Earlier, the exhibition ‘Shoe Tech Agra’ was inaugurated by the chief guest Puran Dawar, President of AFMEC and distinguished guests including Vivek Sharma (IRS), Managing Director of Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), Noida, Col. Pankaj Sinha, Secretary of FDDI, Gopal Gupta, Vice President of AFMEC, Rajesh Sehgal, General Secretary Rajiv wasan, President of CIFI (Uttar Pradesh) Dharmendra Narula, President of Agra Shoe Factories Federation Vijay Sama, President of ASMA Opinder Singh Lovely & President of IFCOMA Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay Gupta, President of IFCOMA, welcomed the guests and elaborated on the necessity of the exhibition. The vote of thanks was given by Deepak Manchanda, General Secretary of IFCOMA. The program was conducted by Atul Kohli.
First-day figures of the exhibition:
• Total Exhibitors: 60
• Total Visitors: 2622
• Trade Visitors: 1140
Seminar on Indian Footwear Sizing System
During the exhibition, a seminar on the Indian Footwear Sizing System was conducted by experts from the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI). Senior Principal Scientist Dr. Mathivannan S., Chief Scientist Dr. Mohan R., and Senior Scientist Dr. D. Suresh Kumar provided detailed presentations on the new sizing system. The seminar aimed to emphasize the importance of sizing in the footwear industry and discuss ways to improve standardization. In the second session of the seminar, NIFT Rai Bareli Director Nandan Singh Bora presented on the fashion trends in the Indian footwear market.
Recycling Waste Effectively
Akshay Gunteti, Co-Founder of Green Worms, and Jake C. Joy, Executive of Waste and Material Circularity, shared that they are recycling waste effectively while creating jobs for youth. “So far, 6,200 people have joined our mission. We have developed a sorting system focused on footwear waste that separates materials like EVA, PVC, rubber, and leather for more efficient recycling and reuse. Our experience in recycling polymers like LDPE, LLDPE, and PP has provided effective solutions for the footwear industry.”
Talk:
In 2025, the retail footwear market in India could grow to 1.3 trillion US dollars. This year, we are moving towards becoming a 50 billion US dollar economy in the fashion footwear trade. The footwear component sector plays a significant role in reaching this goal.
• Sanjay Gupta, President, IFCOMA
A total of 60 exhibitors from 12 different states of India participated in Shoe Tech Agra, with 2622 visitors on the first day, including 1140 trade visitors who benefited from the exhibition.
• Deepak Manchanda, General Secretary, IFCOMA
Focus on Make in India Products
During the exhibition, Shailesh Pathak, Director of Adhesive manufacturer company Stock On, said that while the government promotes Make in India, local exporters in Agra do not use locally produced adhesives in their products. They consider Agra products as local and do not give them preference, even though the quality of the adhesives is no less than imported ones. South India’s large footwear exporters have started using their adhesives after confirming their quality. He emphasized that we need to test locally produced products to recognize their quality, or else the slogan ‘Local for Global’ will remain just a concept.
Awards Given : During the inauguration of ‘Shoe Tech Agra,’ several entrepreneurs were honored for their pioneering role in the footwear and components industry:
• Lifetime Achievement (Components): Anil Kumar Mittal, Chairman, AK Plastics
• Lifetime Achievement (Footwear): Kulbir Singh, Chairman, Roger Industries
• Aslam, MD, Lee Fox – Icon of the Year
• Women Entrepreneur Award: Ankita Thakur Arora, MD, ATI Impex
• Pioneer Award: Chandermohan Sachdeva, MD, Alert India
Notable Attendees
Manju Mann and Sarita Duhaan, Executive Directors of FDDI Noida and Rohtak, MSME DI Agra CDO Sushil Yadav, NSIC Branch Manager Pushpendra Suryavanshi, Executive Director of IFCOMA SK Verma, Former President Pradeep Agarwal, Assistant Director of CLE RK Shukla, CCLA’s Ajay Sharma, Brajesh Sharma, Saurabh Magan, Saurabh Jain, Sunny Bajwa, Satyamoorti, Sudhir Rustagi, Vipan Seth, Anshul Jain, and Sunny Jaichandani were among the distinguished attendees.
