India’s BIS conducts awareness programme for footwear MSMEs

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) convened a major hybrid awareness initiative and stakeholder consultation in Ambur on May 27, 2026, targeting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and sector stakeholders across southern India’s prominent footwear and leather clusters. The dual-purpose programme focused on accelerating industry compliance with impending regulatory frameworks and gathering critical sector feedback on a newly circulated draft Indian Standard for children's footwear, officially designated as CHD 19 (34122) WC. The gathering attracted a broad coalition of footwear manufacturers, leather industry representatives, tanners, traders, testing laboratories, and entrepreneurs from the Vellore, Ranipet, and Ambur industrial corridors.

Delivering the opening address, S. D. Dayanand, Scientist-F and Senior Director and Head of BIS Chennai, emphasized that rigorous standardization is essential for ensuring product safety, quality, and structural reliability, particularly for school shoes worn daily by children. He noted that widespread adoption of these harmonized national standards enhances domestic product reliability, facilitates seamless market access, and builds vital consumer confidence. According to Dayanand, these educational outreach programmes are strategically designed to clarify complex compliance pathways, bolster consumer trust, and equip Indian manufacturers to produce high-caliber goods capable of competing effectively in the global marketplace.

The technical core of the event featured a dedicated Manak Manthan—a comprehensive standard-review session—focusing on the specifications of the draft standard for boys' and girls' school shoes. Dr. J. Mahesh Kumar, Scientist-C at the CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), led the technical exposition, detailing the specific material, comfort, durability, and safety parameters contained within the draft. By conducting this critical consultation directly within the Ambur manufacturing cluster, regulatory authorities intend to ensure that the final technical specifications align with practical domestic manufacturing capabilities before the standards transition into mandatory Quality Control Orders (QCOs).

To alleviate the financial friction of compliance for smaller operations, BIS officials outlined an aggressive framework of fiscal concessions and digital tools designed to make formal certification highly accessible. Pakki Balu, Scientist-C and Deputy Director at BIS Chennai, presented the bureau’s tier-based financial incentives, which offer a significant eighty percent reduction on annual minimum marking fees for micro and startup enterprises. Small enterprises are eligible for a fifty percent concession, while medium-sized operations receive a twenty percent reduction, with an additional ten percent discount applied across all categories for enterprises led by women entrepreneurs. Balu also highlighted the capabilities of the e-BIS digital portal, an initiative engineered to streamline conformity assessments and simplify administrative interactions for domestic and import businesses.

Addressing localized operational bottlenecks, Niraj Kumar Mahato, Scientist-C and Deputy Director at BIS Chennai, detailed the bureau’s financial assistance programs for establishing shared industrial test facilities. This infrastructure funding is structured to lower capital expenditure barriers by helping regional clusters build collective testing capabilities. Further industrial support was pledged by S. Mani, Scientist-D at the National Test House (Southern Region) in Chennai, who disclosed plans for an upcoming, specialized footwear testing division at their regional laboratory. Mani urged attendees to utilize these premier multidisciplinary testing, calibration, and training services to systematically validate product compliance and strengthen baseline quality assurance.

Complementing the technical and regulatory framework, M. Shanmugapriya, Assistant Engineer at the District Industries Centre in Vellore, briefed participants on an array of central and state government supportive schemes. She highlighted accessible funding mechanisms, including the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme subsidies, capital subsidy schemes for manufacturing enterprises, and dedicated state initiatives such as the New Entrepreneur-cum-Enterprise Development Scheme and the Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme. These programs reflect a broader governmental push to cultivate first-generation entrepreneurs through structured financial aid, marketing support, and institutional loan facilitation. The event concluded with an open-house interactive assembly, providing a direct forum for regional manufacturers to resolve specific testing queries, implementation challenges, and certification timelines with panel experts from the BIS, CLRI, NTH, and local industry directorates.