Footwear Design And Development Institute Bill, 2017 Introduced In The Lok Sabha

Commerce & Industry Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday introduced the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) Bill, 2017 in the Lok Sabha.

The Bill intends to declare the FDDI as an Institution of National Importance (INI). It further seeks to “facilitate and promote teaching, training and research in all disciplines relating to design and development of Footwear and leather products and to enable FDDI to emerge as Centre of Excellence meeting international standards.”

It proposes to establish the FDDI as a body corporate, unlike the present structure wherein the institute is centrally-funded for meeting its capital expenditure. The institute would consist of a Governing Council, with a Chairperson who shall be an eminent academician, scientist or industrialist from the leather sector, to be nominated by the Central Government. The Central Government has further been vested with the power to remove the Chairperson or other members, and to reconstitute the Council. The legislation also lays down the functions of the Governing Council and its constituting members.

About FDDI

The FDDI was established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India in the year 1986. It has pan-India presence with campuses at Noida, Kolkata, Chennai, Fursatganj (UP), Rohtak (Haryana), Chhindwara (M.P) and Jodhpur (Rajasthan). As per a press release, new campuses at Hyderabad, Patna, Ankleshwar (Gujarat), Banur (Punjab) and Guna (M.P) would also start functioning shortly.