The Commerce and Industry Ministry has given approval to set up a mega leather cluster at Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh.
"Proposal for establishment of Mega Leather Cluster at Kota Mandal, Nellore district has been approved with a central government assistance of Rs 125 crore," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The project, sanctioned under Indian Leather Development programme, would create state of the art infrastructure for labour intensive units and is expected to generate employment for 20,000 people and leverage an investment of at least Rs 500 crore in the first phase, the ministry said in a statement.
Sitharaman requested the chief minister that due process related to award of contract be completed so that the central government release the funds to start the project as soon as possible, it added.
The sector provides employment to about 30 lakh people.
Leather and leather goods are among the 25 focus sectors under the 'Make in India' initiative of the government. The government also aims to increase the exports to USD 15 billion by 2020 from the current USD 7 billion.
