QCI and FDDI Sign MoU to Strengthen Leather and Footwear Sector Ecosystem
The Quality Council of India (QCI) and the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the quality, testing, accreditation, and skilling ecosystem in India's leather and footwear sector. The collaboration, signed on June 12, 2026, aims to establish a structured framework for capacity building, certification, testing infrastructure development, and quality ecosystem strengthening across key footwear clusters including Agra, Bahadurgarh, Ranipet, Chennai, Calicut, and Kanpur.
The partnership will jointly design and deliver need-based, outcome-oriented programs for workers, MSMEs, supervisors, industry professionals, and other stakeholders across the leather and footwear value chain. The initiative focuses on enhancing workforce skills, promoting personal certification, strengthening quality management practices, improving access to testing facilities, and supporting laboratories in achieving accreditation.
QCI will provide technical guidance on accreditation principles, quality management systems, and relevant standards, while also supporting awareness initiatives for MSMEs on quality, testing, accreditation, and applicable government schemes. FDDI will lead cluster-specific skilling and training programs tailored to different footwear hubs, undertake mapping of testing and calibration laboratories, identify gaps in laboratory access, support establishment of sample collection centers in underserved clusters, and develop knowledge resources for industry stakeholders.
The MoU specifically envisages the creation of a multi-level worker assessment and personal certification framework, including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) pathways for semi-skilled and experienced workers who possess industry-relevant skills but lack formal educational qualifications. The agreement was signed by Secretary General of QCI, Shri Chakravarthy T. Kannan, and Managing Director of FDDI, Shri Vivek Sharma (IRS).
This partnership is expected to contribute to the national vision of building globally competitive, quality-driven, and future-ready manufacturing ecosystems in India, particularly for MSMEs and workers in the leather and footwear sector. Both QCI and FDDI operate under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, with QCI being a premier autonomous body and FDDI working in education, research, skill development, testing, and certification for the leather and footwear sector.