Tamil Nadu’s strategic initiatives to foster footwear manufacturing growth and the State’s Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at Doorstep): Innovation in public education were two major highlights of the State in the Economic Survey 2024-25.
Tamil Nadu (TN) is a leader in the traditional leather sector and is now championing the growth of non-leather footwear. The State contributes 38 per cent of India’s footwear and leather products output, and about 47 per cent India’s total leather exports. The sector generates more than 2 lakh employment.
Tamil Nadu also houses technical and academic institutions like Central Leather Research Institute, Council for Leather Exports, Footwear Design and Development Institute, the survey says.
The State has taken major initiatives to attract large footwear manufacturers in recent years. It has focused on developing industrial estates in rural areas to ensure access to a ready workforce, particularly women. These efforts have attracted foreign investors, such as Feng Tey from Taiwan, who set up contract manufacturing for Nike.
TN has identified land in districts like Madurai and Sivagangai for future footwear investments, ensuring land availability for potential manufacturers.
TN’s investment promotion agency, Guidance, has conducted concerted investment promotion activities. Guidance actively liaised with Taiwanese agencies to strengthen ties with potential investors in footwear sector. Guidance established contacts with major contract manufacturers of Nike like Pou Chen, Hong Fu, Taekwang and Changshin, positioning Tamil Nadu as an attractive destination for manufacturing, the survey said.
Covid-19 education gap
On the Tamil Nadu’s Illam Thedi Kalvi (Education at Doorstep): Innovation in public education, the survey said the scheme was launched by the Tamil Nadu government to bridge the education gap brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the digital divide. The initiative focuses on education through physical methods, which is the primary goal of the Illam Thedi Kalvi.
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The scheme was designed during Covid-19 to reduce students’ reliance on internet resources for their learning, with volunteers assisting them. These volunteers conducted door-to-door efforts to educate the students. The initiative is helping close the educational gap by providing every student in Tamil Nadu the opportunity to receive education through this scheme.
Education initiatives
The State Planning Commission conducted a rapid assessment of the programme’s impact through a comprehensive survey in September 2022. This assessment involved volunteers, teachers, headmasters, and parents from 362 schools across six districts: Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Salem, Thiruvarur, and Villupuram.
Parents reported a noticeable improvement in their children’s learning experiences, noting that education has become a more enjoyable activity for them. At the same time, the teachers confirmed that the play-based approach has reignited children’s interest in learning. As a result, students interacted more freely and actively participated in regular classes.
Students showed a greater interest in mathematics and made significant progress in language skills in their standard classrooms.
The scheme continues, post-pandemic, to provide necessary support to the students through remedial lessons. The scheme’s volunteers work year-round to integrate out-of-school children into mainstream education, with particular attention to girls, Children with special needs (CwSN), transgender children, and those from migrant worker families. The volunteers can apply online to be part of the programme and are also given monthly pay.
The programme is managed with effective use of technology. To monitor the learning levels of primary school children, volunteers have been given achievement charts to record their progress, the survey said.