Software named "Easee" was released for the shoe designers, and cutters, integrating many new features to tailoring it to the needs of the local shoe makers.

 Adhar president Abhinay Prasad told Agratoday.in ‘its taken us lot of time and resources but now we have come up with software that is comparable with the best in the world, but available at very affordable price. Against `12 lakh for the imported programme, our facility with a programme and a Zenith notebook attached plus a scanner and printer would not cost more than `1 lakh. It is simple to operate and flexible and stores all the designs in a logical MIS. Big and medium level units would benefit a lot by installing this software. Smaller ones too can go for it without the hassle of annual renewals of license.’

 Agra is one of the major shoe manufacturing centers in India, with an annual turnover of `3500 crores. Chennai, Kanpur and Kolkatta are other centers. Of late Noida, Gurgaon, Bengalore and Karnal have also become leather goods producing centers.

 ‘But given the traditional skills available, the price structure, craftsmanship of shoe makers in Agra, the degree of specialization in hand shoe making, weaving, lace work, stitching, the local industry is unbeatable and on very firm grounds,’ Abhinay said.

 Elsewhere you have assembly line production systems, but here one shoe maker can produce the whole pair doing multiple operations single handedly from stitching to finishing. "The industry employs thousands of women, young girls who are well trained in stitching.’

 Meanwhile, preparations for the two-day "Meet at Agra" exhibition were going full swing. The Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC) hopes to do a minimum `600 crore business, according to President Pooran Dawar. More than 250 stalls were being put up by tanneries, finished leather suppliers, component manufacturers, machinery and equipment suppliers, accessories, chemicals, packaging organizations.

According to Nazir Ahmed, a leading shoe exporter of the city, Agra had a capacity of producing two lakh pairs daily, and meeting 65% of the country's domestic needs.

Lack of government patronage has hampered the growth of the industry which has seen some bad years recently when the exports plummeted. "Right now the picture is of buoyancy and with some incentives we could put up a much better performance," according to Sharoo Mohsin, vice president of AFMEC.

At least 1.25 lakh people are engaged in this industry, almost 10% of the city's population, though various organizations claim the locals engaged in the shoe industry is more than three lakhs.

"A majority of shoe makers belong to a particular caste which has traditionally been looked at as a vote bank of the Bahujan Samaj Party," explains Abhinay who is presently engaged in streamlining a skill up-gradation programme for the industry.