Hamirpur belongs to the Chitrakoot division of the state. It is located in between Kanpur and Chitrakoot, two of the most renowned places in the history. The district is believed to be connected to the Chitrakoot forest where Ram, Sita and Laxman lived/ travelled during their exile- Dandakaranyaka as mentioned in the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic. The district got its name from its founder, a Kala churi from Alwar in 11th century AD, Hamira Dev. Peshwa Baji Rao, the Maratha dethroned the Nawab who captured Hamirpur by 1728 end. His reign was followed by British on 31st December 1802, who divided it into two districts, Northern Bundelkhand also known as Kalpi and Banda in March 1819. The headquarters of Kalpi was made Hamirpur in 1823 and thus the town came into prominence. As per the census of 2011, the population of the district is 11,04,285 with a population density of 275 persons per sq. km. and a sex ratio 861 per 1000 males which is less than state average of 912 and national average of 943. As of 2011, it is the third least populous district of Uttar Pradesh (out of 71), after Mahoba and Chitrakoot .In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj declared Hamirpur as one of the country's 250 most backward district that is currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) programme.

Hamirpur is bounded by the districts of Jalaun (Orai), Kanpur and Fatehpur in north, Banda in east, Mahoba in south and districts of Jhansi and Jalaun on the West. The district is surrounded primarily by river Yamuna and Betwa. Other rivers lying in the district are Dhasaan, Barma, Ken, Chndraval and Pandwaha. The total area of the district is around 4121.9 Sq. Kms with Hamirpur city coordinates being 25.95°N 80.15°E. The district lies in between 25.7913°N latitude and 80.0088°E longitude. 3.

The economy of the district is solely based on agriculture with majority of the land being irrigated land. The key source water for irrigation are the canals. Around, 70% of people are engaged in the agriculture activities. The soils consist of the well-known Bundelkhand varieties, Mar, Kabar, Parua and Rakar. Mar is often called black cotton soil . The following table depicts the agricultural land utilization details: There are three cropping seasons in the district, namely Kharif, Rabi and Zaid. The main crops sown are Wheat, Arhar, gram, Mustard etc.

As given in the following table, the district has MSME industries across the sectors of food/agro-based industries, wood, leather ready-made garments etc. and they are the key economy drivers of the district. The total number of micro & small enterprises and artisan units in the district is around 303. These units cumulatively employ approximatively 5311 individuals

Sumerpur a town which is ~15 kms to the south of Hamirpur is where the Juti industry is located. The development of Kanpur to an Industrial hub which mainly focusses on the production of leather by the British has largely facilitated the artisans in Hamirpur to start Juti producing units at Sumerpur. People from Haryana and Rajasthan came to this place along with some from Peshwar and Lahore as well. They initiated the Juti manufacturing in 1952 with about 75 artisans. However, over the years with increased industrialization and opportunities in metro cities the number of traditional industries have decreased. Currently, the cluster has only 12 registered units while the remaining are un-registered household units. The number of artisans/ cobblers have also decreased.

Hamirpur cluster produces only handmade leather Juti. The various varieties of these Juti produced are Nagra, Rajasthani, Loafers, Desi and Lucky. The production process of Hamirpur’s Juti is long, with a pair of shoes taking at least 8-9 hours of time. Hence a maximum of 2 shoes can only be made in a day. The general process followed to make a pair of Juti) is as follows:
► Cutting: The exterior leather is cut as per the desired size. The sole is made by joining 2-3 sheets of hard buffalo leather produced using nails after brushing off impurities
► A leg hole is inserted onto the exterior leather cut and the leather is folded along the centre
► Next the interior leather portion is sewed using a sewing machine on top of the exterior leather around the leg-hole portion and then the interior leather is shredded off the whole region
► The beading is glued on to the interior leather around the hole portion to fix it tightly and then the exterior portion is tucked out
► The final sewing of the exterior and interior leather parts along the edged is completed using a sewing machine
► The desired design is now inscribed according to the variety
► The sole is attached using the honeycomb wax polished cotton yarn and the process is finished by shaping the sole accordingly.
► Mould is inserted to the shoes using hammer and is kept for 24 hours to obtain the desired shape.

The following table details the various types of Juti along with its price:;

The key include:
► Artisans / cobblers
► Raw material suppliers
► Machinery suppliers
► Entrepreneurs
► Manufactures
► Banks and Financial Institutions
► DIEPC, Chitrakoot
► MSME DI
► Centre Footwear Training Institute (CFTI)
► Centre of Leather Export (CLE)

Current Scenario India is the second largest producer of Leather footwear with an annual production of 2065 million pairs. Leather footwear in India has a huge domestic retail market -with 1950 million pairs (95%) of which are sold in domestic market. Moreover, footwear export accounts for 49% share in India’s total leather & leather products export. The Footwear product mix comprises: 1. Gents: 55% 2. Ladies: 35% 3. Children: 10% ;

Product 1: 640399- Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, or composition leather, with uppers of leather (excluding covering the ankle, incorporating a protective metal toecap, sports footwear, orthopaedic footwear, and toy footwear) India's exports represent 1% of world exports for this product, ranking it number 16, behind China, Viet Nam, Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Indonesia, UK, Hong Kong, Austria, and Switzerland. The value of India’s exports over the last 5 years have increased by CAGR 3% with a sharp increase in 2019 and then a subsequent dip post that. As per data FY 2018-19 to 2020-21 for exports from the state of UP, it is observed that there has been decreased by CAGR 14.18%, with a similarly sharp increase in 2018-19 which fell in the year post that. The top importers for this product in the world are given below, alongside the value of the product imported in Countries to whom UP exports this product in HSN code -640391 are UK, Spain, Poland, Germany, France, Netherland, Italy, USA, Belgium, Australia, UAE, Denmark, South Africa, Chile, and Slovenia.

The following developments can be undertaken at the cluster by the actors/ stakeholders to cater to a larger audience
► Creation of new products like chappal, sandals and different styles of Jutis. The cluster can also focus on creation of additional leather products like bags etc.
► Modifying the exiting product range by inculcating new age designs and patterns ;