Bhardwaj unveils five-point rescue plan for Meerut sports goods cluster

Uttar Pradesh MLC Dharmendra Kumar Bhardwaj has put forward a five-point plan to protect and expand Meerut’s sports-goods cluster, which supports an estimated 3.15 lakh workers and accounts for 40% to 45% of India’s sports-goods exports. The push targets infrastructure, export credit, branding, artisan welfare and skills as India eyes a much larger global export share by 2036.

Why it matters: - Meerut’s sports-goods cluster is one of India’s biggest export engines in the sector, with an estimated 3.15 lakh livelihoods tied to it. - The plan is designed to help the cluster capture a larger share of a national export opportunity that NITI Aayog has projected could reach about $8.1 billion by 2036. - The proposal also aims to protect small manufacturers and home-based workers from pressure from low-cost imports, raw-material swings and compliance costs.

What happened: - MLC Dharmendra Kumar Bhardwaj tabled a five-point rescue and growth plan for Meerut’s sports-goods cluster from his Meerut office on October 3, 2026. - Bhardwaj said he will pursue the plan in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, before the state government in Lucknow and before Union ministries in Delhi. - The plan covers infrastructure, export survival, intellectual property, artisan welfare and skills and research.

The details: - Meerut’s sports-goods cluster produces 40% to 45% of India’s sports-goods exports. - The cluster’s annual turnover is estimated at ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,750 crore. - The district has 9,878 registered manufacturing units, or about 35,200 units across all scales. - The cluster ships to more than 100 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, South Africa and New Zealand. - The sector’s product range includes cricket bats, hockey sticks, footballs, boxing gloves, protective gear and gym equipment. - The first point in the plan calls for fast-tracking the sports-goods Special Economic Zone at Partapur, with common facility centres, testing labs, a design studio and logistics links to the Delhi–Meerut Expressway and the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. - The Delhi–Meerut Expressway is a 96-kilometre, 14-lane corridor that opened in April 2021 and cut travel time to Delhi from more than two and a half hours to about 45 minutes. - The second point calls for simpler and stronger export-credit access for sports MSMEs and a review of import duties and logistics costs on English willow. - The third point calls for a “Brand Meerut” design-protection and geographical-indication push with the Sports Goods and Toys Export Promotion Council. - The fourth point calls for a formalisation study of home-based, piece-rate workers and saturation camps for PM Vishwakarma, MUDRA and CGTMSE across manufacturing neighbourhoods. - The fifth point calls for modernising the MSME Technology Development Centre in Meerut into a modern export-chain school. - The plan also links the cluster with the Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut and pilots in computer-vision quality control, including automated ball weight-and-balance inspection and bat-pressing analytics.

Between the lines: - The plan is a response to pressure from Chinese low-end competition, English willow price swings, GST compliance burdens, design theft and limited access to formal credit. - Meerut’s industry has grown at about 8% annually in recent years, but the plan argues that current growth is still below the cluster’s potential with better technology and policy support. - The push for “Brand Meerut” mirrors the city’s earlier GI success for Kainchi market scissor craft, which received GI registration in 2013. - The framing around Sialkot is a reminder that Meerut’s cluster competes in a long-running regional rivalry shaped by migration, buyer networks and institutional development.

What’s next: - The plan asks the Uttar Pradesh government to notify the Partapur SEZ, accelerate the ODOP sports-goods programme and sanction artisan-welfare camps within the current fiscal year. - It asks the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry to expand export-credit support, review willow duties and sponsor Brand Meerut pavilions within the current fiscal year. - It asks the Meerut Development Authority to reserve and notify SEZ land in the final Master Plan 2041 and connect cluster logistics to the expressway and freight corridor. - It asks SGEPC to launch a buyer-delegation calendar and design-IP registry partnership, with the first delegation within 12 months. - It asks the UP MSME Department and the MSME-TDC to fund a modernisation plan for the technology centre within six months.

The bottom line: - Bhardwaj is trying to turn Meerut’s sports-goods cluster from a legacy manufacturing base into a more protected, better financed and more export-ready industrial ecosystem.