Confusion, uncertainty in Maha’s ‘Uniform City’ Solapur

Solapur, India, produces 30 million sets of school uniforms annually for schools across India, including around five million that are exported to other countries. However, a new government order threatens to decentralise production, potentially impacting the livelihoods of thousands of workers, including 35,000 women. Maharashtra?s government schools order nine million uniforms from Solapur every year, nearly one-third of the total produced in the city. Education minister Deepak Kesarkar?s order would mean that production would be given to women?s self-help groups across the state.