If the shoe fits: What is 'Bha', the first Indian footwear sizing system?

For anyone buying shoes in India, the go-to thing to tell the shopkeeper is their UK size. That might change as early as next year. Shoes for the Indian population may soon be made according to an Indian sizing system, proposed to be named ‘Bha’.

The need for the new, localised system for shoe sizes comes from differences in foot shapes and sizes by region.

We take an in-depth look at why the need for a new system was felt in India. Also explained is the research that went into creating “Bha”.

The need for a separate shoe sizing system in India

The current Indian Standard for measuring shoe size (IS 1638:1969) is based on European and French standards.

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This is an issue because the anatomy of the foot is different for people of different ethnicities. Research of this extends back to at least the early 1990s. For example, Hawes et al. found that there are notable differences in the shape of the forefoot (the first half of the foot from toe onwards) of Caucasian North Americans and Japanese and Koreans.

Luxury shoe brand Rupert Sanderson even attempted monetising on this as early as in 2011. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal that year, the brand had even created a special mould tailor-made for the Asian foot, which they pointed out was different from the American and European feet.

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More recently, Dr KJ Sreeram, the Director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), has pointed out that the shape of feet of the Indian population differs considerably from what is built in European and North American shoe moulds.

He said that Indian feet are flatter and have a shorter forepart. The distance of the ballpoints (on the underside of the foot, just below the toes) from the heel is also relatively larger in Indian feet compared to European ones.

As a result of such differences, footwear made on European shoe moulds don’t fit well on Indian feet. They also don’t meet the full functional requirements of footwear.

Indians, especially elderly women and diabetics, are vulnerable to foot injuries and health problems due to ill-fitting footwear. For more comfortable footwear, and better foot health, it was considered necessary to design and develop correct footwear exclusively for Indian population.

The research behind ‘Bha’

The work on making a new, Indian shoe-sizing system began in 2021. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) began the endeavour in consultation with CLRI.

The project included anthropometric survey, statistical analysis and development of an Indian foot-sizing system. Anthropometry is the scientific study of the measurements and proportions of the human body. In 2021, DPIIT had approved an expenditure of Rs. 10.8 crore for the project.

A pan-India survey on the feet sizes of Indians was recently carried out as part of a larger project for developing footwear.

As part of the project, the foot measurements of over one lakh people from 79 locations across India were taken. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) was involved, too.

For the most accurate results, including not just the size but also the structure of the foot, 3D foot scanning machines were used.

According to a report by Indian Express, Many Indians were wearing footwear that was either too long, too tight, or ill-fitted, leading to potential injuries and inconvenience, particularly with high-heeled women’s shoes. For a good fit, men tied their shoelaces too tightly leading to poor blood circulation.

A statistical analysis of the data gathered from the survey found that a unified shoe sizing system could be implemented for Indians.

Proposed sizes under ‘bha’

Under the Bha system, standing for ‘Bharat’, proposes eight footwear sizes, marked by roman numberals. These sizes are for infants (0-1 year), babies (1-3 years), small children (4-6 years), children (7-11 years), girls (12-13 years), boys (12-14 years), women (14 years and above) and men (15 years and above).

CLRI said that the shoe last size will have an additional 5mm foot length. The girth of the Bha system will be wider than current commercial footwear. The system, expected to be implemented sometime around 2025, can provide 85 per cent of the population with proper fit and greater comfort.

The departments have proposed that users should be given footwear manufactured according to Bha’s new sizing systems for trial, testing and feedback. It is expected that Bha will completely revamp the existing sizing systems.