India uses the UK (British) shoe sizing system.
Recent Developments: The Proposed "Bha" System
While the UK system has been the default standard since before independence, it has a notable drawback: European/British feet are structurally narrower, whereas Indian feet are traditionally broader and wider. This often forces Indian consumers to buy a size larger to accommodate the width of their feet, leaving uncomfortable extra space at the toes.
To fix this, the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and the government proposed a brand-new, localized sizing system called "Bha" (short for Bharat). Derived from an extensive pan-India 3D foot-scanning survey, the "Bha" system is designed to replace UK/US/EU sizing standards in India with footwear custom-tailored to the demographic and anatomical features of Indian feet. While the transition to the "Bha" system is actively being developed and tested, retail stores and e-commerce platforms across India still predominantly label and sell shoes using the standard UK sizing system.
Because of this UK alignment, Indian shoe sizes differ from US and European systems. Generally, a US men's size is one number larger than an Indian size (e.g., a US 9 is an India/UK 8), while European sizes use a completely different scale (e.g., an India/UK 8 usually corresponds to an EU 42).
Different countries developed shoe sizing independently because shoe measurement was never globally standardized — each region created its own system based on local units, traditions, and manufacturing practices long before international trade made this a headache.
UK sizes trace back to the 14th century and use the barleycorn (1/3 of an inch) as the base unit. A size 1 was the smallest practical child's shoe, and sizes increased by one barleycorn (~8.5 mm).
Chinese sizes use direct centimeter measurements of foot length (mondopoint-style), which is arguably the most logical system but incompatible with the others.
Recent Developments: The Proposed "Bha" System
While the UK system has been the default standard since before independence, it has a notable drawback: European/British feet are structurally narrower, whereas Indian feet are traditionally broader and wider. This often forces Indian consumers to buy a size larger to accommodate the width of their feet, leaving uncomfortable extra space at the toes.
To fix this, the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and the government proposed a brand-new, localized sizing system called "Bha" (short for Bharat). Derived from an extensive pan-India 3D foot-scanning survey, the "Bha" system is designed to replace UK/US/EU sizing standards in India with footwear custom-tailored to the demographic and anatomical features of Indian feet. While the transition to the "Bha" system is actively being developed and tested, retail stores and e-commerce platforms across India still predominantly label and sell shoes using the standard UK sizing system.