One of the most important industries in India, which is currently making many headlines, is the Indian handicraft industry. For decades it has remained one of the instrumental industries in India for being one of the largest creators of employment. It is still considered to be the cottage industry, even though it has evolved as a major revenue generator for the country. The handicrafts items are known for its versatility as material used to make these products are environmental-friendly.
The online commerce has added required fuel for the industry with lots of players coming into the online handicraft space. And the online boom has definitely generated additional interest from the countries like USA, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, etc. Given credits to the rich Indian history the demands of Indian made handicrafts products are selling like hot cakes and it is increasing with every passing day.
The increase in demands of the Indian handicraft products has given chance to small time local manufacturers increase their sales and become a national or a global seller. The customers to take a pile of the cake as they are now having plenty of options to choose from and there are many ways to connect with the seller or the manufacturer.
Taken everything into the account the Indian handicraft industry is still fragmented with more than 5 million regional artisans and more than 60,000 exporters/export houses, promoting regional art and craftsmanship in the domestic and global markets majority of which consist of women and people who belongs from weaker communities. There has been consistent growth of 15% in the industry year by year. And such a robust growth has got the attention of many prominent Indian personalities, the most recent one and the most notable one being Prime Minister of India, who spoke about the Indian handicraft industry and about its growth prospect during his Start-up India event held back in Jan, 2016.
The artesian are coming up with new and creative products and designs every day. Be it clocks, vases, home decorative, home furnishings etc. The demand for all these products locally and internationally is immense and every single day more and more start-ups are venturing into this industry because of the potential in these kinds of products.
Even though the industry numbers are positive the thing that remains to see is that the industry is mostly spread all over the country mainly in rural areas and small towns. As it is the industry where macro investment is not needed, and it can be started from ones home on a small-scale basis.
