Handicrafts Industry of India

Handicrafts Sector plays a significant & important role in the country’s economy. It provides employment to a vast segment of craftpersons in rural & semi urban areas and generates substantial foreign exchange for the country, while preserving its cultural heritage.

State Subject:

Handicrafts activity being a State subject, its development and promotion are the primary responsibility of every State Government. However, the Central Government is supplementing their efforts by implementing various developmental schemes.

Handicrafts under GI Tag:

Following is the updated list of Textile Handicrafts under the GI Tag in India. Author recommends to surf the web and find out more about the items.

Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology (IIHTS)

In India , there are 5 Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology (IIHTs) which provide qualified and trained manpower to the Handloom Sector and undertake experimental and research programmes on all aspects of the handloom industry. These are

1. IIHT Varanasi,
2. IIHT Salem,
3. IIHT Guwahati,
4. IIHT Jodhpur
5. IIHT Bargarh, Orissa.

Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCS)

At present, 25 Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs) are located across the country.

Crafts Museum

The National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum popularly known as Crafts Museum is located at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The Museum has a collection of over 32,000 artifacts consisting of Metal Icon, Lamps, Incense Burners, Ritual accessories, items of everyday life, Wood carvings, Painted wood and Paper Mache, Dolls, Toys, Puppets, Masks, Folk and tribal paintings and sculptures, Terracotta, Folk & Tribal jewellery and an entire section of traditional Indian textiles.

Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC)

The Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) was set up in the year 1965 with prime objective of promoting exports of Hand-woven products of cotton as well as silk and readymade garments.

Handloom Export Zone (HEZ)

In order to create a supply hub for the manufacture of identified export products, HEPC has conceived a novel project of its kind with a market linkage known as “Handloom Export Zone”. Handloom Export Zone (HEZ) is currently under implementation at various handloom clusters at Nagercoil, Kancheepuram district, Thiruvannamalai, Virudhunagar and Thiruvalluvar district in Tamilnadu only.