The major handloom clusters in India are in Varanasi, Godda, Shiva Sagar, Virudhunagar, Prakasam, Bhagalpur, Guntur and Trichy.
The export of handicrafts (excluding handmade carpets) during Apr-Jan 2024 was $1522.9 Mn.
India’s textiles products, including handlooms and handicrafts, are exported to more than 100 countries.
The share of textile and apparel (T&A) including handicrafts in India’s total merchandise exports stood at 10.5% in 2021-22.
The handicraft segment is estimated to employ 68.86 Lakh artisans, out of which 30.25 Lakh are male and 38.61 Lakh are female artisans.
Various initiatives taken by the government are directed towards areas such as cluster development, availability of credit, promotion of exports, supporting environmental compliances, provisions of social welfare schemes for weavers, infrastructure development, availability of raw materials, brand building, marketing and R&D.
Seven Design Resource Centres(DRCs) have been set up in Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs) at Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Varanasi, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai with the objective to build and create design-oriented excellence in the Handloom Sector and to facilitate weavers, exporters, manufacturers and designers for creating new designs.
Handloom sector with 23.77 Lakh looms engaging over 35 Lakh persons. The sector engages over 25 Lakh female weavers and allied workers. Handicraft sector is estimated to employ 68.86 Lakh artisans, out of which 30.25 Lakhs are male and 38.61 Lakhs are female artisans.