India has always been famous for its elegant hand-crafted materials, ceramic decorations, wood carvings and other related showpiece items and accessories. However, qualified artisans were few, revenue figures were meager and there was a general disinclination on the part of youngsters to take up artistry as a profession. Thankfully, there has been a wholesale change in this scenario over the past couple of decades, with the government actively pitching in to ensure steady development of the domestic handicrafts industry. A visit to the IITF Delhi 2011 is handy in acquainting visitors with the true grace, elegance and panache of the Indian handicrafts sector.The importance of any industrial sector in the economy can be gauged from the amount of foreign exchange that the products from this industry can rake in. The Indian handicrafts sector ranks high on this count too, with products being exported in large-scale to countries like USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands. What’s more heartening is to note the growing interest of the younger generation in handicraft items – as is evident from the large number of students from the Delhi University who, like every year, would throng to the Iitf Delhi 2011 show.
While the rapid growth of the Indian handicrafts industry is indeed praiseworthy, professionals can hardly afford to rest on their past laurels. Several other countries are coming up with strong handicraft sectors of their own. In particular, the handicraft sector of Japan and the United States are worth a special mention in this regard. Those in charge of the Indian markets are aware of this potential competition and the Indian artisans are qualified enough to continuously come up with new and innovative products. One would indeed be amazed by the sheer variety of handicraft products that would be showcased at the IITF.
Apart from generating large amounts of revenue from domestic as well as external markets, the handicrafts industry is a source of employment for many qualified artists in India. With the high unemployment figures of the nation always being a focal point of all important national discussions, the handicrafts sector provides an easy way out to alleviate the problem, at least to some extent. No major initial financial investment is required in this industry, which also encourages small producers to venture into the handicrafts business. The works of several types of companies involved in this sector can be seen at the IITF event.
