The Handicraft and Handloom Industry- Scaling up. Dinesh K Kapila, CGM NABARD (Retd) Published in The Business Sandesh 04/09/2026 Handicraft refers to any item made entirely by hand or with simple tools, covering a broad range of materials like pottery, metal, wood, and jewelry, while handloom is a specific subset restricted to fabrics and textiles woven manually on a loom without electricity. The Indian handicrafts sector is valued around $4.85 billion to over $8 billion, with exports reaching roughly Rs 33,424 crore, and is part of a massive global market. The Indian handloom market is smaller, with domestic sales at Rs 4094 crore and expected to grow to Rs 8000 crore by 2037. Exports were Rs 1340 crore. The market is somewhat stagnant, as power looms and factories produce uniform, cheaper alternatives that easily undercut handmade prices. Intermediaries control raw materials and supply chains, taking most profits and leaving artisans in low-in...
Two Glasses in Your Hands are worth … Dinesh K Kapila Obviously this is inspired by the proverb, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. The intrinsic philosophy is that it is better to hold onto a small, certain advantage you already possess than to risk losing it by chasing something potentially better but highly uncertain. This saying dates back centuries, rooted in medieval falconry and hunting, where a bird already captured and held in the hand was far more valuable than birds still hiding in the wild bushes. Men have subscribed to that thought ever since and now it seems extended it to alcohol. There was a reunion of classmates and the greying classmates invited even the younger lot to join in. It was the party with a buzz. Now at this party there was Manohar, quietly observing, as he stared at the glass of whiskey in his left hand. It was surely a glass of whiskey, with a smoky amber quality. He looked at his drink .Thoughtfully. Maybe he was nostalgic, about his youth an...