India, the land where making handicrafts, the manmade articles made entirely with hands without any aide from the modern technical advancement, had started around 5000 years ago. The story of arts and crafts in India is long. This saga walks past through thousands of years. Indian artistic traditions have revolved around some specific factors like religious beliefs, local needs of the rural India, local needs of the patrons and royalty with a special focus on domestic and foreign trade.

The first archaeologically proven traces of artisan in India belong to the Indus Valley civilization way back in 3000 B.C. During this time, Indian craftsmen were doing excellent job in pottery making, handlooms, terracotta, bead making, jewelry and weaving. The most significant aspect is the technical advancement in the handicrafts field at this time.

There is reference of pottery making, weaving wood crafting etc in the Vedas.  Weaving and weavers also find the reference in these holy texts. In the later Vedic period the principal development was the discovery of iron. Craftsmen got a huge exposure and the crafts traditions started to be entrenched in the social structure.

To this day, the handicraft sector has travelled a long way since times immemorial. The handicraft industry provides livelihood for more than six million artisans, out of which a big share is constituted by women artisans usually from the weaker sections of the society. US, Canada, France, Britain, Italy, and Germany have been the biggest importers of Indian handicrafts products.

With revenue generation in the first half of the current financial year being $ 1.07 billion, about 24% up as compared to the last year, the handicraft industry in India is continuously showing signs of improvement. The country has many USPs to help it become one of the major exporters globally, that are: easy availability of raw materials, high domestic consumption, and easy availability of relatively inexpensive labor.

The manmade marvels of the country have witnessed a consistent growth of 15% over a decade. However, India's share in the $100 billion international market is merely 2%. The main reason for this is the inability of the domestic artisans and handicraft exporters to tap the immense potential of overseas markets such as the EU. The handicraft sector has not been able to fully capitalize on the profitable opportunities in the European handicraft market.

The European Union (EU) is fast becoming one of the most significant export destinations for Indian handicrafts, after the US. The country’s handicraft units have already made their presence felt strongly in Germany and Italy. Lucrative opportunities and the rising global popularity of these manmade marvels are prompting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the handicrafts sector to foray into the EU with their merchandise.

Many handicrafts exporters are also using online media as a distribution channel for tapping the western market. B2B Portals provide the right platform to the manufacturers and Indian exporters in finding the desired destination with help of B2B trade leads. Hopefully in the times to come, the country’s handicraft Exporters would be able to script one of the most remarkable success stories of all times.

With their presence in Indian Trade Portals, the exporters as well as the artisans are every day reaching closer to their much awaited gold rush. The domestic handicraft sector has made its existence in global markets with B2B Portals providing the necessary aid.

As the online media fast spreads its presence across the globe, and the handicraft exporters as well as artisans gain from the virtues of Indian Trade Portals and B2B Trade Leads, the future of Indian handicraft sector definitely looks bright.