STANDING ON WOBBLY LEGS

The future of lakhs of artisans in India hangs in the balance as the US-the largest foreign buyer of their goodsthreatens to pull out

- ROHIT PARIHAR

The Fallout: India has 744 handicraft clusters and employs 212,000 artisans directly, offering 35,000 kinds of products, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation. The value of exports in FY25 was $3.48 billion (Rs 30,624 crore) and, in the previous fiscal, 41 per cent of it-the largest chunk, valued at $1.72 billion (Rs 15,160 crore) -had the US as its destination. Rajasthan itself has handicraft exports of $1.2 billion (Rs 10,578 crore), of which 60 per cent (or Rs 6,346 crore) goes to the US. Some 150,000 people are directly and indirectly involved in this trade in Rajasthan. When it comes to furniture exports, around half-worth $532 million (Rs 4,689 crore)-went to the US in FY25.