This obsession is strong till date and India has become the largest importer of gold in the world. The present day jewellery tradition of India is a fine example of assimilation between traditional and modern designs and techniques. The increasing demand for Indian jewellery and gems has made this craft tradition into a full-fledged large scale organized industry, which is growing by the day. Gems and semi precious stones are not only used in making jewellery, but for medicinal purposes. People wear them under the prescription of astrologers, as it is strongly believed in India that Gems and semi precious stones, affect ones future and destiny.
Carpet weaving industry is the largest export oriented craft industry from India.
Not only there is a great demand for costly silk carpets from Kashmir, which has become the status symbol in traditional Indian homes, but there is also demand for woolen and non-woolen carpets. A variety of floorings and traditional durries are flooding the markets these days and decorating the floors of Indian homes. There is a huge domestic market for a hoard of utilitarian craft items such as bedcovers, sheets, cushions, curtains, tablemats, bags, metal furniture, mats, boxes, cabinets, wood furniture, toys, utensils, garden pots, terracotta items, brass and silverware, leather products, papier-m ch products, cane, jute and coir items, carpets, rugs, durries etc. Most of the units producing utilitarian craft items have attained the status of small-scale industry. The demand for decorative items such as traditional wall hangings, silver cutlery, brass pots, embellished wooden sculptures, marble and wood inlay work, silk carpets, wrought iron furniture and decorative pieces, traditional paintings, enameled furniture, stone and wood carvings, metal, wood and stone sculptures etc. is also on the rise in India and abroad.