Indian handmade carpet industry holds a significant position in the world handmade carpet industry. The country with a population supported by skill and inclination towards such art and craft activity has a strong potential for growth. In recent years the handmade carpet sector in India has shown great progress in relevant areas like capacities, competitiveness, standardization and delivery time. With proper infrastructural facilities, marketing, commercial support, and government support this industry has a tremendous chances of growth.

The manufacturing process of a carpet involves six stages of production:

Procurement of raw materials in fiber and or yarn form, dyes, auxiliaries, chemicals and ancillary materials Knotting or weaving or tufting Dyeing of yarn Washing of carpets Drying of carpets Finishing which includes trimming, embossing, stretching, fringe knotting, etc.

To make the process of weaving easier, many developments have taken place in the weaving sector. In the beginning , only natural dyes were used to obtain subtle and attractive colors. Madder, a plant which is available almost everywhere, was the most important colorant of vegetable origin. While the roots of the plant provided the shades of red and pink, green from the grass and brown from the kiker tree were extracted and then used as colors for rugs and carpets. Gradually with the advent of synthetic colors, chemical dyes were used in place of natural dyes which also offered a wide range of colors that weavers deftly incorporated in coloring carpets.

Like coloring, pattern in a carpet is also an integral part in carpet weaving. The usual procedure followed by the weaver is to draw his designs and transfer them to graph paper on which each square symbolizes a single knot. Then the paper is divided into several parts depending on whether the pattern is intended for the medallion or center or for a part of a repeated pattern. These sheets of paper are then passed on to the knotting workshop. There was another method known as "Talim" followed by the weavers of Kashmir and Amritsar. A coded color chart is used which shows the number of knots to be woven in their respective colors. The master-weaver reads aloud the chart and the weavers follow his directions carefully. The number of knots to be woven are indicated by signs. This was a time consuming procedure and should be carried out with great care. Today designing has become much more easier with the availability of CAD/CAM designs. Weavers have switched to computer-aided designs which enable them to design a carpet in a short time. Earlier, it was not always possible for the carpet weavers to make the perfect carpet or a rug which they had imagined. Now, with the help of computer designing, they can see the carpet even before it is made.

For handmade carpets, it was the loom which played the vital role. One of the most commonly used loom in India is the roller-beam loom. The simplest of these looms is the one with two horizontal wooden beams between which the wrapped threads are stretched. One beam is in front of the weaver and the other behind the first. As the knotting proceeds, the carpet is rolled to the back of the loom. "The loom gives shape to the carpet-weaver's creative expressions". However today with advances in production technology, machine made carpets are becoming increasingly popular.

Besides this proper trainings are imparted to both male and female weavers to come up with new designs and better efficiency. Skill development of the weavers has been highlighted. The Govt. and various agencies, including carpet manufacturers also have come up with many facilities for the overall growth of the weavers like regular work, improved working conditions, incentives, health care and most important of all preventing child labor.