India’s 63-million-plus micro, small and medium enterprises already contribute nearly a third of national GDP, drive half of merchandise exports and employ more than 110 million people. Yet most of these units—especially the artisans and farmer-producers who hold the country’s 450-plus Geographical Indication (GI) tags—still operate with patchy digital tools, expensive credit and limited global reach. A purpose-built Bharat Stack—a public digital infrastructure inspired by India Stack but designed around the smallest businesses—can change that equation and put “local for global” on steroids.
A Bharat Stack would retain the familiar layers of identity, payments, paperless documentation and consent, but add MSME-specific rails: instant working-capital scoring through OCEN, logistics and customs APIs, open B2B storefronts on ONDC, and low-code modules that let a craft cluster publish immersive product experiences in minutes. By closing a USD 330 billion credit gap and giving rural producers a borderless shop window, the stack could turn heritage into a 21st-century growth engine.
Below are five high-potential GI arenas that show why the stack matters, how technology can multiply impact and where the numbers point.
1. Heritage Toys & Puppetry
Kathputli of Rajasthan · Channapatna lacquer toys
The global toys market touched roughly USD 120 billion in 2024 and is projected to cross USD 170 billion within the decade. India’s toy exports have doubled over the past seven years, but still sit under USD 200 million—a fraction of the opportunity. With Bharat Stack rails, every puppet-maker could get a verifiable craft ID, plug SKUs into a multilingual ONDC catalogue and offer “see-it-move” 3-D previews to overseas buyers. Generative-AI design tools can create fresh storylines while preserving folk art DNA, helping artisans command premium prices without middlemen.
2. Millets & Functional Super-foods
Ragi, Bajra and other “Shree Anna” grains
The global millets segment is worth about USD 11 billion today and expected to almost triple by 2034 on the back of climate-resilient farming and gluten-free demand. India grows 40 percent of the world’s millets but ships out less than 1 percent in finished health-food form. A Bharat Stack food-agri layer could certify origin, trace pesticide-free supply chains on blockchain and use AI to suggest export-ready formulations—from granola bars to plant-based milk. Scan-to-farm virtual tours can give small brands storytelling parity with global majors and justify price premiums.
3. Smart Handlooms & Sustainable Fashion
Pochampally Ikat · Kanjeevaram silk · Banarasi brocade
Hand-crafted apparel sits inside a global handicrafts market tipped to approach USD 1 trillion by 2030. Conscious shoppers now pay extra for traceable, low-carbon textiles. With Bharat Stack integration, each bolt of Ikat could carry a QR code linking to an artisan profile, loom ledger and verified carbon score. Visual-search plug-ins would let designers order custom patterns instantly, while embedded “buy now, pay later” credit through OCEN funds raw-silk purchases without collateral.
4. Specialty Coffee & Heritage Beverages
Araku Coffee · Coorg Arabica · Nilgiri Tea
Specialty coffee alone is a USD 100 billion segment growing at double-digit CAGR. Small Indian growers, however, face price squeezes and brand invisibility. Bharat Stack can standardise farm-gate e-contracts, integrate crop-insurance APIs and push interactive farm-tour pop-ups onto e-commerce pages. AI taste-profiling would match flavour notes to consumer palates and help MSME roasters launch single-origin subscription boxes in weeks.
5. Ceramics, Metalware & Home Décor
Jaipur Blue Pottery · Khurja ceramics · Bidriware
Home-décor crafts ride the same handicrafts wave noted above, with ethical-artisan segments showing the fastest growth. Digital glazing simulators powered by AI let potters preview colourways, while shared kiln-scheduling apps cut production idle time. ONDC pipes bulk orders directly to clusters, and room-staging tools help overseas shoppers visualise a blue-pottery vase in their living room—erasing the tactile gap that once favoured big-box brands.
How Bharat Stack Makes It Happen
| Layer | MSME-facing feature | GI impact |
| Presence-less ID | Aadhaar-plus-GST composite “Craft ID” | Instant trust, anti-counterfeit |
| Paperless | DigiLocker for design patents & GI certs | One-click export compliance |
| Cashless | UPI/OCEN micro-invoices & lending | Shrinks 60-day payment cycles to T+1 |
| Consent/Data | Secure analytics hub with producer control | Royalty tracking, fair pay |
| Experience | Open APIs for AI, 3-D and AR showcases | Immersive storytelling at phone scale |
By stitching these rails into one frictionless platform, the government crowds in private innovation while ensuring last-mile equity. A block-printer in Sanganer, a millet farmer in Koraput and a puppet-maker in Udaipur all gain the same digital muscle memory as a multinational—without writing a single line of code.
By the Numbers
- USD 330 billion – Estimated MSME credit gap that data-driven lending can unlock
- 450+ – Registered Indian GI products today; policy aims to scale this to 10,000 by 2030
- 3× – Forecast growth in the global millets market this decade
- >10 % CAGR – Specialty coffee growth rate worldwide
- ~USD 1 trillion – Projected global handicrafts demand by 2030
Every percentage-point increase in GI exports adds roughly USD 800 million to India’s earnings and supports hundreds of thousands of rural jobs. The multiplier is even higher when digital reach compresses layers of middlemen.
Conclusion
India’s GI treasures—from puppets that once danced in palace courtyards to grains that nourished ancient armies—sit at the crossroads of culture and commerce. A dedicated Bharat Stack would give every MSME the digital scaffolding to match its creative genius: seamless finance, borderless storefronts and rich product experiences delivered through a smartphone. The blueprint exists; India Stack proved it can be done. Extending that success to the nation’s smallest enterprises will not only preserve heritage but also power the march toward Viksit Bharat 2047.
About the Author
Nitin Jain is the Founder of the Indibni Group and co-creator of Indigifts, India’s first GiftTech brand that won national recognition on Shark Tank India. A columnist for leading websites, magazines and newspapers, Nitin champions “Brand Bharat” by blending indigenous craft with modern technology. Over the past 16 years he has worked with more than 300 corporates, empowered 300-plus rural women artisans and pioneered innovations such as plantable Seed Rakhis and phygital gifting kiosks. His mission: to take Indian ideas from local lanes to the global stage—one MSME at a time.
He is reachable at nitin@indibni.com
Nitin Jain
Founder – Indigifts
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India