For the better part of the last three decades, Ajay Dey’s routine was unvarying. He would complete his morning routine and head for his family’s filigree workshop in Cuttack’s Shaikh Bazar at 10 am, spending hours manipulating silver into intricate items – from the famous Konark wheel and dancing peacocks to delicate necklaces, earrings and bracelets. The hours were long, the work tiring, and for all their labour, this family of artisans would make Rs 30,000-40,000 a month.
But the recent government curbs on silver imports threaten to upend a livelihood already shaken by soaring prices of the precious metal. “I have been working here since I was 15, but I’ve never seen such a dull market before. Our business has already been affected due to a steep increase in the silver price. Now the import duty hike would further worsen the situation. We have not been receiving orders while those given advance have requested not to proceed with the order,” the 44-year-old Dey tells The Indian Express.
He isn’t alone in this dilemma. Last week, the central government decided to raise the customs duty on imports of gold and silver to 15% from 6% and eventually put silver imports for domestic consumption under the restricted category, meaning prior government approval is required. The development — announced by the government to save precious foreign exchange — comes at a time when a persistent supply deficit and higher industrial demand, coupled with geopolitical tensions, have sent prices soaring.
For the nearly 500 artisans of the Geographical Indication-tagged Tarakasi artwork in Odisha’s Cuttack, already reeling under soaring prices, the latest measure spells bad news, especially as the festival season from September to March approaches. Markets that would normally be bustling with activity now look sparse, with artisans like Dey struggling to get work.
“We used to process 15-20 kg of silver every month, which came down to 6-7 kg in the last few months. These days, we hardly process 1-2 kg of silver for filigree work due to lack of demand,” Dey says.
A craft under strain
A 1,000-year-old city, Cuttack is famous for its Rupa Tarakasi (silver filigree) work of intricate design and fine craftsmanship. In Odia, “tara” means wire and “kasi” means to design. As part of Rupa tarakasi, silver bricks are transformed into thin fine wires or foils and used to create jewellery, artefacts or showpieces. The famed handicraft work received a geographical indication (GI) tag in March 2024.
Though the exact origin of the filigree art in Cuttack is unclear, it is known to have existed as far back as the 12th century, with the art form receiving considerable patronage under the Mughals. Typically, Tarakasi art is hereditary, with artisans learning it from their ancestors and supplying products to jewellery shops across the country and to Utkalika, the Odisha state-owned agency. The grand chandi medhas – or silver filigree tableaux – are also popular in puja pandals.
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Even before the central government’s measures, soaring silver prices, shrinking income and duplicate filigree products had led to significant attrition in the artisan community. With younger generations from artisan families opting for other career options, official sources put the number of artisans now at 500 – a quarter of the 3,000 that existed in 1996.
Silver prices have shot up by over 200 percent since January 2025, with demand boosted by sectors such as solar energy, electric vehicles and semiconductors. Then, last week, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for the adoption of austerity measures, the government hiked customs duty on gold and silver imports, with officials saying the measure was a “carefully calibrated and proportionate intervention” to “encourage moderation in non-essential imports at a time when external vulnerabilities remain elevated”.
For Tarakasi artisans, the measure sounds a death knell for an already shaky industry. According to artisans, silver, which cost Rs 1 lakh per kg last May, now stands at Rs 3 lakh.
“The orders have reduced significantly in the past few months,” Bhanu Pratap Sahu, youth wing president of the Utkal Swarna Roupya Shilpi Sangha, says. “Because of lack of adequate demand for various reasons, I have been slowly drifting towards other businesses. It’s the same for nearly 500 tarakasi artisans here.”
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Soaring silver prices have also led to a sharp rise in the cost of silver filigree products, further affecting sales. “The price of products has almost doubled in the past one year. Why would someone opt to buy a filigree artefact at a high cost,” Tabrez Khan, another Cuttack-based artisan, said, adding that spiralling prices have led to a fall in corporate orders.
Meanwhile, experts insist the restrictions mean India has made silver imports more controlled.
“The silver import restriction doesn’t mean India has shut the door, it means the entry is now guarded. Supply isn’t stopping, it’s being channelled only through nominated agencies like the RBI-approved banks, DGFT-approved entities, jewellers via the bullion exchange,” says Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities. He, however, adds: “For the domestic market, that almost always translates into higher premiums”.
But these words offer little solace to local artisans in Odisha. In Shaikh Bazar, Dey fears for his livelihood.
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“This is the family’s hereditary occupation, and we can’t do any other work. How would we survive, run our family and repay the loan we have taken?” he adds.
