The traditional industries of India include handloom, handicrafts, coir, cashew, beedi, tiles and bricks and other household industrial activities carried out in the rural parts of the country. Indian economy has been endowed with eco-friendly products of traditional industrial sector which has a glorious past and world-wide reputation. This sector of the economy has been generating employment opportunities in the rural areas and also earning foreign exchange through large-scale exports. In the liberalised economy of India, there are fears that the traditional industries may wipe off owing to the presence and pressures of large industrial enterprises, both domestic and foreign. It, thus, becomes the social obligation of the Government and the society as a whole to protect this sector and preserve the traditional skills of the artisans and the workers. Artisan guilds, co-operatives, consortiums, self-help groups and association of enterprises should contribute in this endeavour. The present work is an attempt to assess the potential of selected traditional industrial activities.