Volatile times these may be for the Indian economy but the country's Rs 18,000 crore tile industry - which consists of floor tiles, vitrified tiles, porcelain tiles, wall tiles, industrial tiles and sanitaryware - has shown no signs of slowing down thanks to continued urbanisation and real estate activity notably in the residential, retail, hospitality and IT/ITES segment, not to mention an ever increasing public taste for high end products. The industry production figures, currently about 680 million sq m, is expected to grow. According to a report titled 'India Tiles Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2017', with the increasing construction activities, the overall Indian tiles market will see compounded annual growth rate of more than 18 per cent for the next five years till 2017. With a largely unorganised tile industry - it comprises majority of small and medium enterprises and very few large players - India is amongst the fastest growing ceramic tiles markets in the world though its per capita consumption of ceramic tiles is only 0.4 sq m in comparison to 2.6 sq m in China, and 6.7 sq m in Saudi Arabia. That the unorganised sector accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the total industry, not to mention the current spate of expansion by some of the organised players, indicates huge potential for growth in the sector. The Indian tile industry, with most of the ceramic tile units centred in Gujarat and distributed across states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, employs 5.5 lakh people, is highly indigenous with an abundance of raw materials, technical skills and infrastructural facilities despite being fairly capital intensive. It has in recent times developed an export market although at the lower end, which constitutes less than half a per cent of the global share. Significant changes have been wrought in the industry with the introduction of nanotechnology to enhance the shelf life and strength of the tile, increased use of eco-friendly and designer 3D tiles and a shift towards vitrified tiles. The sanitaryware industry in India - worth about Rs 20 billion in 2012 - accounts for 8 per cent of the global production and ranks second in terms of volume in the Asia-Pacific region. It is growing at a CAGR of 12.5 per cent since 2010 and the trend is expected to continue through 2016 thanks to the increased demand and the entry of MNCs into the sector.