The Indian bead-makers achieved remarkable expertise in this technology over the years since its beginning. The industry initially developed on the soft organic materials, like ostrich eggshell, bone and shell, but it developed as a specialised industry, using different raw materials, responding to the new and varied local and foreign demands. Innovation and improvement in bead technology had been a continual process. By the time of Indus civilisation, the bead-makers had achieved mastery in this craft, and the bead-manufacturing industry had gained international repute. However, that coveted status suffered a setback with the decline of Indus civilisation, though it regained its glory with the rise of second urbanisation during the early historic period. Several archaeological sites of different cultural periods have revealed evidences of bead manufacturing. Those discoveries not only reveal the verities and volumes of beads that the Indian artisans manufactured in ancient times, but also establish their talent and experimental skill. An extensive inter-regional and intra-regional network for the procurement of raw materials and the distribution of finished products existed in the country to meet the demand and supply requirement. Thus, India has been one of the largest providers of beads in the world, exporting these to the marts of Mediterranean civilisations. These had been in great demand in the Persian Gulf and African countries. The present study provides a detailed account of bead manufacturing and trade in India. This work is significant HIST contribution to all interested to learn about India`s achievement in the bead-making technology, one of the little-known areas of history of Indian science and technology.