Mumbai Seepz to be home to gems and jewellery industry’s common facilitation centre

MUMBAI: Seepz to be home to gems’ common facilitation centre (CFC) in Seepz, MIDC, on the lines of such units in Bangkok and in Turkey where small and medium enterprises have access to resources, machinery and research.

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has set a target of pushing exports from SEZs from $7 billion to $15 billion in the next three years. In its first SEZ gem and jewellery conclave held on Tuesday, the industry said centres like the CFC would allow for sharing of technology, promote collaboration for cutting-edge research and would encourage hosting of seminars and training programmes, said Colin Shah, chairman, GJEPC.

Hailing the gem and jewellery industry as the champion sector, Shyam Jagannathan, zonal development commissioner, Seepz, Mumbai, said that the industry had the potential to reach $100 billion in next two years.

“The DESH Act, presently going through the consultation phases of the parliamentary committee, will be critical to the SEZ ecosystem. The Act will also address the issue of domestic tariff areas, ensure global competitiveness by reducing the cost inputs in terms of manufacturing, and leverage the ease of doing business in a closer conjunct with state government entities. This conclave is timely because the distilled inputs from this platform will surely ensure that it will be a game-changer for the industry,” Jagannathan said.

CPS Chauhan, joint development commissioner, Seepz, said it’s estimated that the Indian gem and jewellery segment’s untapped potential is $30 billion. He added that India needed to move up the value chain and concentrate on cutting and polishing high-value diamonds instead of just focusing on volumes.

Courtesy: Economic Times