Government plans to develop studded diamond jewellery segment

The Commerce Secretary met with the GJEPC Committee of Administration, where the latter discussed export data processing and monitoring system (EDPMS), skill development and lab-grown diamonds, among other topics

The Centre is looking at the whole value chain of gems and jewellery, right from mining to the final selling, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said in Mumbai.

“In particular, we are looking to develop the studded diamond jewellery segment which is at the higher value end,” he said in a statement, issued by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

Barthwal, who visited the IIJS Premiere Show in Mumbai on August 06^th, 2023, held discussions with international delegations from several countries as well as the GJEPC Committee of Administration (CoA).

He met with more than 150 international delegates attending the IIJS Premiere 2023 to address challenges to the trade, explore collaborative opportunities, and to enhance exports, according to the statement.

A few of the countries represented were Turkey, Iran, Nigeria, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

GJEPC said that its CoA touched upon issues such as export data processing and monitoring system (EDPMS), duty drawback, duty rationalisation with neighbouring countries, skill development, lab-grown diamonds and organising trade shows to boost exports.

“IIJS is one of the largest exhibitions of gems and jewellery in the world. This is a very important sector for the government because it is highly labour-intensive. It generates a huge amount of creativity among our youth and it is linked to not only the people who are cutting and polishing, but also designing jewellery. This is one of the most versatile industries and it is very important for us,” Barthwal said.

“Our policies are allied not only to the people who are cutting and polishing diamonds but also those who are bullion traders or designing the jewellery; crafting jewellery and allied industries; the manufacturers and wholesalers in the chain; and those retailers who are selling it to the customer. We want to position India as a hub for training and educating the consumers and trade constituents across the whole value chain,” he said.

Vipul Shah, Chairman, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said, “The commerce secretary’s visit has inspired all the trade constituents especially the MSME jewellers who have participated wholeheartedly in IIJS Premiere 2023.”

“The government has undertaken progressive reforms and several initiatives to boost exports while recognising the labour-intensive nature of the gem and jewellery sector,” he said in a statement.

Courtesy: thehindu.com