Gems & Jewellery industry – liberalized regime
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, KamalNath, assured the Gems & Jewellery Industry of Government’s commitment to support the industry through a liberalized policy regime. “We are confident that this will improve the overall competitiveness of the Gems & Jewellery industry”, he said, underlining the government’s resolve to address all issues relating to this important sector, including the impact of the recent floods in Surat with its large concentration of diamond processing units.
Gems & Jewellery constitutes 15.13% of India’s exports and has marked a growth of 12.97% in 2005-06 over 2004-05. “Today, India is an acknowledged leader in the world in diamond processing. We are also the largest importers in the world of bullion, importing about 800 tonnes. Our export of gold jewellery is showing a healthy growth and has increased by 11% during 2005-2006 over 2004-05”, the Minister said.
Availability of skilled manpower is a key strength that has enabled growth in India’s Gems & Jewellery Sector. India has a large pool of skilled artisans with vast traditional knowledge and expertise in jewellery making. The minister informed, “This manpower pool is also being augmented through trained designers well versed in latest design software.”