The Chairman of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Pramod Kumar Agrawal visited Surat on Saturday where he, in the presence of other political dignitaries and industry leaders, inaugurated Carats, an exhibition showcasing loose diamonds, organised by the Surat Diamond Association (SDA).

Speaking at the inauguration, Agrawal said that he appreciated the initiative taken by the SDA in organising the show and expressed the confidence that it would be of immense benefit to the MSME companies in the city. He also outlined various programmes taken up by GJEPC to boost business and enhance employee welfare, drawing attention to the four Common Facility Centres (CFCs) operating in Gujarat and how they were benefiting smaller units in those centres.

Agrawal also spoke about the Special Notified Zone that is being proposed for Surat, the Cluster Mapping project of GJEPC in association with the NCAER, as well as schemes like the Parichay Card, Swasthya Ratna & Swasthya Kosh, etc.

At the inauguration, the GJEPC signed an MOU with SDA for issuing 50,000 Parichay Cards to its members. 

During the visit to the city, the GJEPC Chairman also held a meeting with trade members and trade associations to discuss current challenges and what GJEPC was doing to support the sector. He informed those present about the Banking Summit held recently in Mumbai and the formation of a Co-ordination committee to discuss issues related to finance with the bankers.

Other concerns were raised by those present such as availability of gold from nominated agencies in small quantities, rates of duty drawback, replenishment scheme, BSM for studded jewellery, approval of SNZ Surat, GST and many more, to which the Chairman replied that GJEPC was in regular dialogue with the government over such matters. He also spoke about the recent notification regarding non-applicability of IGST for re-import of consignment exports and partial bank guarantee clearance for export gold by nominated agencies.

Subsequently, GJEPC signed MOUs with the Surat Jewellery Association and Varachha Katargam Jewellers Association for issue of 10,000 Parichay Card to each organisation. Agrawal also visited the hospital run for artisans by Surat Diamond Association on a no-profit, no-loss basis and reviewed the facility created for proposed Special Notified Zone at Surat.