With the objective of strengthening collaboration between jewellers across different regions of the country to enable sharing of skills and experiences, The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) recently launched “Kshitij – a 24 Carat Networking Platform for Business Growth” at a three-day event in Rajkot, attended by local jewellers and a delegation from Coimbatore.

The first of GJEPC’s Kshitij series was organised by the Gems & Jewellery Association, Rajkot and supported by Jewellery Manufacturers Association, Coimbatore.

Kshitij is based on the understanding that sharing of craftsmanship, skills, learning, expertise and experience and working in collaboration will help players from both regions grow together, as well as develop more attractive and competitive products for both the domestic as well as the world market. 

Starting July 11, 60 trade members from Coimbatore interacted with 40 jewellers from Rajkot including manufacturers of gold and silver jewellery as well as suppliers of machinery. After an opening day during which the two sides held a series of one-to-one interactions, the second and third days were devoted to factory visits and demos by the machinery manufacturers. 

Kshitij was inaugurated on July11 in the presence of Dr. Rahul Gupta, Hon’ble Collector, Rajkot District; Rubby Rani, Asst Director, MSME; K. V. More, GM, DIC, Rajkot; Dinesh Navadiya, Regional Chairman, GJEPC; Divyesh Patadiya, President, Gems & Jewellery Association, Rajkot; Muthu Venkatram, President, Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association, Coimbatore and Jaysukh Adesara, President, Machinery Association, Rajkot.

In his address, Gupta appreciated the name given to the series, Kshitij, elaborating on its relevance to such a visionary new initiative and congratulated GJEPC for its support to SMEs of the sector.

Expressing thanks to GJEPC, RoS for initiating the dialogue between two association, conceptualizing the networking event and guiding the host association, Patadiya elaborated on the benefits of the event and the format and schedule that would be followed. 

GJEPC’s Navadiya appreciated the efforts of the Rajkot & Coimbatore associations in taking forward the discussions initiated by Council and putting together a constructive and mutually beneficial event. He assured support of the GJEPC in helping and encouraging both associations to further develop their ties in the future.

Venkatram briefly outlined how informal discussions held during the GJEPC’s Gold Summit in Delhi a few months ago, with assistance from the Council, had evolved into the present event in a very short time. He said that to survive in the current market conditions it was imperative to work collectively and unitedly, and expressed the hope that similar events could be organised in different cities of Gujarat soon.

Participants and visitors discussed their requirements, showcased their designs and product ranges, negotiated terms and conditions, visited factories, etc and expressed confidence that the effort would yield a positive outcome.