A delegation of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) led by its Chairman Pramod Kumar Agrawal participated in the ‘DPIIT - CII National Consultation Forum for Make in India 2.0’ held in Delhi yesterday and put forward the Council’s perspective regarding the growth of gem and jewellery exports from India.

Agrawal spoke at the session presided over by Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry and Railways, Shri Piyush Goyal in the presence of other dignitaries including Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, DPIIT; Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Vikram Kirloskar, President, CII and others.

Shri Goyal spoke about Govt’s commitment to propel the Make in India campaign and facilitate a conducive eco-system prioritising domestic interests, the Ministry of Commerce said on Twitter.

Earlier, the GJEPC delegation, including Chairman Agrawal, Ashok Seth, Regional Chairman North, Mansukh Kothari, Co-convener Jewellery Panel Committee, Sabyasachi Ray, ED and K.K.Duggal, Director - National Policy, participated in a Brainstorming Session on Gems and Jewellery Sector held as part of the Consultation along with other stakeholders of the gems and jewellery sector.

During this session, detailed deliberations were held on how the sector could contribute to the move towards US$ 1 trillion manufacturing economy, especially plans for stimulating growth and investments.

In a detailed presentation, the GJEPC representatives outlined the targets that the Council had set of increasing exports to US$ 75 billion and adding 2 million new jobs by 2025.

Emphasis was placed on how existing Jewellery Clusters could be developed and the products upgraded to levels required by international markets, through equipping the manufacturers there with knowledge regarding global requirements and standards, as well as providing support in terms of technological upgradation, training and skilling, market promotions, with a period of handholding for MSMEs to provide an initial impetus.

An overview of the different initiatives taken by Council to implement its Road Map for growing exports was also presented along with an analysis of the stumbling blocks and policy / regulatory issues that need to be resolved for each of the product categories within the overall export basket. Steps to help the existing players outside the export sector move to more organised production through setting up infrastructure such as Jewellery Parks and a Gem Bourse, as well as steps towards technology upgradation and skill development, branding and promotion, etc. were also discussed.