Hon’ble Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation of the Common Facility Centre (CFC) at Coimbatore yesterday. The CFC or ‘RatnaAbhushanSuvidha Kendra’, a project of The Gem &Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), will boost technological and social transformation of workers and small manufacturers in this important jewellery manufacturing hub in South India.

Shri B Sabarinath (President, Coimbatore Jewellery Association) and Shri B MuthuVenkat (President, Coimbatore Manufacturer’s Association) as well as many dignitaries from the gem &jewellery industry were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the event via video conference, Shri Prabhu said, “The objective in setting up the Common Facility Centre is to provide the artisans and kaarigars in the gem &jewellery industry with easy access to a state-of-the-art capital intensive and technologically advanced facility.”

The minister added that this will help the country in its quest to become the ‘Jeweller to the World’ and achieve the aim of increasing gem &jewellery exports toUS$ 75 bn. “Establishment of CFCs in small towns and villages would also provide an opportunity to re-skill / up-skill the existing workforce of G&J sector with state-of- art-equipment widely used to manufacture G&J products globally,” he stated.

The Coimbatore CFC would help train nearly 60,000 people over a period of time thus benefiting 1,500 to 2,000 jewellery units.

The CFCs play an important role in promoting local artisans as well as indigenous design and production, a key aspect of the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s “Make in India” vision.Over the last few years, GJEPC has also opened CFCs in Visnagar, Palanpur, Amreli and Junagadh in Gujarat. New CFCs are also planned to be established at Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hyderabad in 2019-20.

Many units in such locations are operating on a small scale and are mainly engaged in executing job work. They find it difficult to make large investments in modern equipment or machinery; moreover, they would be unable to utilize it at optimum capacity even if they manage to do so. This has resulted in lower productivity, less yield,and inferior quality of finished products, while also making it difficult to adhere to time schedules.

Shri Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “It has been constant endeavour of GJEPC to provide gem &jewellery exporters with the best possible infrastructure and modern facilities.”

He said that the new CFC would support small and medium manufacturers, helping them in upgradation of both quality and quantity, enhancing competitiveness and exposing young artisans as well as existing operators to trends in global markets. “It will enable us to showcase the wealth of our handcrafted jewellery& design capital to the world,” Agrawal added.

GJEPC’s Director Southern Region, Mr. Surya Narayanan, said, “Coimbatore is a major export cluster. The CFC initiative will help in increasing productivity and improving the quality of the finished goods with better yield. Further, considering the current scenario of the industry, if such a facility is made available to the small unit holders at reasonable rate, units may attract more work in their region from the city.”

Pic caption: Shri B. MuthuVenkat (President, Coimbatore Manufacturer’s Association) speaking at the stone laying ceremony of the CFC in Coimbatore. Also seen (from l) Mr. Surya Narayanan (Director, Southern Region, GJEPC) and Shri B. Sabarinath (President, Coimbatore Jewellery Association)