Suresh Prabhu, the union minister of commerce & industry and civil aviation, inaugurated the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ) in Udupi, and laid the foundation stone for the Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Coimbatore, through video conference, in New Delhi on February 22nd.
The minister had simultaneously inaugurated several other projects worth H1,000 crore in seven states and two union territories across the country. In addition to IIGJ Udupi and Coimbatore CFC, Prabhu also inaugurated National Institute of Design (NID) campuses in Jorhat, Assam and in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Prabhu said that for India to transform itself to a confident and prosperous nation, the ministry of commerce and industry is working tirelessly to improve skilling in various sectors so that India becomes a part of global value and supply chains.
“Design today is an integral part of any product and for the multitude of superior handmade products fashioned by India’s artisans, designs of international standards will be a game changer for them,” he noted. He further said that the NID campus in Jorhat, Assam, will now open up the world to the highly skilled artisans, especially women who produce high quality handmade products in the north east region of the country.
Coimbatore CFC – Transferring Advanced Tech Benefit
The Ratna Abhushan Suvidha Kendra in Coimbatore is a project of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), sponsored by the ministry of commerce & industry. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were B. Sabarinath, president, Coimbatore Jewellery Association and B. Muthu Venkat, president, Coimbatore Manufacturer’s Association. The Coimbatore CFC will be instrumental for technological and social transformation of the workers and small manufacturers engaged with diamond cutting and polishing as well as jewellery manufacturing activities.
The GJEPC initiative aims at making India a global gem and jewellery manufacturing hub by promoting local artisans and indigenous design and production, in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” vision.
Prabhu, who addressed the gathering via a video conference, said, “The objective in setting up the Common Facility Centre is to provide the artisans and karigars in the gem and jewellery industry with easy access to a state-of-the-art, capital intensive and technologically advanced facility. CFCs help us march forward in our quest to be the ‘Jeweller to the World’ and achieve our ambition of $75 billion of gem and jewellery exports. The establishment of CFCs in small towns and villages would greatly help to transfer the technological advancement benefit to the small, needy manufacturers. CFCs would also provide an opportunity to re-skill/up-skill the existing workforce with modern equipment widely used to manufacture gem and jewellery products globally.”
He added, “Around 60,000 people would get trained over a period of time in Coimbatore alone, also benefiting 1,500 to 2,000 jewellery utility units.” The Coimbatore CFC has the capacity to train people in the manufacturing of unique jewellery like kundan, meenakari, bidri, temple jewellery, filigree and jadau jewellery.
Pramod Agrawal, chairman, GJEPC, noted, “It has been a constant endeavour of the GJEPC to provide exporters with the best possible infrastructure and modern facilities which will support small and medium manufacturers across the southern region to augment their production quality and overall capacity. The CFC in Coimbatore will enable the upliftment and empowerment of artisans and operators and offer an avenue for training and upgrading of their skills to enhance competitiveness and match global expectations. The CFC will be instrumental in bringing technological and social transformation. It will play a pivotal role in recognising new talent and exposing young artisans as well as existing operators to the global markets. It will also showcase the wealth of our handcrafted jewellery and design capital to the world.”
Surya Narayanan, director – southern region, GJEPC, 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 rates, units may attract more work in their region from the city. The CFC will give a huge boost in production and quality of manufacturing jewellery by giving small units in and around Coimbatore access to modern machines.”
The Council has already set up CFCs in Visnagar, Palanpur, Amreli and Junagadh in Gujarat. It has plans to set up more such centres in Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hyderabad by 2020.
At present, most of the units in the proposed locations are operating on a smaller scale and are mainly engaged in job work activities as they find it difficult to invest in cost-intensive equipment. In addition, the small volume of work makes it nearly impossible for individual units to run these expensive machines at their optimum capacity.
The non-availability of state-ofthe-art equipment results in lower productivity, less yield and inferior quality of finished diamonds. The availability of skilled labour in remote areas is also a major issue, making it difficult for the units to meet deadlines and deliver finished products on time due to a high dependence on artisans.
IIGJ Udupi – Learning Centre for South India
IIGJ Udupi is the sixth training institute that was set up by GJEPC with the support of Nirmala Sitharaman, the then minister of state (independent charge) for commerce & industry, and current union minister of defence. The GJEPC noted that the IIGJ centres established in Mumbai, New Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur and Udupi were a big step towards realising the Prime Minister’s vision of making India the “Jeweller to the World”.
Also present on this momentous occasion were Prakash Chandra Pincha, regional chairman – east, GJEPC, and A. Nagaraj Acharya, president, Udupi Jewellers Association among other dignitaries.
With over 100 retail stores and a workforce of over 5,000 artisans and craftsmen, Udupi boasts a rich jewellery lineage. IIGJ Udupi has been set up by the GJEPC in association with the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, and is a first-of-itskind institute in the region.
Addressing the gathering via video conference, Suresh Prabhu said, “Designing would be the most ideal and prosperous career path for the young up-and-coming and aspiring designers in the future, as it is also becoming the most important part of the socioeconomic development of the country, particularly in today’s world where the global value chain and global supply chain are becoming a reality.
“By combining its rich culture and tradition with modern training tools and techniques, Udupi can now become a learning centre for the whole of south India. GJEPC’s IIGJ aims to provide training to the youth in the region in various aspects of handcrafted jewellery making, which could eventually lead to employment opportunities in this dynamic gem and jewellery sector. It also aims at preserving and enhancing the skills of the existing workforce already engaged with the industry. Creation and upgradation of such a trained workforce will, in turn, help in fostering development of the local jewellery industry.”
Pramod Agrawal added, “IIGJ Udupi has the ultimate objective of nurturing talent and enhancing jewellery exports from the region. We hope to revive the rich tradition of best-in-class jewellery designing craftsmanship in the entire southern region through this institute.
“By setting up institutes like IIGJ and Common Facility Centres, the GJEPC has initiated another way to further equip the Indian gems and jewellery sector and make it globally competitive.”
IIGJ Udupi will focus on three levels of skills:
• New skilling for developing fresh skills in candidates who have no prior domain learning/working knowledge of jewellery.
• Up-skilling for upgrading the skills of candidates who have prior domain learning and are already working in the sector.
• Giving a design and technological orientation to the local industry to be competitive in the Indian and world market.
IIGJ Udupi will bridge the gaps and help students/existing workers to get access to top quality education, best-in-class technology practices and skill enhancement tools and techniques in the gem and jewellery business.
The IIGJ Udupi campus is located at Canara Complex, 1st Floor, NH-66, Karavali Bypass, Post Ambalpadi, Udupi.