Suresh Prabhu, the union minister for commerce & industry and civil aviation, inaugurated the Domestic Council for Gems & Jewellery (DCGJ) at a glittering function organised by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) in Mumbai on January 29th.
Addressing the gathering, the minister said that the Domestic Council will solve all the major issues of the sector; and will be operational from May 1st, 2019, on the occasion of Labour Day and Maharashtra Day.
Among the dignitaries present at the launch were commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan; Rupa Dutta, economic adviser, ministry of commerce & industry; Pramod Agrawal, convener, national ad-hoc committee, DCGJ and chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC); and all the 14 representatives of the adhoc committee.
For the formation of the Domestic Council for Gems & Jewellery, an ad-hoc committee has been formulated comprising representatives of following associations: All India Gems & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), Mumbai; Association of Gold Refineries and Mints (AGRM), Cochin; Bangiya Swarna Shilpi Samiti, Kolkata; Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), Mumbai; Bhartiya Swarnkar Sangh (BSS), Jaipur; Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Mumbai; Imitation Jewellery Manufacturers Association (IJMA), Mumbai; India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), Mumbai; India Jewellers Forum (IJF), Amristar; Karnataka Jewellers Federation, Bangalore; Odisha Jewellers Association, Cuttack; Rajkot Gems & Jewellery Association, Rajkot; Tamil Nadu Jewellers Federation (TNJF), Chennai; and Uttar Pradesh Sarafa Association, Kanpur.
Also present on the occasion were member of parliament Sanjay Kaka Patil; Senthil Nathan, deputy secretary, union ministry of commerce & industry; Anantha Padmanaban, chairman, GJC; Dulichand Karel, chairman, BSS; Mohit Bharatiya of IBJA; and Rajesh Khosla chairman, AGRM.
Prabhu said, “Today is a historic day as a new chapter opens in India’s 5,000-year-old legacy in gems and jewellery. The launch of the Domestic Council for Gems & Jewellery is a significant step and one amongst a series of several structured reforms undertaken by our Government to make the industry more organised and unified. We have followed a democratic process and given representation to the key jewellers, manufacturers, miners and artisan/ craftspersons associations from different geographies and industry segments. The Domestic Council will represent the culture and ethos of India’s gems, gold and jewellery business, while addressing global market opportunities to create economic value for the country. The Government will create and facilitate and leave it to the industry to take it forward.”
On the occasion, the minister also launched a Parichay Card for labourers of the gems and jewellery sector.
The minister also informed that the Government will soon come out with an integrated gold policy. He said that gold has been the cultural face of India since ancient ages and that the need of the hour is to give more attention to enhance the gold and gold jewellery business. The sector can provide employment for skilled workers, contribute to strengthening the Indian economy, and in the making of a New India, he added.
Prabhu noted that the gold jewellery export market is huge and its potential needs to be tapped adequately. In March-April 2019, top 20 global companies will be invited to India so that they themselves can craft a strategy for buying from India, added the minister.
An official from the ministry of commerce & industry said, “The launch of the Domestic Council is the culmination of decades of planning right from the days of the submission of the Sivaraman Report to the recent Niti Aayog report. A fairly represented Domestic Council can help jewellers and craftsmen/ artisans to represent the key issues and demands to the ministry in a structured manner.”
Pramod Agrawal said, “We welcome the Government’s decision to form the Domestic Council for the Indian gems and jewellery sector. This will help to organise our unorganised and small-scale based domestic jewellery industry and help it to scale new heights. As envisaged by the union minister, my efforts as the convener will be to seek consensus in opinion to make this Domestic Council a national body which belongs to all and works to fulfil the aspirations of all small and big associations from across the country. GJEPC is happy to offer all support and guidance in the formation of an inclusive, democratic and selfsustainable council. It is important for the industry to have one voice one body. The Domestic Council will help create 3 million more jobs and new artisans/craftsmen in the business.”
The idea of a Domestic Council for gems and jewellery was first suggested in 2005-06 by the Sivaraman Committee that was constituted to study the entire gem and jewellery sector and submitted its report to the union finance ministry. The responsibility was eventually given to union commerce & industry ministry and then the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
In 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that gems and jewellery was a good example of Make in India and wanted jewellers to come up with a strategy for increasing India’s share of the handmade jewellery market in a global market. In February 2018, the Niti Aayog panel, in its report on the need for a comprehensive gold policy, had also proposed setting up of a dedicated Domestic Council for the gems and jewellery sector. And finally, now the Council has been launched.
The task ahead comprises framing the constitution of the Domestic Council as well as its Election Rules and other activities. GJEPC would offer all the secretarial support in this regard for the incorporation of the Council. All the drafting of the constitutional documents as well as the Election Rules of the Domestic Council would be completed by March 31st, 2019.
The core committee comprises the following members: Chairman, GJEPC; Chairman, GJC; Chairman, IBJA; Chairman, BSS; and Chairman, AGRM.
Anantha Padmanaban, chairman, GJC, said, “Today is a historic day for the gems and jewellery industry as the formation of the Domestic Council was the need of the hour and it is a very good move by the union ministry of commerce & industry. The domestic gems and jewellery retail business is around R4 lakh crore as of 2018 and the domestic gems and jewellery sector is going through a challenging situation and all diverse constituents have to unite for a positive outcome for the betterment of the sector.
“The first priority of the Domestic Council should be to uplift the living standards of artisans. It is also imperative for industry to have one voice across all segments. A Domestic Council for the gem and jewellery industry will help tackle key issues faced by the industry, such as harassment of jewellers during transit, PAN card limit, EMI on jewellery, insurance for jewellery, bank credit rating for jewellers and many more. Another important priority is to create national level B2C programmes to attract millennials. We have to make investments towards brand building, designing, manufacturing and customer reassurance. The Domestic Council will play a pivotal role in all these aspects.”
Shaankar Sen, vice chairman, GJC, added, “The industry finally has its own Council that will help jewellers from small to large category represent their concerns and work towards the betterment of the industry. The first step of Council will be to sit together with key stakeholders of the industry, including GJC, to chart out the road map for the next five years. The overall business in this sector is not witnessing growth; hence shortterm and long-term revival plans need to be drafted as a priority. We repose full faith in the performance of the Council and GJC will actively support and continue to play a pivotal role of promoting, protecting and progressing the gem and jewellery industry.”
The Domestic Council is an all-inclusive body and would move ahead with the support of all members of this fraternity.