Pramod Agrawal, chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recordbreaking victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election. In a statement, the Council said that Modi has made his vision clear about building a New India after a thumping win. The BJP and its allies have come to power with a full majority for the second time, and this shows that the people of India want change and have taken a pledge to stand with the Prime Minister for the transformation of the country, it added.
The gem and jewellery sector has been contributing immensely to the economy of the country. The government’s recent initiatives such as Jewellery Parks, Common Facility Centres (CFCs) and Skill Upgradation have been commendable; and these initiatives have geared up the sector to play a bigger role soon, the GJEPC noted.
Agrawal said, “We congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha election and for being elected as the Prime Minister for the second term. I am confident that with his dynamic vision of creating a New India, he will energise all sectors and businesses to work together to achieve that by 2022, the 75th year of India’s independence. Prime Minister’s vision of Minimum Government, Maximum Governance will bring ease of doing business in exports for the sector. The industry has plans to support the nation and achieve the target of India becoming a super $5 trillion economy and be among the leading economies of the world.
“I also congratulate Piyush Goyal, who has been appointed as the union minister of commerce & industry and minister of railways. Goyal has been pivotal to the growth of the gem and jewellery sector. He aided the industry sail through innumerable impediments in the last few years. The industry is extremely fortunate to have an experienced and accomplished person at the helm of the ministry of commerce & industry. The Indian gem and jewellery trade is enthused with dynamic optimism to work under him. I am confident that under his able leadership and guidance, the gem and jewellery sector will achieve its objective of touching $60 billion in exports and generating employment for 6 million people by the year 2022. The entire gem and jewellery industry looks forward to work with you and contribute immensely to PM Narendra Modi’s vision of building a New India.”
Congratulating the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Agrawal added, “We are really fortunate to have a personality with such vast experience and knowledge as the finance minister. Formerly, in her capacity as minister of state (IC) for commerce & industry, Nirmala Sitharaman had taken a host of initiatives and played an important role in guiding the gem and jewellery industry to scale new heights. The industry is happy to get such a strong and accomplished finance minister of the country. The industry looks forward to work with you to create a conducive environment for the business to flourish in India”.
The gem and jewellery industry currently contributes around 7% to India’s total GDP, 13% to merchandise exports, and employs over 5 million people. The industry is committed to increase exports from $40 billion to $60 billion by 2022.
India’s gem and jewellery business is among the top three employers in the country, and the GJEPC is seeking the government’s support to add new jobs and generate direct and indirect employment. The Council is looking for continued support from the government for major constructive reforms on international trade policies, ease of doing business, domestic bank financing and manufacturing/technological impetus for the gem and jewellery exporter and entrepreneurs, the majority of whom belong to the micro, small & medium enterprise (MSME) category.
GJEPC will be working with the government to address the following industry concerns:
- The sector needs easing of procedure in exports on part of Customs, GST and Taxation. This is acting as a great impediment to all export-intensive sectors.
- Gem and jewellery is a labourintensive sector. For further growth of employment in the sector, the Council will call on the government to offer a similar kind of package as provided to the textile and leather sector.
- There is a need for ease of financing to the sector for increasing exports. • Implementation of Baba Kalyani report to increase exports for SEZs.
- E-commerce, GST, Customs Duty refund to foreign tourists against their purchase of gems and jewellery items in India is another issue for which the GJEPC will talk with the government.
- The introduction of the Gold Policy, as announced in the last budget, should be a priority for this new government.
- GJEPC will work with the government’s Skill India mission to upgrade the skills of existing workers by introducing them to modern technology through its world-class schools.
The GJEPC’s initiatives aim at making India a global gem and jewellery manufacturing hub by promoting local artisans and indigenous design and production. It has already set up CFCs in Visnagar, Palanpur, Amreli and Junagadh in Gujarat. The Council has plans to set up CFCs in Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hyderabad by 2019-2020. The GJEPC will work closely with all government ministries and bodies and units to ensure smooth and seamless conduct of business and betterment of this sector.