The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) organised the 44th edition of the India Gem & Jewellery Awards (IGJA) in Mumbai on July 28th to reward top performers from the gems and jewellery industry. Union minister for commerce & industry and civil aviation Suresh Prabhu, and parliament member Poonam Mahajan felicitated the IGJA winners.
The industry players were chosen for their exemplary performance by an eminent jury based on key parameters such as growth, export excellence, marketing initiatives, innovation, value additions and investment in R&D, among other attributes, during the year 2016-17. GJEPC received 129 nominations, of which a total of 44 winners were selected.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Prabhu said, “I am proud to be associated with this industry that has a huge potential. We have registered a high rate of exports growth in the last six years at 20% and expect the same results in 2018-19. The world is witnessing a host of challenges and the global environment we operate within is increasingly getting tougher and as a result global trade is encountering crises. In the face of problems faced by the World Trade Organization (WTO), we need to find a path and continue to grow faster at 8-9% against last year’s 7.6% and we do hope that we will be able to sustain the momentum in future.”
“Banking is a very important issue and we must address it and we will continue to work on it and make sure that the genuine credit requirements of the sector are met,” Prabhu added. The minister also stressed on more sector and industry-level synergy and cohesion, efforts which are being spearheaded and promoted on the export front by the GJEPC. Referring to a new Domestic Gold Council which is soon to be set up, Prabhu averred, “While the GJEPC continues to ensure, lead and cradle export promotion initiatives and measures, the domestic support is set to emerge and emanate from the in-the-pipeline new council.”
Pramod Agrawal, chairman, GJEPC, noted, “GJEPC has been developing all aspects of the industry with a view to grow employment and exports in the best manner. We would like to congratulate all the industry people, winners and members of the jury for their extensive support in attaining the leadership position in the world. It is a pleasure to add that GJEPC has signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government for setting up India’s largest Jewellery Park in Mumbai with an investment of R13,800 crore that will generate an additional one lakh jobs.”
Poonam Mahajan, in her keynote speech, spoke about the role of gems and jewellery in the country’s economy. “The Indian gem and jewellery sector plays an important role in our economy and also offers employment to millions of people in the country. This award function has been a perfect platform recognising all verticals of the industry for their export excellence. This platform has recognised women entrepreneurs and MSME exporters, encouraging them to move to the next level. I congratulate each and every award winner and wish them more success in the coming years.”
A total of 44 awards were given in categories such as precious metal, jewellery – plain & studded, silver jewellery, cut & polished diamonds, costume/fashion jewellery, coloured gemstones, sales to foreign tourists and synthetic stone. Seven special awards were given based on special classifications, such as most innovative company, most socially responsible company, women entrepreneur, best digital initiative, lifetime achievement, etc. Seven awards were given to banks and agencies contributing to industry growth in terms of finance and support.
The jury members who selected the winners included Nirupa Bhatt, managing director – GIA, India, Aravamudan Krishna Kumar, former MD – SBI, and Jayashree Ramaswamy, chief financial officer & company secretary, Dun & Bradstreet India. IGJA 2018 was powered by GIA, partnered by Emerald, and supported by RMC Gems.