The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) held the foundation stone-laying ceremony of its mega project, the India Jewellery Park, in Mumbai on March 5th, 2019.
Suresh Prabhu, union minister of commerce & industry and civil aviation, Government of India; Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of Maharashtra; and Subhash Desai, minister of industries and mining, Government of Maharashtra, formally broke ground (bhoomi puja) for the India Jewellery Park, Mumbai.
The park will be spread over a 21-acre plot in the MIDC industrial area in Navi Mumbai, a satellite town about a two-hour drive from the main island city. The park is expected to see an investment of I14,467 crore ($2.09 billion) and generate 1 lakh jobs.
Among the other dignitaries present at the ceremony were Rupa Dutta, economic advisor, union ministry of commerce & industry; Raj Purohit, BJP leader; Pramod Agrawal, chairman, GJEPC; Colin Shah, vice chairman, GJEPC, along with the Council’s Committee of Administration.
The GJEPC has been entrusted to construct the India Jewellery Park as a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The Council informed that the park will enhance manufacturing, investment, export growth and overall economic development of Maharashtra and the rest of India.
The government has proposed affordable housing for karigars, craftsmen and workers within the India Jewellery Park premises, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme. The housing initiative is in line with jewellery manufacturing zones in major centres such as China, Hong Kong and Turkey.
Speaking at the inauguration function, Suresh Prabhu said, “We had taken several steps to enhance the stature of the gem and jewellery industry as well as increase the number of jobs created. The gem and jewellery sector has created 50 lakh jobs on its own. The bhoomi puja (blessing) of the India Jewellery Park today is symbolic of the direction of the future economic march of our country. We have to inject new energy into enterprise and business in order to generate more jobs and prosperity for the common man. We want to double our merchandise exports from $500 billion to $1 trillion and the gem and jewellery business will have a significant role to play in this endeavour.”
India Jewellery Park, Mumbai, is a dream come true not just for the GJEPC,
but also for the Maharashtra government. When this idea was first mooted
at a function organised by the Council, I had said that Maharashtra will
welcome you and fulfil all your requirements.
Prabhu informed that the ministry was working on a strategy to import greater quantities of rough diamonds from producer countries like Russia, and export them back as polished diamonds. He noted that the government had connected to 184 countries to promote all exports, including gems and jewellery.
“We are in the process of creating a Domestic Gem & Jewellery Council through a democratic process. We want to double exports from $40 billion and generate a similar amount of business from domestic sales. We shall make sure that the project progresses fast and becomes as good and as well managed as the Bharat Diamond Bourse. For the first time ever in the country, the union ministry of commerce & industry is also the nodal ministry for internal trade thanks to our Prime Minister’s vision. Enhancing domestic trade and international trade will be the backbone of our economy,” Prabhu said.
the bhoomi puja ceremony.
In his speech, Devendra Fadnavis noted, “India Jewellery Park, Mumbai, is a dream come true not just for the GJEPC, but also for the Maharashtra government. When this idea was first mooted at a function organised by the Council, I had said that Maharashtra will welcome you and fulfil all your requirements. Gem and jewellery karigars and craftspersons have to work under challenging circumstances including Suresh Prabhu, Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries performing the bhoomi puja ceremony. India Jewellery Park, Mumbai, is a dream come true not just for the GJEPC, but also for the Maharashtra government. When this idea was first mooted at a function organised by the Council, I had said that Maharashtra will welcome you and fulfil all your requirements. security concerns. I am hopeful that India Jewellery Park, Mumbai, will be one of its kind and the best and most beautiful jewellery park in the world, especially since India is showing the world the future direction in terms of gem and jewellery exports.
“We promised a single-window clearance and we have delivered it; businessmen only need to go to one office of MIDC to get all permissions. If we are able to give jobs to 1 lakh people through India Jewellery Park, Mumbai, then we need to arrange for basic amenities such as housing. Navi Mumbai has the maximum number of ongoing projects under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. We shall ensure that karigars will get housing very close to the park and create a whole new ecosystem.
“We have decided that by 2025 we shall make Maharashtra a trillion-dollar (sub-national) economy and the gem and jewellery industry will be a significant part of this journey. The gem and jewellery industry’s investments of more than I14,000 crore in the India Jewellery Park, the exports and value addition generated will contribute to our trillion-dollar economy dream.
“Your target of achieving $75 billion of exports in gems and jewellery is low and it should be increased to $100 billion. If you keep your target high, it will also help us in achieving our dream. I had urged the Council to start the first-of-its-kind Gems & Jewellery University in Maharashtra. My offer still stands and I want the Council to help realise the dream. As per the new private university norms, you can also start one campus right here in the Jewellery Park and plan an integrated ecosystem here. The hallmark of our government is achieving scale and skill in every sector, including gems and jewellery.”
Pramod Agrawal added, “India Jewellery Park, Mumbai, will provide effective support to jewellery manufacturers and traders who are interested to establish, expand or invest in the state of Maharashtra and initiate new business or strengthen their existing business. It is benchmarked with the bestin-class jewellery parks created in countries such as China, Turkey, Italy and Thailand.”
Agrawal said that the park will contribute to the economic development of the state and country by drawing in investment from across India and abroad. He added that the park will have 2,400 units of all categories including large, medium and small players as well as international units catering to different countries.
“We request for maximum support from both the state and central governments. We have already got a sanction of I50 crore from the ministry of commerce & industry under the 12th five-year plan for the jewellery park. We would request the government to increase its contribution to I250 crore by way of creating a Common Facility Centre inside the park, effluent treatment plants, karigar training centre, design development centre, and technology development centre. We also seek single-window clearances and workforce welfare assistance benefits for karigars of the India Jewellery Park.”
Features of the India Jewellery Park, Mumbai
India Jewellery Park will be an integrated gem and jewellery industrial park with manufacturing units, commercial areas, residences for industrial workers, and commercial support services. It will have common infrastructure like compound wall with entrance/exit gates, internal roads with street lighting, standard design factory (SDF) buildings for manufacturing units, drainage, rainwater harvesting and water supply, electricity supply including captive power plant, effluent treatment plant, water treatment plant, high security system and access control, bonded storage, disaster management system and infrastructure, telecommunication lines, solar energy, etc.
The GJEPC said that a comfortable and healthy working environment would increase work problems and medical expenses. Karigars can easily focus on quality, design, etc., which will support the transformation of the jewellery park into one of the biggest hubs for B2B and B2C business in future. The park will contain three types of units: 500 sq ft, 1,000 sq ft, and over 1,000 sq ft, to accommodate all beneficiary categories.
stone-laying ceremony.
The gold dust can be recovered easily by suction and drainage systems, which is the biggest benefit for artisans. India can aim to become a zeroloss manufacturing centre, and can save up to 40 tonnes of gold annually.
State-of-the-art machinery and infrastructure will help to reduce gold loss ratio from 10% to 3%. The gold dust can be recovered easily by suction and drainage systems, which is the biggest benefit for artisans. India can aim to become a zero-loss manufacturing centre, and can save up to 40 tonnes of gold annually.
GJEPC is expecting support for infrastructure development from the ministry of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME) and the state government for developing small factory cubicles with all facilities for karigars and their vendors at the park. GJEPC has asked the Maharashtra government to create a one-window clearance scheme for setting up the units inside the park.
Assistance sought from government
GJEPC has sought the help of the state and central governments to provide security personnel for the park free of cost because of the high value content. It noted that the central government has provided customs personnel without any charges at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB).
The Cabinet Sub-committee for industry, under the chairmanship of the chief minister of Maharashtra, has the power to sanction a customised package of incentives and even offer special or extra incentives for prestigious mega or ultra mega projects on a case-tocase basis. Under such powers, according to the GJEPC, the India Jewellery Park should be given the status of ultra mega project. Also, as per the GJEPC, all incentives detailed under Group “D” of Package Scheme of Incentives – 2013 by the Government of Maharashtra’s industries, energy and labour department should be made applicable for MSMEs and largescale industry (LSI) units inside the India Jewellery Park, Mumbai.
GJEPC has sought a waiver of stamp duty for the units getting registered under India Jewellery Park, including stamp duty for properties pledged for term loans for setting up the units should be provided. All common facilities like CFC, design centre, effluent treatment plant, recycling plant should be free from floor space index (FSI) calculation, as per the GJEPC. Workforce welfare assistance may be provided by the Government of Maharashtra to the workers recruited by units at the India Jewellery Park for a period of three years. After commencement of operations, the Government of Maharashtra will provide training assistance of I3,000 per year for each employee at the India Jewellery Park for the first three years.
Salient features of India Jewellery Park, Mumbai:
• India Jewellery Park, Mumbai will be spread across 21 acres of land, housing about 5,000 units
• Planned construction area of over 3.4 million sq ft
• World-class working conditions for workers and artisans
• Provide employment to 1 lakh people
• Design Centres, Common Facility Centres, Training Facilities, Technology Upgrading Centre
• 100% secure environment
• Investment of I14,467 crore ($2.09 billion) by way of land building and raw materials
• Expected to generate an annual turnover (under current market conditions) to the tune of I41,467.50 crore
($6 billion), of which exports will be a major component
• Single window clearance for all government rules and regulations for the projects and units
• Proximity to both airport and market (Zaveri Bazaar)
• Will reduce gold loss ratio from 10% to less than 3%, saving 40 tonnes of gold annually
• Increase in quality and productivity of jewellery
• Make Indian jewellery industry competitive in the world market