Gems and jewellery sector poised for sops from Budget

Clusters, skill development await prop

With a high employment generation and export potential, India’s gems and jewellery sector, one of the focus areas of the government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme, is set to get incentives in the Union Budget this month.

Widely expected is an announcement on revamping of jewellery manufacturing clusters by including common facility centres and skill upgradation. The gems and jewellery industry currently employs 4.5 million people but the sector is primarily concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat with Mumbai and Surat being the most important diamond-cutting-and-polishing centres in both states.

Mumbai is an important export-import centre for gems and jewellery and Surat is an important centre for diamond processing. The increasing needs of the industry can accommodate another four million people in the coming years, according to the Gems and Jewellery Skill Council of India.

Setting up of more clusters can enhance employment opportunities and also exports in a major way, a government official said.

The sector contributes significantly to growth in the country’s overall exports and has been identified by the government as one of the 25 focus segments for the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) has suggested to the government to exclude jewellery from all bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). Stating that the government should not encourage jewellery imports at cheaper rates, GJF referred to the earlier FTA with Thailand, which was a failure, as it discouraged indigenous jewellery manufacturing.

The government may also allocate more fund for skilling workers in the gems and jewellery sector, especially in small and medium enterprises. To enhance the export potential of Indian jewellery, especially the low carat jewellery which are machine-made, there is need for a more skilled labour force, the official said.

The demand for low-carat gold jewellery mostly comes from foreign countries. These are mainly 9, 12, 14 or 18 carat gold jewellery.