50
th
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 THE GEM & JEWELLERY EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL
18
Dear Colleagues,
The year 2016 marks the completion of 50 glorious years
of GJEPC’s existence and service to the Indian and
International gem & jewellery industry. As a member and
now as the Chairman of the Council for the second time, I
feel proud to be associated with GJEPC all through these
years. The Council has played a phenomenal role through
its various activities and events to promote the industry
worldwide. Exports have grown from US$ 28 million in 1966-
67 when the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council
(GJEPC) was established, to US$ 39 billion in FY 2015-16.
The Council has also been instrumental in the evolution of
the industry to its present stature. It has effectively molded
the scattered efforts of individual exporters into a powerful
engine driving the country’s export-led growth.
The FY 2015-16 has been another testing year for the
industry. Rising cost of raw materials, depressed demand
and slowdown of markets have impacted both profitability
and liquidity. Nevertheless, I am glad to share that despite
the turbulent situation the Indian gems and jewellery industry
has managed to stave off a major slide with total exports
amounting to US$ 39 billion and registered a decline of
only 1.8%. The sector was also one of the leading foreign
exchange earning sector accounting for around 14.99% of
the country’s total merchandise exports.
One of the key highlights of this year is the commencement
of SNZ operations at Bharat Diamond Bourse. Incarnated
as ‘India Diamond Trading Centre’, this state-of-art
infrastructure will allow rough diamond miners direct access
to the Indian market. It will also benefit the majority of Indian
diamantaires as they are able to purchase their requirements
directly from the source.
The Govt. has been very supportive all though this years and
I am sure they will continue to offer their support in the coming
days. We are hopeful that, the Govt. will bring in the reforms
and polices for ease of doing business that will provide the
opportunity for level playing with other markets. At present,
there are many sensitive issues which need urgent attention
of the Government for the growth of Indian Gem & Jewellery
Industry. We have been making several representations to
the Government to facilitate Ease of Doing Business in the
Sector by introduction of presumptive taxation in diamonds
sector and in Special Notified Zone which will certainly
help India in becoming International Diamond Trading
Hub; inclusion of this sector under interest subvention and
merchandise export from India scheme (MEIS); reduction
of import duty on gold to avoid the import of gold through
unwanted channels into the country; differentiation in import
duty on rough and polished lab grown diamonds to protect
the interest of the natural diamond manufacturers and to
avoid illegal mixing of the lab-grown diamonds with the
natural diamonds, thus safeguarding consumer confidence
in natural diamonds.
The introduction of Goods & Services Tax (GST) is
considered to be a game changer for our economy. The Gem
& Jewellery Industry has conveyed its concerns to the Govt.
because of its uniqueness and complexities of this sector.
For example, a single piece of jewellery during manufacture
would pass between 10 to 20 karigars at different locations.
Hence, considering the unique modus operandi of the
sector, we have requested the
Govt. that the taxing event of
‘supply’ under the proposed
GST should be correlated
to the event of sale for a
consideration and all other
movements should be outside
the ambit of GST. Even when
the Excise duty was introduced vide Budget 2016, the
Hon’ble Finance Minister has acknowledged the uniqueness
of the GJI and has fixed the liability of payment of Excise
duty at the point of sale.
The Council has taken few initiatives that will make sure the
industry scale further heights in the future. The Council is in
the process to set up the Varanasi Chapter of Indian Institute
of Gems & Jewellery in Utter Pradesh. The eastern part of
India, comprising the states of Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh and Orissa, although traditionally very rich in
arts and culture, has seen fast erosion of skill and talent due
to large scale migration of artisans to other sectors for better
job prospects. The attempt is to revive this rich tradition and
capabilities of one of the oldest cities in the world.
Another such initiative in the process is the creation of
Jewellery Park in Mumbai. The Park will be equipped with
the best technology and machines with higher efficiency
and better work culture that will bring a difference to the
business of jewellery in terms of quality of work standards
and environment.
It has always been Council’s endeavor to increase and create
more business opportunities for our exporters. Keeping this
objective in our mind, we tapped new markets and further
penetrated our existing territories. Our initiatives like India
Diamond Week and Indo USA Business Development
Conference in developed markets of USA in addition to
participating and hosting India Pavilions in major gem and
jewellery fairs across the Globe has ensured our Industry
presence and reach almost everywhere in the world. Buyer-
Seller Meets (BSMs) are organized to foster business
opportunities between two nations. The coming year will
see Council further broadening its horizons by increased
participation in new trade fairs and organizing BSMs with
nations having potential to increase our product exports.
Design Inspiration 2016 is another significant program
wherein prevailing and expected jewellery trends are
discussed in detail by Industry veterans of key markets like
USA, Europe & India for the benefit of exporter community.
This Trend Forecasting Seminar has received tremendous
positive feedback by the participants.
On Domestic front, our landmark event, India International
Jewellery Show (IIJS) underwent a complete structural
revamp. The new layout with International look and feel
accommodates more booths thereby decreasing the huge
wait-list for participation in the show and making it more
visitor friendly. IIJS continues to be one of the most sought
after B2B gem & jewellery trade fair internationally. Our
other initiatives like India International Jewellery Week and
Signature IIJS were organized to satiate the growing appetite
of Indian consumers for exquisite jewellery. The India Gem
& Jewellery Machinery Expo (IGJME) organized by Council
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
