Shri Ashok Gehlot, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan, as Chief Guest, inaugurated the Student’s Hostel of the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery, Jaipur, (IIGJ Jaipur) in the presence of Mr. Pramod Kumar Agrawal (Chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council – GJEPC), Nirmal Kumar Bardiya (Regional Chairman, GJEPC), Sudhir Kasliwal (Honorary Secretary, IIGJ Jaipur) and Directors/ Committee Members of Administration of GJEPC. The state-of-the-art IIGJ hostel facility located at Plot No. HS-1, Phase-III, Sitapura Industrial Area, Jaipur has the capacity to accommodate 260 students.
Gracing the momentous occasion were Shri Parsadi Lal, Hon’ble Industry Minister of Rajasthan, Dr. Subodh Agarwal ji, Additional Chief Secretary Industries; Shri Ashutosh A.T. Pednekar ji, Managing Director, RIICO; Board of Directors of IIGJ Jaipur – Shri Dinesh Khatoria, Shri Mahender Kumar Tayal, Shri Navrattan Kothari, Dr Nawal Kishore Agarwal, Shri Rajiv Arora, Shri Rajiv Jain, Shri Sunil Jain and Shri Vijay Kedia amongst others.
As Chief Guest, Shri Ashok Gehlot, Hon. Chief Minister of Rajasthan said, “Rajasthan’s gems & jewellery as well as our craftsmanship has been world famous since centuries. IIGJ Jaipur Student’s Hostel is a progressive initiative by GJEPC, which provides convenience and good environment to students who are the future of the country. Such initiatives are welcome in a slowdown scenario where exports are facing several global and domestic challenges. During such times, very few sectors are doing well and the gem & jewellery sector is one of the few businesses that provides ample opportunities for growth in domestic sales and exports.”
Shri Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “Hon. Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot ji, you have been a great friend and guide for the gem & jewellery industry. In policy initiatives, Shri Gehlot ji has always led us from the front. He was there when the foundation stone of this IIGJ hostel was laid and now he is here with us today when we are inaugurating this hostel. Today is a proud moment for all of us and IIGJ Hostel is another feather in the cap of IIGJ Jaipur. I also thank Shri Gehlot ji for allocating the land free of cost for setting up IIGJ and now for IIGJ Hostel. It is during his Chief Minister ship that the two SEZs at Jaipur were set up and the Gem Bourse project was conceived.”
“Gems and Jewellery from Rajasthan are world famous. IIGJ Jaipur, laboratories, exhibitions organized here in Rajasthan showcase the importance of this industry in the gem and Jewellery world. Total gem and Jewellery exports from Jaipur accounted for USD 810.99 million 2018-19 compared to USD 825.75 million 2017-18. India has been losing coloured gemstone business to China. The only way to bring back that business to India is getting our unorganized sector organized. Jaipur needs to have a Gem Bourse similar to Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai and Hira Bourse in Surat. These infrastructures have facilitated growth of diamond business from India. I appeal to Shri Gehlot ji that this time also he should take the lead to take this project forward and allocate land,” added Shri Agrawal.
With the support of State Government, there is one Jewellery park and 2 SEZs in Jaipur. Gem Bourse in Jaipur will change the face of the entire coloured gemstone industry in Jaipur. The Gem Bourse will have more than 2000 offices of coloured gemstone manufacturers and traders along with the offices of customs, banks, and other service providers at one place. This will fulfil the requirement of international and national buyers for any kind of gemstones at one place. GJEPC has already shared the draft DPR of Gem Bourse with RIICO. GJEPC and Jaipur Jewellery Association is about to sign the MoU for constructing the Gem Bourse and all the terms and conditions have been agreed and finalized.”
“To meet our export target of USD 75 billion additional employment, we shall require high investment and high export turnover. To achieve our goal, we need to create large manpower for the industry. we require to train the people and workers with new skill sets and Council was one of the stakeholders when National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was formed. Gem and Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) has been formed by the Council to achieve this objective and now this hostel will help IIGJ Jaipur to train people and students from all over India.
GJEPC has been setting up Common Facility Center with a view to improve the production and quality of products, especially MSME units at different clusters of India. We have already set up CFCs in Amreli, Palanpur, Visnagar and Junagadh in Gujarat. “GJEPC will be setting up a Common Facility Center for Jewellery manufacturing in Jaipur soon. We have plans to come up with CFC for cutting and polishing coloured gemstones in Jaipur and another one for Kundan meena Jewellery in Bikaner,” said Shri Agarwal.
The Council along with NCAER is undertaking cluster mapping study across all Gem & Jewellery clusters of India. This would enable council to chart development plans for all clusters with the Government. GJEPC requested Hon. Chief Minister to formulate polices for mining the gemstones. This way by having mining, cutting and polishing, and silver production in Rajasthan, we will be able to do more value addition and create more employment in the sector,” said Shri Agrawal.
“With the support of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GJEPC has plans to set up a world class laboratory in Jaipur soon. The industry has been offered phenomenal services by the GJEPC run Laboratories, GII & GTL set up in major centres across India. These set ups are fully equipped to grade diamonds and other precious stones of any shape and size. Moreover, we are continuously working with the Government to formulate laboratory standards in India so that all laboratories may turn out to be the best in the world. We also have plans to bring all our labs under one umbrella, thus improving the services to the sector,” said Shri Agrawal.
“We have the best gem and Jewellery institutes at Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi, Varanasi and Udupi. IIGJ Jaipur is the only institute in India offering Post Graduate course in jewellery designing and manufacturing. Also, Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) has acknowledged Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery Jaipur (IIGJJ) as ‘National Centre of Excellence (COE)’ for the entire Gems and Jewellery Sector of the country,” said Shri Agrawal. GJEPC has plans to convert gem and Jewellery institutes to gem and Jewellery university.
Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has announced to organize MEGA SHOPPING FESTIVALS in 4 cities before March 2020, and Gem & Jewellery is one of special 4 sectors chosen. GJEPC Chairman requested Gehlot ji to pursue Central Govt. of organize a shopping festival in Jaipur, with a view to boost exports from the sector.
Currently ongoing US China trade war can open huge opportunities for Indian exporters especially imitation Jewellery exports and colored gemstone exports both of which are mainly based in Jaipur. China’s share in USA imports of imitation jewellery (72.25%) and Silver Jewellery (19.27%) which are more than India’s per cent share in USA imports. That is 2.32% and 18.73% respectively leaving a wide room for India to increase its share in these commodities. “To further boost our exports, we organized Indo-US Buyer Seller Meet in Mumbai recently. Organized first ever India Silver and Fashion Jewellery BSM in Jaipur; The first India Gemstone Week was held in Jaipur last year. We are also equally sensitive about the fast-growing market in China. I have planned to lead a delegation to China in the coming days,” said Shri Agrawal. Also, China delegation had come to Jaipur, expressing their interest to set up factories of their own and in collaboration. These factories can create around 20,000 jobs.
The council has appealed to the Govt. to come out with specific announcement very quickly to see that gem & Jewellery manufacturers who may be willing to set up their factories in India may get encouraged. Such policies should be in line with Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand so that before these countries take the advantage, we should be the first mover.
Issues of SEZ in Jaipur has been already represented to the Govt. We again request you to solve the following issues to facilitate exports from the SEZs in Jaipur: SEZ units to be allowed to sell/sublet their premises; Issue of linking of lease tenure with the validity of LOA; Issues in exiting from SEZ; Viewing/Procurement Area in SEZ.
GJEPC has been taking initiatives for the welfare of the employees and their families. The Swasthya Ratna, GJEPC’s Health Insurance scheme has been appreciated by the entire gem & jewellery Industry and they have welcomed this initiative with open arms. Our efforts are ongoing to capture the entire pool of workers from the Gem & Jewellery Industry. The scheme is in its fifth year of operations and till date it has covered more than 5 lac lives and distributed over 112 crores till now.
GJEPC launched Parichay Card for workers engaged in gem and jewellery sector. The objective of this project is to create a verified and well-crafted database for Gem & Jewellery workers to provide them better job opportunities, help them to find financial support from banks & financial institutions and provide better healthcare services through customised health insurance plan. We have already contacted 36 local industry associations and already distributed 2.5 lakh forms to workers. In Jaipur we are talking with Jaipur Jewellers Association, Sarrafa Traders Association in Jaipur and Bikaner Sarrafa Association for implementing this scheme. As a first step, we would be offering health insurance scheme to Parichay Card holders through Swasthya Kosh fund. Workers availing Swasthya Kosh insurance scheme need to only pay 25% of the premium, rest 75% is paid by the Council. The Ministry of Commerce has given a target of 2 million workers to be brought under this Parichay Card scheme within next few months and we are working hard to achieve this.
Indian Institute of gem & Jewellery Jaipur: IIGJ Jaipur, is a project of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and Government of India with support from Government of Rajasthan (RIICO) is a pioneer institute for the Gems and Jewellery sector with a strong focus on Design, Technology and Management. It is a Non-Profit organization solely committed to excellence in Gems and Jewellery sector Education and Training. The philanthropic approach of renowned jewelers of Jaipur along with the Council was instrumental in sponsoring the institute that stands today, as a landmark of elegance & aesthetics. The State of the Art Institute equipped with the latest technology, paraphernalia of machinery gadgets, equipment and competent faculty resources make our education, deep and meaningful way to our jewellery trade and society as a whole. It is fully geared to cater to the need of the acute shortage of skilled manpower, faced by the Gem & Jewellery Industry The institute has a Research & Development Centre for the treatment of Ruby and Sapphires, which is one of its kind in India. So far through various training programs IIGJJ has trained over 10,000 students in various courses.
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