Jaipur: Two key regional offices of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) – in Jaipur and Surat – resumed partial operations with all safety measures in place as the Government of India eased the lockdown restrictions in certain parts of the country.

Jaipur, the centre of India’s loose coloured gemstone trade and an important manufacturing centre for coloured stone jewellery, saw the GJEPC office reopen on Monday. The same day, the Gem Testing Laboratory (GTL), one of the most important labs for the coloured gemstone trade also began functioning.

As reported earlier, some g&j units in the Jaipur SEZs and EPIP have already resumed operations in late April and the first export parcels have already been dispatched. The reopening of the GJEPC office and GTL will provide further support to the trade.

On Tuesday, operations also commenced at the GJEPC’s regional office in Surat with all safety measures in place. This will give additional support to the operations of those units that have begun functioning in the Surat SEZ since late April, and also help in the exports through the Surat Hira Bourse which commenced last week. One of the key benefits of the reopening will be that the GJEPC office in Surat can start issuing of KP certificates for processing of export parcels. Export shipments of diamonds, particularly to Hong Kong, have resumed, albeit in a limited way from last week.

In Mumbai, GJEPC along with SGJMA has been conducting discussions with the authorities in SEEPZ SEZ and with the Government of Maharashtra to facilitate restarting of production at units within the SEZ. Similarly, the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) has been making efforts to get permission for reopening of the Bourse premises for operations limited to the processing of export parcels that are awaiting shipment to Hong Kong. Reports state that just 1% of the total workforce would need to be involved in the process and all necessary safety precautions will be maintained.