Mumbai: The 35th edition of the India international Jewellery Show IIJS organised by GJEPC concluded in Mumbai today with a note of positivity and cheer for the entire trade. IIJS, a premium annual event received all round support with over 40,000 visitors from over 800 cities across 80 countries attending and previewing exhibitions of over 1300 exhibitors.
GJEPC had organised a Prelude to IIJS, jewellery fashion extravaganza by the IIJS 2018 Exhibitors to showcase their exquisite jewellery collections to crème de la crème audience comprising of leading retailers, design houses & International buyers visiting IIJS 2018. This was an excellent opportunity for buyers to get an overview of the new and innovative designs and trends from the exhibitors of IIJS 2018.
Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation in his message at the inauguration of IIJS praised the GJEPC’s role in promoting the sector and said “With each successive year, IIJS reflects the progressive evolution of the Indian gems and jewellery industry towards greater heights. India’s gems and jewellery industry is an integral and significant part of our economy and contributes considerably towards the country’s GDP and also has huge employment potential. It has one of the most skilled and dynamic workforces. Over the last three decades, this prestigious jewellery show has become a perfect platform to showcase and offer the best of India’s expertise and craftsmanship in all segments of the gems and jewellery sector.”
Mr Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC, who was behind several milestones during the five day event including the MOU with the Shenzhen Rough Diamond Exchange, applauded Mr. Suresh Prabhu’s role and personal attention as the nodal Minister and tireless efforts to help the sector facing several issues. He said “we have so much unrealised potential of our artisans and workers and alongside it there is so much demand for Gems and Jewellery sector that can be tapped by us. Our partnerships with new economies and geographies like China will unleash a varied and increased demand of resources and talent. With IIJS this year we have yet again been able to showcase to the world our ability and preparedness for continuing to be number one gem and jewellery sourcing destination in the world.
Gem and jewellery export is a $41 billion industry, contributing 7% to India’s GDP. It also plays a bigger role in generating employment, with 5 million people currently employed in the sector.
Mr. Colin Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC said, “This year the total volume of business generated in this event has crossed a good 20% which is over 8K crore worth order book. This has come at a time when the industry needed it the most due to prevailing headwinds that the trade has seen over the past 12 months.”
Mr. Pramod Agrawal also added, “The GJEPC understands that the skills and capabilities of artisans in remote areas of the country can be enhanced further through training and skilling. This would help in generating employment in the sector and increase exports. The Council is working in this direction and has identified clusters to enhance their quality of work and production by setting up Common Facility Centres (CFCs). We believe that by facilitating better infrastructure and conducting skill development programmes, these clusters would play a bigger role by contributing to the world market. The GJEPC has the Government grant to set up 13 CFCs across all major clusters in India, of which three are already set up in Amreli, Visnagar and Palanpur in the state of Gujarat. In the near future, you will see CFCs in Junagadh, Rajkot, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Delhi and Hyderabad. The Council’s vision is to add another 2 million-strong workforce to the sector and take gem and jewellery exports to $60 billion in the next few years.
