GEM & JEWELLERY EXPORTS SET
TO CROSS TARGET
ARUN
JAITLEY URGES GEM & JEWELLERY EXPORTERS TO AIM AT DOUBLING
OF EXPORTS
Gem & jewellery
exports from India are set to cross the target during the current
financial year, with exports during April-October 2002 having
already touched US $ 5080.62 million ( i.e., US$ 5 billion ) which
is 105% of the pro-rata target of US $ 4827.08 million ( US$ 4.8
billion ) for April-October. The export target for gem & jewellery
sector fixed for the current financial year 2002-03 is US $ 8275
million (US $ 8.2 billion). Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister
of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, while appreciating
the export performance of the industry, has urged the exporters
to aim at doubling of their export earnings in this sector within
the next three to four years by taking advantage of the government’s
liberal policy. Interacting with gem & jewellery exporters
in Mumbai recently, Shri Jaitley also urged the industry to take
effective steps for further improving India’s competitive advantage.
He further emphasised the need for voluntary hallmarking of gold
jewellery as well as production of contemporary designs for plain
and studded gold jewellery.
India is the largest
processing centre of rough diamonds employing about a million
work force. "Our emphasis should be to move higher in the value-addition
chain and carve out a larger share in the world diamond market
and gradually shift from a mere processing centre to a trading
centre of cut and polished diamonds", the Minister said. He urged
the diamond industry to complete the diamond bourse infrastructure
presently under construction and to take effective steps so as
to convert Mumbai into a world-trading centre for cut and polished
diamonds. As India’s production of cut and polished diamonds is
dependent on import of rough diamonds, the Minister announced
that the government had permitted advance remittance (without
bank guarantee/sovereign guarantee) to Russia for import of rough
diamonds.
Shri Jaitley also
underlined the tremendous potential for export growth in the jewellery
sector, which presently is only of the order of US $ 1.16 billion
as against the world market size of US $ 35 billion. The Minister,
therefore, stressed the need to improve India’s jewellery exports
in view of the liberal policy initiatives taken by the government,
including those announced in the Budget proposals for 2003-04.
Concessions announced in the Finance Bill for 2003-04 for the
gem & jewellery sector include:
- Reduction of import duty on semi-processed,
half-cut and broken diamonds to 0%;
- Abolition of duty on import of
rough coloured gemstones; and
- Reduction of duty on cut and polished
coloured gemstones and non-industrial diamonds from 15% to 5%.
