By IANS
New Delhi : India accounts for 11 out of 12 rough diamonds polished worldwide and has craftspeople in every corner of the country, but the industry is yet to target high-value markets, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said Friday.
“India enjoys the foremost position in the world in diamond processing and more than 90 percent of rough diamonds in the world are processed in India,” Kamal Nath told the annual meeting with the gems and jewellery industry here.
“But amidst all our glittering successes, let us not forget our weaknesses. We process only low-carat stones and value addition in cutting and polishing in the entire chain is the lowest,” the minister said.
“Enter higher end of the value-addition chain,” the minister told the industry. “Only then we can get a larger share of the pie. Let us lift the bar higher. Let us set our sights on becoming the premier diamond jewellery manufacturing and trading centre in the world.”
Nath said though India had immense talent in craftspeople, who were spread all across the country, its share in the $85 billion world gold jewellery trade was only about five percent.
“With such huge talent available, there is no reason why we cannot make it to the number one position in this area as well. We have to manufacture acceptable quality of products and gear our production strategies to what market demands.”
Nath said the gems and jewellery sector had contributed immensely to the Indian export industry. The share of this sector, which had been 15 percent of exports in 2005-06, fell to 12 percent last year, but now stands at 20 percent.
“The gems and jewellery sector not only has great export potential but even greater potential for employment generation, particularly for poor people and artisans. I am told over three million people are employed in this trade.”
On the issue of importing rough diamonds, the minister said some policies in the recent past, like easing of the system of overseas remittance and expansion of advance remittance facility, had enabled procurement from Russia last year.
“These steps will go a long way in facilitating the import of rough diamonds but the industry will also have to be proactive to look at opportunities for direct procurement of roughs from the mining nations.”