By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to announce a “relief package” for the diamond industry, which was hit hard by the slowdown.
In the representation to the prime minister, Modi said the state’s diamond industry had made great contributions in terms of revenue income to the Indian government by exporting polished diamonds.
“It becomes the primary responsibility of the central government to bring the industry out of the economic morass,” he said.
The chief minister added the state government had taken many steps from its side to ease the economic woes of the industry.
“The Gujarat government has given VAT (value-added tax) and entry-tax exemptions (to the diamond industry) and it is the only state to do so,” Modi said.
“Hindustan Diamond Ltd, a public sector unit of the centre, could provide the required raw materials to the diamond industry of Gujarat at Surat, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Amreli, which would in turn employ lakhs of skilled workers,” he said.
He also urged the central government to adopt a “liberal credit policy” to ensure the credit flow and provide “deferred payment facility” for two years on service tax.