The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Gem of an idea: US to help set up jewellery hubs in India

    Synopsis

    Large US retailers will work with Indian manufacturers to identify, invest and back shared jewellery manufacturing hubs.

    ET Bureau
    KOLKATA: The gems and jewellery sector in the country has got a fresh boost with Ficci’s Gems & Jewellery, Luxury, Lifestyle Forum (FGJLLF) and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) jointly announcing a strategic alliance to promote the setting up of regional jewellery manufacturing hubs. As part of the mandate of this alliance, both the bodies will work towards two very key downstream and upstream developmental roles for the gem and jewellery industry.

    At the downstream end, large US retailers will work with Indian manufacturers to identify, invest and support the development of large 'shared' jewellery manufacturing hubs (SJMH) in India. At the same time for upstream support, Indian marketers and brands with the assistance of IACC will be given the opportunity to market their products in the US market, which is valued at $60 billion and is the largest global market for finished jewelry.

    Ranjana Khanna, secretary general, IACC said, "The American gem and jewellery industry too wants to be a part of the 'Make in India' movement. International retailers are looking to boost their presence and contribution in the Indian market. While India has the largest work-pool of highly skilled artisans, the finished quality is still a challenge as is the availability of new technologies and machinery. A typical SJMH will house all these facilities and also provide skills enhancement training to the artisans, thereby making the Indian finished jewellery into world-class quality products, which will find a large market both domestically and around the world."

    As part of this strategic alliance, the Indo American Chamber will be setting-up a joint committee to explore the setting up of jewellery manufacturing hubs in various parts of the country. Talks are already on with top US retailers Signet and Helzberg, who have evinced keen interest.

    Highlighting the benefits of upstream integration, Mehul Choksi, chairman of Ficci’s Gems & Jewellery, Luxury and Lifestyle Forum said, "There is a huge opportunity to capture a significant part of the US jewellery manufacturing industry which is estimated to be US$ 125,000 million (Rs 75 lakh crore). If India is able to improve the manufacturing skills of its artisans and provide the right infrastructure in the form of shared manufacturing hubs to the Indian jewellery manufacturers, we can easily triple the exports of value added jewellery. The aim is to set up at least 3-5 such manufacturing hubs over the next 3-5 years."

    The setting–up of domestic jewellery manufacturing hubs with support of the Central and state governments will not only increase India’s export of jewellery but will also considerably improve the working conditions of the millions of artisans engaged in the jewellery sector. International markets like the US provide much better earnings and also will give a fillip to the quality of jewellery being made in India. Manufacturing hubs that will also act as employment generation centers for the country's gem and jewellery sector.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

    Read More News on

    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

    Read More News on

    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in