GJEPC to set up Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery in Varanasi

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)  will be establishing the first-of-its-kind Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It will be the fifth such centre in the country after Mumbai, New Delhi, Jaipur and Kolkata.

According to Union Minister of Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman, the Gems & Jewellery sector is one of the biggest sources of employment in India by way of having different sub sectors. It employs people largely from the rural areas and also those who are not from the Gems & Jewellery background after giving them proper training. This leads to the sector having a direct impact on the job scenario in India.

Varanasi has an old history of craftsmanship which is why GJEPC chose the city to ensure that the talent which has been cultivated for years isnt lost. Sitharaman feels that it is the city’s responsibility to take forward this lineage and pass it on to the next generation.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Skill India programme, GJEPC chairman Praveenshankar Pandya said that they have always tried to work in sync with the PM’s vision and this is one such endeavour in that direction.  The core focus of establishing an IIGJ in one of the oldest learning centres of the world is to nurture the talent which would ultimately help in increasing exports from the region.  

The Gem & Jewellery Industry of India has grown from $28 million in 1966-67 to $38 billion in 2015-16 and employs around 3 million people in the country.