IGJA Felicitates Industry Leaders
IGJA Felicitates Industry Leaders. The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the apex industry body organised 44th edition of India Gem & Jewellery Awards at Mumbai to felicitate the names of the winners from gem and jewellery industry in all the categories. The glittering awards ceremony was held in presence of Honorable Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu and Smt. Poonam Mahajan, Member of Parliament felicitated the winners.
The industry players were chosen for their exemplary performance by the eminent jury on key parameters such as growth, export excellence, marketing initiatives, innovation, value additions and investment in R&D, among other attributes, during the year 2016-17. GJEPC received 129 nominations, out of which a total of 44 winners were selected.
Honourable Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu congratulated all the winners and said that“In FY 17-18, we have registered a high rate of exports growth in last 6 years at 20% and expect the same results in 18-19. The world is witnessing a host of challenges and the global environment we operate within is increasingly getting tougher and as a result, global trade encounters crises. In the face of problems faced by WTO, we need to thrash out a path and continue to grow faster at 8-9% against last year’s 7.6% and we do hope that we will be able to sustain the momentum in future. I am proud to be associated with this industry that has a huge potential.”
“Banking is a very important issue and we must address it and we will continue to work on it and make sure that the genuine credit requirements of the sector are met,” the Minister added.
“Every village has a jeweler who makes handmade and custom-made jewellery, These artisans will be helped by jewellery designers to come out with products with a better value which will be then exported. We want to develop such a model. Minister said GJEPC and center are working towards formulating a strategy to achieve the desired objective.
The minister also stressed on more sector and industry-level synergy and cohesion, efforts which are being spearheaded and promoted on the export front by the GJEPC. Referring to a new domestic council which is soon to be set up Mr Prabhu averred, “While the GJEPC continues to ensure, lead and cradle export promotion initiatives and measures, the domestic support is set to emerge and emanate from the in-the-pipeline new council.”
“GJEPC, as the apex body of the gem & jewellery industry has been developing all aspects of the industry with a view to growing employment and exports in the best manner. We would like to congratulate all the industry people, winners and members of the jury for their extensive support in attaining the leadership position in the world. It is a pleasure to add that GJEPC has signed a MoU with Maharashtra Govt. for setting up India’s largest Jewellery Park in Mumbai with an investment of 13800 crores that will generate additional 1 lakh jobs.” said Mr. Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
Poonam Mahajan, MP, Loksabha in her keynote speech spoke about the role of gem and jewellery industry in country’s economy. She said, “The Indian gem and jewellery sector plays an important role in our economy and also offers employment to millions of people in the country. This award function has been a perfect platform recognizing all verticals of the industry for their export excellence. This platform has recognized women entrepreneurs and MSME exporters encouraging them to move to the next level. I congratulate each and every award winner and wish them more success in the coming years.”
A total of 44 awards had been given in the categories such as precious metal, jewellery – plain & studded, silver jewellery, cut & polished diamonds, costume/fashion jewellery, colored gemstones, sales to foreign tourists and synthetic stone. 7 special awards have been given based on special classifications such as most innovative company; most socially responsible company, women entrepreneur, best digital initiative, lifetime achievement, etc. 7 new awards were given to banks and agencies contributing to the industry growth in terms of finance and support.
The jury members, who selected the winners to include Ms. Nirupa Bhatt, MD – GIA, India, Mr. Aravamudan Krishna Kumar, Former MD – SBI & Ms. Jayashree Ramaswamy, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary, Dun & Bradstreet India.
