India is deemed to be the hub of the global jewelry market because of its low costs and availability of high-skilled labour. India is the world’s largest cutting and polishing centre for diamonds, with the cutting and polishing industry being well supported by government policies. India’s Gems & Jewelry (G&J) sector is one of the largest in the world contributing 29 per cent to the global jewelry consumption. The sector is home to more than 300,000 G&J players, contributes about 7 per cent to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs over 4.64 million employees. (Source IBEF Report Dec 2019)
The global pandemic has led the world to stand paralyzed against the deadly Covid 19 impacting overall global markets. Amidst shrinking of revenue due to lockdown, G&J sector is hopeful that as the pandemic starts to subside, they will make up for the lost business by the onset of wedding and festive season.
Business Transformation for Gems & Jewelry Industry
The sector, with the aid of digital inclusion has also transformed drastically. The need of the hour is to change gears and make paradigm shift using digital platforms which directly connects you to the consumer. With the emergence of cloud-based technologies, Augmented Reality, IoT etc. the sector will undergo remarkable transformations. To enable the industry a fast and smooth journey for this transformation, The Economic Times brings the jewels of the Industry and policy makers together for a virtual conference B-Jewelled: Business Transformation for Gem & Jewelry Industry aiming to offer an opportunity to discuss and debate the current challenges, opportunities and the way forward.