A new Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council, an apex body that will bring together all the different segments of the industry within India under a common banner, will be formally launched by the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu in Mumbai on January 28, 2018.
The decision to go ahead with the formation of the body was finalised at a meeting, held in Delhi on January 16, 2018, chaired by Addl Sec & DGFT Mr. Atul Chaturvedi, and attended by the members of the 14-member Working Group that had been set up by the ministry last year. The group, which met on two earlier occasions last year, had been constituted soon after a report prepared by the NITI Aayog on ‘Transforming India’s Gold Market’ was submitted to the government in February 2018.
At the January 16, 2019 meeting, the existing working group was reconstituted as the Ad-hoc National Committee of the new Council, which will function under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. The new body will be in the form of a federation and have trade associations, rather than individuals, as members. Its focus will be on strengthening domestic manufacturing and developing a wider base to grow exports.
The new Ad-hoc National Committee elected Chairman of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Pramod Kumar Agrawal as Convener, with the heads of the Gem & Jewellery Council (GJC) and the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) as Co-conveners. The Committee also set up a five-member Core Group to draft the Articles and Memorandum of Association of the new body, and finalise its structure, following which elections will be conducted for the National Committee.
In addition to GJEPC, GJC, and IBJA, the other organisations in the Core Group are the Association of Gold Refineries & Mints and the Bharatiya Swarnakar Sangh. Secretariat support to the new organisation will be provided by GJEPC for the time being, it was decided.
GJEPC Chairman Pramod Kumar Agrawal said, “ We welcome the government’s decision to form the Domestic Council for the Indian gem & jewellery industry. This will help to organise our unorganised and small scale based domestic jewellery industry and help it to scale new heights. GJEPC is happy to offer all our support and guidance in the formation of the Council.”
Agrawal added that the Ad-hoc Committee is an inclusive body and the Core Group will seek maximum possible opinions in the process of formulating the draft for a constitution and election rules of the Council.
“We will make this a body which belongs to all and works to fulfill the aspirations of all small and big associations from all across the country. This is what has been envisaged by the Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industries Shri Suresh Prabhu,” Agrawal said.
NewsSource: gjepc
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