IDTC inaugurated by Commerce Minister at BDB

In view of the vision of Prime Minister Modi to make India a global diamond hub, the opening of the IDTC, set up jointly by The Gem & Jewellery Export Council and Bharat Diamond Bourse, marks a significant new step for the Indian diamond industry. Besides, Nirmala Sitharaman,  other dignitaries like Jean-Marc Lieberherr, Managing Director, Rio Tinto, Andrey Polyakov, Vice President, Alrosa and Marcus Lung, Senior Sales Manager, Asia Pacific, De Beers,  Praveenshankar Pandya, GJEPC’s Chairman, Anoop Mehta, BDB’s President, etc, were also present on the occasion. 

Nirmala Sitharaman recalled how it was during ‘Russian leader Putin’s visit that SNZ was promised by PM Modi and now the promise has been fulfilled before his return visit to Russia.’ The minister also assured to take the issue of ‘presumptive taxation for the diamond industry with union finance minister Arun Jaitley to take it forward.’ 

GJEPC’s chairman Praveenshankar Pandya pointed out in his address that the diamond industry was facing difficulties and needed ‘government support in case of presumptive taxation for the industry. He also hoped that the commerce minister will ensure that upcoming ‘budget to be presented next year should be able to solve the issue of presumptive taxation.’ 

The IDTC has been established by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council in collaboration with the Bharat Diamond Bourse on 4,000 square metres land within the premises of BDB in Mumbai, which shall act as an operator of SNZ.  The centre comprises of nine fully-equipped viewing rooms as per international standards, a strong room, two safes, a conference room and advanced security systems.  

The opening of the IDTC will be beneficial to the Indian industry, especially the small and medium sized players from places like Surat. It is expected that India’s share of global rough by volume will now move from 85 per cent to about 90 to 92 per cent, while in value terms it is expected to rise from 75 per cent to 80 per cent. Direct access to rough diamonds for small or medium sized companies will also ensure wider participation in imports, rather than consolidation.  

The IDTC is the result of industry leaders’ pleadings and persuasions in this regard. It was during the World Diamond Conference, held in New Delhi in December 2014, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured the participants of establishing the SNZ, keeping in line with the "Make in India" project, where India is being projected as a manufacturing hub. 

After the formal inauguration of IDTC, the weekly viewing and auctioning of rough diamonds will be conducted by the diamond mining companies. As of date, the viewing slots for rough diamonds auctions at IDTC is booked up till December 2016 by major trading companies such as De Beers, Dominion Diamond Corporation and Rio Tinto.