34th GJEPC awards nite ends on a celebratory note

The 34 th Annual Awards for the gem & jewellery industry, presented by Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) was held on October 5, 2007, at the Napoleon hall of the Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi. The event praised the muscle of the Indian gem and jewellery industry in today’s global precious trade. The chief guest at the event was Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India – Mr. Kamal Nath, while Ch. Prem Singh, Speaker, Delhi Legislative Assembly was the Guest of Honor.

The GJEPC awarded the lifetime achievement recognition to Arunkumar R. Mehta, the founder member of Rosy Blue and B. Arunkumar Group of Companies. Mr. Mehta expressed his gratitude saying that, "50 years back in October I bought my first diamond for INR 25 and sold it for INR 27, ever since there has been no looking back. It is a pleasure to receive a lifetime award in the same time period after 50 years." He received accolades from Kamal Nath who said "We all should take a lesson from Arun Mehta who has been the torchbearer of the industry for past many years". Nath praised India’s efforts to become a $ 250 billion gold reserve country contrary to its situation in 1991 where it had to mortgage its gold. Nath keenly aspired to have increased share in the global gold pie for which he suggested, "We need proper designing and training mechanisms in place to grow our industry further."