Jewellers who travel across the country with goods and face the constant tension of having to establish their credentials to different government and security agencies now have a reason to cheer – a unique Jewellers Identification Card (JID) will soon help them avoid such hardships.

The All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) announced the launch of this new scheme at a Press Conference cum Trade Meet held at the IIJS on Thursday. Dinesh Jain, President, JID Legal & Redressal Forum made a detailed presentation covering both the need for and the structure of the new scheme.

JID will be a tamper-proof card with various levels of security including biometric information of the card holder, and will only be issued after a rigorous verification process of KYC details submitted by the applicant. The verification and monitoring will be done by independent monitoring agencies.

Jain stressed that the JID is envisioned as an independent project under the aegis of the GJF. It will be overseen by an independent committee consisting of eminent lawyers, retired IAS & IPS officers and competent professionals.

GJF Chairman Bachchraj Bamalwa added that while the Committee has approached the government to recognise the card, this may take time. In the meanwhile, the organisation will also be interacting with various government and security agencies to familiarise them with details of the project, so that concerned officials begin to accept it as a valid proof of identity.

Former Chairman Vinod Hayagriv added that the GJF has already complied with the suggestion from certain government bodies that the JID should be compatible with the Aadhar UID scheme, to facilitate its possible future integration into the national scheme.

The first JID cards are expected to be available from October-November. During the first phase they will be issued only to GJF Life Members who apply and meet the minimum criteria. Subsequently it will be extended to other sections of the trade so that eventually over the next two years it will become available to every jeweller in the country. GJF will be investing an amount of Rs 15 million over the next two years to create the infrastructure required for the scheme.

Application forms are available at the GJF Booth at IIJS.