AMN / MUMBAI
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has called on India’s gems and jewellery industry to ensure that the entire value chain of lab-grown diamonds—from manufacturing equipment and diamond production to jewellery making, branding and global retail—remains firmly anchored in India.
Addressing the 52nd India Gems and Jewellery Awards here, Shah said the diamond industry was undergoing a significant transformation with the rapid emergence of lab-grown diamonds. He described the segment as a major opportunity for India, noting that the lab-grown diamond market, measured by volume, could eventually become nearly 50 times the size of the existing diamond market.
Shah said India was well positioned to take advantage of this emerging opportunity, given its established gems and jewellery ecosystem, manufacturing capabilities, capital availability and entrepreneurial talent. However, he stressed that the country must move beyond processing and focus on building capabilities across the complete value chain.
He urged industry players to invest in the manufacture of machinery required for lab-grown diamond production, expand domestic production capacities, develop jewellery manufacturing capabilities and strengthen Indian brands in global markets.
The minister also called for Indian jewellery companies to establish their own brands and showrooms in major cities across the world. Such an approach, he said, would enable Indian businesses to capture greater value from the rapidly evolving global diamond and jewellery market rather than remaining concentrated in limited segments of the supply chain.
The remarks assume significance as the global diamond industry adjusts to changing consumer preferences and the growing commercial presence of laboratory-created diamonds. For India, which has traditionally been a major global centre for diamond cutting and polishing and jewellery manufacturing, the shift presents both a competitive challenge and an opportunity to develop new areas of manufacturing and technology.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other dignitaries attended the awards ceremony.
Shah highlights India’s knowledge heritage
Earlier in the day, Shah inaugurated a specially curated manuscript exhibition titled “Shri Ganesh Dnyanarati” at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
Addressing the gathering, Shah highlighted India’s long-standing knowledge tradition and said the country’s intellectual and cultural heritage had the potential to provide guidance to the wider world. He said India had preserved its civilisational identity through centuries of foreign invasions because its collective memory remained embedded in its history, languages, culture, archives and traditions.
According to Shah, the continuity of India’s civilisation was closely linked to the preservation of its knowledge traditions. He said the country’s heritage should not remain confined to archives and specialised institutions but should be made accessible to a much wider audience.
He urged the Asiatic Society to deploy modern technology and digital tools to take its vast repository of manuscripts and other historical material to people across the country.
Shah also visited the Society’s library and inspected the work being undertaken at its manuscript conservation laboratory. The visit focused on the preservation of India’s historical and intellectual heritage and the need to combine traditional archival practices with modern technology.
Fadnavis, Shinde and other dignitaries were also present during the programme.
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