Rs.100cr CFC set for inauguration by Sept 2023 in Santacruz Zone
The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Chairman Vipul Shah has expressed hope that the free trade agreements with the UK, Canada and EU, which are being negotiated, will help boost Indian exports to US$1 trillion a year.
He has congratulated Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal for the monumental achievement of US$770 billion in aggregate exports combining both merchandise and services for the financial year 2022-23.
He appreciated benefits brought about by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE and India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.
Shah also noted that the Rs.100 crore mega common facility centre (CFC), which is coming up in the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), Mumbai, is a vision of Minister Goyal to modernize the sector and help the medium and small-scale units with latest technology.
The Centre, which is being built with direct supervision and patronage of the Minister, is scheduled for inauguration in September 2023.
It will be operated and run by the Council which has set up a special committee and Secretariat.
GJEPC has already started building one of the largest jewellery parks in the world at Navi Mumbai, added Shah, as he sought the Commerce and Industry Ministry’s guidance in setting up the establishment which seeks to transform Indian exports of jewellery in line with that of Turkey or Italy.
For the FY 2022-23, the overall gem & jewellery exports grew 2.48% to Rs.300,462.52 crores as compared Rs.293,193.19 crores a year ago. In terms of US dollars, the overall gem & jewellery exports accounted for US$37,468.66 million as compared to US$39,331.71 million for last year.
Goyal attended the 49th edition of the India Gem & Jewellery Awards in Mumbai on 23 Apr 2023, and felicitated 28 top exporters during the ceremony.
The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1966, is one of several Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) launched by the Indian Government to boost the country’s export thrust, when India’s post-Independence economy began making forays in the international markets.
The Mumbai-headquartered GJEPC is the apex body of the gems & jewellery industry and today represents 9,000 members in the sector. It has Regional Offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Surat and Jaipur, all of which are major centres for the industry. fiinews.com
