So far, rough diamonds mined from the Panna mines in Madhya Pradesh were auctioned online but displayed only at Panna.
Soon after Unlock 1, the industry - which is estimated to polish nine of 10 rough diamonds in the world - resumed operations, but a surge in cases at diamond polishing cluster, especially in Katargam and Varachha, forced units to go into a voluntary lockdown, which continued until recently.
India and China are together expected to equal world's largest jewellery market, the United States, by 2015 when the global gems and jewellery trade is expected to touch $230 billion, states a new industry report.
Exports of jewellery from India have gone up 32 per cent in the last two months ended May thanks to increasing demand and sale diamonds abroad.
Aiming at rough diamond imports of $1 billion annually, Diamond India Ltd, a grouping of 60 traders, is looking at markets other than Russia to scale up its imports.
The country's Rs 60,000-crore (Rs 600-billion) diamond industry is likely to lay off 200,000 workers this year and with it the dream of making India a processing hub, according to Sanjay Kothari, chairman, Gems & Jewellery Exports Promotion Council, if the government does not frame favourable policies.
Global jewellery major Tiffany is exploring the possibilities of setting up a processing unit for diamonds in India.\n\n
The growth came at a time when exporters had been complaining about reduced margins and weak export performance due to the strengthening rupee.
The exports have shown a fall of 6% during the first 11 months of fiscal 2006-07.
Owing to increased demand by Americans, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council expects a 35 per cent increase in jewellery exports to the US at $5.88 billion this fiscal.
Gems and jewellery exports may have risen over 20 per cent so far this fiscal, but the rising rupee has cost 150,000 diamond workers their jobs in the last one year, the head of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Sanjay Kothari, said.
The government was close to imposing presumptive tax and the goods and services tax on the gems and jewellery sector
Export of Indian gems and jewellery is unlikely to surpass previous records, given the volatile price of gold and the consumers' increased inclination toward luxury items like perfumes and watches.
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Saturday asked the gem and jewellery exporters to create brand India image by improving product quality with the use of latest manufacturing technology.
After China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong earlier this month, the United States on July 14 withdrew the special status granted to Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada followed suit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked exporters to prepare a strategy for the next five years and start working in that direction.
Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council on Wednesday said it expects to attract foreign direct investment worth $2 billion in this fiscal besides a growth of 20-25 per cent.
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India has announced the performance figures of the sector for January-December 2004.
The group has called for a retaliatory tariff action against India, if New Delhi does not roll back the 'unilateral and discriminatory' equalisation levy or Google Tax.
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council has engaged UK-based Trend Forecasting for trend analysis focussing on the global market. \n\n
Gems and Jewellery exports from India would exceed $10 billion in 2003-04 as against the $9.1 billion in the last fiscal even as exporters have set a target of $16 billion by 2007.
The exports of gems and jewellery during the first quarter ended June 30, 2003 showed only a marginal rise of 3.85 per cent at $1,880.45 million as against $1,810.78 million during the corresponding period last year.
Some jewellers kept their shops shut in Mumbai as well.
Though exports to Hong Kong, a major destination for India's polished diamonds, have resumed, the industry is currently sitting on an inventory worth around $2.3 billion.
Diamond industry expects revenues to drop by 20-25% in the current financial year.
In India 24-carat gold is used mostly in coins and bars
The industry alleges the government has been apathetic, despite their pleas for quick action. However, H2 may be different as The US-China trade war had opened a window for Indian exporters to ship more to America.
During 2012-13, the gems and jewellery exports declined by 9.4 per cent year-on-year to $39 billion due to sluggish demand in traditional markets.
The spotlight is back on the hawala trade in diamonds.
The Surat diamond industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 8,000 crores in next two months as Hong Kong, which is a major export destination, has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, say experts. Hong Kong is a major business hub for the Surat diamond industry, but schools and colleges have been closed there till the first week of March and even businesses are seeing a dip in view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
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Each company has tied up for different quantity and different quality of diamonds.
Since he lives locally, Harish Patel is one of the luckier migrant workers in Surat - in that his employer was able to squeeze in a single shift for him at the weaving unit in Kamrej in Gujarat - unlike others who went home for Holi and other festivals just as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was waxing and ended up stranded in local lockdowns.
India processes around 90% of the world's supply of rough diamonds.
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