National News

GJEPC Showcases Export Growth Strategies and Membership Benefits at Maharashtra’s District Investment Summit

At the 2025 Summit hosted by the Directorate of Industries, GJEPC emphasized its key initiatives to boost exports, support MSMEs, and empower jewellery manufacturers across districts.

Published

1 year ago

April 18, 2025

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The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) actively participated in the District Investment Summit 2025, organized by the Directorate of Industries (MMR, Mumbai), Government of Maharashtra, on 16th April in Mumbai, under the theme “Attracting Investment, Promoting Growth, Empowering Districts.”

Representing GJEPC, Mr. Mithilesh Pandey, Director – Membership, presented the Council’s wide array of initiatives and services designed to empower gem and jewellery businesses, particularly MSMEs and regional manufacturers.

Mr. Pandey highlighted the core benefits of GJEPC membership, including participation in prestigious platforms like IIJS (India International Jewellery Show) and IJEX (India Jewellery Exposition Centre), along with export facilitation tools such as courier and hand-carry modes, India Post’s Dak Niryat Kendras, and e-commerce tie-ups with platforms like eBay.

He also outlined GJEPC’s efforts to make logistics more affordable through subsidised services, and detailed how members can leverage free trade agreements like CEPA (with UAE) and ECTA (with Australia) to access global markets more competitively.

In addition, Mr. Pandey spoke about business development programs such as buyer-seller meets, the IC Scheme, and Capacity Building Scheme, as well as financial support options like collateral-free loans under the India Jewellery Park Mumbai (IJPM). He further emphasized the comprehensive infrastructure solutions available to jewellery manufacturers, designed to streamline operations and enhance productivity.

The session underlined GJEPC’s commitment to supporting regional growth, empowering entrepreneurs, and making India a global leader in gem and jewellery exports.

National News

WGC India Gold Market Update: Import Tightening

Part Of A Broader Push To Conserve Foreign Exchange Reserves Amid Geopolitical Uncertainty and Mounting Pressure On The INR

Published

10 hours ago

May 23, 2026

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Highlights

Gold import duty was raised sharply by 9%– from 6% to 15%, the steepest increase on record – alongside broader regulatory tightening
Domestic gold prices have not yet fully reflected the duty hike amid weak demand and ample supply; local markets are currently in deep discount from the landed price
Past trends indicate that higher duty increases unofficial inflows, although official imports remain relatively resilient
Gold demand is expected to moderate in 2026, with jewellery and bar and coin demand projected to decline by 50–60t (~10% y/y) on account of the import duty hike.

Policy actions on gold imports

Since early April, the government has adopted a series of measures aimed at moderating gold imports. These have been part of a broader push to conserve foreign exchange reserves amid geopolitical uncertainty and mounting pressure on the INR, which has depreciated by more than 7% y-t-d. These measures include price-based actions, administrative and regulatory tightening, and consumer-directed messaging. While noteworthy, they are not unprecedented; gold is among the top five imports for India, accounting for 8% of the country’s merchandise imports in 2025, and similar measures have been utilised in the past.

On the price front, the gold import duty was raised sharply from 6% to 15%, making it the single largest increase on record and fully reversing the duty cut of July 2024. Rules were also tightened for gold imports linked to exports (under the advance authorisation scheme), and the Prime Minister has directly appealed to consumers, urging them to avoid buying gold for a year.