National News
GJEPC Welcomes Introduction Of Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill 2026: A Landmark Step For India’s Rough Diamond Trading Ecosystem
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) warmly welcomes the introduction of the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha on 4 August. The insertion of entry 13F in Schedule IV to the Income-tax Act 2025, providing a full income tax exemption on income from sale of rough diamonds by eligible foreign companies engaged in the rough diamond trade through Special Notified Zones with effect from 1 October 2026 and up to 31 March 2041, is a transformative and historic intervention that GJEPC has long advocated for.
Commenting on the development, Shri Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJEPC, said:

“This is a defining moment for India’s diamond industry. For years, the one thing holding us back from becoming a global rough diamond trading hub was not capability or capacity — it was certainty. A 15-year statutory exemption removes that doubt entirely. This was a long-standing demand of the Council to enable our small and medium-sized diamond manufacturers to directly source rough diamonds from global mining companies, auctioneers and traders, while enjoying a tax framework comparable to that of other leading rough diamond trading centres across the world.
We are confident that this measure will enable India to emerge as a global powerhouse in rough diamond trading.”
“We are deeply grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Finance Minister for recognising what this industry needed and acting on it decisively.” Kirit Bhansali added.
This measure directly addresses the single most critical barrier to positioning India as a global rough diamond trading hub, being the absence of a competitive and certain income tax framework for eligible foreign companies engaged in the rough diamond trade, including foreign mining companies, their sightholders, brokers, aggregators and tender and auction entities, participating in India’s Special Notified Zones. By providing a full statutory exemption for 15 years, the dispensation is now equivalent to that available in competing international diamond trading jurisdictions, and the Government has sent an unambiguous signal of long-term commitment to the diamond trade that will resonate strongly with international participants across the globe.
GJEPC particularly welcomes the expansion of eligible entities to cover the full spectrum of participants in the rough diamond trade, including foreign mining companies, their sightholders, brokers, aggregators and tender and auction entities. This expansion is critical to building liquidity and depth in India’s SNZ framework. The rough diamond trade is not conducted exclusively through mining companies and the inclusion of the broader ecosystem of trading intermediaries is essential for India to compete with established hubs. We also note with particular appreciation that the definition of rough diamond in Note 5 covers all forms of rough diamonds, whether unworked, sawn, cleaved or bruted, and critically does not carry any restriction on sorted or assorted diamonds, thereby aligning the statutory definition with the full spectrum of commercial rough diamond trading activity as it actually occurs in practice. This means that diamonds across all stages of primary processing, including sorted and assorted parcels, fall within the scope of the exemption, removing a long-standing source of uncertainty for the trade.
GJEPC calls upon CBDT to swiftly prescribe the form and manner of information to be maintained and furnished by eligible foreign companies under the exemption conditions, well before the 1 October 2026 effective date, and to ensure that the compliance framework is simple, clear and operationally workable for international participants unfamiliar with Indian regulatory procedures.
We also look forward to consequential amendments to Para 4.49 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 to align the eligible entity framework on the trade side with the expanded participant universe now recognised under this income tax exemption, and to corresponding amendments to Customs Circulars 17/2015 and 36/2019 governing the Special Notified Zones at Bharat Diamond Bourse Mumbai and Gem and Jewellery Hub Surat.
GJEPC expresses its deep gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Hon’ble Finance Minister, the Department of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Board of Direct Taxes for their sustained engagement with the industry and their unwavering commitment to making India a world-class destination for rough diamond trading. This Bill marks the beginning of a new chapter for India’s diamond ecosystem and we stand ready to work with all stakeholders to ensure its swift and effective implementation.
National News
Senco Gold & Diamonds Partners With Olocker to Give Customers Free Jewellery Insurance, Letting Precious Memories Be Worn, Not Hidden Away
A Customer-First Initiative Designed to Help People Wear Their Precious Memories with Confidence.
Senco Gold & Diamonds, one of India’s most trusted jewellery houses, has partnered with Olocker, India’s first dedicated jewellery insurance platform, to offer free jewellery insurance to its customers, protecting purchases against risks such as snatching, robbery, and housebreaking.
On the surface, it’s a simple value-add: buy jewellery from Senco, get it insured, at no extra cost. But the thinking behind it is more personal — the freedom to actually live with the things you love.
There is a quiet ritual that plays out in homes across India every wedding season, every anniversary. A piece of jewellery is bought with love, worn once or twice with pride — and then, almost apologetically, tucked away in a bank locker for “safekeeping.” The very thing meant to be cherished ends up spending most of its life in the dark.
A Locker Is No Place for a Memory
Ask any family that owns fine jewellery, and you’ll hear the same quiet anxiety: the fear of stepping out wearing something precious, the fear of a break-in while the house is empty. For many, the solution has always been the same — lock it away, take it out only for weddings and festivals, and let it sit untouched the rest of the year.
It’s a practical response to a real risk, but it also means jewellery bought to mark a marriage or a milestone ends up being seen far less than it deserves.
This is the exact problem Senco Gold & Diamonds’ Managing Director, Suvankar Sen,

has spoken about wanting to solve. Known for a customer-first philosophy that goes beyond transactions, Sen has often said jewellery should be something people live with, not something they merely own. “Jewellery is never just metal and stone,” Sen said, explaining the thinking behind the Olocker partnership. “It’s a wedding day, a mother’s blessing, a promise kept. When customers can’t step out wearing it, or can’t leave home without worrying about a break-in, something is broken in that experience. We wanted to fix that.”
That sentiment is the quiet engine behind this initiative. Rather than simply selling jewellery and stepping back, Senco has chosen to walk the extra mile — ensuring that once a customer takes a piece home, they can wear it freely and pass it down through generations, without the constant undercurrent of worry.
What the Partnership Actually Offers
Through this collaboration, Senco customers receive free jewellery insurance via Olocker on qualifying purchases, protecting against snatching, robbery, and housebreaking.
Olocker, India’s first digital platform dedicated to jewellery insurance and asset tracking, brings the technical and insurance backbone — while Senco brings its decades of trust, built since 1938, to make sure customers actually use it.
For a family that has just bought a piece for a wedding, this means peace of mind — wearing that necklace to a dinner without the nagging thought of “what if someone snatches it,” or “what if someone breaks in while we’re away.”
A Partnership Built on Shared Intent
The excitement isn’t one-sided. At Olocker, the partnership is seen as validation of the idea the platform was built on — that jewellery insurance should be a natural, everyday companion to ownership, not a niche afterthought.
“This is genuinely one of the most exciting collaborations we’ve been part of,” said Milind Shethia, Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Olocker. “Our mission has been to help people wear their jewellery instead of locking it away, and partnering with a name as trusted as Senco brings that mission to millions of customers at once.
What’s heartening is Mr. Sen’s own approach — he didn’t look at it as a marketing tie-up, but as giving something back to people who’ve trusted Senco for generations. That kind of intent is rare, and it’s exactly the spirit we built Olocker around.”
That mutual sense of purpose is what gives this partnership its quiet credibility. It isn’t a scheme or a promotional hook, but two organisations agreeing on a simple, shared belief: jewellery should be lived in, not locked up.
A Bigger Idea About Ownership
There is a broader philosophy at play, one Suvankar Sen has championed throughout his tenure at Senco — that jewellery is an emotional asset as much as a financial one, and customers shouldn’t have to choose between enjoying it and protecting it.
This partnership feels less like a marketing initiative and more like a promise kept, reflecting a leadership style that measures success in something harder to quantify — how cared for a customer feels long after leaving the showroom.
As jewellery increasingly doubles as adornment and investment, initiatives like this one may well set a new benchmark for customer care in the industry.
Senco, through its partnership with Olocker, isn’t just insuring jewellery against snatching or a break-in — it’s giving people back the freedom to wear their memories, out loud, without fear.
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