National News
MSMEs in diamonds, textiles, chemicals to be most hit by US tariffs
The US tariff hike to 50% on Indian goods is set to hit MSMEs hard, especially in textiles, gems & jewellery, seafood, and chemicals. With MSMEs accounting for over 70% share in these sectors, the move will squeeze margins, reduce competitiveness, and impact key clusters such as Tirupur’s RMG hub and Surat’s diamond industry. While gems & jewellery exports worth ~$10 billion face the highest exposure, pharma remains exempt. Experts suggest diversifying exports towards the UK, EU, and other markets to offset the impact.
The imposition of higher tariffs by the US will significantly impact micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for as much as ~45% of India’s total exports.
Currently, the US levies an ad valorem duty of 25% on Indian goods. However, it has imposed an additional 25% tariff that will take effect from August 27, bringing the total tariff on Indian products to a substantial 50%. The additional ad valorem, if implemented, will have meaningful impact on certain sectors and remains monitorable.
The textiles, gems and jewellery and seafood industries, which account for ~25% of India’s total exports to the US, are likely to be the most affected. MSMEs have more than 70% share in these sectors and will be hit hard. Another sector likely to face the heat is chemicals, where MSMEs have a 40% share.

Says Pushan Sharma, Director, Crisil Intelligence, “Partial absorption of the increased product prices due to higher tariffs will put pressure on MSMEs, squeeze their already-slim margins and pose a material challenge to their competitiveness. For instance, those into readymade garments (RMG) are expected to lose ground in the US as the tariff increases to 61%, including 50% additional ad valorem duty, compared with peers in Bangladesh and Vietnam tariffed at 31%. The Tirupur cluster, which accounts for over 30% of India’s RMG exports, will be severely impacted as ~30% of its exports are to the US.”
Similarly, in the gems and jewellery sector, MSMEs in Surat, which dominates diamond exports with over 80% share, will feel the tariff shock. As such, diamonds account for over half of the country’s gems and jewellery exports, and the US is a major consumer of Indian diamonds, comprising nearly a third of exports.
To be sure, the tariff hikes come at a particularly challenging time for most of these sectors. For instance, RMG exports have recovered after declining 7% on-year in fiscal 2024 and logged 13% on-year growth in fiscal 2025, albeit on a low base. The gems and jewellery sector has seen exports decline 10%-a-year over the past two fiscals on compound annual growth rate basis.
Some sectors, however, remain unscathed for now. For instance, pharmaceutical products, which comprise 12% share in exports to the US, are currently exempt from tariffs.
Of the five sectors expected to see meaningful impact, gems and jewellery has the highest exposure to the US at ~$10 billion. While we expect export volumes to contract, the impact may not be fully reflected in revenue terms because of a likely runup in gold prices and sustained domestic demand. To further mitigate the impact, India can increase exports to other countries as well as leverage the benefits of the recently concluded trade deal with the UK and a potential deal with the European Union.
National News
QWEEN Launches ‘Drama QWEENS’, An Original Microdrama Series Bringing The Unspoken Conversations Women Into The Open
The Instagram-First Series Brings Five Women Together To Tackle The Difficult Questions, Contradictions and Expectations Women Navigate Every Day.
QWEEN, India’s first self-discovery, 100% natural experiential luxury jewellery brand, has launched Drama QWEENS, an original Instagram-first microdrama series centred on the conversations women have, but don’t always say out loud.
Traditional jewellery advertising often makes jewellery the protagonist. Drama QWEENS reverses this construct by placing women and their individual journeys at the centre, while allowing jewellery to exist naturally within their world. Their ambitions, insecurities, relationships and everyday challenges drive the narrative, not the products they wear.
The ten-episode series features Diljot Chhabra as Noor Baig, Simran Natekar as Anaya Bajaj, Samvedna Suwalka as Natasha Prabhu, Priya Banerjee as Isabella Patel, and Rytasha Rathore as Aashi Paswan. Spanning ages 22 to 39, the series brings together women from different professions, backgrounds and stages of life. Their bond takes shape through a film club they form together, where the stories they watch become a lens through which they explore their own lives, choices and struggles.
The five characters also embody QWEEN’s brand personas: Noor as Gala Grandeur, Isabella as Party Girl, Anaya as Untamed in Love, Aashi as Femininity Reclaimed, and Natasha as I Want It All.
These personas don’t exist only on screen. At QWEEN’s Noida store, each has a dedicated zone shaped through design and jewellery curation. Drama QWEENS carries these personalities beyond the store, giving each one a voice and a life of her own.
The first episode of Drama QWEENS follows a woman preparing to get married, who begins questioning why her wedding has to become a performance for guests she barely knows. Why dance to five songs simply because that’s what’s expected? She wants to get married for herself, rather than follow a script written by society.
The second episode shifts the conversation from romantic ideals to the timelines women are expected to follow. Anaya, 22, and Natasha, 39, bond over a nostalgic debate about Shah Rukh Khan, until the conversation takes a more personal turn. What emerges are the labels they’ve each had to carry – from being dismissed as “too young” to, in Natasha’s case, being called a “crazy, hot, divorced woman with opinions.”
The episode challenges the idea that love, ambition and self-worth come with a timeline. At 22, 32 or 39, the feelings can remain the same; only the labels change.
Commenting on the launch, Amit Kumar, Co-founder and CEO, QWEEN, said:

“With Drama QWEENS, we wanted to turn the lens around. If jewellery advertising has traditionally told women when they need jewellery for a wedding, a milestone, a celebration or because someone else is buying it for them – we wanted to start somewhere else: with the woman herself.
Advertising has spent years showing women how to look, what to buy and how to celebrate. It rarely stops to ask what women are actually talking about. The woman is the protagonist. Jewellery is part of her story, not the reason for it.
Through Drama QWEENS, we want QWEEN to be a brand that encourages women to take up space, own their choices, own the labels placed on them and define themselves on their own terms.”
The idea for Drama QWEENS emerged from QWEEN’s consumer research, which uncovered conversations women regularly have with friends and in online communities, but rarely see reflected with the same honesty in mainstream advertising.
The first season draws from ten such conversations and lived experiences, spanning marriage, creative setbacks, pay parity, negotiating one’s worth, modern relationships and the timelines women are expected to follow. Through humour and the warmth of female friendship, the series turns these conversations into stories.
For QWEEN, jewellery is part of a woman’s everyday life – a form of self-expression and agency, rather than something reserved for weddings, festivals, gifting or externally defined milestones. It can be worn simply because it reflects who she is, what she feels and the moments she chooses to celebrate for herself.
The first season of Drama QWEENS marks the beginning of an ongoing microdrama series for QWEEN. Audience responses, comments and direct messages will help shape the subjects and stories explored in future seasons.
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