Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council yesterday released a new book on the gem and jewellery industry and the business practices it follows in India. Titled “The Gold Arc”, the book has been authored by Shantanu Rajguru, who is an Advisor and Consultant to the industry and earlier served as the GJEPC Director, East Region for over a decade.

Also present on the occasion were senior members of the trade and representatives of the media.

The book provides an overview of the gold and jewellery sector in the emerging economy of India, discusses the complex regulatory landscape that currently exists and looks at the various challenges that the industry faces as well as the direction in which it is likely to evolve. Topics such as GST, AML/CFT, FATF, Hallmarking and digital interventions sweeping the country are discussed, and author Rajguru says it will be of use to all existing stakeholders in the industry, service providers, as well as prospective foreign investors and new entrepreneurs.

Some of the broader themes covered include the centrality of gold in the world monetary system, how the price of gold is fixed, and what has prompted introduction of paper gold in India. There is also a special section devoted to manufacturing systems particularly for MSME units and another that studies the coming opportunities in emerging markets and visualizes the future decade for the jewellery industry.

The entire book is in the form of individual essays on particular themes each of which can also stand on its own.