The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) conducted a Seminar on promotion of export of gems and jewellery at Meerut yesterday. The seminar, which was attended by about 125 jewellers from the city, was organised by GJEPC’s Regional Office, Delhi and was held in association with Gemological Institute of America (GIA) - India, National Institute of Jewellery Techinology - Meerut and Meerut Bullion & Traders Association.

Welcoming the participants, Ravi Kishore Aggarwal, President, Meerut Bullion & Traders Association expressed his gratitude to the Council for organising this seminar in their city.

Ashok Seth, Regional Chairman-North, GJEPC addressed the gathering and briefed them about the industry and the role of the Council. He spoke about the Quick Check Machine launched by GII Mumbai to identify synthetic diamonds and said that the Council was offering the machine to industry/trade associations with a 50% subsidy.

Subsequently, K.K. Duggal, Director-Policy, GJEPC gave a detailed presentation about the Indian gems and jewellery industry, its current status, and about GJEPC, discussing its roles and functions in promoting this labour intrinsic sector internationally.

Nirupa Bhatt, MD- GIA India and Middle East, in her detailed presentation, educated those present about the threat posed by persons who mix synthetic diamonds with natural diamonds without proper disclosure.

Finally, Akash Mangolik, Vice President of Meerut Bullion & Traders Association and Secretary of Meerut Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Society gave the vote of thanks.

The Meerut event was the first of a series of workshops/seminars planned by GJEPC to promote export of gems and jewellery from the northern region. During the year, similar programmes are planned for other key industry centres in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana etc.