The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) hosted a meeting on bank finance in Jaipur last week where members of the trade interacted with representatives of the special Co-ordination Committee (CoC) constituted last year to resolve issues related to the gem and jewellery industry.

The CoC, comprising bankers, ECGC and trade, was set up by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry last year. It has held regular meetings to discuss various issues related to enhancement of credit flow to G & J. The fourth meeting was held at Jaipur on August 16, 2019.

Prior to the meeting, a panel including PN Prasad, DMD, State Bank of India, who is head of the CoC, V G Kannan, CEO, Indian Banks Association, Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman GJEPC and Sanju Kothari, BITC Convenor addressed the trade gathering. The presentations were followed by a Q&A session, where the speakers gave clarifications and responded on specific issues raised by the members.

The SBI DMD said that the bank will soon come out with a special package for the sector. He also assured the trade that it would look in specific issues including taking a view on meeting silver supply though third-party stocking at a few centres depending on the commercial viability.