G&J Industry – Banking on the Future

The Banking Summit 2022 was held after a span of three years with a vision to achieve transparency in business practices and development of the sector

The Banking Summit 2022, organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), in association with IndusInd Bank, and powered by the World Gold Council (WGC), was held on October 14, 2022, in Mumbai. The event was inaugurated by Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Minister of State for Finance, in the presence of Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC; Kirit Bhansali, Vice Chairman, GJEPC; Saunak Parikh, Convener, Banking, Insurance and Taxation Committee, GJEPC; Somasundaram PR, Regional CEO, India, WGC; Sabyasachi Ray, ED, GJEPC; and others. The Summit was co-partnered by ECGC, Alliance Insurance Brokers, Diamond India Limited, Green Lab Diamonds, Malca-Amit and Yes Bank.

Inaugurating the Summit, Dr Karad said, "The gem and jewellery sector is an important contributor to our economy, bringing valuable foreign exchange, and employing around 45 lakh people. Until today, India has been a price-taking economy, trying to be at par with the bigger players around the globe. But now, with the establishment of an international bullion exchange, it will bring positive impact towards making India a price maker in the world."

Delivering the inaugural address, Shah said that India had emerged as a bright light at a time when the world was facing imminent prospects of a recession. "Over the past few years, the trade members have worked on making the sector more organised, disciplined, self-regulating and transparent. And this has been reflected in improved credit flow to the sector from banks and financial institutions."

He noted that in March 2022, credit to the gem and jewellery sector rose to a six-year peak of Rs 80,400 crore. In a span of 2 years, from March 2020 to March 2022, credit grew by 35%, whereas credit to all sectors grew by 6.7%. "Our vision is to take the gem and jewellery exports to $55 billion by 2025," Shah added.