New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has sanctioned Rs 70 crore for a mega Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Mumbai that is meant to act as the “nucleus” for India’s gems and jewellery sector.
A CFC is a pool of capital-intensive, state-of-the-art machinery and equipment that can also be an epicentre for skilling, training and business facilitation.
On 18 December, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal laid the foundation stone for the mega CFC at the 110-acre Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ)-Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mumbai. The project is expected to be completed over the next three-five years.
The mega CFC in Mumbai aims to strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities and provide 10-15 per cent growth in employment generation within the jewellery sector in SEEPZ, which currently employs about 50,000 people, according to the government.
A similar mega CFC is expected to be set up in Gujarat’s Surat. Currently, cities like Kolkata, Jaipur and Coimbatore host such CFCs, each of which required approximately Rs 4 crore for construction.
“The one coming up in Mumbai will be like a nucleus for the industry and for all these smaller CFCs,” said Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director at the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), a body under the Indian government.
ThePrint earlier reported that India’s gem and jewellery exports have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels and are expected to touch approximately $41 billion this fiscal. The GJEPC aims to reach $75 billion in exports in the coming years.
Also read: Wedding rush sends India’s gold imports surging to 6-year high
‘Long-time request’ from the industry
According to Rajeev Pandya, owner of Shankar Jewels and President of SEEPZ Gems and Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association, setting up a mega CFC in SEEPZ was a “long-time request” from the industry.
“We are excited about this project because it has been a long-time request to the government. It will help MSMEs in particular because sometimes they have to forfeit orders, say for platinum jewellery, because they don’t find it viable to invest in specialised equipment required for these orders,” Pandya told ThePrint.
“A mega CFC would bring in high-tech machinery and allow firms to outsource it for their manufacturing process,” he added.
This will improve quality and pricing of India’s gem and jewellery exports, he added.
The five-floor mega CFC will be located in SEEPZ in Mumbai’s Andheri East area, which already houses about 150-160 jewellery factory units. Of this, there are 25 “top-notch” companies that are competing with the likes of China, said Ray, but a mega CFC can push that number up.
Asked how the Rs 70 crore will be spent on the project, Ray said Rs 20 crore will go towards the main building to be constructed by SEEPZ authorities. GJEPC will utilise the remaining amount to build a research and development and training centre, as well as bringing in machines for 3D metal printing, gold and platinum casting, laser engraving, and lab grown diamond detection technology and other technology.
Dilip Joshi, chief financial officer at manufacturer Renaissance Jewellery, which has six factory units in SEEPZ, highly anticipates the new technology the facility can offer.
“We are looking forward to the promise of new technology and training opportunities the facility could offer us. Also, we have to travel to testing labs 20-30 km away to test gems and Mother of Pearls. It would be nice if such laboratories are set up in SEEPZ itself,” he told ThePrint.
However, some industry players are sceptical too. “I’ve seen a lot of firms shift units out of SEEPZ because they faced excessive export regulations. So, I’m sceptical about this project. Also, Rs 70 crore is a very small amount. I assume most of it will go into repairing existing infrastructure in the economic zone,” said Ashish Agarwal, owner of Mumbai-based Worldwide Gems Exporter that supplies gemstones and raw materials to units in SEEPZ.
Also read: Maharashtra signs MoUs of over Rs 15,000 crore at Dubai expo