Modus operandi employed by diamond jewellery businesses to launder money involves import of cheap, synthetic diamonds that are usually overvalued by over 100 times, it is learnt.
At least eight diamond workers in Surat have died by suicide in the past three months with about 15,000 laid off while the industry's losses have increased from 1% to 15-20% annually in the last five years.
India exported lab diamonds worth $216.07 million in financial year 2017-18. The latest numbers – between April 2022 & February 2023 – stand at $1568.55 million.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while announcing the allocation for lab-grown diamonds in the 2023 Budget, had called it an 'emerging sector with high employment potential'.
Losing access to Russian diamonds over long term would devastate the industry, jeopardising thousands of jobs in India and hitting major trading centers across the world.
Even though exports to India make up just about 10% of Russian direct sales, Indian diamantaires fear they could end up on the frontline of the war in Ukraine.
Surat Diamond Bourse, currently under construction, is expected to open in 3 or 4 months. It is expected to house nearly 4,400 merchants and employ about 1.5 lakh people.
I was in Islamabad when Mark Tully broke the news of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto being hanged. I held it against him—he could have tipped me off. But he was a journalist before he was a friend.
Premier David Eby, the leader of the minerals- and gas-rich province of British Columbia, spoke with executives at Tata Steel and Reliance Industries on a trade mission to India.
President Murmu has also conferred Kirti Chakra on Major Arshdeep Singh of 1 Assam Rifles for eliminating armed cadres when patrol led by him came under fire along Indo-Myanmar Border last May.
No nation other than China can negotiate one-on-one with Trump on an equal footing. That’s why the middle powers who so far formed the core of multilateral bodies now feel orphaned.
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