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.
DMK govt accuses Centre of withholding funds, tightening borrowing, unilateral deductions from state accounts. Says Centre's accounting & funding decisions have 'artificially inflated' debt burden.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
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