New Delhi, Jan 19 (KNN) A new Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council, an apex body that will bring together all the different segments of the industry within India under a common banner, will be formally launched by Minister of Commerce & Industry, Suresh Prabhu in Mumbai on January 28, 2018.

The five-member committee headed by Chairman, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Pramod Agrawal, has members from the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, AIGJF and other trade bodies.

The decision to go ahead with the formation of the body was finalised at a meeting, held in Delhi on January 16, 2018, chaired by Additional Secretary, DGFT Atul Chaturvedi in the presence of members of 14-member Working Group that had been set up by the ministry last year.

The group, had been constituted soon after a report prepared by the NITI Aayog on ‘Transforming India’s Gold Market’ was submitted to the government in February 2018.

The new body will be in the form of a federation and have trade associations, rather than individuals, as members. Its focus will be on strengthening domestic manufacturing and developing a wider base to grow exports.

The new ad-hoc national committee elected Chairman of GJEPC, Pramod Kumar Agrawal as Convener, said, “We welcome the government’s decision to form the Domestic Council for the Indian gem & jewellery industry.”

He said that the move will help to organize, the unorganised and small scale based domestic jewellery industry and help it to scale new heights.

GJEPC is happy to offer all our support and guidance in the formation of the Council, he added.

Agrawal added that the ad-hoc committee is an inclusive body and the core group will seek maximum possible opinions in the process of formulating the draft for a constitution and election rules of the Council.

“We will make this a body which belongs to all and work to fulfil the aspirations of all small and big associations from all across the country. This is what has been envisaged by the Minister for Commerce & Industries Suresh Prabhu,” Agrawal said.