India's diamond hub Surat glitters after prolonged interval

While a majority of sectors have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, raw diamond cutting and polishing units in and around Surat city of Gujarat are abuzz with activities after a prolonged lull.

Media reports say that India is the world's largest cutting and polishing centre of rough diamonds, and 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished here. Surat is the hub for cutting, polishing and processing rough diamonds and 85 percent of the diamonds are exported. The diamond sector was facing a slowdown in recent years. The situation worsened from in the last week of March when the nationwide lockdown was announced.

According to data from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the exports of cut and polished diamond in the April-November period this year stood at Rs 66,419 crore, which is almost 33 percent lower than that of the same period in the last year. However, the November 2020 exports stood at Rs 12,214 crore (23.08 lakh carat), which is almost 45 percent higher than the exports in November 2019 in value and almost 35 percent higher in volume terms.