Union Minister Rajnath Singh meets Gems & Jewellery Industry delegates

31st July 2021: A delegation team led by UP Sarafa Association along with GJC met Hon. Union Minister Shri Rajnath Singh ji (also senior BJP leader and member of Parliament from Lucknow) on the mandatory hallmarking issue. Shri Rajnath Singh ji patiently heard the concerns and issues highlighted on mandatory hallmarking for jewellery by the delegation. He then called Hon. Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal ji and advised him to schedule a meeting with the Gem & Jewellery industry delegates early next week

The UP Sarafa Association delegation was led by Mr. Mahesh Chandra Jain, along with GJC delegations Mr. Nitin Khandelwal and Dinesh Jain along with Industry delegates Mr. Ravinath Rastogi, Mr. Rajan Rastogi, Mr. Abhishek Khere and Mr. Pradip Agrawal among others.

The next crucial meeting of the Advisory committee will be held on 2nd August 2021.

Mr. Nitin Khandelwal, past Chairman, GJC, said, ?We are grateful to hon. Union Minister Shri Rajnath Singh ji for his patient hearing and glad that the UP Sarafa Association lined up this significant meeting. The plight of lakhs of MSME jewellers & craftsmen is at stake. We recommend the Government to acknowledge NITI Aayog report on Gems & Jewellery Industry for smoother implementation of the Hallmarking regime.?

Mr. Dinesh Jain, Director, GJC, said, ?Industry?s annual business of Rs. 4.5 lakh crore assuming 900 tonnes of gold is on standstill leading to chaos and collapse. The existing stock of approx. 5 crore jewellery pieces and new stock of 12 crore pieces will take years to hallmark. We are hopeful that the next meeting with Honourable Minister Shri Piyush Goyal ji will resolve our pending issues.?

Many jewellers have opposed the existing form of mandatory hallmarking including HUID (Hallmarking unique ID), fearing return to Search & Seizure and ?License Raaj? by BIS officials, no accountability by the Assaying & Hallmarking Centres and losses of jobs and livelihood. GJC is hopeful that the BIS will follow all its detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) submitted by GJC in the last advisory meeting and recommendations earnestly for a viable implementation of mandatory hallmarking of jewellery in the country.

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