The facility will be the first trading center in India where manufacturers can purchase rough diamonds

India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) have partnered to debut the Indian Diamond Trading Centre (IDTC), a special notified zone (SNZ) for buying and selling rough diamonds in Mumbai.

The facility is equipped with viewing rooms, a strong room, a conference room, and state-of-the-art security systems. The major mining companies have confirmed their participation for one year, according to a release from the GJEPC.

“Although India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing center, we had to depend on other trading centers like Belgium and Israel for supply of rough,” said GJEPC chairman Praveen Shankar Pandya. “Ready availability of rough diamonds in India through the IDTC will make a huge difference as the manufacturers won’t have to travel across the world to procure diamonds. We are hopeful that there will be a drastic improvement in production of cut and polished diamonds in India.”

Representatives from Alrosa, De Beers, and Rio Tinto were on hand for the opening.

“IDTC is providing a great service [so] we can do business with ease, which is really an important requirement in this industry,” said Jean-Marc Lieberherr, managing director of Rio Tinto. “We even plan to set up diamond mine in India which will be of international standards for which we are getting great support from the Maharashtra government and the central government.”

Andrey Polyakov, vice president of Alrosa, was also present at the opening. “For me, [the opening] is a very personal event and I am really proud to be associated with it,” he said in a statement. “The IDTC is an effort to promote and push our companies into the Indian market.”

The GJEPC plans to open similar SNZs throughout the country, including in Surat. 

JCK