Speaking to The Financial Express,

Praveen Shankar Pandya, chairman of the council, said that leading exporters of gem and jewellery in India would exhibit their creations at IIJS '99, which is considered as one of the biggest shows in the country.

The exhibits would include plain gold jewellery, jewellery studded with diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, apart from silver jewellery and other related articles. The exhibition would also have a separate section for gem and jewellery machinery.

At the show, the council would also conduct various seminars on technical and non-technicaltraining facilities available in the country. The main focus of the non-technical seminars would be to inculcate interest and enthusiasm among the younger generation about the various facets of the industry and emphasise that there is tremendous potential for making a profitable career in this sector, said Pandya.

The gem and jewellery export industry, which notched a growth of 10 per cent in fiscal 1998-99, at present has emerged as a front runner in the Indian export arena. In fiscal 1998-99, India's exports of gem and jewellery amounted to $6.15 billion as against exports worth $5.57 billion achieved in the previous year.

Participation in international jewellery exhibitions is a major promotional strategy of GJEPC. Recently, the council had organised an Indian pavilion at Basel '99 -- an international exhibition. According to the council, a group of nine jewellery exporters had participated in the pavilion. About 2,315 exhibitors from 40 other countries also participated in the Basel show, whichattracted a crowd of about 50,000 visitors from all over the world. A record business of over Rs 10 crore from jewellery section and Rs 4 crore from watch was generated, GJEPC sources said.