Diamond Industry Disappointed by India's Union Budget
February 03, 25
(IDEX Online) - India's diamond industry failed to secure a much hoped-for relief package in the Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday (1 February), though it will benefit some of the other measures announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
There was disappointment that she did not address the issues of funding for natural diamond promotion campaigns globally - the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has raised already raised $1.8m and was seeking match-funding from the government.
The industry has also been hoping for a halving of the 6 per cent duty on gold imports, which did nor materialize.
Nor was there an announcement of economic packages for diamond polishers facing financial crisis, or a response to request for low-interest loans to help diamond factory owners.
There were, however, some positive moves, among them a new digital public infrastructure - Bharat Trade Net - to promote international trade, and a new tariff for precious metals based on their purity.
Duty on precious metal jewelry will be cut from 25 per cent to 20 per cent and on platinum findings (pieces of platinum used to make jewellery or other items) it will be slashed form 25 per cent to 5 per cent.
Pic shows finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.