Kerala- Gems & Jewellery skill Council of India (GJSCI) took another step towards accomplishing Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a skilled India by certifying their 3rd Centre of Excellence- KTB (IGJ,Inkel) in Mallapuram, Kerala in the esteemed presence of Rajiv Pratap Rudy- Union Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rohit Nandan -Principal Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE), Ms. Jyotsna Sitling-Joint Secretary, (MSDE), Rajesh Agrawal-Joint Secretary, MSDE, Manish Kumar-CEO, National Skill Development Corporation(NSDC), Premkumar Kothari –Chairman ,GJSCI and Binit Bhatt-CEO, JSCI.

Kerala being one of country’s jewellery hubs, KTB (IGJ,Inkel)- new Centre of Excellence plays a crucial role in providing skills to make them highly efficient as well as uplift the standard of living of the karigars in and around this region. The centre is a state-of-art-facility which brings with it latest equipments and qualified trainers that will enable the karigars to upgrade their skill set.

The launch of the centre was followed by a meeting with Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Premkumar Kothari and Binit Bhatt, where GJSCI was offered heartfelt support for its initiative ‘Project Vanika: Empowering Tribal women’ & ‘Project Hupari: Preserving the traditions’.

Skilling the karigars through digital medium and establishment of exclusive gems and jewellery skilling centres amongst other points discussed during the meeting.

Speaking at the inauguration Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “Employability is the need of an hour and Skill India initiative plays a crucial role in the same. The government has also changed the policy to integrate skill development with formal education because education cannot always make a person employable. It is great to have GJSCI certifying a Centre of Excellence in Kerala for our artisans here and it will soon benefit their lives.”

Premkumar Kothari, Chairman, GJSCI conferred “GJSCI’s vision is to make artisans of the industry employable and uplift their standard of living. Certifying IGJ as Centre of Excellence is one step towards it.”

Binit Bhatt, C.E.O, GJSCI, said “Our aim is to ensure that the existing labor force of the gems and jewellery industry are uplifted as well as to open doors are opened for new talent to enter the sector. This centre is going to facilitate the same vision.”