Suresh Prabhu, Hon. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, inaugurated the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery (IIGJ), Udupi, an initiative of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), established with the support of Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman Hon’ble Union Minister of Defence.

With this IIGJ Udupi and others in Mumbai, New Delhi, Varanasi & Jaipur, GJEPC is taking a big step towards realizing Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Skill India, making India become the Jeweller to the World. Also present on this momentous occasion were Shri Prakash Chandra Pincha, Regional Chairman, Eastern Region, GJEPC; Shri A. Nagaraj Acharya (President, Udupi Jewellers Association) amongst other dignitaries.

IIGJ Udupi Campus is located at Canara Complex, 1st Floor, NH-66, Karavali Bypass, Post Ambalpadi, Udupi. With over 100 retail stores and engaging workforce of over 5,000 artisans and craftsmen, Udupi boasts of a rich jewellery lineage. IIGJ Udupi has been set up by GJEPC in association with National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, is a first of its kind institute in the Udupi region.

Suresh Prabhu said, “Designing as a career option would be the most ideal & prosperous career path for the young upcoming and aspiring designers in the future, as it is also becoming the most important part of the social economic development of the country and particularly in today’s world where the global value chain and global supply chain are becoming a reality.”

“By combining its rich culture, tradition with modern training tools and techniques, Udupi can now become a learning centre for the whole of south India. GJEPC’s IIGJ aims to provide training to the youth in the region in various aspects of hand-crafted jewellery making, which could eventually lead to employment opportunities in this dynamic gem & jewellery sector. It also aims at preserving and enhancing the skills of the existing workforce already engaged with the industry. Creation and upgradation of such trained workforce will in turn help in fostering development of the local jewellery industry,” added Suresh Prabhu.

Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC, “Udupi boasts of a rich jewellery making heritage and culture and IIGJ Udupi will help tap the potential of the youth and talented artisans to create world-class handcrafted jewellery. IIGJ Udupi has the ultimate objective of nurturing talent & enhancing jewellery exports from the region. We hope to revive the rich tradition of best-in-class jewellery designing craftsmanship in the entire southern region through this first-of-its-kind IIGJ Institute. By setting up institutes like IIGJ and common facility centres, GJEPC has initiated another way to further equip Indian gems and jewellery sector and make it globally competitive.”

IIGJ Udupi will focus on three levels of skills: NEW SKILLING for developing fresh skills in candidates who have no prior domain learning/working knowledge of jewellery UP-SKILLING for upgrading the skills of candidates who have prior domain learning and are already working in the sector. Give a design & technological orientation to the local industry to be competitive in the Indian & world market IIGJ Udupi will bridge the gaps and help students/ existing workers to get access to the best possible quality education, best-in-class technology practices and skill enhancement tools & techniques in the gem & jewellery business. IIGJ offers several other intensive courses for specific career in Jewellery Industry designed specifically keeping in mind the knowledge required to train an aspirant to become an entrepreneur. The courses include: Jewellery Design - Manual, Jewellery Design - CAD Based, Jewellery Manufacturing - Casting and Jewellery Making - Bench Work. Other short term courses such as CAD, Manufacturing, Merchandising, Diamond Grading & Gemology are designed for upgradation & skill enhancement courses.