The Chief Guest was Prof Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay and the Guest of Honor was Shri Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). 

Sanjay Kothari, Chairman, GJSCI, said, “The launch of JADE is indeed a historical event where two of the country’s largest industries i.e. the gems & jewellery industry and the IT Industry are coming together on a common platform to solve the industry challenges using state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science technologies. The entire gems and jewellery industry has willingly offered its support towards this endeavour; a technological leap towards a better and brighter future.”

GJSCI believes the AI-focused initiative will help the largely traditional industry in dealing with challenges like minimising rejections and poor hit ratio of designs, high market returns, etc. This Centre of Excellence will help find solutions for the industry at large and individual units as well. 

This unique initiative is a culmination of extensive effort done over the year by GJSCI in association with various organisations and experts.

Rajeev Garg, ED & CEO, GJSCI, added, “The Launch of GJSCI's Center for Jewellery Artificial Intelligence & Data Science Excellence is an important milestone in making Indian gems and jewellery industry a world leader. The use of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science in solving the problems of both manufacturers and retailers to improve their productivity, quality, and efficiency will put our industry on the highest pedestal in the global market.”

Reactions from industry stalwarts, hailing the futuristic vision of the GJSCI:

Subhasis Chaudhuri noted, “The collaborative efforts between various industries and academia in the field of Artificial Intelligence will go a long way in developing relationships and providing avenues for the future.”

Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman, Persistent Systems, stated, “This is the culmination of nearly one year’s effort. I am excited. The industry is traditional and can significantly benefit from modern digital technologies.  Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence can help boost competitiveness and create new high-value jobs in the industry.”

Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC, remarked, “We have been talking for a while about the need for convergence between the world of IT which has been changing the economy with various sectors GJSCI has taken the lead and has enabled the futuristic version of what will be a lesson for many other Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) in this direction. NSDC is always there to support this futuristic initiative of GJSCI, and will collaborate in exploring the funds required for JADE.”

Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, commented, “There has been a very active participation by team JADE to get the project off the ground. We have been known as the old-world (industry) in terms of adapting to digitisation, and Covid has been responsible in giving a nudge to go as digital as possible. This whole project is a step in that direction. I really hope this is the beginning of several other projects like this, which help the industry analyse data better and make informed decisions. GJEPC is always there to help in all ways possible.”

PR Somasundaram, MD, World Gold Council, noted, “I liked this concept from the very beginning. The collateral benefits of moving into data-driven decision making, including IT, I think that is far greater than any individual projects we do. I am extremely confident that this is going to be a transformative initiative. We are making history here. This is going to enhance India’s image in the export market. We are fully behind this and we do hope to see this grow.”