The second edition of the Gems & Jewellery Domestic Council’s national event, Gems & Jewellery Show 2022, Diwali Edition launched at NESCO, Mumbai with the august presence of Rajeev Garg, Additional Commissioner of GST, GOI and the chief guest of honour at the event, accompanied by Chairman GJC Ashish Pethe;  Vice Chairman of GJC & Convener of GJS Saiyam Mehra; GJS Co-Convener Nilesh Shobhawat; past Chairman of GJC Nitin Khandelwal; past Chairman & Founder GJC, Ashok Minawala and past Chairman of GJEPC Rajeev Jain.

Dignitaries lit the auspicious lamp amid chants of mantras and prayers at the inaugural function. This was followed by the welcoming of the guests of honour and dignitaries from the industry. Floral bouquets and mementoes were given away and wishes of goodwill exchanged. GJC Chairman Ashish  Pethe took to the dias and started his address by stating that this was the last bit of his tenure as a Chairman. He went on to say that GJS 2022 Diwali Edit was planned keeping the festive purchase of jewellers for Dussera and Diwali in mind. GJS would take place every year twice during the Akshay Tritiya and pre-Diwali seasons, he informed and added that the gems and jewellery industry contributes 7%-8% to India’s GDP, 15% of merchandising exports, where almost 1 crore are employed and 5 crore individuals dependent upon this industry. Earlier jewellers would need to carry their products to various parts of the country to conduct business; however GJS provides the industry a convenient space for conducting business and network under one roof. He said that GJS was formed 17 years back with a vision to promote and protect the trade and for the industry’s progress.

Rajeev Garg, the chief guest of honour started his speech with a humourous comment on how Tax Officials are not generally invited nor welcomed yet he was pleased as a punch to be here sans wife! He went on to talk about the role of the jewellery industry in India’s economic growth and commended the industry at being an example. Finally the chief guest of honour declared the exposition open. “I declare the show open and wish you all grand success,” he joyfully proclaimed. The Vice Chairman of GJC and Co-convener of GJS Saiyam Mehra then spoke with fervor about the event. Mehra said that this year they had hosted over 35 international roadshows that resulted in delegations of 25 from Bangladesh, 15-20 from Dubai, 4-5 from the United Kingdom and 3-4 delegates from Singapore. More than 10,000 visitors had registered and the event had over 800 exhibitors. Free meals for over 6000 visitors was arranged and they had over 1500 hosted buyers at many five-star hotels in the city. Next year GJS was targeting 30,000 visitors he said. Nitin Khandelwal then spoke about tax rebates that the industry was looking at and expressed his best wishes to the participating jewellers. Nilesh Shobhawat too expressed his joy at the launch of the show which was in its second edition and proposed a vote of thanks.