Gems & Jewellery

India is the world's diamond-processing capital: the city of Surat cuts and polishes over 90% of the world's diamonds. Gems & jewellery has long been one of India's biggest export earners and employs over 50 lakh people. But exports have slipped from a peak of around $40 billion to roughly $30 billion, a mature sector facing headwinds.

The big disruption is lab-grown diamonds, where India is now a leading producer — cheaper, greener stones reshaping the whole market. The government has cut import duties on gold and cut-and-polished diamonds, given the sector easier trade status, and signed FTAs with the UAE and UK to open new markets, targeting a rebound toward $75 billion by 2030.

India's edge in gems is skilled hand labour at scale: rough diamonds and gold are imported, cut, polished and crafted here, then re-exported as finished jewellery — a classic value-addition trade. Surat alone cuts and polishes the vast majority of the world's diamonds, while cities like Mumbai and Jaipur handle gold and coloured stones. The industry lives on imported raw material and export demand, so it's sensitive to both.

Gems and jewellery exports run about $30 billion, making India the world's 8th-largest exporter, and Surat still polishes over 90% of the world's diamonds. The path forward is moving up-market — as lab-grown diamonds grow (a segment India is racing to lead), and as buyers want branded, designed, hallmarked jewellery rather than just cut stones. The challenge is cost pressure, competition, and shifting from a commodity trade to higher-margin finished products.

The path forward is moving up-market — as lab-grown stones and softer demand reshape the trade, shifting toward branded, high-value and lab-grown segments protects jobs in hubs like Surat.

~$40 → ~$30 bn exports (2014→2024, declined). ~90% of world's diamonds cut in Surat. ~50 lakh jobs; ~7% of GDP. Sources: GJEPC, Dept of Commerce.