Manish Jain, a veteran of gems & jewellery industry, has been unanimously appointed as the Chairman of the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) for the year 2015-17. Jain is the founding member of GJF, the national trade federation for the promotion and growth of trade in Gems and Jewellery (G&J) sector across India.

Jain, the son of a freedom fighter Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain, is the Managing Director of Rajmal Lakhichand Group, a 161-year gold jewellery firm, which has been established since 1854 in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. He is also a philanthropist & social worker addressing various causes.

Welcoming Jain’s appointment as Chairman, GJF’s outgoing Chairman Haresh Soni said, “It is my honour and privilege to welcome Manish Jain to head our prestigious institution, GJF, which has a legacy of promoting the interest of the gems & jewellery trade. Considering the challenges faced by the sector, I strongly believe that Jain’s leadership will immensely benefit the institution and help us gear up for the numerous tasks ahead while we work for the betterment of the trade and for welfare of the lakhs of people employed in the gems and jewellery sector.”

Manish Jain, Chairman, GJF, said, “I am proud to head an institution such as GJF, which is the voice of the domestic gems and jewellery sector. As Chairman of GJF, I shall continue to constantly highlight issues, address concerns and find solutions to issues that plague the sector. We have also been striving to strengthen our own foundation, transforming ourselves from family businesses to professional enterprises. We have been encouraging G&J sector members to become systems-driven and compliant organizations. Our success lies in the growth of the gems & jewellery sector, its numerous members, key stakeholders and also development of its workforce. It would be my endeavour to live up to the expectation of the members of the association and also work towards the growth of the industry in this challenging business environment.”

Talking about the key issues facing the gems and jewellery sector, Jain added, “We have expressed our happiness at the ‘change in attitude’ of the new Government which has progressively stimulated several positive changes in policy such as abolition of 80:20 Rule; inclusion of the gems and jewellery sector in Make in India programme; indigenous manufacturing of gold coins with the symbol of Ashoka Chakra; gold monetisation scheme and opening of gold loans to the trade. However, GJF has expressed dissatisfaction over imposition of the PAN Card requirement on any transaction over Rs. 1 lakh. This is not practical and will discriminate 70 per cent of the rural buyers as they are not under tax net and do not have PAN cards. The high import duties have promoted smuggling and this new measure shall in no way stop generation of black money. The delay in lowering duty on gold only hampers our economy as black money will be generated and parked in gold. We have been pursuing with the Government to come up with more trade friendly policies where industries can develop and grow to build the economy. We shall continue to pursue with the National Skilling Mission to take up the challenge of enhancing skills of over 2 crore people in the gems and jewellery sector as well as encourage youth entrepreneurs to enter the business.”