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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse, which will have facilities like international banking, safe vaults, jewellery mall and create about 150,000 new jobs, during his visit to Gujarat.
He also inaugurated the new terminal building of Surat Airport, which can handle 1,200 domestic passengers and 600 international passengers.
Constructed in 6.7 million square feet, the Surat Diamond Bourse will be the largest office space in the world.
“Surat Diamond Bourse will now come to the fore along with India’s pride during discussions about diamond bourses in the world,” Modi said while inaugurating the exchange. “Surat Diamond Bourse showcases the abilities of Indian designs, designers, materials and concepts. This building is a symbol of New India’s capabilities and resolutions,” he added.
A global centre for trading rough and polished diamonds and jewellery, Surat Diamond Bourse will also house a state-of-the-art Customs Clearance House for import and export.
Modi said the government is working on measures like declaring the gem and jewellery sector as a focus area for export promotion, encouraging patented design, diversifying export products, collaborating for better technology, and promoting lab-grown or green diamonds. The government is working on providing special provisions for green diamonds in the budget, he said.
The sector is bound to benefit from the positive global outlook towards India and the growing stature of the ‘Make in India’ brand, Modi added.
Interestingly, Mumbai has been a major trading centre for Indian diamond exporters, and Surat processes a large chunk of the world’s rough diamonds, which are cut and polished in the city before being exported.
The inauguration of the Surat Diamond Bourse will centralise the diamond industry, making it one of the biggest hubs in the world.
Speaking about connectivity in Surat, he said Surat International Airport, metro rail service, and ports, including Hazira Port, deep water LNG terminal and multi-cargo port make it a hub for international connectivity.
“Surat is continuously connecting with international trade centres. Very few cities in the world have such international connectivity”, he said.
Surat’s connectivity with the Bullet Train Project and the ongoing Western Dedicated Freight Corridor will further strengthen rail connectivity of Surat to Northern and Eastern India, Modi said.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is also going to provide new opportunities to the business of Surat, he added.
On Sunday, during his Gujarat visit, Modi said India will be among the top three global economies in the next two and half decades.
“The government has a roadmap for the next 25 years and is working on the goals of a 5 trillion dollar economy and a 10 trillion dollar economy,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi, who was in Gujarat on Sunday morning, will make a two-day visit to Varanasi, where he will flag off the city’s second Vande Bharat running between Varanasi and Delhi.
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Published: 17 Dec 2023, 09:20 PM IST
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