| Nanu Vanani, president, Surat Diamond Association, said, "Out of a total of 20 associations in Gujarat, office bearers of 17 associations participated in the meeting." |
| The meet was convened to discuss mainly two issues. One, to form a federation and second, to adopt the social welfare scheme for diamond polishers in the state. |
| "We believe that if all the 22 diamond associations come together to form a federation, it would give us a much better platform and enable us to effectively raise various important issues, concerning the diamond industry, at the highest level," said Vanani. |
| "We are very glad that majority of the participants were positive about the concept of the federation." |
| "The other issue discussed in the meeting was the Social Welfare Scheme for diamond polishers. The Gujarat Diamond Development Board had agreed for providing insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to the diamond polishers, in case of accidental death. But we feel that it should be raised to Rs 2 lakh," he said. |
| "We have met the Board representatives and submitted a proposal in this regard. We will meet them again to ensure that the scheme is implemented at the earliest," Vanani added. |
| "As per our proposal, the Gujarat Diamond Development Board will have to pay 50 per cent of the insurance premium with the respective associations paying the rest," he said. |
| There are approximately 8-10 lakh diamond polishers in the state. Almost half of them are in Surat. |
| Surat Diamond Association had launched an insurance scheme for the diamond polishers in the city. The scheme got extremely poor response, mainly because the diamond polishers insisted that the premium be paid by their employers, while majority of the diamond traders refused to pay any money. Out of an estimated 5 lakh diamond polishers in Surat, only 10,000 have opted for the insurance scheme. |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard