Textile, jewellery expo to boost Surat Inc

"The growth engine for Gujarat's development will be Surat and we expect the textiles and the gems and jewellery sectors to play a dominating role in the state's development," minister of state for industries Anil Patel said on Friday.

Industries secretary Amarjit Singh said while the state government has initiated several measures to help these two industries grow, the events have received unprecedented response.

"We have had to apologetically turn down requests for more participation," he told reporters.

Over 100 companies have booked 300 stalls at the GartexMart, while over 25 companies, some of them from other countries, have booked stalls for JewelMart.

A curtain-raiser was organised on GartexMart and JewelMart by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Friday.

Piruz Khambhatta, chairman, CII Gujarat Council, Gautam C Shah, chairman, Gartexmart and Amarjit Singh, secretary, industries also spoke.

Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) will be the partner of the CII and the government in organising these events.

Gujarat alone accounts for 80 per cent of India's diamond processing and Surat accounts for 30 per cent of world's diamond trade. Diamond industry in Gujarat provides employment to more than one million people.

Gems and Jewellery is the leading foreign exchange earner for the nation.