Liquidity crisis for gems, jewellery sector as Nirav Modi case scares banks

Lenders are seeking 200% collateral and unusual compliance to avoid loan disbursement

The Rs 5-trillion gems and jewellery industry in India is facing a huge liquidity crisis due to the reluctance of lenders to finance working capital loans over fears, which have been sparked by a couple of precedents set in the past few months, of default.    

Industry sources said that banks have blacklisted the entire gems and jewellery sector and are not funding working capital loans, especially to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), due to insufficient collateral backup for recovery in the case of a default. Banks, according to industry sources, are seeking 200 per cent collateral for working