Udupi (Karnataka), Apr 28 (PTI) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inaugurated the premises of the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery here, praising the centre for providing professional training and promoting entrepreneurship among youth.

Speaking at the event, Sitharaman said the centre, established in 2016 with support from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and the district administration, has grown steadily despite disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We started in a very small place, unsure of the response. Today, advanced facilities including CAD and 3D printing are available, enabling students to gain industry-relevant skills,” she said.

Sitharaman highlighted the centre’s reach across Karnataka and beyond.

“Students have come from Karwar, Chitradurga, Raichur, and Tamil Nadu. Some had no prior experience but are now running successful jewellery businesses,” she said, citing examples of trainees who returned to their hometowns to start enterprises.

Emphasising affordability, she noted, “Training abroad is expensive, but here the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery offers professional courses at accessible costs, making skill development widely available.” The minister also underlined the centre’s contribution to India’s jewellery export sector.

“This region, from Ratnagiri to Kerala, has a rich jewellery tradition serving the Indian diaspora. Skilled manpower from such centres strengthens our exports and creates livelihood opportunities,” she said.

Sitharaman commended the collaboration between the government, GJEPC, and local jewellers, noting that around 600 students were trained last year.

She urged greater awareness to attract more youth to the institute, describing it as a model public-private partnership that fosters entrepreneurship and skill development.

The minister also witnessed the signing of an MoU between the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery and IIT Madras under the InCent LGD platform for a specialised, industry-oriented certification programme in lab-grown diamond technologies.

The office of the minister said in a post on X that the programme will help bridge critical skill gaps, create job-ready professionals, boost value-added manufacturing, and strengthen India’s position in the global LGD (lab-grown diamond) value chain, aligned with Make in India, Skill India, and the goal of a self-reliant, globally competitive LGD ecosystem.

It further said that the Rs 242 crore grant announced in the Union Budget 2023–24 for lab-grown diamond research at IIT Madras is helping build a world-class ecosystem.

Under the InCent initiative, India’s first indigenously designed scaled prototype of a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) LGD machine has been developed and installed at IIT Madras, while imported commercial HPHT machines have also been installed for benchmarking.

Sitharaman also witnessed a demonstration of the ‘Design to Manufacturing’ process by students at IIGJ Udupi and interacted with trainees of the institute and entrepreneurs from the gems and jewellery industry, the minister’s office said in another post. PTI COR AMP SSK