Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Indian exports: All that glitters is gold

by AMIT ROY

JEWELLERY IN FOCUS AT LONDON SEMINAR


JEWELLERY and textiles, which consti­tute vital export business for India, were the subject of a recent seminar at India House in London.

It was chaired by Girija Sinha, wife of the Indian high commissioner, Yash Sin­ha, who focused on two companies – Amra­pali, a Jaipur-based jewellery firm, and Raw Mango, which describes itself as “a brand of contemporary Indian hand-woven tex­tiles crafted using traditional techniques”.

Amrapali has designed jewellery for “70 movies”, its owner, Rajiv Arora, told Eastern Eye. In Hollywood, it has been for such films as Warner Bros’ Troy, starring Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger.

In Bollywood, it has been for a number of blockbusters, among them Bahubali 1 and 2, with a cast that included Prabhas and Anushka Shetty, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela, starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

“We are doing Manikarnika,” he said, referring to a biographical film based on the life of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.

He explained how Amrapali collaborates with “the people who do the styling or costume design­ing – they work with us. So we create jewellery ac­cording to the requirement of the period if it is a period film or, if it is a contemporary film, accord­ing to the clothes the stars are going to wear.”

The cost of jewellery can go from “a few pounds to a million”, if the latter involves using diamonds.

“Normally for films, we use silver and gold and semi-precious stones such as garnet, turquoise, tourmaline, moonstone,” added Arora.

Celebrity endorsement is very important for the firm, which says its clients includes “Brad Pitt, An­gelina Jolie, Rihanna, Shakira, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Frieda Pinto, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Hawk­ins, Padma Lakshmi, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Twinkle Khanna, Rekha and Konkana Sen Sharma”.

India’s gems and jewellery exports were worth $35.55 billion in 2016-17, a rise from $29.44bn in 2009-10.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, “in the coming years, growth in the gems and jewel­lery sector would be largely contributed by the de­velopment of large retailers and brands. Estab­lished brands are guiding the organised market and are opening opportunities to grow.”

The foundation is an organisation set up by the government to promote Indian brands, mainly in overseas markets. It says: “India is deemed to be the hub of the global jewellery market because of its low costs and availability of high-skilled labour.”

The gems and jewellery sector “plays a signifi­cant role in the Indian economy, contributing around seven per cent of the country’s GDP and 15.71 per cent to India’s total merchandise exports. It also employs over 4.64 million workers.”

“The UAE, US, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Latin America and China are the biggest importers of Indian jewellery,” it points out.

Textiles are equally important to India. The in­dustry employs about 105 million people directly and indirectly and the country’s overall textile ex­ports in 2017-18 stood at $37.74bn.

The Indian textiles industry, estimated at around $150bn, is expected to reach $230bn by 2020.

Girija Sinha will be at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in west London on June 29 to inaugurate an exhibition of saris, jewellery and pashmina featur­ing the work of designer Booblie Banerjee from West Bengal.

There is one downside to wearing attractive and expensive Indian jewellery not just in London but all over Europe, as the Indian high commissioner’s wife discovered when she recently attended a desti­nation wedding in Barcelona.

Police have repeatedly warned Asian women to beware of burglars and violent street assaults.

Girija Sinha revealed she and her husband were staying at a “fancy” hotel in Barcelona, which is popularly (and not entirely inaccurately) dubbed “the thieving capital of Europe”.

On the day of the wedding between an Indian groom and Irish bride, Girija found she could not open the safe in her hotel room, where she had de­posited her jewellery plus cash and passports. “When someone fiddles with it, you can’t open the safe. And I was, like, everything’s gone.”

Although the safe wasn’t broken into, “they stole all my shopping – they took new clothes with the tags on and everything. That’s Spain now.”

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less