IDI foundation day celebrations held in city

SURAT, June 17: The 22nd Foundation Day celebrations of the Indian Diamond Institute and the 14th Award function were held at the Institu...

SURAT, June 17: The 22nd Foundation Day celebrations of the Indian Diamond Institute and the 14th Award function were held at the Institute premises on Tuesday. Municipal commissioner S Jagadeesan was the chief guest while district collector Sangeeta Singh and Vice-Chairman of Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council Prabodhbhai Mehta were the guests of honour.

Institute chairman Chandrakant Sanghavi said the institute was set up in 1978, and 5 years later the Central government took over the administration. He announced on the occasion that the central government had sanctioned Rs 15 lakhs for the newly constructed students hostel.

He said the institute had sought GJEPC’s permission to start advanced courses on par with those offered by international institutes. The permission was likely to come in the near future, he claimed. He thanked Exim Bank, Ahmedabad, and the Surat-based Sahajanand Laser who contributed Rs 25 and Rs 10 lakhs respectively for buying a Laser Raman Spectroscope.

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President of the Surat Diamond Association Devshibhai Bhadiyadra said it was possible for diamond workers to go on to become owners. He said when the older generation came into this business there was no institute imparting training. More and more students should benefit from the facility, he added.

Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) president Amarnath Dora said diamond exports had come a long way to Rs 30,000 crore per year from the Rs 16 crore volume in 1965-66.

Mehta said GJEPC, which has been shouldering 90 per cent of the institute’s expenditure, will increase it to 100 per cent from the next year. GJEPC’s regional committee member Pravinbhai Nanavati said the marketing base of the industry appeared to be shifting to Surat from Mumbai.

Institute director K K Sharma appealed to industrialists to donate only one 0.20 carat good quality diamond for ensuring good training for students. Leading diamond merchant Jivrajbhai Dharukawala also spoke on the occasion.