CHENNAI: The eighth edition of the Gem & Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE 2012) kicked off on Thursday at the Chennai Trade Centre. The event which will be held until February 26 is organised by the Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchant’s association (MJDMA) and United Business Media (UBM). Jayantilal Chalani, President MJMDA said this edition promises to be 50 per cent larger than 2011 with 225 companies taking part. Despite the low numbers on day one, the organisers seemed certain that business would improve by the weekend. “This year our footfall is slated to increase by 30 per cent,” stated Kranti Nagvekar, Group Director, UBM India Pvt Ltd. Incidentally, according to World Gold Council records, India alone purchased 800 tonnes of gold in the year 2010-2011, revealed HM Sultan Mohideen, Vice Chairman, GJIIE in a pre event for the media. He specified, “Forty per cent of this market came from South India, and sixteen per cent of the overall from Chennai.”PT Kumar, Director, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) confirmed earlier, “BIS is now mandatory for all jewellers participating in the event. Presently Tamil Nadu has 1100 jewellers with a BIS license.”Due to the popularity of the event, GJIIE has been extended from three days to four. Exhibitors from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur and other cities in India, as well as foreign participants from Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan have stalls on display. However, the exhibition is restricted strictly to traders and is not open to consumers. Nagvekar added, “This year, we are being particular about the restricted entry for traders only, so most traders present at the event are glad for the serious business.” Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah, inaugurated the expo.
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