'Grown diamonds' to fill rising demand for diamonds: Report

With the production of mined diamonds projected to fall to 62 million carats by 2030, the diamond industry globally will face a huge demand-supply gap in the years to come that could only be filled potentially by "grown diamonds", a report said on Wednesday.

"Grown diamonds will fulfill the rising demand for diamonds as the production of mined diamonds is going to deplete to only 62 million carats in 2030 from the current level of 125 million carats in 2015," PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said releasing its report here on the subject.

"The current production of grown diamonds is 360,000 carats. Grown Diamond can help in meeting around 13 percent of the demand supply gap by 2030. However, there is lot of scope to enhance the production of grown diamonds to reduce the demand supply gap further," the report said.

Grown diamonds is a sunrise industry, majorly attributed to its several benefits to an economy in terms of generating employment, earning foreign exchange and providing a sustainable, ecological and origin guaranteed source of diamonds, the industry chamber said.

Grown diamonds are currently imported into India from Singapore, US, Europe, Russia and Malaysia for cutting and polishing and re-export to major diamond markets, it added.

"However, grown diamonds are misperceived as 'Synthetic Stones' as the product is placed under HS Code 7104 which is for 'Synthetic Stones', whereas diamonds grown in earth are recognized in HS Code 7102," the PHD chamber said.

"The current HS code (7104) that covers grown diamonds creates a wrong image as 'synthetic' in the minds of stakeholders," it added.

The report said that grown diamonds need to be covered "through the same HS code that categorizes diamonds - HS code 7102 - but under a unique sub-category at the 6th and 8th digit level", towards "handholding grown diamonds as a 'sunrise industry' in India".

In this connection, parliament was informed earlier this week that there were no closed and abandoned diamond mines in India.

"Panna Diamond mine is only diamond producing mines in the country which is under operation," Minister of State for Mines Vishnu Deo Sai told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

"Geological Survey of India has been conducting exploration of Kimberlite Clan Rocks, which is the source of diamond," the minister said.