The city of Surat is renowned for its diamond business- polishing and cutting- since long back. It has been an important economic driver for Surat. However, the once-flourishing industry is now facing challenges due to the market going slow globally and changing financial conditions. The industry is facing recession, which became one of the reasons, along with debts, provoking many of the workers and artists to end their lives.
Amid such scenarios, important news has come to light for gemstone artists. A meeting was held, and the state government announced some schemes for the support and welfare of the artists. The announcement of these schemes comes after a few months, as earlier, on March 11, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had conducted a meeting with the officials of the All Gujarat Diamond Association to discuss the issue.
Apparently, on Saturday (May 24), Home Minister of Gujarat Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of Forest and Environment Mukesh Patel, and Minister of State for Education Praful Panseria, announced that the state government has prepared welfare and assistance schemes for gemstone artists.
Under the scheme, the government will waive off a maximum of Rs.13,500 in the education fees of 1 year of the artists’ children. The amount of the same would be transferred by the government through DBT. Moreover, 1 year’s relief will be provided in the electricity duty. Apart from this, on a 5-year loan, an interest subsidy of 9% will be given for 3 years.
But the scheme is accompanied by conditions. Relief under this scheme will be given to only those artists and workers, who have not found work since March 31, 2024, and have been ousted from their factories. In addition, they must have also worked for 3 years continuously as gemstone artists.
The announcement comes as a ray of hope for the industry which is moving at a sluggish pace. Prior to this, no concrete solutions were brought up by the government in meetings, leading the diamond workers to protest, organize rallies, and conduct strikes.
Worse still, a lot of workers became unemployed due to the recession as many factories shut down. Some managed to find other sources of employment and livelihood, whereas some others committed suicide. The Diamond Worker Union claimed that 71 gemstone artists took their own lives in the last 16 months. With the announcement of the government scheme, artists and workers hope to take advantage of its benefit.