In recent years, India has been at the forefront of the drive towards more sustainable supply chains by producing diamonds in labs. This has resulted in a six-fold increase in the exports of lab-grown diamonds, which account for a $22 billion market globally. According to rating agency ICRA, lab-grown diamonds accounted for 7.5% of the total polished diamond exports from India in the first nine months of FY2023, up from 1% in FY2019.
India has made consistent efforts to boost the production of lab-grown diamonds. During her annual budget speech this year, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Indian government’s intention to promote lab-grown diamonds. The government has reduced the customs duty on the seeds used in lab-grown diamond manufacturing and granted a research fund to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to support the growth of lab-grown diamonds in India. IIT Madras, which has experience in diamond research, was granted a research fund of ?242 crore over five years. India hopes to create a market where lab-grown diamonds can be offered at much lower prices than mined diamonds.
Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds that are produced using technology that mimics the natural geological processes of diamond formation. The process is called Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), which involves placing a diamond seed in a sealed chamber filled with carbon-rich gas and heating it to around 800C. The gas sticks to the seed, building up a diamond atom by atom.
India accounts for 15% of global lab-grown diamond production, producing around 3 million lab-grown diamonds each year. The country is also home to 90% of the world’s diamond cutting and polishing units, making it the largest exporter of diamonds. This move towards more sustainable supply chains has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of diamond production, which traditionally involves diamond mining and has been linked to environmental degradation and human rights issues.
Post Your Comments