MP Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar 'Gold & Diamonds' Group, emphasised boosting consumer incomes to boost sales in the jewellery industry.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025 in the Lok Sabha on February 1 and already key industry stakeholders have already begun expressing their budget 'wish lists'. Among them is MP Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar 'Gold & Diamonds' Group, who emphasised boosting consumer incomes to boost sales in the jewellery industry.

''The demand for jewellery has strengthened after the gold import duty cut in the Union Budget 2024. Therefore, in the first full budget of NDA 3.0, the jewellery industry expects policy continuity to boost consumer demand for jewellery, thus generating more employment and playing a pivotal role in the economic growth. To boost demand for precious jewellery, the budget needs to propose tax relief measures to boost disposable income and consumption. Some strategic measures to control inflation impact on consumption are also welcome," he said on the flagging demand plaguing the sector.

He added, that another way to boost the sector, was to "propose measures to make the gold monetisation scheme more attractive to the people."

He explained, "This way, more idle household gold will be mobilised, resulting in reduced gold import bill and decreased current account deficit. The government may propose measures to revise the existing gold monetisation scheme to facilitate participation of recognized and reputed retail jewellers."

Flagging the issues of unregulated businesses and the need to standardise and develop the organised jewellery market, he said, "The budget should also announce measures to curb unaccounted business in the retail jewellery sector. The budget should also continue with the capital expenditure on infrastructure development so that the organised jewellery retail segment can further enhance its market penetration and discover new demand centres.''

Courtesy: Deccan Herald