Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inaugurated the new premises of Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery (IIGJ) in Udupi.
She had laid the foundation stone for IIGJ in Udupi in 2017 during her tenure as the Union Minister of Commerce and Industries with her MPLADS funds and with support from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.
The institute provides upskilling for current workers and new skills for youth to make them globally competitive in design and manufacturing.
It provides training in various aspects of hand-crafted jewellery making, creating numerous employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in the gems and jewellery sector. It also focuses on enhancing the skills of the existing workforce.
Training facility
The institute is equipped with 41 jewellery manufacturing, CAD, casting, testing, and finishing machinery, including XRF gold-purity testing, CAD software, casting machines, plating units, and full production-line facilities, enabling both training and common facility centre (CFC) services.
The IIGJ-Udupi also trains people under the PM Vishwakarma scheme. The Minister interacted with the trainees under the PM Vishwakarma scheme on the occasion. More than 270 candidates have been trained at the IIGJ under the PM Vishwakarma scheme.
She also witnessed a demonstration of the ‘Design to Manufacturing’ process by students at IIGJ Udupi.
The event also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the IIGJ and IIT Madras under the InCent LGD platform for a specialised, industry-oriented certification programme in lab-grown diamond technologies.
The programme is aimed at bridging critical skill gaps, create job-ready professionals, boost value-added manufacturing and strengthen India’s position in the global LGD (lab-grown diamond) value chain, aligned with ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’ and the goal of a self-reliant, globally competitive LGD ecosystem.
Published on April 28, 2026