Surat Diamond Association joint secretary Rohit Mehta said: “The budget is not good for the Gem and Jewellery industry. We expected a lot more from the finance minister, as the industry had experienced a slowdown, and many diamond polishers had committed suicide.”

He further said: “Even teams from the Central Board of Direct Taxes, RBI and Rahul Gandhi himself came to Surat and met the diamond polishers and businessmen. We expected the Centre to declare something good for the manufacturers and some schemes for the diamond artisans.” He said Customs duty on gold and silver has also been increased and this will directly affect the Gem and Jewellery industry as diamond-studded gold and silver jewellery will now become expensive.

Elsewhere, K K Sharma, the director of Indian Diamond Institute termed the Budget as balanced. He said: “The pre-shipment credit of two per cent on exports, which was earlier till September 2009, has now been extended up to March 2010, which is good news for exporters. Now, there will be no Excise duty on branded jewellery, which will benefit local consumers. Besides, Customs duty on rough diamond has been exempted too, which is good news.”

He added: “The insurance coverage on export, which was earlier between Rs 60 and 70 lakh, has now been increased to Rs 95 lakh on export of Rs 1 crore. But we were also hoping for I-T relaxation on manufacturers.”