Microsoft, govt extend a helping hand to help them connect with the global market

Reeling under global meltdown, small and medium units in Surat’s Rs 70,000-crore diamond industry are all set to take to virtual selling to revive the sales. To help the industry in its initiative, Microsoft and the government have extended support.

Small and medium-sized diamond units depend on foreign clients for export orders. The slump in the market has meant a huge drop in demand for cut and polished diamonds from US and Europe clients who make the primary distribution channel for the industry. According to industry experts, about 20 per cent of over 10,000 processing units in Surat have already shut shops in the last couple of months, with exports tapering off.

Many diamond units have given an extended `vacation' to the labourers. Only time can tell how many will reopen after that period.

To tackle the situation, Surat units have now planned to reach out to global markets on their own, using ICT and web-based selling.

Microsoft, in association with the Union Commerce Ministry, is in the process of developing an e-readiness centre for the industry. The centre will provide consultancy services to small and medium diamond units in conceptualising and building their own brand, providing technology backup, and helping the with website development to sell their diamonds.

The implementing agency, Cluster Pulse (CP), says Microsoft will help get bank loans for units which cannot afford to pay for developing portals and IT automation, "In extreme cases, Microsoft will even partly fund them. But we believe the units will find this affordable," says Sawan Ruparel, Technical Head, Cluster Pulse.

"We are asking small and medium diamond units to connect to the world market. Our training programme and e-readiness centre will help them develop their own B2C portal," says Jagat Shah of CP. The team from CP which met diamond merchants in Surat on Wednesday claims to have got a very positive response.

"The dynamics of diamond industry are changing and small units should prepare themselves to face the challenge," says Chandrakant Shah of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI). "I think forward integration is the way to move ahead. This will help them a lot," he said.

The CP is also in the process of developing a knowledge-based national portal for the diamond industry. Moreover, the NGO will also help the small and medium units to develop their own websites with payment options so that they can sell their products online.

Sources in CP said because of the ignorance about web's potential, even the largest diamond polisher in the country didn't sell diamonds online despite having its own brand.

Citing example of a US -based retailer of diamonds, Blue Nile, which specialises in "build-your-own" jewellery, Shah said, "They get designs made in Ahmedabad, get it cut and polished in Surat and sell them at a rate 15% higher than the market there." He asked why companies in Surat could not do so."