Government says Monday's jewellery strike had little impact, jewellers' associations disagree

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Aug 24, 2021

The central government announced that the strike held by several jewellers’ associations against mandatory gold hallmarking on August 23 had no impact, but some organisations reported a strong response from jewellers. 

 
On Monday, 350 jewellery associations and federations including the All India Gems and Jewellery Domestic Council supported a strike where participating jewellery stores remained shut to protest mandatory gold hallmarking. The GJC reported a strong response and said that, apart from corporate jewellery businesses, most shops remained shut for the strike, ET Bureau reported. 
 
The central government contested this claim and called the action a failure.

“The strike called by a very small section of jewellers has had no impact,” said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in a statement, the Press Trust of India reported.

“As expected, the misguided attempt by these limited set of persons to disrupt the normal functioning of jewellery business today has failed miserably.”
 
The government called the strike an attempt to spread misinformation concerning mandatory gold hallmarking. The government also said that numerous jewellery organisations including the All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation, Swanakaar Sabha, and Sarva Swarnkaar Samaj Netrutva Vikas Sanstha all came out against the decision to strike. The Consumer Affairs Ministry also shared photos of jewellery stores open on Monday for large-name brands including Tanishq, PC Jewellers, and Kalyan Jewellers, among others.
 
Gold hallmarking was officially made mandatory on June 16 after being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The scheme is currently being implemented in a phased manner across India.