Lucky Lakshmi Set for an Enthusiastic Start

September 19 saw the first of the four inaugurations of the Lucky Lakshmi Jewellery Shopping Festival slated to kick-off September 23. The All India Gem & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) is organizing the festival with support from the World Gold Council (WGC) and the Diamond Trading Company (DTC).

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Kamal Nath, India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry, Anees Ahmed Maharashtra’s Minister of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, and figures from the jewelry.

“The Lucky Lakshmi Festival is being held at the appropriate time when India is on a growth trajectory as never before,” said Nath. “There are 25 million people coming into the middle class with new purchasing power,” he added.

He also said that there was a paradigm shift taking place in India, the kind of which had not been witnessed for over 15 years. “There is an attitudinal change. Earlier the Indian attitude was that we are working for our children and grandchildren. Today we are also working for ourselves.” The minister also said that the jewelry sector as a whole had performed very well on both the exports front and the domestic front, and that efforts like the festival would help the industry achieve greater heights.

GJF vice president, Ashok Minawala, said in his presentation at the event that the organization aims to turn India into the new hub for jewelry shopping in the world. “The Indian jewelry industry has a strength of Rs. 1,500 billion ($32.645 billion). All the dynamics are in place, all we need to take this forward is a driver. Lucky Lakshmi is that driver.”  

Commenting on the long term benefits, DTC Business Director Prasad Kapre said that the festival had achieved much more than merely putting together a 45 day festival as it had got the trade together on one platform, and offered the consumer an entirely new shopping experience.

Dharmesh Sodah, Joint Director of the WGC, said, “History is being created” citing that Lucky Lakshmi was the largest festival in the world. He applauded the efforts of the GJF in putting the festival together.