Most countries, including NATO, have consistently strongly condemned the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine. Several restrictions have also been imposed on Moscow regarding this. European countries have taken steps towards putting Russia in energy crisis. Despite restrictions on trade with Russia, India continued to buy crude oil from it. Indian refiners bought Russian crude at a discount and sold diesel extracted from it to European countries. He benefited a lot from this policy. However, trade with Russia may now be costly for one sector. The ban on diamond trade from Russia could render more than one million people jobless in India.
According to the report, about 90 percent of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in India. These include Russian diamonds as well. India has been importing diamonds from Alrosa in Russia. It is interesting to know that about 30 percent of the world’s total diamonds are produced in Alrosa. Indian diamond companies do cutting and polishing of imported diamonds. After this they are exported to G-7 countries. Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gem and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), expressed concern after the G-7 countries announced new sanctions on Russia. He said that if this ban on Russia continues, then the employment of 10 lakh people of India may hang in the balance.
Russia was earning well from diamond exports
Due to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia due to the Ukraine war, Russian revenue declined by about 50 percent. Russia tried to compensate for this by promoting diamond exports. According to media reports, Russia earned about $ 4 billion in 2021 from diamond exports. But, this bet of Moscow can also be ineffective now. Such speculations were already being made that the US and the European Union might impose tougher sanctions on Russian diamonds. Now that these restrictions have been announced, the concern of the Indian workers has also increased.
A joint statement was issued after the meeting of G-7 countries in Hiroshima, Japan. It said, ‘To reduce Russian revenue, we are going to restrict the trade and use of diamonds mined or produced in Russia. Steps have been taken from our side regarding this. Tracing technology will be used for this ban to be implemented effectively. Significantly, on the day the G-7 countries announced these sanctions against Russia, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also took a major decision. He announced a ban on the import of Russian diamonds. The US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and the Bahamas had suspended trade with Russian diamond miner company Alrosa in April 2022 itself.
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