Maharashtra government allows jewellery, diamond export units to commence operations

The Maharashtra government has allowed designated export units of diamond and jewellery to commence operations with a limited workforce with the third phase of lockdown in place. The move has been welcomed as a 'significant' one by India's largest jewellery exporters. It is also believed that Bharat Diamond Bourse has received export interest applications from the member's worth $ 550 million from 1673 consignment parcels and SEEPZ is expected to export $ 10 million worth of diamond exports from 50 units. 

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Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJPEC) Chairman Pramod Kumar Agrawal while speaking to ANI said, "Bharat Diamond Bourse and SEEPZ in Mumbai are major centres which have a huge backlog of orders and we are happy that these centres will be operational in the next few days."

Furthermore, he added that the GJPEC would ensure that all factories and units operate and follow all guidelines of maintaining social distancing and ensuring frequent sanitisation of factory premises and equipment. 

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Maharashtra's COVID crisis

After 1230 new novel coronavirus cases were reported on Monday, May 11, Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally surged to 23,401. With 14,521 cases and 528 deaths, Mumbai remains a major COVID-19 hotspot in the state. Meanwhile, a record 587 patients were discharged in the day taking the total number of recovered to 4,786. 36 casualties- 20 from Pune, 5 from Solapur, 3 from Pune, 2 from Thane and one each from Amaravati, Aurangabad, Nanded, Wardha, and Ratnagiri were recorded on Monday. 27 of the deceased patients had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc. So far, 868 individuals have passed away due to COVID-19 in Maharashtra. 

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A total of 2,18,914 laboratory samples have been tested until now. There are 1256 active containment zones in Maharashtra currently. Surveillance of 53.71 lakh persons was undertaken by 12,027 surveillance squads in the day. While 2,48,301 persons are in home quarantine, 15,192 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres.

(With inputs from ANI)

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