Editor’s Note
The government has approved the winding up of Hindustan Diamond Company Private Ltd., a 50:50 joint venture with De Beers, marking the end of a nearly 40-year-old enterprise.
New Delhi, September 21 :: The government today approved a proposal to initiate the process of winding up Hindustan Diamond Company Private Ltd. (HDCPL). This nearly four-decade-old company is a joint venture between the government and De Beers Centenary Mauritius Ltd. (DBCML), with each holding a 50 percent stake. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce said the CCEA has approved initiating the process of winding up HDCPL. According to the statement issued after the meeting, the winding up of HDCPL will not affect the supply of rough diamonds to Indian diamond companies because over the years, the domestic diamond industry has developed and many Indian companies have leases for diamond mines in partnership with top diamond producers.
The objective of forming HDCPL was to create a robust system for supplying rough diamonds to the diamond processing industry in India, especially to small and medium diamond jewelry exporters who could not directly access the London-based Diamond Trading Company (DTC). DTC is the marketing arm of De Beers, which holds a large share of the world’s rough diamond market.
The statement also said that to ensure a continuous supply of rough diamonds and with the objective of making India an international diamond trading hub, the government last year created a Special Notified Zone (SNZ) within the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai. HDCPL was incorporated in 1978 under the Companies Act, 1956.