India’s strength in gems and jewellery is not that it mines most of the gold it uses. It is that the country imports raw materials, processes and manufactures them, then sells higher-value products abroad. NITI Aayog’s 2026 Trade Watch puts India’s 2024 gems and jewellery exports, excluding raw gold, at USD 29.5 billion—7.8% of the corresponding global market. Cut and polished diamonds and gold jewellery account for much of that export story.
How can a major gold consumer also be an export powerhouse?
Consumer demand and export capability measure different things. Domestic demand tracks what households buy; exports reflect what businesses sell to overseas markets. India is important on both measures, but its role as a manufacturing and processing hub is not the same as being a major gold-mining country.
NITI Aayog’s Q3 FY 2025–26 Trade Watch says India imports significant quantities of raw gold, processes it and re-exports value-added products. In this value chain, imported material can become a cut and polished diamond, a piece of gold jewellery or another finished product. The economic contribution comes from processing, manufacturing and design as well as the material itself.
India’s domestic market is substantial. The World Gold Council’s 2025 report on calendar-year 2024 records jewellery demand of 563 tonnes, down 2% from 2023, with demand by value of INR 3.6 trillion. Those figures describe Indian consumers, not exports. The same report linked buying patterns during 2024 to record gold prices and the July import-duty cut: the duty change encouraged purchases in the third quarter, while high prices weighed on demand in the final quarter.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match#1 Best Overall
What do the export figures actually measure?
The denominator matters. NITI Aayog reports a 2024 global HS 71 market of USD 1.05 trillion, a broad measure that includes raw and semi-processed gold. On a different basis—excluding raw gold—the report puts the world market at USD 378.1 billion and India’s exports at USD 29.5 billion, or 7.8% of that market. These totals describe different scopes and should not be compared as if they were the same market.
| Measure | Reported figure | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Global HS 71 market, 2024 | USD 1.05 trillion | Broad category including raw and semi-processed gold; NITI Aayog, Q3 FY 2025–26 Trade Watch. |
| Global market excluding raw gold, 2024 | USD 378.1 billion | The comparison market used for the reported Indian export share; NITI Aayog, Q3 FY 2025–26 Trade Watch. |
| India’s gems and jewellery exports excluding raw gold, 2024 | USD 29.5 billion; 7.8% of the corresponding global market | India’s share on the ex-raw-gold basis; NITI Aayog, Q3 FY 2025–26 Trade Watch. |
Within the 2024 Indian export basket shown in that report, cut and polished diamonds represented 45.9% and gold jewellery 37.2%. These figures show concentration in particular categories, not dominance of every jewellery segment or of the entire global trade.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
Why are diamonds and jewellery central to the export story?
Cutting and polishing diamonds
India’s role in diamonds is strongly associated with skilled, labour-intensive cutting and polishing rather than simply mining them. NITI Aayog describes Surat as the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centre and identifies cut and polished diamonds as India’s largest export category in its 2024 analysis. The strength is specialization: transforming rough stones into products with greater commercial value.
Manufacturing gold jewellery
Gold jewellery is the other major category in the cited export basket. Manufacturing draws on a mix of businesses and craft capability. A World Gold Council manufacturing analysis published in 2022 characterized the sector as fragmented and reported that 55% of manufactured jewellery was handmade by karigars, or skilled artisans. That historical estimate helps explain the importance of handwork and intricate design, but it is not a current measurement of the workforce or production mix.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The same 2022 analysis said 15–20% of manufacturing units operated as organized, large-scale facilities. This is also a historical description, not a fresh estimate. Together, the figures point to a production landscape that includes both larger organized manufacturers and a broader, more dispersed base of workshops and artisans.
How has refining capacity developed—and what does that not prove?
Refining is one part of the value chain, but a growing number of refineries does not by itself establish global leadership. A World Gold Council analysis published in 2022 reported that India had fewer than five formal refineries in 2013 and 33 in 2021. It said organized refining capacity rose from 300 tonnes to 1,800 tonnes over the same period. These are historical figures for those years, not current counts or a 2026 capacity estimate.
Rank #4
The Council linked some refinery growth to import-duty advantages for gold doré compared with refined bullion. It also noted that a competitive refining hub depends on more than installed capacity: consistent doré or scrap supply, a workable ability to export bars, clear standards and suitable infrastructure matter too. The available figures therefore support a story of expanding domestic capacity, not a claim that India has become the leading global refining centre.
Why do craft, design and trust matter to the next stage?
Manufacturing scale can make India an important supplier, but higher-value positioning also depends on what is designed, branded and sold. The Department of Commerce and the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) framed innovation, design leadership, value addition and global branding as priorities in their 2026 roadmap. Moving beyond lower-margin original-equipment-manufacturer (OEM) work is an aspiration in that plan, not evidence that the shift has already occurred across the industry.
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
Quality signals matter when buyers cannot assess a product’s material or purity by appearance alone. The World Gold Council’s 2022 account says mandatory hallmarking for specified purities took effect on 16 June 2021. That date is useful context for the development of quality assurance; the 2022 account does not establish the latest regulatory scope or every current requirement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the USD 100 billion target mean?
In an August 2026 announcement, the Department of Commerce and GJEPC set an ambition to reach USD 100 billion in gems and jewellery exports by 2040. The announcement compared that goal with approximately USD 28 billion recorded in FY 2025–26. The USD 100 billion figure is a target, not an achieved result or a guaranteed forecast.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal described the route as building “a comprehensive ecosystem driven by innovation, global design leadership and trust.” In practical terms, the roadmap’s ambition is to build on India’s processing and manufacturing base while capturing more value through design, branding and higher-value products. The difference between today’s measured exports and the 2040 ambition is central: one is a dated trade figure, the other a policy-and-industry goal.
Quick Recap
How to read India’s position without overstating it
- Separate demand from exports: the World Gold Council’s 563-tonne figure is Indian jewellery demand in 2024; NITI Aayog’s USD 29.5 billion figure is 2024 exports excluding raw gold.
- Distinguish raw materials from finished goods: India imports significant raw gold and earns export value through processing and manufacture; this is not evidence that it mines most of its gold.
- Name the strong categories: the cited 2024 export breakdown highlights cut and polished diamonds and gold jewellery. It does not establish leadership in every high-value segment.
- Date historical capacity and production figures: the refinery and manufacturing statistics come from World Gold Council publications dated 2022 and should not be presented as current estimates.
- Keep the 2040 figure in the future tense: USD 100 billion is an announced ambition, not current export performance.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
