Union Minister chairs meeting on Lab Grown Diamonds; Focus on Research and Development, setting up common facilities and skilling of adequate manpower

What is the News?

The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry chaired a meeting with the representatives of Lab-Grown Diamonds Industry today in New Delhi. 

What are Lab Grown Diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds which are grown inside a lab using cutting-edge technology that replicates the natural diamond growing process and the result is a man-made diamond that is chemically, physically and optically the same as those grown beneath the Earth’s surface.

Process: Lab-grown diamonds can be created by two processes: 1) High-Pressure High Temperature(HPHT) which is used in China and 2) Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) which is used in the USA and India.

Uses: It is used in the jewellery industry, computer chips, satellites, and 5G networks as they can be used in extreme environments as it has potential to operate at higher speeds while using less power than silicon-based chips.

Export of Lab-Grown Diamonds: India exports polished Lab Grown diamonds to the USA, Hongkong, UAE, Israel and Belgium. The USA accounts for around 67% of India’s exports followed by Hongkong with a share of 14%.

India in Lab-Grown Diamonds: Like natural diamonds, India has proved its leadership role in the cutting and polishing of lab-grown diamonds. Currently, India contributes around 15% of the global production of lab-grown diamonds for which it is presently self-sufficient.

Source:  The post is based on the article “Union Minister chairs meeting on Lab Grown Diamonds; Focus on Research and Development, setting up common facilities and skilling of adequate manpower” published in PIB on 17th May 2022.