Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) on December 17, offering a boost to the diamond manufacturing industry in Gujarat city, which aspires to be the future trading hub.
Mathurbhai Savani, a core committee member and official spokesperson for SDB, confirmed the development. Savani was part of a delegation led by Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president CR Patil and SDB chairman Vallabhbhai Patel, which met the PM on August 2 to seek his date.
After meeting the PM, the SDB delegation met Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to pitch for international connectivity to Surat International Airport.
In a memorandum, the delegation said that in the future, diamond miners and auction companies of rough diamonds are also likely to make Surat its base.
Backed by this argument, the delegation demanded daily flights from Surat to Dubai and Hong Kong, and weekly flights from Surat to USA, London, Singapore and Bangkok.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
