Budget 2023 delivers boost for lab-grown diamonds, but how are they different from natural diamonds?
A five-year research grant will be awarded to one of the IITs to encourage indigenous production of lab-grown diamonds.
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will receive a research grant for the indigenous production of lab-grown diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are an energy-driven technology and innovation sector with high employment potential.
A five-year research grant will be awarded to one of the IITs to encourage indigenous production of such diamonds, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman while presenting the fifth Union Budget 2023 today (February 1) in the Parliament. The environment-friendly diamonds have optically and chemically the same properties as natural diamonds. To reduce the cost of production, the Finance Minister has proposed to reduce basic customs duty on seeds used in their manufacturing.
"The grant provided to IIT for lab-grown diamonds is a positive. The segment has seen a steep 54 percent growth in exports on-year, and accounted for 5 percent of total diamond exports YTD23," CRISIL said in a statement.
Difference between Lab-Grown Diamonds and Natural Diamonds
Lab grown diamonds are often addressed as man-made diamonds. These take 15-30 days to create in a laboratory in Surat in Gujarat.The only difference between lab-grown diamond and natural diamond is that instead of digging the earth, it is created in a lab under a machine.
In the Union Budget 2023, the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have been allocated INR 9,961.50 crore, which was INR 8,495 crore the previous fiscal year. The National Institutes of Technology (NITs), which are 31 in number, and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) Shibpur have been allocated INR 4,820.60 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23. Last year, NITs and IIEST Shibpur were allocated INR 4,364 crore. A total of INR 3,935 crore was allocated to NITs and IIEST in the fiscal year 2021-22.
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