“Vijay Gopal, a goldsmith at one of India’s leading branded jewellery manufacturing unit in Coimbatore, lost his job last month. ‘Since last three decades I was working in this market and never felt the need to learn any other skill. I am clueless on how I will feed my family of six,’ said Gopal. Gopal is not alone. The government’s move to tighten the screws on gold imports, and the decision by major jewellers such as Tata Group’s Tanishq, TBZ, Geetanjali Jems and others to curb gold sales, have caused some collateral damage: a cloud over the future of industry workers. Mrityunjay Sarangi, secretary, ministry of labour, refused to comment on the issue.”
500,000 Indian workers lose jobs as jewellers curb gold imports
