BRICS summit 2016: India may be signing rough diamonds deal with Russia

India’s bilateral trade with Russia may soon have an additional item- diamond. As the world leaders meet at Goa for BRICS summit next week, the Prime Minister would discuss with Putin to end the role of intermediaries in the import of rough diamonds from Russia.
The official deal is likely to relax the restrictive taxation and customs procedure which Indians had to follow during the import of rough diamonds. India’s special custom zone at Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai is also being upgraded. India is the world's largest diamond polishing hub.

Gujarat is the home to diamond merchants for centuries. This deal will definitely be a major boost to the state’s economy. Gujarat’s diamond merchants used to visit Astrakhan as early as in 1615. The International North-South Transport Corridor via Iran hopes to bring Astrakhan closer to India. An Indian consulate could soon be opened there.

According to the Kimberley Process (KP) for 2015, India accounted for 37.77% of world imports of rough diamonds, slightly higher than the 37.55% in 2014, according to the Economic Times. Going by the cost of diamonds, the share of India's imports increased from 30.40% in 2014 to 31.69% in 2015. Russia, meanwhile, strengthened its leading position as the world's largest diamond producer. Diamond mining in Russia rose by 9.4% in 2015 to 41.9 million carats, worth $4.24 billion.
At present, rough diamonds in India arrive via other countries.