Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) in association with Persistent Systems & IIT-Bombay, have launched a Centre of Excellence (COE) for Jewellery Artificial Intelligence & Data-science Excellence (J.A.D.E.). This first of its kind COE will be focused on addressing challenges faced by players across the supply chain in the gems and jewellery industry in India.
What stemmed from a session on Machine Learning held at the `India Jewellery Excellence Symposium’ (IJES) by GJSCI held in January earlier this year, the COE has been brought to life after several months of consolidated efforts by key stakeholders from information technology and gems and jewellery industries. Some of the key issues that this collaboration aims to resolve through the application of emerging technologies like AI, ML and various data science techniques include minimizing rejections, improving the current poor hit ratio of designs, and delivering high market returns compared to current standards, thereby bringing in efficiencies.
The chief guest Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay said, “This integration of one of the oldest industries with one of the most developed and evolved one is something I am really looking forward to. This has further opened floodgates for many more opportunities of enabling tech to push the boundaries. The collaborative efforts between various industries and academia in the field of artificial intelligence will go a long way in developing the industry academia relationships and provide avenues for the future”
Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “We have been talking for a while for the need for convergence between the world of IT which has been changing the economy with various sectors. Gem & Jewellery Sector Skill Council (GJSCI) has taken the lead and has enabled a futuristic version of what will be a lesson for many other SSCs to learn from. We all know that by GJSCI taking this initiative, shows how futuristic they are, and Mr. Anand Deshpande’s thinking is so commendable & also Mr. Sanjay Kothari who is always at the forefront of things. NSDC is always there to support this futuristic initiative of GJSCI, and will collaborate to explore the funds required for J.A.D.E.”
At the launch, Sanjay Kothari, Chairman, GJSCI said, “The launch of J.A.D.E. is a historical event combining two of the country’s largest industries i.e. the gems & jewellery industry and the IT Industry on a common platform. The entire gems & jewellery industry has willingly offered their support towards this endeavour which is a technological leap towards a better and brighter future.”
Commenting on this collaboration, Dr. Anand Deshpande, Founder and Chairman, Persistent Systems Ltd. added, “I am excited that GJSCI and IIT Bombay are setting J.A.D.E. as a truly Atmanirbhar initiative. Data, machine learning and artificial intelligence have the potential of addressing some of the key industry challenges such as improving the efficiency of the supply chain, and improving on the hit ratio etc. The transformation of the Gems and Jewellery Industry will deliver significant growth in revenues and jobs.”
India’s gems and jewellery industry contributes ~29% to the global jewellery consumption and is home to more than 300,000 gems and jewellery players. It comprises 7% of India’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs over 4.64 million people. Significantly led sans technological intervention, in FY20 India exported cut and polished diamonds worth US$ 18.66 billion and contributed 52.4% to the total gems and jewellery export. With the integration of smart technologies, the benefits that the gems and jewellery industry in India can realize include but aren’t limited to a reduction in production cycles, improvement in quality standards, and profit margins.
Over the next six months, the pilot project undertaken will use technology to improve quality checks on jewellery casting. Having inaugurated a data center on November 30, 2020, the team has already begun collecting information to support and power various artificial intelligence and machine learning models. The project will be undertaken in association with IITB to solve jewellery casting issues faced by gold jewellery manufacturers. It will use AI/ML techniques to reduce any rework, realize efficiencies and reduce manufacturing costs.