Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 September 2025
The suvarnadhyaksha (superintendent of gold) has to construct a
goldsmith's office for the manufacture of gold and silver articles with
a single door and four walls, to appoint a skilful and trustworthy
goldsmith to have a shop in the centre of the road and not to allow
anyone who is not an employee to enter the goldsmith's shop. If anyone
so entered, he was to be beheaded.’
—History of the Dharmashastras (Ancient and MedievalReligious and Civil Law) (Kane [1993] 1946)INTRODUCTION
One of the largest manufacturers of gold jewellery in the world, India's jewellery manufacturing sector remains firmly rooted in the informal economy – also known as the unorganised sector. The gems and jewellery sector which contributes an estimated 7 per cent to India's gross domestic product (GDP) is dominated by small, ‘hole in the wall’ workshops, where artisans practise their craft without any formal contract. Meanwhile, the jewellery retailing industry is becoming increasingly organised – registered and state-regulated – in the post-liberalisation period, especially with the entry of corporate retailers. While there is no official estimate of the number of jewellery manufacturers in India, the industry estimates that the country is home to between 20,000 and 30,000 manufacturing units (WGC 2022). In 2022, the World Gold Council (WGC) notes that while in 2017, less than 10 per cent of units operated as organised, large-scale facilities, now around 15–20 per cent of units operate in this manner (WGC 2022). The WGC attributes this rapid transformation in status to three distinct factors: rapid capitalisation, an increase in exports and state-incentivising regulatory measures. However, contradictory processes appear to be operating here.
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