A salesman displays a diamond-and-pearl gold necklace in India (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
India’s diamond processing industry, the world’s biggest, has faced multiple setbacks in the last three years—from the implementation of goods and services tax to being embroiled in the nation’s largest banking fraud. Now, the Covid-19 lockdown has only made things worse for one of the biggest export-oriented sectors.Gross exports of gems and jewellery contracted 30.5 percent between December and March, nearly six times the pace of d...