Context:
Government plans to develop the studded diamond jewellery segment which is at the higher value end.
Scientists of General Electric research laboratory in New York are credited with the creation of the world’s first-ever LGD in 1954.
About Laboratory-Grown Diamonds:
- LGD are manufactured in laboratories as opposed to naturally-occurring diamonds.
- Both have identical chemical composition and same physical and optical properties.
- “A seed” — A slice of another diamond
Formed over millions of years, naturally-occurring diamonds result from the exposure of buried carbon deposits within the Earth to extreme heat and pressure.
- 2 manufacturing processes –
- High Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT) method:Seed + Pure Graphite Carbon – Exposed to 1,500 degrees Celsius and extremely high pressure.
- Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) method: Seed – Heated to 800 degrees Celsius inside a sealed chamber filled with a carbon-rich gas.
- Applications –
- Machines, tools, used as cutters in industries
- Pure synthetic diamonds: Used in electronics as a heat spreader for high-power laser diodes, laser arrays and high-power transistors.
- Benefits –
- Lesser environmental footprint
- 10 times lesser energy than extracting a natural diamond through Open-pit mining
- Steps taken to promote –
- To reduce the basic customs duty on seeds
- 5-year research grant to IITs
- Creation of new tariff lines to identify number of products
Status of Diamond Industry in India:
- Global leader in cutting and polishing natural diamonds.
- Surat in Gujarat – Global hub for diamond manufacturing.
- US followed by China – Biggest market for cut and polished diamonds.
- India contributes around 19 % share in the world’s total exports of diamonds.
Diamond distribution in India:
- Diamond is a solid form of pure carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal.
- Diamond bearing regions – Vindhayan system
- Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh;
- Wajrakarur Kimberlite pipe in Anantapur district
- Gravels of the Krishna river basin in Andhra Pradesh
- Reserves estimated only in Panna belt and Krishna Gravels in Andhra Pradesh.
- Discovery of new kimberlite fields in Raichur-Gulbarga districts of Karnataka.
- Centres for Cutting and polishing: Surat, Navasari, Ahmedabad, Palampur etc.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Questions
Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Aluminium
(b) Copper
(c) Iron
(d) Titanium
With reference to India, consider the following statements?
- Monazite is a source of rare earths.
- Monazite contains thorium.
- Monazite occurs naturally in the entire Indian coastal sands in India.
- In India, Government bodies only can process or export monazite.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2022 Prelims]
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
