The issue

The question of child labour in the Indian gem cutting industries has been a recurring concern in the trade and in international development discussion since at least the 1990s. The principal historical centres of concern have been the Jaipur coloured-stone cutting industry, the Surat diamond cutting industry, and the various smaller cutting centres in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and elsewhere. The pattern of concern has shifted over time as the industries have formalised and as enforcement of child labour law has tightened.

The historical pattern

The traditional Indian gem cutting industry, like many South Asian artisan industries, historically incorporated children into family-run cutting operations from young ages. The pattern was viewed within the trade as transmission of family craft knowledge, but it had clear consequences in lost schooling, exposure to occupational hazards (silica dust, eye strain, repetitive injury), and enforcement of caste-based occupational hierarchies that limited social mobility.

Investigation by Indian and international human rights organisations in the 1990s and 2000s, including reports by Human Rights Watch, the International Labour Organization, and the Center for Study of Working Conditions, documented child labour in the Jaipur coloured-stone industry at meaningful scale. The Jaipur industry, with approximately one hundred and fifty thousand workers in coloured-stone cutting, was estimated to include tens of thousands of workers below the age of fourteen, the conventional minimum working age under Indian law of the period.

The legal framework

Indian law has progressively restricted child labour. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 prohibited employment of children below age fourteen in hazardous occupations, with gem cutting eventually included in the hazardous list. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 established education as a fundamental right for children aged six to fourteen, providing legal foundation for school attendance over labour participation. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act of 2016 extended the prohibition to children below age fourteen across all employment, with a partial exception for family enterprises that has been criticised as enabling continued child labour in family-run cutting operations.

Industry responses

The Indian gem and jewellery industry, through bodies including the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the Responsible Jewellery Council and the major firms, has progressively committed to eliminating child labour from supply chains. The principal mechanisms have been: certification programmes verifying that supplier firms do not employ underage workers; supply chain audits, particularly for international export markets where buyer firms require compliance; investment in worker education and retraining programmes; and engagement with the Indian government on enforcement.

The progress has been substantial but incomplete. Major formal-sector firms, particularly those exporting to the United States, the European Union and other markets with strict supply chain requirements, have largely eliminated child labour from their direct workforces. The remaining concern is in the informal sector, where small workshops outside the formal supply chain may continue to employ children, and where supply chain documentation is harder to establish.

The current situation

As of the mid-2020s, the situation has improved substantially relative to the 1990s and 2000s. The major formal sector firms in Surat and Jaipur have largely eliminated child labour from direct employment. The informal sector remains a continuing concern, with periodic enforcement actions revealing residual child labour in unregistered workshops. International buyer pressure, supply chain due diligence requirements (including the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and similar US regulations), and the Indian government's enforcement progress have collectively reduced the prevalence.

The estimated number of children employed in the Indian gem cutting industries is now in the low thousands rather than the tens of thousands of the 1990s peak, although precise figures are not available given the informal nature of the residual employment. The trajectory is toward continued reduction.

The buyer's responsibility

For the working trade outside India, particularly for retail jewellers and dealers sourcing Indian-cut stones for international markets, the practical responsibility is supply chain due diligence. The principal mechanisms are: sourcing from RJC-certified, GJEPC-member or comparably documented Indian cutting firms; requiring supplier disclosure of cutting facility locations and labour practices; engaging with audit bodies on compliance verification; and supporting industry-wide initiatives that strengthen the formal sector relative to the informal.

The buyer's discipline is not to refuse Indian-cut material on principle, since this would penalise the formal-sector firms that have made progress, but to source through documented supply chains that exclude the residual informal-sector child labour. The Responsible Jewellery Council certification, the Kimberley Process membership for diamond cutting firms, and the major Indian firms' published compliance reports are the principal documentary tools.

The broader context

The Indian gem cutting industries' transition on child labour parallels similar transitions in other South Asian artisan industries (carpet weaving, brass and metal work, hand-loom weaving) and in the broader transition from informal artisan production to formal-sector industrial production. The progress has been driven by a combination of legal enforcement, international market pressure, industry self-regulation, and economic transformation as Indian household incomes have risen and child labour has become economically less necessary.

The full elimination of child labour from the Indian gem cutting industries, particularly in the residual informal sector, is likely to require continued enforcement progress over the next decade or two, alongside continued industry consolidation toward formal-sector employment patterns. The trajectory is positive but the issue is not fully resolved.