Coimbatore : The Gold jewellery industry in India has not witnessed any significant growth in the last two years, particularly after the demonetisation and GST, the national apex body of Gem and Jewellery said Tuesday.

Though the majority of the population saw the yellow metal as a long time investment, of late the changes in the lifestyle particularly younger generation, who opted more on travelling and automobile, has applied a brake on the jewellery business, Chairman,Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) Ananth Padmanabhan told reporters here.

Stating that after the demonitisation in 2016 and introduction of GST the growth of the industry remained stagnant, despite India being the second largest importers of gold (800 to 1,000 tonnes per annum), he said.

Though the council has no exact figure of the gold consumption in India, the imports of the metal however, recorded negative growth since the beginning of the year, he said.

Council is organising a three-day Preferred Manufacturer of India (PMI), here , which began here Tuesday, in which 42 top gem and jewellery manufacturing are displaying their design for the benefit of retailers in and around Coimbatore and South India, he said.

Being the first PMI of 2019, the event will be a bridge between the makers and retailers on Business2Business model, Nitin Kandelwal, Immediate Past Chairman of the council, said.

PMI is known for the commitment towards providing fine platform where the buyers and sellers get maximum time to understand each other, he said.