The Gem & Jewellery National Relief Foundation (GJNRF) recently elected its new Board of Trustees for 2023-26.

The members of the Board subsequently elected Praveen Shankar Pandya as the Chairman and Sanjay A. Kothari as Managing Trustee for the three-year term. Arun C. Shah will be the Jt Managing Trustee, Rajesh C. Shah Treasurer and Sailesh S. Mehta Jt Treasurer in the new Board.

Other elected Board members include: Ashish K. Mehta, Ashok. H. Gajera, Ashok K. Bhansali, Bharatkumar A. Kakadiya, Jitendra K. Bhansali, Ramniklal P. Shah, Vijay B. Shah and Vikram M. Mehta.

Newly elected Chairman Praveen Shankar Pandya said, “GJNRF was set up primarily to spearhead relief and rehabilitation efforts during periods of national crisis and social calamities. A lot has been achieved since then and the new committee will aim to take forward and deepen this good work.”

He added, “Particularly during the Covid-19 crisis from 2020-2022, the previous committee did a commendable job in distributing ration kits and food supplies and supporting frontline workers during the first phase. A lot was accomplished thanks to the strong support from members of the G&J industry.”

Incoming Managing Trustee Sanjay Kothari said, “Since its inception in 1999, GJNRF has continuously widened its support base within the industry. In addition to a strong base in the Indian diamond and jewellery export industry, GJNRF has also been supported by large diamond mining companies from across the world, international trade bodies, leading laboratories and others. We also plan to make efforts to reach out to and involve all other segments of the gem and jewellery industry across India in the campaigns we will undertake over the next three years.”