Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Surat Diamond Bourse
Mains level: NA
Central Idea
- The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), hailed as the world’s largest office space project, is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister.
About Surat Diamond Bourse
- The SDB is a large-scale project located in Surat, Gujarat, India.
- It is claimed to be the world’s biggest office space in a single project.
- It is built to expand and consolidate the diamond trading business from Mumbai to Surat.
- Surat is renowned as a major hub for cutting and polishing diamonds, and the development of SDB aims to bring all diamond-related activities and infrastructure under one roof.
Key features
- Location: The SDB is situated at DREAM (Diamond Research and Mercantile) city in Surat.
- Size: The bourse spans an area of 66 lakh square feet (approximately 6.6 million square feet), making it one of the largest office spaces in the world.
- Design: The thematic landscaping of the project is based on the ‘panch tatva’ theme, representing the five elements of nature – air, water, fire, earth, and sky.
- Infrastructure: The SDB consists of nine towers, each with ground plus 15 floors. It will accommodate over 4,200 offices with sizes ranging from 300 square feet to 7,500 square feet.
- Security: Given the high-security nature of the diamond industry, over 4,000 CCTV cameras have been installed at different locations inside and outside the SDB.
- Shifting from Mumbai: The bourse seeks to address the space crunch and expensive office real estate in Mumbai, where much of the diamond trading currently takes place.
Economic significance of SDB
- Businesses: The complex will house various diamond-related businesses, including the sale of rough and polished diamonds, diamond manufacturing machinery, diamond planning software, diamond certificate firms, lab-grown diamonds, and more.
- Employment: The SDB is expected to generate significant employment opportunities, providing direct employment to over 1 lakh people in various roles related to the diamond industry.
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