IIT-M's India Centre Boosts Atmanirbharta in Lab-Grown Diamonds

• IIT-Madras is developing lab-grown diamond seeds to reduce imports and boost self-reliance.
• Lab-grown diamonds have advanced uses in electronics, quantum tech, and coatings beyond jewellery.
• ₹242 crore has been allocated to make India a global leader in lab-grown diamond production.

India has taken a significant step toward becoming self-sufficient in lab-grown diamonds for both jewelry and industrial purposes by establishing the India Centre for Lab Grown Diamond (InCent-LGD) at IIT-Madras.

The center expects to manufacture high-quality 2-square-centimetre single-crystal diamond seeds and wafers in the coming months, according to Professor M S Ramachandra Rao, Head of InCent-LGD and faculty in the Department of Physics. Currently, almost all of these seeds are purchased from China.

He stated, "I won’t really say it will be electronic grade diamond yet, but it will be a good quality, 2 sq. cm large, diamond seed plate, or a wafer. By the end of 2026, the Centre will also be ready with its indigenous Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process for lab-grown diamond production and high pressure high temperature (HPHT) machines to make rough diamonds".

The project is intended to position India as a dominant global player in producing diamonds. China is the only current and dominant player in this field as they manufacture diamonds using the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) method.

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"We are fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative that he gave two years ago to make India the number one country in producing lab grown diamonds (LGD). The LGD is a technology and innovation-driven emerging sector with high employment potential. These environment-friendly diamonds have optically and chemically have the same properties as natural diamonds", said Prof. M S Ramachandra Rao.

The top five manufacturers of HPHT machines in the world are Chinese companies that conduct all production of diamonds for both abrasive industrial needs and jewelry.

Although jewelry is a small piece of the diamond sector, the greatest opportunity for innovation is diamonds as next-generation semiconducting and quantum materials. According to Rao, diamonds are versatile ultra-wide bandgap materials that can integrate and/or provide semiconductors with gallium nitride and silicon carbide for advanced electronics.

"Once the indigenous CVD machine gets ready, the technology will be transferred to the private sector for a scale-up. There will also be start-ups coming out of InCent-LGD. The lab is also developing the electronic components required to run the CVD machines and this type of indigenous development is very unique in India", Rao concluded. Further, diamonds are ideally cleared for coatings, as they are extremely hard and can extend the life of tools to cut.