One of the important focus areas of the Indian industry is to reduce the dependence of many medium and small players on the open market supplies. This was the theme of a special session that featured two Indian companies, both working towards this aim. %% The session saw presentations from Asit Mehta of Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing India Limited (SRDSIL) and Praveen Shankar Pandya of Diamond India Limited outlined the attempts of the Indian industry to get direct access to additional sources of rough. Pandya noted that DIL, whose formation was announced at the preceding diamond conference in 2007 had struck successful deals with miners and the rough it had brought to India was easily sold by them. Mehta focused on the importance of Surat as the manufacturing capital of the industry and said that the newly formed body could help establish direct ties between the manufacturers and the miners in a totally transparent and efficient manner. %% A session on laboratories was addressed by Tom Moses, senior vice president, Gemological Institute of America and Marc Brauner, Co-CEO, IGI Worldwide. Moses said that the GIA was at the cutting edge of research into identification of synthetics and was fully committed to helping the industry detect any cases of non-disclosure that could have a negative impact on consumer confidence. Brauner pointed out that across markets new young consumers are using the Internet as a research tool prior to making purchases. He said that certification could help jewellers instil confidence about pricing and aid the consumer in purchase decisions.