Even as the election process for Chairman and members of Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) is on, it is learnt that former Chairman Vipul Shah enjoys an upper hand and may be elected as its new Chairman. The chairman's post has virtually fallen vacant with the completion of tenure of Praveen Shankar Pandya. About 2,000 electorates are casting their votes since January 05. The voting will be closed on January 11 and a newly elected body will be the office on January 16. It may be underlined that the Committee of the Administration of the Council, headed by Chairman and Vice Chairman, has 22 members and one-third members complete their tenure every second year. So this necessitates an election every second year. Usually, the Vice Chairman is elected as Chairman, but this time VC Russel Mehta had resigned three months back giving an indication that he was no longer keen for the Chairman's post. The GJEPC which was granted autonomous status in 1998 was set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India (GoI) in 1966. It was one of several Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) launched by the Indian Government, to boost the country's export thrust, when India's post-Independence economy began making forays into international markets. The GJEPC, headquartered in Mumbai, is the apex body of the gems & jewelry industry which represents almost 6,000 exporters in the sector. Over the past decades, the GJEPC has emerged as one of the most active EPCs and has continuously strived to both expand its reach and depth in its promotional activities as well as widen and increase services to its members.