New Delhi, March 27 -- De Beers has stepped up its marketing efforts in India, partnering with retailers and launching campaigns to promote natural diamonds in the hope of countering both the general slump in consumer demand and the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds. The company plans to spend record sums this year on marketing natural diamonds in India.

Amit Pratihari, managing director at De Beers India, said, "We are aggressively pushing category marketing. This is just the beginning - we are looking at a five-year horizon and as the season progresses there will be more campaigns. Marketing spends this year will be at an all-time high. While we cannot share numbers we can assure you it will be up substantially."

Last August je...