Industry minister Nirani assures support for granite units being set up in Karanataka.
The 10th international granites and stone fair, STONA 2012, is being held in Bangalore from February 1 to February 4 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).
The event is the second biggest stone fair in the world.
The event was attended by heavy industries minister Murugesh R Nirani, mines ministry secretary Vishwapati Trivedi, Andhra Pradesh mines and geology minister Aruna Kumari Galla and Turkish ambassador Burak Akcapar.
JB Surana, president, All-India Granites and Stone Association (AIGSA), said the government must come up with a nationalised and proactive policy for the industry to be able to compete with global peers.
Nirani said the new industry policy drafted by the government from 2009 to 2014 gave the industry value addition and incentives.
“I invite industrialists to set up granite cutting and polishing units in Karnataka, we are happy to extend necessary support for this,” said Nirani, adding that the government plans to open a global tech park for which 500 acres to 600 acres have been allocated.
“We are also willing to undertake all the infrastructure work in the park and give concession to those wishing to set up units there,” he said.
Of the industry’s turnover of `30 crore, south India contributes `18 crore while Rajasthan adds `7 crore.
“Granite contributes about 4.5% of export of minerals and ores, next only to diamond and iron ore,” said Aruna Kumari Galla.
Trivedi said India is the leading exporter of raw granite blocks, and is also among the largest consumers of stones.
“With the projected steady increase of consumption domestically, the cumulative growth of industry could be about 15%. To sustain this growth investment to the tune of `1 crore has to be pumped into the sector,” he said.
He said the granite conservation and development rules (GCDR) need to have uniform regulation and transparency across all states.
Trivedi urged industrialists to offer suggestions to the standing committee of ministry of mines before the new mines and minerals development and regulation (MMDR) bill comes through in the next six months.
He said the ministry was contempleting whether to shift granite from minor to major mineral category.
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