Rajasthan stones to have a promotion hub soon

The stone sector in Rajasthan, with annual exports of over Rs 300 crore, is set to get a major boost, with a state-of-the-art trade promotion centre and a permanent artisan's village on the lines of Delhi Haat slated to become operational in one month. The centre, once operational, will be promoted as a tourist destination.

"The trade promotion centre, constructed at over Rs 8 crore, will promote Indian stones. Over 42 artisans can be housed in the artisan's village, much as in Delhi Haat. In addition to this, the centre will also provide testing facilities for stones to boost its exports," R K Gupta, chief executive officer in the Centre for Development of Stones (CDOS), told Business Standard.

Gupta pointed out the testing centre would fulfil a long-standing demand of the stone industry since there was no testing laboratory in North India exclusively for stones.

"International buyers, particularly in Europe, insist on test reports and quality certification. The testing centre will be able to undertake 27"�30 different types of testing," he said.

In addition, the centre will also have a stone museum, a stone park, and an export products display centre, which will showcase over 300 varieties of stones available in the country.

"The centre will have a national inventory of stones. At present, there is no information source for architects, builders or buyers to determine the stone varieties available in India," he said.

In addition to undertaking trade promotion-related activities, the centre will undertake research activities to identify and develop modern eco-friendly techniques of quarrying and processing of natural stones to suit the Indian climate.

"The quality of processing stones is still fairly low, compared to international norms. Since most processes adopt hit-and-trial methods, the wastage is very high," Gupta said.

Rajasthan has 1,000 million tonnes of marble reserves. It is also the only state in northern India with widespread granite reserves, found in various colours and designs.

Gupta said the CDOS, along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO), will be organising the third edition of Stonemart in Jaipur early next year. The event is a buyer-seller dedicated solely to stones.