Rajasthan stone centre may be upgraded

The Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation (RIICO) has requested the central government to upgrade its Centre for Development of Stones (CDOS) and rename it National Centre for Development of Stones (NCDOS).

The corporation has also urged the Centre to provide it financial assistance.

In this regard, a four-member evaluation team from the Union ministry of mines visited the upcoming campus of CDOS at Sitapura near Jaipur last week.

It also held discussions with senior state government officials including Rakesh Hooja, chairman and managing director, RIICO; S P Gupta, principal secretary (finance); and T Srinivasan, principal secretary (industries), among other senior officers. In a detailed presentation, CDOS officials outlined their work plan.

The Union government team inspected the upcoming units of the CDOS complex at Sitapura like the testing centre, trade promotion centre, trade and technology information centre, artisans' village, stone museum, stone park, etc.

It was noted by the central team that CDOS, created in 1998 as a society, had initiated many projects for promoting the stone industry in India including the exhibition "India stonemart," information dissemination on technology and trade issues, export enquiries to members, training activities, country pavilions in international fairs, etc.

The CDOS complex here is being funded by the state government, Union ministry of commerce, Union ministry of mines, and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

RIICO and CDOS officials expressed the hope that the central government support to CDOS would enable them to effectively extend the much-needed institutional support to the stone sector all over the country, and achieve sustenance in the long run.