Industry body demands free import of granite, marble blocks

Stone industry body AIGSA today demanded free import of granite and marble blocks, so that enough raw material is available in the country to manufacture stone products.
"The present policy allows import of marble blocks under licence scheme with restrictions, whereas granite blocks are not allowed for import. This is the major hurdle in the growth of the industry," All India Granite and Stone Association (AIGSA) President J B Surana said.
He added that import of granite and marble blocks need to be brought under open general license (OGL) scheme so that sufficient quantity of the raw material is available in the country.

India is a major exporter of granite and natural stone products and annual exports are around Rs 9,000 crore, but shortage of raw material is the biggest hurdle against its growth, he said.
AIGSA also emphasised that import of finished stone products should be restricted by fixing the floor price to protect the domestic units.
Burna also informed that AIGSA is going to organise annual stone fair 'STONA' from February 12-15 in Bangalore.