Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry (FIGSI) hosts STONA 2018 from Feb 7th-10th 2018
Share's 
Bengaluru 5th February 2018: Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry (FIGSI) which was formerly known as All India Granite and Stone Association (AIGSA) is the only all India body for the Natural Stone Industry of the country. FIGSI has been striving for the betterment and addressing the challenges faced by the industry. The Federation has about 1200 members from all over the country.
The soleobject of the Federation is to promote natural stone industry of Indiaacross the globe and to resolve the issues faced by the Natural Stone Industry.
India is acountry which is endowed with high quality natural stones like granite, marble,sandstone, slate, limestone and quartzite etc that are widespread in everycorner of the nation. India has more than 11% export share in total world'sstone trade. Indian share is more than 27% of the total stones producedthroughout the world. India is recognized as one of the largest dimensionalblock producer in the world . Indian slabs, tiles, and monuments aresupplied to more than 80 countries . Presently, stone industry is recognized asone of the fastest growing mineral industry in boosting the Indian economy.
Federationhas been well recognized by all the state governments andcentral governments as the only national body to promote the Natural stoneIndustry. FIGSI is also member of various committees formed by thecentral and state governments.
Achievementsof the Federation:
Thefederation has lined up various program for the development of the StoneIndustry as follows
In this direction,the federation has purchased necessary land in Chennapally village, Hosurtaluk, Tamil Nadu which is the midpoint of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and AndhraPradesh where large numbers of processing units are located.
STONA2018
I am veryhappy to welcome you all to the Curtain raiser press meet of STONA 2018.
You are allaware stona fairs are having a long history of 30 years and till now theFederation has conducted 12 stona fairs and the 13th is beingheld at BIEC Bangalore from 7th to 10th February2018.
During 1987few of our visionaries felt the need of having a Stone exhibition topromote the Indian Natural stone. At that period to conductan International fair was not an easy job and lot of efforts was putby our seniors to get the necessary permission and conduct the fair in1987. STONA 1987 was the first ever stone Industry fair heldin entire Asia.
From thenonwards, there was no looking back and regularly STONAfairs were conducted in 1992, 1996, 1999, and 2002. After that theSTONA fair became a biennial event and every two years the fair isconducted. Till 2008 the fair was conducted in Palace Grounds andthere after it was shifted to Bangalore International exhibition Centre and thefair was conducted in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Now the 13th InternationalGranite and Stone Fair – STONA 2018 is being held at Bangalore InternationalExhibition Center, Bangalore from 7th to 10th February2018.
STONA fairsare well established name in the international market and Now STONA stands inthe 4th place in the international fairs after Xiamen in china,Verona in Italy and Izmir in Turkey.
When thefirst stona was started in 1987 the Indian exports was around 50 croresand after STONA 2016 it has crossed 14,000 crores which clearly showsthe contribution of the STONA fairs.
I am veryhappy to inform you that the STONA 2018 fair is the largest stonefair held in India with a gross area of 60000 sq mts which is being occupied byabout 650 exhibitors from India and abroad. The growth is about 40 %compared tothe earlier STONA 2016 We are having country pavilion fromTurkey, China and Italy and many of individual exhibitors are participatingfrom Moracco, Tunesia, Portugal, Oman , Spain, Germany, Iran and many othercountries.
Exhibitorsfrom all over India are also participating and the state governments fromGujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan and Karnataka are also exhibiting the stones oftheir states.
These timelarge numbers of machinery manufacturers pertaining to the stone industry areshowcasing the latest machinery available for the stone industry.
Large numberof granite and Marble blocks from India and also from Iran, Turkey and othercountries are also under display.
A buyer’sdelegation from Poland is visiting the fair apart from the buyers from severalother countries.
Ambassadorsfrom various countries are also visiting STONA 2018 to get first handinformation about what the Natural stone Industry of India can offer. Since rawmaterial problem is faced by the Indian stone processing Industry,FIGSI made arrangement for an interactive session of the Industry with theAmbassadors on 7thFebruary 2018.
As per thetradition of our federation and as a social obligation, this time also we arehaving a dedicated area for the rural artisans under SHILP GRAMProgram to show their skills in front of the visitors.
During thisfair we are having three concurrent events/conferences for the benefit of theIndustry.
I Invite allof you to visit STONA 2018 and have a glimpse of what stone industry can offerto the country and also request you to kindly give vide coverage of our eventin print and electronic media so that large number of visitors can visit thefair and take advantage of the business opportunities.
STATUSOF THE INDUSTRY:-
Apart fromthe above, our members have undertaken several social works like building,hospitals, community centres, play grounds, schoolrooms, toilets, maintananceof roads, drinking water facilities etc, on there own for past several years.
POLICYSUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENT:-
CHALLENGES:-
FUTUREOUTLOOK:-
 which was formerly known as All India Granite and Stone Association (AIGSA) is the only all India body for the Natural Stone Industry of the country. FIGSI has been striving for the betterment and addressing the challenges faced by the industry. The Federation has about 1200 members from all over the country.){kind=link}