Speech delivered by FIGSI President Mr Ishwinder Singh at the STONA valedictory event on 18/02/23.
Hello, and a very good morning honorable and distinguished guests, partners from around the world, fellow stakeholders of the stone industry and my dear friends.
To our friends from Italy, “Ciao” and “Merhaba” to our partner from Turkey. For our friends from China, “Nǐ hǎo”.
And for friends from this lovely host city of Bengaluru, “Namaskara Snēhitaru.”
Lastly, in my mother tongue, “Sata sri akala doston, हमें आपकी मेजबानी करने में हमेशा खुशी होती है.”
As President of the Federation of the Granite & Stone Industry of India, I’m honoured to welcome you all to our closing ceremony today. The last few days have been a glorious celebration of stone and this industry that keeps going from strength to strength. Thank you all for your unhindered participation.
The spirit of our congregation today is elevated by the presence of distinguished leaders of Indian polity and society.
We are extremely grateful to Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri Basavaraj Somappa Bommai ji for taking time out of his busy schedule and honouring us with his presence. Popularly called the “Common Man – CM”, Sri Bommai ji has been serving as Chief Minister of this grand state of Karnataka since 2021. Sir, we thank you for your presence at today’s function.
I also have the privilege to welcome another distinguished guest of honour for this congregation, Sri Rajiv Arora, Chairman of the Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation and the Rajasthan Export Promotion Council. Sri Arora is also the Chairman of the Jaipur Citizen Forum and has played a key role in the growth of exports from the state. We wholeheartedly welcome you to today’s event sir.
On the first day of STONA this year, I’d said that to have businesses and our trade partners from around the world present here had already made STONA a success. The pandemic had kept us apart for longer than expected, and I was overjoyed to see all our partners together, here in India, under one roof.
But over the last few days you have all surpassed our expectations – we have collectively presented such a strong foot forward for the global stone industry that a new benchmark has been set. We believe we’ve generated business of over Rs 1000 crore. New business relationships have been formed and old ones have been nurtured.
Thank you all for further sweetening the joy of this celebration at STONA 2023. I earnestly believe, this is a year of resurgence. It is the year of stone.
The serendipity of STONA 2023 being organised in a year when India holds the Presidency of the G20 has added significant value to this grand show and it has helped bring our global trade partnerships even closer.
We are after all “One Earth, One Family” or “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, as the slogan for G20 this year so aptly puts it. In that spirit particularly, I am grateful for the presence, active participation and love that all our international guests, partners and exhibitors have shown at STONA this year – we are all one family that loves stone.
In the same spirit, I thank our Founder President at FIGSI Sri R Veeramani and pioneers of the industry, all office bearers, our executive committee members, our 1400-member strong organisation and all our team members and partners for coming together and helping us put our best foot forward with STONA 2023.
STONA Chairman Sri Manoj Kumar Singh and his team deserve special mention for the immaculate way this mega show has been presented and organised.
It has been as delightful as it has been an honour to have you all here together for this extraordinary festival of natural stones that made a comeback after a break of three years due to the pandemic.
I call this a festival of stones because it is indeed a celebration. Over the last few days, we have celebrated natural stones. We have celebrated our partners from the processing industry, we have celebrated quarry owners, and we have celebrated businesses from all over the world. We have celebrated leading architects, and we have celebrated technological progress.
We have also celebrated our close business ties and our mutual trust, but most importantly we have celebrated our collective endurance and the spirit to keep moving forward.
Yes, my dear friends, along with our celebration of growing trade ties, at STONA we continue to celebrate each other as we build new business relationships and cherish old ones.
That is at the heart of what we work on at The Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry – creating bridges and sparking meaningful engagements for businesses, trade partners, quarry owners, policymakers and consumers.
Essentially, FIGSI – a 40-year-old non-profit organization – is the voice of the Indian natural stone industry. We work to grow the industry and serve the nation.
With great emphasis on building awareness about Indian natural stones, new stone technology and policies, the Federation also regularly conducts conferences and seminars. While STONA is our shining star, over the last year, we have conducted seminars in Chennai, Bengaluru and Udaipur on various topics that concern the Indian stone industry.
Our past leadership had seen the need for an international stone fair in India way back in 1987. And that is where we trace the origins of STONA, an event envisioned by our Founder President Sri R Veeramani and eminent members of the stone industry.
We’ve come a long way since 1987. Buoyed by the economic reforms of the early 1990s and the spirit of private enterprise, STONA continues to grow as the flagship initiative of the Federation.
At STONA, the aim is to provide new opportunities to businesses to connect, collaborate and grow. This is where new products and technologies are showcased and where design trends make their debuts.
Today, STONA is a one-stop destination for all things stone. It’s the industry’s go-to event. It’s a celebration of stone.
The impact that STONA has had is directly visible in the growth of our stone exports and the rise in employment that the industry has generated.
From a few hundred crores in the late 1980s, stone exports are up significantly and stood at over Rs 15,000 crore in 2022 – placing India at the third position globally in terms of stone trade.
This year, we had over 3,000 stalls covering an area of more than 40,000 square meters – that’s about 6 football fields put together. We are a very welcoming Federation, there’s always room for everyone.
We also had country pavilions from China, Turkey, Iran and Sweden and many individual exhibitors participating from many other countries. It’s been a delight to have representatives, businesses and trade partners from all the countries here.
I also extend a special note of gratitude to our guests we host as part of the STONA Hosted Buyer Program, a special initiative under which FIGSI hosts international buyers and helps to connect them with the Indian business fraternity.
Being an old craft of India, stone artistry has a special place at STONA as well. Under our program called Shiplgram, aimed at promoting stone artisans of India, we also hosted 30 artisans from across the country to provide a global platform for them to exhibit their skills.
Keeping with tradition, we are also conducted two seminars at STONA this year. On the 16th, we had the Geology seminar on “Sustainable Quarrying of Natural Stones”. The seminar saw participation from eminent speakers, scientists and business leaders. The following day, on the 17th, we had the Architects seminar on the “Sustainable use of Natural Stones in Architecture”. Prominent architects and domain experts participated in the seminar and shared their insights as a huge audience, and many students of architecture gathered to learn new things.
We’d anticipated that business of Rs 1,000 crore will be generated at STONA. I think we have exceeded that figure. But more than that, many invaluable relationships have been formed. That is priceless!
This grand success at that start of the year indicates the start of what I call our year of resurgence.
2023 is our year of resurgence. To us, it is the year of stone & skill.
At FIGSI, our growing emphasis on skilling, as we chase excellence in stone makes this calendar year even more special. A very special initiative that we have been working on at FIGSI makes its debut in 2023.
We also take inspiration from our Honourable Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi’s vision for Skill India and his continued focus on knowledge upgradation for the youth. Our efforts are in alignment with what Prime Minister Modi says: “Skill development is a national need, and is the foundation of an aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
This year, we start operations at the first-of-their-kind Centres for Stone Excellence in India. Two such centres are being setup – one in Hosur, about 80 km from here, and another in Mahindra SEZ, Jaipur in Rajasthan.
These Centres – completely self-funded by FIGSI - will become the fulcrum of the stone industry going forward.
Stone visionaries and our former leadership had identified the need for setting up such institutes long ago to ensure a steady supply of skilled manpower, and in 2023 we realise that collective dream.
This initiative is already being termed a gamechanger for the industry. I fully agree. It is a superpower that we as an industry are acquiring.
These Centres will be home to structured programs on skill development for the stone industry, providing trained manpower to not just Indian stone businesses, but also extending the benefit of upskilled human capital to our international partners.
We have already formalised courses on stone mining operations, for expertise in processing machines, monuments and stone craft and even in ecommerce, accounting and trade regulations, and stone business marketing.
Along with these, the institutes will also be home to a stone incubation hub dedicated to startups working on new technology, business models and solutions for the stone industry.
The Centre for Stone Excellence building will be one of the handful LEED certified structures – showcasing our commitment to sustainable growth.
Upskilling is a big focus for us at FIGSI, and in the coming time we will also be establishing a dedicated University for the Stone Sector, for which 34 acres of land has already been acquired.
Stepping up on our own dedicated research facility, the Centres will serve as the most credible intermediaries between academia and industry, feeding a skill starved industry and fuelling a new cycle of sustainable growth.
These institutes will spark new ideas. Imagine the momentum they will provide as skilled human capital meets innovative private enterprise. Not only will our industries progress, but our processes will also become more efficient.
We’ll improve recovery rates, reduce wastage and better our processes with the use of technology and trained human insights.
If you look at the Indian stone industry – there are different elements that come together to position us as leaders in the global stone sector.
Formalised skilling is the third factor of what I call our triangle of growth. To put it simply, the three factors of our triangle of growth are – material, machines and manpower. The fourth M – M for market follows, and is waiting for us.
The first factor is India’s large natural stone reserve - material. That is a blessing. India is home to the world’s second largest natural stone reserves at about 46.23 billion cubic meters. We have the materials.
The second factor is advanced technology. Indian industry has adopted the latest technology in quarrying and processing, leading to safer working workspaces and lower environmental impact. We have the machines.
With the Centres coming into operation, India will now become the leading hub for human resources when it comes to the stone industry.
Skilled manpower – that’s the third factor of our triangle of growth, the completion of which shall usher in a new phase of collective progress. We will soon get access to trained and a continual supply of manpower.
The Centres thus put India at the heart of the global stone industry, as a leader in stone and skill.
We have already signed a MoU with the Korean Stone Association to assist in hiring trained manpower from the skill development centres, and there is similar interest from other trade partners as well.
The Centre at Hosur and Jaipur will also have a dedicated Stone Museum which shall comprise of stones from all over the world, and also a Hall of Fame of FIGSI to showcase the evolution of the Indian stone industry and to honour the leaders and visionaries who have led and contributed on this journey.
And as this triangle of growth comes into operation, the stone industry is also continuing consultations with policymakers to further create the right policy and regulatory environment for sustained growth. An improved policy environment can give our triangle of growth more momentum.
Some specific subjects we are making representations are on increasing licences for quarries to allow sufficient supply of raw materials to processing units. We are also taking up the subject of freeing import of granite under OGL to mitigate the issue. Separately, we are making continued efforts to work towards a one country, one policy for the stone sector.
In terms of royalty, the Indian quarrying sector pays the highest royalty in the world. We pay approximately about 15% on invoice value, whereas the global average royalty stands at 3%.
Despite some of these challenges that are collectively being worked upon, we are thankful for the government’s support as the Indian stone industry continues to grow in a robust manner – generating millions of jobs and bringing in foreign exchange and contributing to Indian economic growth.
Amidst it all, as we chase excellence, FIGSI has always led from the front when it comes to our corporate social responsibility.
Over the last few years, FIGSI has provided financial support and made donations to the Government’s covid relief fund at the Central and state level. FIGSI has also funded the setup of drinking water treatment plants, donated an ambulance and also provided other facilities in regions where our stone clusters are present.
During the COVID 2019 pandemic, FIGSI donated funds to Central and state governments: Rs. 50 lakh to the Government of Karnataka, Rs 50 lakh to the Government of Rajasthan, Rs 11 lakh to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Rs 10 lakh to the Government of Gujarat, Rs 25 lakh to the Government of Telangana.
Growing the industry sustainably is our core objective, but we do that with the intent of serving the nation and humanity at large.
Our heart is in stone dear audience, but it still beats with love and compassion.
With that I end my valedictory address and thank you all for making this festival of stone a grand success. We have been honoured by your presence and have enjoyed your camaraderie.
This is the year of stone & skill, and at STONA we’ve put it all right in front of you.
It’s here, and it’s now. Let us all make the most of it!
Thank you all and see you at STONA 2025!
