jaipur riding on reduced cost of cutting and processing durability and variety granite has become the new marble of rajasthan thanks to the new cutting technologies the state has taken a lead over the southern states in productionindustry estimates that about 40005000 new granite units have come up in the state in the past 56 years and the production of the dimension stone has also increased from 25 lakh tonnes in 201516 to 56 lakh tonnes in 201920 rakesh kumar gupta vicechairman of centre for development of stones said the mining and processing of granite has drawn large number of investors who have set up about 40005000 new units in places like kishangarh jalore and rajsamand etc the stone has witnessed stellar growth in rajasthan overtaking the south indian statesbifurcation of andhra pradesh may have made rajasthan the leading producer but the numbers show that the difference of production between rajasthan and andhra pradesh and telangana combined has shrunk considerably in 201516 the combined granite production of andhra pradesh and telangana was 46 lakh tonnes against rajasthans 25 lakh tonne in 201920 the total output of the both the southern states was 65 lakh tonnes compared to rajasthans 56 lakh tonnes additionally in 202021 the production of rajasthan has increased to 66 lakh tonnes while figures for andhra and telangana are not available officials from mines department said it is quite likely that rajasthan has overtaken combined output of both the states in 202021pradeep agarwal senior geoscientist in mines department said being more resistant to wear and tear granite is most soughtafter stone to be used as building as well as decorative stone the fascination for granite is due to its amenability for taking mirror like polish high compressive strength longevity and aesthetics rajasthans granite sector has been expanding at 50 annually but the social and environmental costs of this growth are severe in terms of reserves agarwal said state wise breakup of total resources reveals that karnataka and rajasthan share about 20 each of the resources followed by jharkhand 19 gujarat 18 andhra pradesh 5 and madhya pradesh odisha 4 each these states accounts for 90 of total resources of the countryagarwal said currently the mines department does not add white granite produced from feldspar blocks if added the production numbers will go up significantly said agarwal granite industry is valued at 40 billion and has a potential to generate semiskilled employment especially in rural areas currently china brazil and india are leading granite producers across the world india has lost some of its traditional markets to china due to the supply of average quality products at a cheap price tag the indian stone is popular for its inherent featuresas per federation of indian granite and stone industry figsi gradually the industry adopted the latest technology and started exports of valueadded products now indian finished products are well accepted all over the world and are being used in major projects at present valueadded exports have exceeded 80 of