In december 2008 representatives of various Indian granite and stone industries demanded a slew of measures from the Union Government to save the trade, which has been badly affected by the economic meltdown in the US and UK. They were participating in an interactive session, organised by CAPEXIL, a body sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for promoting export.

Speaking to reporters, R Veeramani, chairman of Granite, Natural Stones and Products Panel, said, "As an immediate support measure, the non-performing assets (NPA) norms by the Reserve Bank of India need to be extended by 18 months." He demanded that the interest and instalment payments be deferred by two years. Moreover, the interest rates needed to be fixed at four per cent for the stone industry, just like the Textile Upgradation Fund scheme (TUF). During the last one year, the demand for building stones dipped and payment for the shipped materials became irregular, he added.

The meeting estimated that the natural stone business, comprising granite, marble, sandstone, slates and quartzite, has dipped by 60 per cent.

Voicing concern over the nonuniformity of the State Government policies on stone industries, Veeramani said, "The mining leasing policies and the royalty rates payable need to be levelled. The government is charging prohibitively and the policies are not export-friendly." The stone industry employs around 25 lakh people from unskilled low-income groups, in the areas of mining, handling, processing and exports people from unskilled low-income groups. Despite this, the Union Government has not provided any support measures as given to textile and leather sectors, said an exporter.