Parliament Question: Sandstone under ODOP

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4061. TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 17TH MARCH, 2026. SANDSTONE UNDER ODOP 4061. SHRI BHARAT SINGH KUSHWAH: Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact in Gwalior district, under the 'One District One Product' (ODOP) initiative, the selected product Sandstone (sandstone tiles/products) sector is largely dependent on traditional methods of stone carving and polishing, resulting in limited use of modern technology and lack of effective branding and marketing at the national/international level; (b) if so, the concrete steps taken so far to address these shortcomings; (c) whether the Government proposes to provide modern machinery, advanced technology, skill training and financial assistance, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the future action plan proposed to provide competitive advantage to these products in the national and global markets? ANSWER वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) to (d): One District One Product’ (ODOP) is an initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with the aim to select, brand, and promote at least one product from each district of the country for enabling holistic growth across all regions. The selection of ODOP products is undertaken by the respective State/Union Territory (UT) Governments. Under the ODOP initiative, Madhya Pradesh has identified stone products (sandstone) from Gwalior district. The State Government has informed that several steps have been taken to promote modernization, technology adoption and improved branding and market access. A dedicated Industrial Park for stone processing has been developed by MPIDC (MP Industrial Development Corporation) in Gwalior, where modern machinery and advanced technology such as modern polishing machines, wire calibration machines, CNC numerical machines and other modern tools are used by units operating in the park. In addition, more than 10establishments are exporting through merchant exporters and are in the process of becoming direct exporters through various handholding and export promotion programs organized by the ODOP Cell of Madhya Pradesh. Further, ODOP Cell has been regularly organizing promotional and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen technology adoption, branding and export linkages. Technical guidance, market linkages and promotional support are also being extended through relevant institutions and government initiatives. The State Government provides assistance for modern machinery, technology upgradation, skill development and export promotion under policies such as MP Industrial Promotion Policy (MPIPP) 2025, MSME Development Policy and the Madhya Pradesh Export Promotion Policy, in the form of support for infrastructure development, green industrialization, skill development, IPR, export freight subsidy, export assistance and support for first-time exporters. Export promotion initiatives such as trade fairs, buyer–seller meets, export awareness programmes and linkages with export promotion councils are being facilitated by the ODOP Cell to expand domestic and international market access. The proposed Madhya Pradesh ODOP & GI Promotion Policy aims to strengthen district products through support for skill development, improved product design, quality, standardisation, branding, packaging and GI protection, thereby enhancing their competitiveness in national and global markets. *******