Rajasthan being the largest producer is an important sandstone producing state of India. It is an excellent building stone. This can be chiseled and dressed to a smooth surface in various attractive shapes. The sandstone has a verity of uses such as roofing, flooring, paving, paneling, beams, pillars, arches, doors and window sills, wall facing, fence posts, mile stones etc. It is especially useful for exterior cladding in sea shore buildings due to acid & thermal resistant properties. As such the effect of saline winds is negligible on sandstone. It is also suitable for use in chemical industries as flooring, wall fixing & lining due to its acid and alkali resistant properties. It is also suitable for carving and making windows and jallis. The sandstone is being quarried and used from centuries and a number of historical buildings and monuments such as Budhist Stupas of Sarnath, Red Fort, Sansad Bhawan, Rashtrapati Bhawan, and National Museum , Delhi; Chhitar Palace, Jodhpur etc. are made of sandstone.
Rajasthan Sandstone because of its regular bedding, uniform grain size, suitable nature and durability, has been used extensively not only in Rajasthan but also in Northern India and even exported to Canada, Japan, and Middle East countries.
Recently some entrepreneurs have tried for cutting and polishing of sandstone. Due to the straight/curved lines of bedding/current bedding & attractive figures developed due to iron solutions, the cut sandstone after polishing, looks very attractive. It has resulted in its use in place of granite/marble.
