Chapter 6: Manufacturing Industries
Importance of Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the production of goods in large quantities after processing raw materials into more valuable products. Manufacturing belongs to the secondary sector. Manufacturing industries are considered the backbone of development because:
- They help in modernising agriculture — providing pump sets, fertilisers, insecticides, tools and equipment — and reduce heavy dependence of people on agricultural income by providing jobs in secondary and tertiary sectors.
- Industrial development is a precondition for eradication of unemployment and poverty; it also aims at bringing down regional disparities (public sector industries in tribal and backward areas).
- Export of manufactured goods expands trade and commerce and brings much-needed foreign exchange.
- Countries that transform their raw materials into a wide variety of finished goods of higher value are prosperous — India's prosperity lies in increasing and diversifying its manufacturing industries.
Agriculture and industry move hand in hand: agro-industries depend on agriculture for raw materials, and industries in turn sell irrigation pumps, fertilisers, machines and tools to farmers, making agriculture more efficient.
Location of Industries and Agglomeration
Industrial locations are influenced by availability of raw material, labour, capital, power and market. It is rarely possible to find all these factors at one place; industries locate where the cost of production and delivery is least. Cities provide markets and services — banking, insurance, transport, consultants and financial advice. Many industries tend to come together to make use of the advantages offered by urban centres known as agglomeration economies. The key to industrial location decisions is least cost; government policies and specialised labour also influence location.
Classification of Industries
| Basis | Types | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Source of raw material | Agro-based; Mineral-based | Agro: cotton, woollen, jute, silk textiles, sugar, edible oil; Mineral: iron and steel, cement, aluminium, machine tools, petrochemicals |
| Main role | Basic/key industries (supply products/raw materials to other industries); Consumer industries (goods for direct use by consumers) | Basic: iron and steel, copper smelting, aluminium smelting; Consumer: sugar, toothpaste, paper, sewing machines, fans |
| Capital investment | Small scale (investment within the prescribed limit, about one crore rupees); Large scale | Small: plastic goods, toys; Large: iron and steel, cotton textiles |
| Ownership | Public sector; Private sector; Joint sector; Cooperative sector | Public: BHEL, SAIL; Private: TISCO, Bajaj Auto, Dabur; Joint (state + individuals): Oil India Ltd (OIL); Cooperative (owned by producers/suppliers of raw material, workers or both): sugar industry in Maharashtra, coir industry in Kerala |
| Bulk and weight of raw material and finished goods | Heavy industries; Light industries | Heavy: iron and steel; Light (light raw material, light goods): electrical goods industries |
Agro-Based Industries
Textile Industry
The textile industry occupies a unique position in the Indian economy: it contributes significantly to industrial production, generates employment for a very large number of people (direct and indirect), and earns substantial foreign exchange. It is the only industry in the country which is self-reliant and complete in the value chain — from raw material to the highest value-added products.
Cotton Textiles
Traditionally produced with hand spinning and handloom weaving; after the 18th century, power-looms came into use. The first successful mills were set up in Mumbai. Initially, the industry concentrated in the cotton belt of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Locational factors:
- Availability of raw cotton in the black-soil belt
- Nearness to market and port facilities (Mumbai) for export and import of machinery
- Transport including accessible port facilities
- Cheap and skilled labour, moist climate suitable for spinning
Spinning is still centralised in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, but weaving is highly decentralised (handloom, powerloom, mills) to incorporate traditional skills and designs. India exports yarn to Japan, and cotton goods to the USA, UK, Russia, France, East European countries, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and African countries. Problems: erratic power supply, old and outdated machinery, low output of labour, and stiff competition from the synthetic fibre industry.
Jute Textiles
India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods and stands second as an exporter after Bangladesh. Most mills are located in West Bengal, mainly along the banks of the Hugli river, in a narrow belt. Locational factors:
- Proximity of the jute-producing areas (Ganga–Brahmaputra delta)
- Inexpensive water transport on the Hugli, supported by a good network of railways, roadways and waterways
- Abundant water for processing raw jute
- Cheap labour from West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh
- Kolkata as a large urban centre providing banking, insurance and port facilities
Challenges: stiff competition from synthetic substitutes and from competitors like Bangladesh, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt and Thailand. The internal demand has been on the rise due to the government policy of mandatory use of jute packaging. Objective of the National Jute Policy, 2005: increase productivity, improve quality, ensure good prices to farmers and enhance yield per hectare. Main markets: USA, Canada, Russia, United Arab Republic, UK and Australia.
Sugar Industry
India stands second as a world producer of sugar but occupies the first place in the production of gur and khandsari. The raw material (sugarcane) is bulky and its sucrose content reduces during haulage, so mills are located close to the cane-growing areas. Sixty per cent of mills are in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; in recent years there is a tendency of mills to shift and concentrate in the southern and western states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh) because the cane there has higher sucrose content, the cooler climate ensures a longer crushing season, and the cooperatives are more successful. Challenges: seasonal nature of the industry, old and inefficient methods of production, transport delay in reaching cane to factories, and the need to maximise use of baggase.
Mineral-Based Industries: Iron and Steel
Iron and steel is the basic industry — all other industries (heavy, medium and light) depend on it for their machinery. Steel is needed for engineering goods, construction material, defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment and consumer goods. Production and consumption of steel is often treated as an index of a country's development. It is a heavy industry: raw materials as well as finished goods are heavy and bulky, entailing heavy transport costs. Iron ore, coking coal and limestone are required in the approximate ratio of 4 : 2 : 1; some quantities of manganese are also required to harden the steel.
Most plants are concentrated in the Chhotanagpur plateau region because of: low cost of iron ore, high-grade raw materials in proximity, cheap labour, and vast growth potential in the home market. India is an important iron and steel producing country, yet per capita consumption is low. Reasons why India is not able to perform to full potential: high costs and limited availability of coking coal, lower productivity of labour, irregular energy supply, and poor infrastructure. Liberalisation and Foreign Direct Investment, with private entrepreneurs, have given a boost to the industry.
Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation
Industries are responsible for four types of pollution:
- Air pollution: high proportion of undesirable gases (sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide), smoke, dust and fumes from chemical and paper factories, brick kilns, refineries, smelting plants, and burning of fossil fuels; toxic gas leaks can be very hazardous (Bhopal gas tragedy).
- Water pollution: organic and inorganic industrial wastes and effluents discharged into rivers — main culprits are paper, pulp, chemical, textile and dyeing, petroleum refineries, tanneries and electroplating industries (dyes, detergents, acids, salts, heavy metals like lead and mercury, plastics, rubber, fly ash).
- Thermal pollution: hot water from factories and thermal plants drained into rivers and ponds before cooling, affecting aquatic life. Wastes from nuclear power plants cause cancers and birth defects.
- Noise pollution: industrial and construction activities, machinery, generators, saws and pneumatic drills — causes irritation, hypertension and hearing impairment.
Control measures:
- Minimise use of water by reusing and recycling it in two or more successive stages; harvest rainwater to meet water requirements; treat hot water and effluents before releasing them in rivers and ponds (primary treatment by mechanical means, secondary biological treatment, tertiary biological/chemical/physical treatment with recycling).
- Overdrawing of ground water by industry should be regulated legally.
- Air pollution: fit smoke stacks with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial separators; use oil or gas instead of coal.
- Noise pollution: fit machinery with silencers, redesign machinery to reduce noise, use earplugs and earphones.
Map Work (CBSE Prescribed)
- Cotton textile industries: Mumbai (Maharashtra), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Surat (Gujarat), Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
- Iron and steel plants: Durgapur (West Bengal), Bokaro (Jharkhand), Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Vijaynagar (Karnataka), Salem (Tamil Nadu)
- Software technology parks: Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Pune (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Telangana), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)