SPI Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Manufacturing Industries
Industries are grouped by their raw material, their role and their owners; a factory is set up where raw material, power, labour, capital and markets come together.
Why this matters
Nine questions in the bank, six EASY and three MODERATE: whether an industry is agro based or mineral based, which industry uses bauxite and needs cheap power, where factories stood before independence, which industry makes telephones and computers, the country with the most spindles and who began Tata Steel.
Concept 1 of 3: How industries are classified
An industry can be described by what it uses, what it does for other industries, who owns it and how heavy its goods are. Each question names one of these ways, so first see which way it is sorting.
Definition
- By raw material: agro based industries use farm produce (cotton, woollen, jute and silk textiles, rubber, sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil); mineral based industries use minerals (iron and steel, cement, aluminium, machine tools, petrochemicals).
- By role: basic or key industries supply other industries (iron and steel, copper and aluminium smelting); consumer industries make goods people use directly (sugar, toothpaste, paper, fans).
- By ownership: public sector (BHEL, SAIL), private sector (TISCO, Bajaj Auto, Dabur), joint sector (Oil India Ltd) and cooperative sector (sugar in Maharashtra, coir in Kerala).
- By bulk: heavy industries (iron and steel) and light industries (electrical goods).
| Basis | Kinds | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | Agro based | Textiles, sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil |
| Raw material | Mineral based | Iron and steel, cement, aluminium, petrochemicals Petrochemicals are mineral based: they come from petroleum. |
| Role | Basic (key), consumer | Iron and steel is basic; toothpaste is consumer |
| Ownership | Public, private, joint, cooperative | SAIL public; TISCO private; Oil India joint; Maharashtra sugar cooperative |
| Bulk | Heavy, light | Iron and steel heavy; electrical goods light |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Manufacturing Industries
Textile industry is an example of:
Calling textiles mineral based
Textile mills use cotton, jute, silk and wool, all farm or animal produce, so the textile industry is agro based.
Treating a cooperative as the opposite of agro based
Cooperative is a kind of ownership; agro based is a kind of raw material. A sugar mill can be both.
Concept 2 of 3: Where industries are set up
A factory is built where it costs least to bring in what it needs and send out what it makes. For some industries one need outweighs the rest: aluminium smelting, for example, eats electricity.
Definition
- Industries are located where they get raw material, labour, capital, power and a market, helped by government policy.
- Before independence most factories stood in the port cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, which suited overseas trade.
- Aluminium smelting uses bauxite. Its two prime location factors are a regular supply of electricity and an assured source of raw material at minimum cost.
- Iron and steel uses iron ore, coking coal and limestone, in a ratio of about 4 : 2 : 1.
- Cement needs bulky, heavy raw materials such as limestone, silica and gypsum.
| Industry | Raw material | What decides its site |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium smelting | Bauxite | Regular electricity and cheap, assured raw material Aluminium is made from bauxite, its ore. |
| Iron and steel | Iron ore, coking coal, limestone (about 4 : 2 : 1) | Heavy raw materials, so near the mines |
| Cement | Limestone, silica, gypsum | Bulky raw materials |
Before independence: Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the port cities.
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The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionModerate
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Manufacturing Industries
A regular supply of electricity and an assured source of raw material at minimum cost are the two prime factors for the location of which one of the following industries:
Giving iron and steel for the electricity question
Iron and steel depends most on its heavy raw materials. The industry whose site is decided by a regular supply of electricity and cheap raw material is aluminium smelting.
Placing early factories in today's tech cities
Bengaluru and Hyderabad grew as industrial cities after independence. Before it, factories were in the ports of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Concept 3 of 3: Textiles, iron and steel, electronics
Three industries come up by name. Textiles is India's oldest big industry, iron and steel its basic one, and electronics the newest of the three.
Definition
- Textiles: the first successful cotton mill was set up in Mumbai in 1854. China has the largest installed capacity of spindles in the world, and India comes second.
- Iron and steel: Tata Steel (TISCO) was started at Jamshedpur in 1907. It was planned by Jamsetji Tata and set up by his son Dorabji Tata.
- Electronics makes television sets, transistors, telephones, cellular phones and computers. Bengaluru is called the electronic capital of India.
- Information technology is mostly software and services, not the making of machines.
| Industry | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Cotton textiles | First successful mill: Mumbai, 1854 |
| Spinning | Most spindles: China; India is second |
| Iron and steel | Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, 1907 Planned by Jamsetji Tata, set up by Dorabji Tata. |
| Electronics | Telephones, televisions, computers; Bengaluru is the electronic capital |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 3 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Manufacturing Industries
Which one of the following industries manufactures telephones, computer, etc?
Picking information technology for telephones and computers
Making telephones, televisions and computers is the electronics industry. Information technology is the software and services that run on them.
Thinking India has the most spindles
India has the second largest number of spindles in the world. China has the most.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
How industries are classified5 rows
| Basis | Kinds | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | Agro based | Textiles, sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil |
| Raw material | Mineral based | Iron and steel, cement, aluminium, petrochemicals Petrochemicals are mineral based: they come from petroleum. |
| Role | Basic (key), consumer | Iron and steel is basic; toothpaste is consumer |
| Ownership | Public, private, joint, cooperative | SAIL public; TISCO private; Oil India joint; Maharashtra sugar cooperative |
| Bulk | Heavy, light | Iron and steel heavy; electrical goods light |
Where industries are set up3 rows
| Industry | Raw material | What decides its site |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium smelting | Bauxite | Regular electricity and cheap, assured raw material Aluminium is made from bauxite, its ore. |
| Iron and steel | Iron ore, coking coal, limestone (about 4 : 2 : 1) | Heavy raw materials, so near the mines |
| Cement | Limestone, silica, gypsum | Bulky raw materials |
Before independence: Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the port cities.
Textiles, iron and steel, electronics4 rows
| Industry | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Cotton textiles | First successful mill: Mumbai, 1854 |
| Spinning | Most spindles: China; India is second |
| Iron and steel | Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, 1907 Planned by Jamsetji Tata, set up by Dorabji Tata. |
| Electronics | Telephones, televisions, computers; Bengaluru is the electronic capital |
Watch out for (6)
- Calling textiles mineral based→ How industries are classified
- Treating a cooperative as the opposite of agro based→ How industries are classified
- Giving iron and steel for the electricity question→ Where industries are set up
- Placing early factories in today's tech cities→ Where industries are set up
- Picking information technology for telephones and computers→ Textiles, iron and steel, electronics
- Thinking India has the most spindles→ Textiles, iron and steel, electronics
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