SSC CGL Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Manufacturing Industries
India's iron and steel plants and their firsts, the ways industries are classified (by owner, raw material, weight and use), and the textile, sugar, fertiliser, aluminium and chemical industries.
Why this matters
Twenty-six questions in the bank: six from the 2023 shifts, eight from the 2024 shifts and 12 from the 2025 shifts. The 2025 papers asked how industries are classified, as 'which pair is correctly grouped' questions, so learn each classification with two examples.
Concept 1 of 3: Iron and steel
Definition
The facts:
- Iron and steel is a heavy industry: bulky raw materials (iron ore, coking coal, limestone) and heavy products.
- Most plants lie on the Chota Nagpur plateau, which holds all three raw materials.
- TISCO, Jamshedpur (1907): the oldest of India's steel companies.
- IISCO (1918): first factory at Hirapur (now Burnpur, near Asansol), on the Kolkata-Asansol line; now part of SAIL.
- Rourkela (Odisha), built with German help and started in 1959, is the first integrated public-sector steel plant.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Manufacturing Industries
Heavy because of its raw materials
Concept 2 of 3: How industries are classified
Definition
By owner:
- Public: the government, such as BHEL and SAIL. Private: TISCO, Bajaj Auto, Dabur.
- Joint: State and private together, such as Oil India Ltd. Cooperative: owned by producers or workers who share profits and losses, such as Maharashtra's sugar mills.
By raw material: agro-based (cotton textiles, sugar, jute, edible oil) and mineral-based (cement, steel, aluminium, petrochemicals).
By weight: heavy (iron and steel, shipbuilding, automobiles) and light (light materials into consumer goods: bulbs, sewing machines, watches).
By use: basic industries feed others (iron and steel, aluminium and copper smelting); consumer goods industries make things people use (toothpaste, soap).
NCERT's major industrial regions include Chota Nagpur, Hugli, Mumbai-Pune and Gujarat.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Manufacturing Industries
Steel and cement are not agro-based
Concept 3 of 3: Textiles, sugar, fertilisers, aluminium and chemicals
Definition
The facts:
- Cotton textiles: the first successful mill opened in Mumbai (1854).
- Sugar: cane loses sucrose soon after cutting, so mills sit near the fields; crushing is seasonal; the industry suits cooperatives. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are major producers.
- Fertilisers: Sindri (Jharkhand, 1951), near the Jharia coalfield. Urea is the main nitrogenous fertiliser. India has no potash of its own. Output grew after the Green Revolution.
- Aluminium: the second most important metallurgical industry, after iron and steel. Muri (Jharkhand) is the oldest alumina refinery.
- Inorganic chemicals are made all over India, not only in the north; sulphuric acid and soda ash feed fertilisers, detergents and glass.
- Chennai is called the Detroit of India for its automobile industry.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Manufacturing Industries
Aluminium is second, not first
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)
Watch out for (3)
- Heavy because of its raw materials→ Iron and steel
- Steel and cement are not agro-based→ How industries are classified
- Aluminium is second, not first→ Textiles, sugar, fertilisers, aluminium and chemicals
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.