Industry refers to an economic activity that is concerned with production of goods, extraction of minerals or the provision of services. Industries can be classified on the basis of raw materials, size and ownership. Industries may be agro based, mineral based, marine based and forest based depending on the type of raw materials they use.
Agro based industries : These type of industries use plant and animal based products as their raw materials. Food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile, dairy products and leather industries are examples of agro-based industries.
Mineral based industries : These are primary industries that use mineral ores as their raw materials. The products of these industries feed other industries. Iron made from iron ore is the product of mineral based industry. This is used as raw material for
the manufacture of a number of other products, such as heavy machinery, building materials and railway coaches.
Marine based industries :
They use products from the sea and oceans as raw materials. Industries processing sea food or manufacturing fish oil are some examples.
Forest based industries : They utilise forest produce as raw materials. The industries associated with forests are pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture and buildings.
Size: It refers to the amount of capital invested, number of people employed and the volume of production. Based on size, industries can be classified into small
scale and large scale industries. Cottage or household industries are a type of small scale industry where the products are manufactured by hand, by the artisans. Basket weaving, pottery and other handicrafts are examples of cottage industry. Small scale industries use lesser amount of capital and technology as compared to large scale industries that produce large volumes of products. Investment of capital is higher and the technology used is superior in large scale industries. Silk weaving and food processing industries are small scale industries. Production of automobiles and heavy machinery are large scale industries.
Ownership: Industries can be classified into private sector, state owned or public sector, joint sector and cooperative sector. Private sector industries are owned
and operated by individuals or a group of individuals. The public sector industries are owned and operated by the government, such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
and Steel Authority of India Limited. Joint sector industries are owned and operated by the state and individuals or a group of individuals. Maruti Udyog Limited is an example of joint sector industry. Co-operative sector industries are owned and operated by the producers or suppliers of raw materials, workers or both. Anand Milk
Union Limited and Sudha Dairy are a success stories of a co-operative venture.
Factors affecting location of Industries : The factors affecting the location of industries are the availability of raw material, land, water, labour, power, capital, transport and market. Sometimes, the government provides incentives like subsidised power, lower transport cost and other infrastructure so that industries may be located in backward areas. Industrialisation often leads to development and growth of towns and cities.
Industrial disasters : In industries, accidents mainly occur due to technical failure or irresponsible handling of hazardous material. One of the worst industrial disasters of all time occurred in Bhopal on 3 December 1984 around 00:30 a.m. It was a technological accident in which highly poisonous Methyl Isocynate (MIC) gas along with Hydrogen Cyanide and other reaction products leaked out of the pesticide factory of Union Carbide. The official death toll was 3,598 in 1989. Thousands, who survived still suffer from one or many ailments like blindness, impaired immune system, gastrointestinal disorders etc.
Major industries : The world’s major industries are the iron and steel industry, the textile industry and the information technology industry. The iron and steel and textile industry are the older industries while information technology is an emerging industry. The countries in which iron and steel industry is located are Germany, USA, China, Japan and Russia. Textile industry is concentrated in India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The major hubs of Information technology industry are the Silicon valley of Central California and the Bangalore region of India.
Emerging industries are also known as ‘Sunrise Industries’.These include Information technology,
Wellness, Hospitality and Knowledge.
Smelting : It is the process in which metals are extracted from their ores by heating beyond the melting point. Steel is tough and it can easily be shaped, cut, or made into wire. Special alloys of steel can be made by adding small amounts of other metals such as aluminium, nickel, and copper. Alloys give steel unusual hardness, toughness, or ability to resist rust. Steel is often called the backbone of modern industry. Almost everything we use is either made of iron or steel or has been made with tools and machinery of these metals.
Steel Plants in India : All the important steel producing centres such as Bhilai, Durgapur, Burnpur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro are situated in a region that spreads over four states — West
Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Bhadravati and Vijay Nagar in Karnataka, Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Salem in Tamil Nadu are other important steel centres utilising local resources.
Before 1947, there was only one iron and steel plant in the country – Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO - Jamshadpur). It was privately owned. After Independence, the government took the initiative and set up several iron and steel plants. TISCO was started in 1907 at Sakchi,
near the confluence of the rivers Subarnarekha and Kharkai in Jharkhand. Geographically, Jamshedpur is the most conveniently situated iron and steel centre in the country.
Cotton Textile Industry : Weaving cloth from yarn is an ancient art. Cotton, wool, silk, jute, flax have been used for making cloth. The textile industry can be divided on the basis of raw materials used in them. Fibres are the raw material of textile industry. Fibres can be natural or man-made.
Natural fibres are obtained from wool, silk, cotton, linen and jute. Man made fibres include nylon, polyester, acrylic and rayon. India has a glorious tradition of producing good quality
cotton textiles. Before the British rule, Indian hand spun and hand woven cloth already had a wide market. The Muslins of Dhaka, Chintzes of Masulipatnam, Calicos of Calicut and Gold-wrought cotton pieces of Burhanpur, Surat and Vadodara were known worldwide for their quality and design. But the production of hand woven cotton textile was expensive and time consuming. Hence, traditional cotton textile industry could not face the competition from the new textile mills of the West, which produced cheap and good quality fabrics. The first textile mill in the country was established at
Fort Gloster near Kolkata in 1818 but it closed down after some time. The first successful modern textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854. The warm, moist climate, port for importing machinery, availability of raw material and skilled labour resulted in rapid expansion of the industry in the region. Initially this industry flourished in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat because of favourable humid climate. But today, humidity can be created artificially, and raw cotton is a pure and not weight losing raw material, so this industry has spread to other parts. About one-third of the Indian textiles industry’s total production is exported.
Manchester of India : Ahmedabad is located in Gujarat on the banks of the Sabarmati river. The first mill was established in 1859. It soon became the second largest textile city of India, after Mumbai. Ahmedabad is often referred to as the ‘Manchester of India’. Favourable locational factors were responsible for the development of the textile industry in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is situated
in the heart of a cotton growing area. This ensures easy availability of raw material. The humid climate is ideal for spinning and weaving. The flat terrain and easy availability of land is suitable for the establishment of the mills. But in the recent years, Ahmedabad textile mills
have been having some problems. Several textile mills have closed down. This is primarily due to emergence of new textile centres in the country as well as nonupgradation of machines and technology in the mills of Ahmedabad.
Information Technology : The information technology industry deals in the storage, processing and distribution of information. Today, this industry has become global. This is due to a series of technological, political, and socio-economic events. The main factors guiding the location of these industries are resource availability, cost and infrastructure. The major hubs of the IT industry
are the Silicon Valley, California and Bangalore, India. Bangalore is located on the Deccan Plateau from where it gets the name ‘Silicon Plateau’. The city is known for its mild climate throughout the year. Silicon Valley, is a part of Santa Clara Valley, located next to the Rocky Mountains of North America. The area has temperate climate with the temperatures rarely dropping below 0 degrees centigrade. Other cities such as New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Pune, Thiruvanthapuram, Kochi and Chandigarh are also important centres of the IT industry. However, Bangalore has always had a unique advantage, as a city with highest availability of middle and top management talent.
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