Geography: 6. Manufacturing Industries

The development of the manufacturing industries is used as the criterion to measure the economic strength of the country. For the general and economic development of the country, the manufacturing sector plays an important role and is the backbone of development. Manufacturing industries increased the job opportunities in the secondary and tertiary sector, reducing the dependence of people on the agricultural sector.

It brings foreign exchange as manufactured goods are exported which increases trade and commerce of the country. It is considered that country which used raw materials to make finished goods are the prosperous one, thus India should expands manufacturing industries of the country.

For the development of the country industrial development should be the main concern which will eradicate poverty and unemployment. Public sector industries and joint sector ventures in India consider this as their main philosophy. By the establishment of the industries in tribal and backward areas, regional disparities and difference among the people will gradually come down. It is true, that Industrialization assists in bringing in foreign exchange. Manufactured goods which are exported which increases trade and commerce of the country which in turn brings foreign exchange.

The most basic industry is the Iron and steel industry as all the industries are depended on this industry for their machinery. Steel is an important metal because it is used for manufacturing engineering goods, construction material, defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment, and a variety of consumer goods. India is considered as the largest exporter of steel, i.e., 2.25% in 2004 in the global steel trade.

Public sector undertaking of India sells its steel through steel Authority of India Ltd or SAIL. This is the reason the Steel Authority of India said to be a public sector undertaking.

The TISCO markets, also known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited sell their produce through Tata steel.

Cement has various uses like for building houses, factories, bridges, roads, airports, dams and other commercial establishments. For the cement industry, bulky and heavy raw materials are required such as limestone, silica, alumina and gypsum, along with this rail transportation, coal and electric power is also required. India produces different types of cement. Gulf countries have easy access to these industrial plants located in Gujarat.

In 1904, the first cement plant set up in Chennai, India. It was after independence that the cement industry developed and other factors like since 1989 decontrol of price and distribution and policies led to the development in terms of capacity, process, technology and production. Moreover, there are 128 large plants and 332 mini cement plants.

Even though there are various causes that are leading to the degradation of the environment but the increase in pollution cannot be ignored. Moreover, the development of the industries is responsible for the Air, Water, Land and Noise pollution. The different types of pollution which lead to the degradation of the environment are –

• Air Pollution – Air is getting polluted due to the presence of undesirable gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide in high quantity. Chemical industries, paper factories, brick kilns, refineries, smelting plants, burning of fossil fuels in small and big factories discharge smoke without considering pollution norms.

• Water Pollution – water gets polluted by the organic and inorganic industrial wastes and effluents discharge by the industries into the water. Dyes, detergents, acids, salts, heavy metals like lead, mercury, pesticides and fertilisers synthetic chemicals with carbon, plastics and rubber are discharge into the water by chemical paper, pulp, textile and dyeing, petroleum refineries, tanneries, and electroplating industries. Thermal pollution occurs when hot water is discharged into the water from factories and thermal plants before cooling.

• Land Pollution – When wastes like glass, harmful chemicals, industrial effluents, packaging, salts, and garbage are dumped into the soil, it makes it useless. Also, rains take these pollutants to the underground making groundwater contaminated.

• Noise Pollution –Hearing impairment, increased heart rate and blood pressure, stress are the effects of noise pollution. It occurs due to the noise made by the machinery, industrial and construction activities, factory equipment, generators, saws, pneumatic, and electric drills.

All this pollution affects the environment in various ways.

Textile, Cotton textile, Jute textiles, Sugar industries, woollen, silk textile, rubber, and tea, coffee and edible oil are agro-based industries which led to the improved the agricultural sector by increasing its productivity. These are an agro-based industry which means they are depended on the agricultural sector for raw materials. However, these industries sell their products like irrigation pumps, fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, plastic and PVC pipes, machines and tools, etc, to the farmers. Also, manufacturing industries contributed to the development of the agriculture sector by increasing their production process and made it more efficient.

• Textile Industry – textile industry plays an important role in the development of the Indian economy. It provided employment opportunities and also brought much needed foreign exchange. Textile industry considered as the only industry which is self-reliant and complete in the value chain.

• Cotton textile – the Cotton industry has the connection with the agriculture as it provides livelihood to the farmers, cotton ball pluckers, workers engaged in spinning, weaving, ginning, dyeing, designing, packaging, tailoring and sewing.

• Jute textiles – After Bangladesh, India is the second largest producer of raw jute and jute goods. 40% of the small and marginal farmers are supported by this industry as they are engaged in the cultivation of Jute and Mesta.

Yes, it is true that “The economic strength of a country is measured by the development of manufacturing industries”. The importances of the Manufacturing industries are –

• For the general and economic development of the country, the manufacturing sector plays an important role and is the backbone of development. Manufacturing industries increased the job opportunities in the secondary and tertiary sector, reducing the dependence of people on the agricultural sector.

• Industrial development should be the main concern for the development of the country which will eradicate poverty and unemployment. Public sector industries and joint sector ventures in India consider this as their main philosophy. By the establishment of the industries in tribal and backward areas, regional disparities and difference among the people will gradually come down.

• It brings foreign exchange as manufactured goods are exported which increases trade and commerce of the country.

• It is considered that country which used raw materials to make finished goods of higher value are the prosperous one, thus India should expands manufacturing industries of the country.

The share of the manufacturing sector is 17% of the GDP out of a total of 27% for the industry. Out of this 10% is for the mining, quarrying, electricity and gas. As compared to East-Asian countries, it is very low where it is about 25% to 35%. Over the last decade, the growth rate in manufacturing is 7% per annum.

The desired growth rate is 12% for the next decade. It had increased to 9% to 10% per annum since 2003. It is expected that due to the inclusion of policy by the government and efforts by the industry to increase production, economists predicted that such measures might increase the manufacturing over the next decade. To fulfil this aspect, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has been set up.

After Bangladesh, India is the second largest producer of raw jute and jute goods. 40% of the small and marginal farmers are supported by this industry as they are engaged in the cultivation of Jute and Mesta. In India, there are 70 jute mills. Due to the increasing competition from the international markets due to the availability of synthetic substitutes, Jute industry faced many challenges. Bangladesh, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt and Thailand are the competitors. When the government made it mandatory to use the jute packaging, internal demand for Jute increased. To increase the demand for the Jute, it became important to expand its production.

Thus, the National Jute Policy was framed in 2005 with various objectives to solve the challenges faced by the Jute industries in India. These objectives are –

• To increase the productivity of the jute.

• To improve the quality of the jute.

• To ensure that farmers get the good prices of the Jute produced by them and to increase the yield per hectare.

To reduce the use of water by using it more than two times by reusing and recycling it. To meet the water requirements, make use of rainwater harvesting.

Before releasing wastewater and industrial effluents in river and ponds, treat them and this can be done in three phases which are –

• Primary treatment is given through mechanical means such as screening, grinding, flocculation and sedimentation.

• The biological process is the secondary treatment given to the hot water and industrial effluents.

• The biological, chemical and physical process is the tertiary treatment like the recycling of wastewater.

Groundwater reserves should be removed from those places which pose as a threat to the groundwater resources. Smoke stacks in the factories could be fitted with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers, inertial separators. This will help to reduce the particulate matter in the air. By using oil or gas rather than coal, smoke could be reduced to a certain extent.

Cement has various uses like for building houses, factories, bridges, roads, airports, dams and other commercial establishments. For the cement industry, bulky and heavy raw materials are required such as limestone, silica, alumina and gypsum, along with this rail transportation, coal and electric power is also required. India produces different types of cement.

There are certain factors for choosing the ideal location for setting up a cement factory or any other factory–

• To choose the location for setting up the industry is difficult and is influenced by the factors like availability of raw material, labour, capital, power and market, etc. It is difficult to look for the place with the inclusion of all these factors.

• The location is chosen when either all these factors are available at one place or arranged at a lower cost.

• Urbanisation follows when the industrial activity starts. These industries are sometimes located in or near the cities as cities provide markets for industrial products and also services like banking, insurance, transport, labour, consultants, financial advice, etc. Sometimes, all these industries come together to make use of the advantage provided by urban centres. This is referred to as agglomeration economies.

• Most of the industries are also located with the view to connect easily with the places of overseas trade like Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, etc.

• The location of the industry is also influenced by government policies and specialised labours.

Gulf countries have easy access to these industrial plants located in Gujarat which has strategically located Cement plants. In 1904, the first cement plant set up in Chennai, India. It was after independence that the cement industry developed and other factors like since 1989 decontrol of price and distribution and policies led to the development in terms of capacity, process, technology and production. Moreover, there are 128 large plants and 332 mini cement plants.

Currently, the largest cement producing states in India Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala. To increase the demand and supply, initiatives have been taken. In terms of export and production, the cement industry is doing well.

The most basic industry is the Iron and steel industry as all the industries are depended on this industry for their machinery. Iron and Steel is an important metal because it is used for manufacturing engineering goods, construction material, defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment, and a variety of consumer goods. India is considered as the largest exporter of steel, i.e, and 2.25% in 2004 in the global steel trade.

The north-eastern part of the Peninsular Plateau region has the maximum concentration of iron and steel industries because of the certain factors this place has which poses as the ideal location for the iron and steel industries. These factors are - low cost of iron ore, high-grade raw materials, cheap labour and growth of this industry in the home market.

Also, India is still not able to perform to its full potential due to high costs and limited availability of coking coal, lower productivity of labour and irregular supply of energy and poor infrastructure. But the availability of steel is enough to meet the domestic demand.

A. A software Technology Park in Odisha - Bhubaneshwar

B. Bhilai Iron and Steel plant - Chhattisgarh

C. Chennai (First cement plant)

A. Ahmedabad Cotton textiles - Gujarat

B. Bhilai Iron and Steel Plant - Chhattisgarh

C. Chennai (First cement plant)