Geography · Chapter 09

🏭 Industries of India

Cotton, steel, IT, and major industrial cities.

🏭 India's Industrial Landscape

India has a diverse industrial base — from traditional handlooms to modern IT services. Industry contributes ~27% of India's GDP and employs ~25% of the workforce.

Classification of industries:
• By raw material: Agro-based (cotton textile, jute, sugar, food processing) · Mineral-based (iron & steel, cement, aluminium) · Forest-based (paper, furniture) · Marine-based (fish products)
• By size: Large-scale (crores of investment, thousands of workers) · Small-scale (up to ₹25 crore investment) · Cottage/Household (mainly by hand, part-time)

Major Industries:

1. Cotton Textile — oldest industry. Mumbai = "Manchester of India." Ahmedabad = second. Coimbatore, Surat.
2. Jute — Kolkata and Hooghly river belt. India = world's largest jute goods producer.
3. Iron and Steel — Jamshedpur (Tata, 1907), Bhilai (CG, Russian help), Durgapur (WB, British), Rourkela (Odisha, German), Bokaro (Jharkhand, Soviet).
4. Cement — Rajasthan, AP, Tamil Nadu, MP. India = 2nd largest cement producer.
5. IT/Software — Bangalore ("Silicon Valley of India"), Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Noida. India earns ~$250 billion/year from IT exports.

🔩 Iron & Steel — the backbone of industry

Factors for location of iron & steel plants (all near coal + iron + water + transport):
• Jamshedpur (Tata Steel) — near coal (Jharia, Dhanbad), iron ore (Singhbhum), water (Subarnarekha/Kharkai rivers)
• Bhilai (SAIL) — near Bailadila iron ore, Korba coal
• Rourkela (SAIL) — near Sundargarh iron ore, coal from Jharkhand
• Durgapur (SAIL) — near Raniganj coal, Damodar river water
• Bokaro (SAIL) — near Jharia coal, iron from Jharkhand/Odisha

Tata Steel, Jamshedpur — India's first steel plant (1907)
Tata Steel, Jamshedpur — India's first steel plant (1907)Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Jamnagar Refinery, Gujarat — world's largest oil refinery
Jamnagar Refinery, Gujarat — world's largest oil refineryWikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
💻 India's IT Revolution

India's IT sector began in Bangalore in the 1980s when Texas Instruments set up India's first satellite link office. Today:
• IT exports: ~$250 billion (2023) — world's #1 software exporter
• Major companies: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Tech Mahindra
• ~5.4 million people employed in IT/ITeS
• STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) — provides tax benefits
• SEZ (Special Economic Zones) — export-focused industrial zones

🎬

Industrial Cities of India

Animation
MAJOR INDUSTRIAL CITIES — CLICK TO EXPLORE ⚙️ Jamshedpur 🧵 Mumbai 💻 Bengaluru 🌿 Kolkata 🧶 Ahmedabad 🔩 Bhilai 💊 Hyderabad CLICK AN INDUSTRIAL CITY India's industries cluster near raw materials, ports, or skilled labor pools.

Location of industries depends on proximity to raw materials, power, water, labour, and markets.

🗺️

Industry Quick Facts

Interactive
World rank2nd largest textile exporter (after China)
Major centresMumbai, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Surat, Ludhiana
Raw materialCotton (Maharashtra, Gujarat, AP)
Employment4.5 crore workers (2nd largest employer after agri)
Cotton textile is India's oldest industry. Mumbai grew due to proximity to cotton fields and the port for exporting cloth.
Practice (NCERT): Why are most iron and steel plants located in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region?
Most iron and steel plants (Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela, Bhilai) are located in or near the Chota Nagpur Plateau because the region provides all essential raw materials and infrastructure:

1. Iron ore: Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Odisha, Bailadila (Chhattisgarh) — massive deposits
2. Coal: Jharia (Jharkhand, largest coalfield), Raniganj (WB), Korba (CG) — coking coal needed for steel
3. Limestone and dolomite: Used as fluxes in steel making — available in Jharkhand/Odisha
4. Manganese: Used as alloy — Odisha has large deposits
5. Water: Damodar, Subarnarekha, Mahanadi rivers provide water for cooling
6. Transport: Well-connected by railways to Kolkata port
7. Labour: Large tribal population provides cheap labour

This concentration creates a "mineral belt" — the basis of India's heavy industry.
Practice (NCERT): What are cottage industries? Give three examples. Why are they important?
Cottage industries (also called household industries) are small-scale industries where products are made at home or in small workshops, usually by hand without much machinery.

Examples:
1. Handloom weaving — silk sarees (Varanasi, Kanchipuram), Khadi, Khadi cotton
2. Pottery and terracotta — traditional clay products
3. Basket weaving, coir making, mat weaving
4. Bidi making, incense sticks, matchsticks
5. Block printing, embroidery (Lucknow chikankari, Rajasthan's block print)

Importance:
• Employ millions in rural areas — supplementary income for farmers
• Preserve traditional craft skills — unique to India
• Low capital requirement — accessible to poor households
• Decentralized — spread across villages, not concentrated in cities
• Cultural and export value — India earns billions from handicraft exports

Government support: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), National Handicrafts Development Programme.
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