Manufacturing Industries Chapter 6

Q.1 What do you mean by manufacturing?

Ans. Production of goods in large quantities after processing from raw materials to more
valuable products is called manufacturing. For example: paper is manufactured
from wood, sugar from sugarcane, iron and steel from iron ore and aluminium from
bauxite.
Q.2 Describe the importance of manufacturing in Indian economy.
Or
“The economic strength of a country is measured by the development of
manufacturing industries”. Justify this statement with four examples.
Or
Explain why the manufacturing sector is considered the backbone of development in
general and economic development in particular. Give four reasons.
Ans. Because –
i. Manufacturing industries help in modernising agriculture, which forms the backbone
of our economy.
ii. Manufacturing industries also reduce the heavy dependence of people on
agricultural income by providing them jobs in secondary and tertiary sectors.
iii. Industrial development is a precondition for eradication of unemployment and
poverty from our country.
iv. It brings down regional disparities by establishing industries in tribal and backward
areas.
v. Export of manufactured goods expands trade and commerce, and brings in much
needed foreign exchange.
vi. Countries that transform their raw materials into a wide variety of furnished goods
of higher value are prosperous.
vii. Industry sector contributes 27 % of GDP out of it manufacturing accounts for 17
%.

Q.3 “Agriculture and industry are not exclusive of each other. They move hand in hand.”
Justify this statement with examples.
Ans. The agro-industries in India have given a major boost to agriculture -
i. By raising its productivity.
ii. Industries depend on the agriculture for raw materials such as cotton, jute, silk etc.
iii. Industries sell their products such as irrigation pumps, fertilisers, insecticides,
pesticides, machines and tools, etc. to the farmers.
iv. Thus, development of manufacturing industry helps agriculture in increasing their
production but also make the production processes very efficient.
Q.4 How our industries will be able to compete in the international market in the
present day world of globalization?
Ans. Our industry needs to be more efficient and competitive. Self-sufficiency alone is
not enough. Our manufactured goods must be at par in quality with those in the
international market. Only then, will we be able to compete in the international
market.

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Q.5 Which factor plays the most dominant role in the ideal location of an industry?
Explain any three reasons in support of this factor.
Ans. The most dominant factor of industrial location is the least cost.
i. Cost of obtaining raw materials at site: Manufacturing activity tends to locate at
the most appropriate place where all the raw materials of production are either
available or can be arranged at lower cost.
ii. Cost of production at site: These are influenced by availability of labour, capital,
power, etc. Thus industrial location is influenced by the costs of availability of these
factors of production.
iii. Cost of distribution of production: The distance of industry from market influence
the transportation costs. Transportation costs influence the cost of distribution of
production.
Q.6 Explain the factors influencing the location of industry.
Ans. Industries maximize profits by reducing costs. Therefore industries are located
where the costs are minimum. The factors influencing are:

i. Access to Market:
Areas/regions having high purchasing power provide large market therefore
industries are located in these regions.
ii. Access to Raw Material:
a. Raw material used by industries should be cheap and easy to transport.
Industries based on cheap, bulky and weight-losing material (ores) are located
close to the sources of raw material such as steel, sugar, and cement industries.
b. Industries using perishable raw material are located closer to the source of the
raw material. Such as Agro-processing and dairy industries are located close to
the sources of farm produce or milk supply respectively.
iii. Access to Labour Supply: Some types of manufacturing require skilled labour
therefore industries are located near urban-educational centres where skilled labour
is easily available.
iv. Access to Sources of Energy: Industries which use more power are located close
to the source of the energy supply such as the aluminium industry.
v. Access to Transportation and Communication Facilities:
Speedy and efficient transport facilities reduce the cost of transport. Therefore
industries are attracted in regions having good transport facilities.
vi. Government Policy: Governments adopt ‘regional policies’ to promote ‘balanced’
economic development and hence set up industries in particular areas.
vii. Access to Agglomeration Economies: Many industries benefit from nearness to
a leader-industry and other industries. These benefits are termed as agglomeration
economies.
Q.7 What do you mean by agglomeration economies?
Ans. Industries are located near urban areas. Many industries tend to come together to
make use of the advantages offered by the urban centres known as
agglomeration economies.
Q.8 Why do industries tend to locate themselves near cities or urban centres?
Ans. Some industries tend to locate near urban centres because of:
i. Cities provide markets
ii. Cities provide services such as banking, insurance, transport, labour, consultants
and financial advice, etc. to the industry.
iii. In the pre-Independence period, most manufacturing units were located in urban
places from the point of view of overseas trade such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
etc.

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Classification of industries:

On the basis of source of raw materials used:

i. Agro based: cotton, woollen, jute, silk textile, rubber and sugar, tea, coffee, edible
oil.
ii. Mineral based: iron and steel, cement, aluminium, machine tools, petrochemicals.
According to their main role:
i. Basic or key industries which supply their products as raw materials to manufacture
other goods e.g. iron and steel and copper smelting, aluminum smelting.
ii. Consumer industries that produce goods for direct use by consumers – sugar,
toothpaste, paper, sewing machines, fans etc.

On the basis of capital investment:

i. Small scale industry: having rupees one crore as the maximum investment on the
assets of a unit.
ii. If investment is more than one crore on any industry then it is known as a large
scale industry.

On the basis of ownership:

i. Public sector: owned and operated by government agencies – BHEL, SAIL etc.
ii. Private sector industries owned and operated by individuals or a group of
individuals –TISCO, Bajaj Auto Ltd., Dabur Industries.
iii. Joint sector industries which are jointly run by the state and individuals or a group
of individuals. Oil India Ltd. (OIL) is jointly owned by public and private sector.
iv. Cooperative sector industries are owned and operated by the producers or suppliers
of raw materials, workers or both. They pool in the resources and share the profits
or losses proportionately such as the sugar industry in Maharashtra, the coir
industry in Kerala.

Based on the bulk and weight of raw material and finished goods:

i. Heavy industries such as iron and steel

ii. Light industries that use light raw materials and produce light goods such as
electrical industries.

Textile Industry:
Q.9 Why the textile industry occupies unique position in the Indian economy?
Ans. The significance of textile industry in India can be judged by
i. It contributes 14 percent to industrial production.
ii. It provides and generates employment for 35 million persons directly.
iii. It earns 25 per cent of foreign exchange.
iv. It contributes 4 per cent towards GDP.
v. It is the only industry in the country, which is self-reliant and complete in the value
chain i.e., from raw material to the highest value added products.

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Cotton Textiles:
Q.10 How was the cotton textiles produced in ancient India?
Ans. In ancient India, cotton textiles were produced with hand spinning and handloom
weaving techniques. After the 18th century, power-looms came into use.
Q.11 Why our traditional cotton textile industries suffered a setback during colonial rule?
Ans. Our traditional industries suffered a setback during the colonial period because they
could not compete with the mill-made cloth from England.
Q.12 When was the first textile mill established in India?
Ans. The first successful textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854.
Q.13 Why in early years the cotton textile industry was concentrated in the states of
Gujarat and Maharashtra?
Ans. In the early years, the cotton textile industry was concentrated in the cotton
growing belt of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Availability of raw cotton, market,
transport including accessible port facilities, labour, moist climate, etc. contributed
towards its localisation.
Q.14 State the importance of cotton textile industry in India.
Ans. Cotton textile industry is an important industry of India.
i. Cotton textile industry has close links with agriculture.
ii. It provides a living to farmers, cotton boll pluckers and workers engaged in ginning,
spinning, weaving, dyeing, designing, packaging, tailoring and sewing.
iii. The handspun khadi provides large scale employment to weavers in their homes as
a cottage industry.
iv. This industry creates demands and supports many other industries, such as,
chemicals and dyes, mill stores, packaging materials and engineering works.
v. India exports yarn to Japan. Other importers of cotton goods from India are U.S.A.,
U.K., Russia, France, East European countries, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and
African countries.
vi. India has the second largest installed capacity of spindles in the world, next to
China.

Q.15 Give two differences between spinning and weaving of cotton yarns in India.
Ans. Spinning and weaving are the two important component of cotton textile industry:
i. While spinning continues to be centralised in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu,
weaving is highly decentralized in other states.
ii. India has world class production in spinning, but weaving supplies low quality of
fabric.
Q.16 Mention the major drawbacks and problems of cotton textile industry in India.
Ans. Cotton textile industry in India suffers from some problems:
i. The world trade of cotton yarn (25%) is much larger than the trade of cotton
garments (4%).
ii. Our spinning mills are competitive at the global level but the weaving, knitting and
processing units cannot use much of the high quality yarn that is produced in the
country.
iii. Most of the textile production is in fragmented small units, which cater to the local
market.
iv. Many of our spinners export cotton yarn while apparel/garment manufactures have
to import fabric.
v. We need to import good quality staple cotton.
vi. Power supply is erratic.
vii. Machinery needs to be upgraded in the weaving and processing sectors in
particular.
viii. Low output of labour and stiff competition with the synthetic fibre industry.

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Jute Textiles

Q.17 Why most of our jute mills are located along the banks of the Hugli River?
Ans. Factors responsible for their location in the Hugli basin are:
i. Proximity of the jute producing areas,
ii. Inexpensive water transport,
iii. Supported by a good network of railways, roadways and waterways to facilitate
movement of raw material to the mills,
iv. Abundant water for processing raw jute,
v. Cheap labour from West Bengal and adjoining states of Bihar, Orissa and Uttar
Pradesh.
vi. Kolkata as a large urban centre provides banking, insurance and port facilities for
export of jute goods.
Q.18 State the importance of jute textile industry in India.
Ans. The Jute industry
i. The jute industry supports 2.61 lakh workers directly.
ii. It also supports another 40 lakhs small and marginal farmers who are engaged in
cultivation of jute and mesta.
iii. India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods and stands at second place
as an exporter after Bangladesh.
Q.19 What are the challenges faced by the jute industry in India?
Ans. Challenges faced by the industry are:
i. Stiff competition in the international market from synthetic substitutes.
ii. Stiff competition from other competitors like Bangladesh, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt
and Thailand.
iii. Internal demand of jute products is low. However, the internal demand has been
on the increase due to the Government policy of mandatory use of jute packaging.
iv. The jute productivity and the quality is equally low in India.
v. The farmers don’t get good prices of jute crops.
Q.20 What are the objectives of the National Jute Policy formulated in 2005?
Ans. The National jute policy was formulated in 2005 for:
i. To stimulate demand by diversifying the products.
ii. Increasing productivity,
iii. Improving quality,
iv. Ensuring good prices to the jute farmers
v. Enhancing the yield per hectare.
Q.21 Name any four countries to which we export Jute products.
Ans. The main markets are U.S.A., Canada, Russia, United Arab Republic, U.K. and
Australia.

Sugar Industry

Q.22 Explain the factors which influence the location of sugar industry in India.
Ans. The important factors influencing the location of this industry are:
i. Sugar industry is ideally located in the sugarcane growing regions of India because-
ii. The raw material, sugarcane, used in this industry is bulky and difficult to transport
at low costs.
iii. In transport the sucrose content in the sugarcane reduces.
iv. In cooler climates the crushing season is longer.

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v. Most of the Sugar mills in the country are in two states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Other important states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh
and Gujarat.
Q.23 Why the sugar industry is ideally suited to the cooperative sector?
Ans. The sugar industry is seasonal in nature so, it is ideally suited to the cooperative
sector. Crushing of sugarcane is limited to days which are cooler and sugarcane
grows well during hot and humid climates only.
Q.24 Why in recent years the sugar mills have shifted to southern and western states?
Ans. The sugar mills in recent years have shifted and concentrated in the southern and
western states, especially in Maharashtra, This is because
i. The cane produced here has higher sucrose content.
ii. The cooler climate also ensures a longer crushing season.
iii. The cooperatives are more successful in these states.
Q.25 What are the major challenges faced by the sugar industry in India?
Ans. The major challenges include:
i. The seasonal nature of the industry,
ii. Old and inefficient methods of production,
iii. Transport delay in reaching cane to factories
iv. The need to maximise the use of baggase.

Iron and Steel Industry

Q.26 Why the iron and steel industry is called the basic industry?
Ans. The iron and steel Industry is the basic industry because:
i. All the other industries — heavy, medium and light, depend on it for their
machinery.
ii. Steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods, construction
material, defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment and a variety of
consumer goods.
iii. Iron and steel is a heavy industry because all the raw materials as well as finished
goods are heavy and bulky. It involves heavy transportation costs.
Q.27 Name the raw material needed to produce the steel.
Ans. Iron ore, coking coal and lime stone are required in the ratio of approximately 4: 2:
1. Some quantities of manganese, are also required to harden the steel.
Q.28 Explain why most the iron and steel industry are concentrated in Chotanagpur
plateau region.
Ans. Chotanagpur region has relative advantages such as:
i. This region is rich in the raw material needed to produce the steel such as iron ore,
coal, limestone, etc.
ii. These raw material are heavy and bulky therefore difficult and costly to transport to
the plant.
iii. This region has well connected railway lines which offer easy transportation of the
finished products for their distribution to the markets and consumers.
iv. This region gets its power supply from Damodar valley.
v. Availability of cheap labour from surrounding regions.
Q.29 Explain why India is not able to produce steel as per its full potential.
Ans. Though, India is an important iron and steel producing country in the world yet, we
are not able to perform to our full potential largely due to:
(a) High costs and limited availability of coking coal
(b) Lower productivity of labour
(c) Irregular supply of energy and
(d) Poor infrastructure.

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Q.30 Give one point of difference and similarity between mini and integrated steel plants.
Ans. Difference: Mini steel plants are smaller, have electric furnaces, use steel scrap and
sponge iron. They produce mild and alloy steel of given specifications. An integrated
steel plant is large, handles everything in one complex – from putting together raw
material to steel making, rolling and shaping.
Similarity: both plants produce steel.

Aluminium Smelting

Q.31 Which characteristics of aluminium make it most important metal?

Ans. Aluminium smelting is the second most important metallurgical industry in India.
i. It is light, resistant to corrosion, a good conductor of heat, mallable and becomes
strong when it is mixed with other metals.
ii. It is used to manufacture aircraft, utensils and wires.
iii. It has gained popularity as a substitute of steel, copper, zinc and lead in a number
of industries.
Q.32 Mention two most important factors which influence the location of this aluminium
industry.
Ans. Bauxite, the raw material used in the industry is a very bulky.
i. Regular supply of electricity for electrolysis.
ii. Assured sources of raw material at minimum cost are the two prime factors for
location of the industry.
Q.33 How many tons of bauxite is needed to produce one ton of aluminium?
Ans. To produce one ton of aluminium 4 to 6 tons of bauxite is needed.

Chemical Industries

Q.34 Mention two types of chemical industries in India. Give four examples of each.
Ans. Chemical industries consist of inorganic and organic chemicals.
i. Inorganic chemicals include sulphuric acid (used to manufacture fertilisers,
synthetic fibres, plastics, adhesives, paints, dyes stuffs), nitric acid, alkalies, soda
ash (used to make glass, soaps and detergents, paper) and caustic soda.
ii. Organic chemicals include petrochemicals, which are used for manufacturing of
synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, plastics, dye-stuffs, drugs and pharmaceuticals.
Q.35 Why the organic chemical industries are located near oil refineries where as
inorganic chemical industries are spread all over India?
Ans. The organic chemical industries get their raw materials from byproducts of mineral
oil which is processed and refined at oil refineries therefore these industries are
located near oil refineries. Whereas the raw material for inorganic chemicals comes
from other sources therefore they are not concentrated around one place.

Fertiliser Industry

Q.36 Name important fertilizers produced in the fertilizer industry.

Ans. The fertiliser industry produce
i. Nitrogenous fertilizers (mainly urea),
ii. Phosphatic fertilizers
iii. Ammonium phosphate (DAP)
iv. Complex fertilizers which have a combination of nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and
potash (K).

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Q.37 Name the only fertiliser plant in cooperative sector in India.

Ans. The only fertiliser plant in cooperative sector is at Hazira in Gujarat under the
Fertiliser Corporation of India.
Q.38 Give one reason for the expansion of fertiliser industry in India.
Ans. Fertilizer industry expanded after the introduction of Green Revolution in the
agriculture sector. The industry expanded to several parts of the country. Gujarat,
Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala produces half the fertiliser
production.

Cement Industry

Q.39 Which factors has prompted an expansion in the cement industry in India?
Ans. Cement is considered essential for:
i. Construction activity such as building houses, factories, bridges, roads, airports,
dams and for other commercial establishments.
ii. Decontrol of price and distribution since 1989
iii. Other government policy reforms led the cement industry to make rapid strides in
capacity, process, technology and production.
Q.40 Why the cement industry is concentrated in Gujarat?
Ans. Cement industry requires:
i. Bulky and heavy raw materials like limestone, silica, alumina and gypsum.
ii. Coal and electric power are needed as source of energy.
iii. Therefore this industry is set up near source of raw material and power for which it
needs good rail transportation.
iv. Gujarat has suitable access to the market in the Gulf countries for the export of
cement.

Automobile Industry

Q.41 Which factors lead to the growth of Automobiles industry?

Ans. Automobile industry expanded due to:
i. Liberalization and the coming in of new and contemporary models stimulated the
demand for vehicles in the market.
ii. This industry had experienced a jump due to Foreign Direct Investment brought in
new technology and aligned the industry with global developments.
iii. At present, there are 15 manufacturers of passenger cars and multi-utility vehicles,
9 of commercial vehicles, 14 of the two and three-wheelers.
iv. The industry is located around Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata,
Lucknow, Indore, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur and Bangalore.

Information Technology and Electronics Industry

Q.42 Which city of India is known as the electronic capital of India?

Ans. Bangalore.
Q.43 Name the products of electronic industry.
Ans. The electronics industry covers a wide range of products from transistor sets to
television, telephones, cellular telecom, pagers, telephone exchange, radars,
computers and many other types of equipment required by the telecommunication
industry.
Q.44 What are software technology parks?
Ans. The software technology parks provide single window service and high data
communication facility to software experts.

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Q.45 What is the significance of IT industry?

Ans. The significance of IT industry can be judged by:
i. It is the major employment generating industry of India. Upto 31 March 2005, the
IT industry employed over one million persons.
ii. This number is expected to increase eight-fold in the next 3 to 4 years.
iii. It is encouraging to know that 30 per cent of the people employed in this sector are
women.
iv. This industry has been a major foreign exchange earner in the last two or three
years because of its fast growing Business Processes Outsourcing (BPO) sector.

Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation

Q.46 Name the four types of pollution caused by industries.

Ans. Industries are responsible for four types of pollution: (a) Air (b) Water (c) Land (d)
Noise.
Q.47 What is air pollution? Explain how air pollution is caused by the industries. What are
the effects of air pollution?
Ans. Air pollution is caused by the presence of high proportion of undesirable gases,
such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Air pollution is caused by
i. Airborne particulate materials which contain both solid and liquid particles
like dust, sprays mist and smoke.
ii. Smoke is emitted by chemical and paper factories, brick kilns, refineries and
smelting plants, and burning of fossil fuels in big and small factories that
ignore pollution norms.
iii. Toxic gas leaks can be very hazardous with long-term effects. Example the
Bhopal Gas tragedy.
Air pollution adversely affects human health, animals, plants, buildings and the
atmosphere as a whole.
Q.48 How is water and land pollution caused? Which industries causes the water and land
pollution? What are the effects of water and land pollution?
Ans. Water and land pollution is caused by organic and inorganic industrial wastes
and affluents discharged into rivers and pits.
The main industries which cause water and land pollution are:
i. paper, pulp, chemical, textile and dyeing, petroleum refineries, tanneries
and electroplating industries that let out dyes, detergents, acids, salts and
heavy metals like lead and mercury pesticides, fertilisers, synthetic
chemicals with carbon, plastics and rubber, etc. into the water bodies.
ii. Fly ash, phospo- gypsum and iron and steel slags are the major solid wastes
in India.
iii. Thermal pollution of water occurs when hot water from factories and
thermal plants is drained into rivers and ponds before cooling.
The effects are:
i. Wastes from nuclear power plants, nuclear and weapon production facilities
cause cancers, birth defects and miscarriages.
ii. Dumping of wastes specially glass, harmful chemicals, industrial effluents,
packaging, salts and garbage renders the soil useless.
iii. Rain water percolates to the soil carrying the pollutants to the ground and
the ground water also gets contaminated.

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Q.49 Which industrial units cause noise pollution? What are the effects of noise pollution?
Ans. Main source of noise pollution are:
i. Industrial and construction activities,
ii. machinery, factory equipment,
iii. generators, saws
iv. pneumatic and electric drills.
Noise pollution not only results in irritation and anger, it can also cause hearing
impairment, increased heart rate and blood pressure among other physiological
effects. Unwanted sound is an irritant and a source of stress.

Control of Environmental Degradation

Q.50 How can the industrial pollution of fresh water be reduced?

Ans. Industrial pollution and degradation can be controlled by:
i. Minimizing use water for processing by reusing and recycling it in two or more
successive stages.
ii. Harvesting of rainwater to meet water requirements.
iii. Treating hot water and effluents before releasing them in rivers and ponds.
iv. Overdrawing of ground water reserves by industry where there is a threat to
ground water resources also needs to be regulated legally.
v. Particulate matter in the air can be reduced by fitting smoke stacks to factories with
electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial separators.
vi. Smoke can be reduced by using oil or gas instead of coal in factories.
vii. Machinery and equipment can be used and generators should be fitted with
silencers.
viii. Almost all machinery can be redesigned to increase energy efficiency and reduce
noise.
ix. Noise absorbing material may be used apart from personal use of earplugs and
earphones.
Q.51 Explain the three phase of treatment of industrial effluents.
Ans. Treatment of industrial effluents can be done in three phases.
i. Primary treatment by mechanical means. This involves screening, grinding,
flocculation and sedimentation.
ii. Secondary treatment by biological process
iii. Tertiary treatment by biological, chemical and physical processes. This involves
recycling of wastewater.

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