Chapter 6 — Manufacturing Industries

Manufacturing is the production of goods in large quantities after processing raw materials into more valuable products. For example, paper is manufactured from wood, sugar from sugarcane, iron and steel from iron ore, and clothes are manufactured from yarn.

Industries are classified in four ways: (1) by source of raw materials — agro-based (cotton, sugar, tea) and mineral-based (iron and steel, cement); (2) by their role — basic/key industries (supply raw materials to other industries) and consumer industries (produce goods for direct consumer use); (3) by capital investment — small scale industries have maximum investment of one crore rupees; and (4) by ownership — public sector (government-owned like BHEL), private sector (individual or group-owned like TISCO), joint sector (state and private together like Oil India Ltd.), and cooperative sector (owned by workers or raw material suppliers).

India's textile industry includes cotton textiles, jute textiles, silk, and woollen textiles. Cotton textile spinning is centralized in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu due to availability of raw cotton, markets, transport, and port facilities. Weaving is decentralized across the country to incorporate traditional skills. Jute mills are concentrated in West Bengal along the Hugli river. The first successful textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854.

Iron and steel is the basic or key industry because all other heavy, medium, and light industries depend on it for machinery. Steel is needed to manufacture engineering goods, construction material, defense equipment, medical and scientific equipment, and consumer goods. Production and consumption of steel is regarded as the index of a country's development.

The Chhottanagpur plateau region has the maximum concentration of iron and steel industries due to low cost of iron ore, high grade raw materials in proximity, cheap labour, and vast growth potential in the home market. The ratio of required materials is iron ore, coking coal, and limestone in approximately 4:2:1, with some manganese also needed.

Aluminum smelting is the second most important metallurgical industry in India. Bauxite, the raw material, is a bulky, dark reddish rock. Regular supply of electricity and assured raw material at minimum cost are the two prime factors for location. Aluminum smelting plants are located in Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

Industries are responsible for four types of pollution: (1) Air pollution from undesirable gases like sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, and from smoke, dust, and sprays; (2) Water pollution from organic and inorganic wastes discharged into rivers, including dyes, detergents, acids, salts, heavy metals, and fertilizers; (3) Land pollution from dumping of glass, harmful chemicals, industrial effluents, packaging, and garbage that renders soil useless; and (4) Noise pollution from machinery, factory equipment, generators, and drills that causes irritation, anger, and hearing impairment.

Water pollution can be reduced by: (1) minimizing water use for processing by reusing and recycling it through multiple stages; (2) harvesting rainwater to meet water requirements; and (3) treating hot water and effluents before releasing them into rivers and ponds. Effluent treatment has three phases: primary treatment by mechanical means (screening, grinding, flocculation, sedimentation), secondary treatment by biological process, and tertiary treatment by biological, chemical, and physical processes that recycle wastewater.

Air pollution can be reduced by fitting smoke stacks with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers, and inertial separators to reduce particulate matter. Using oil or gas instead of coal in factories reduces smoke. Machinery can be redesigned to increase energy efficiency and reduce noise. Silencers should be fitted to generators and equipment. Noise-absorbing materials may be used along with personal earplugs and earphones.

Agro-based industries are those that use agricultural raw materials. Examples include cotton, jute, silk, and woollen textiles; sugar and gur; edible oil; tea and coffee. The textile industry occupies a unique position because it is self-reliant and complete in the value chain from raw material to the highest value added products, and it contributes significantly to industrial production, employment generation, and foreign exchange earnings.

Agriculture and industry move hand in hand and are not exclusive of each other. Agro-industries have given a major boost to agriculture by raising its productivity. Industries depend on agriculture for raw materials and sell their products such as irrigation pumps, fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, plastic and PVC pipes, machines, and tools to farmers. This development and competitiveness of manufacturing industry has assisted agriculturists in increasing production while making production processes very efficient.

Yes, the NCERT PDF is free to download. The NCERT textbook for Class 10 Geography including this Manufacturing Industries chapter is available for free on CBSE PrepMaster without requiring any sign-up or payment.