AGRO – BASED INDUSTRIES
COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
Regions – Cotton growing belt of Maharashtra & Gujarat
Favourable factors for the location of cotton textiles in Maharashtra & Gujarat
Availability of raw material Availability of market Availability of cheap labour
Availability of transport Accessible for port facilities Moist climate
Other features: -
➢ Industries are closely linked with agriculture and it provides living to farmers – cotton boll
pluckers, workers engaged in ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, designing, packaging etc.
➢ It supports many other industries – chemicals and dyes, packaging materials and engineering
works.
➢ Spinning is centralised – Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu
➢ Weaving is decentralised – to provide scope for incorporating traditional skills and designs
(weaving in cotton, silk, zari, embroidery etc)
➢ India has world class production in spinning
➢ Weaving supplies low quality of fabric because It cannot use high quality yarn produced in he
country.
➢ Weaving is done by handloom, powerloom and in mills.
➢ Handspun khadi – cottage industry – provides large scale employment opportunities to weavers.
JUTE TEXTILES
Regions – West Bengal, along the banks of Hugli river.
Favourable factors for the location of Jute textiles in the Hugli basin, West Bengal
➢ Proximity of the jute producing areas.
➢ Inexpensive water transport
➢ Good network of railways, roadways and waterways to facilitate the movement of raw material to
the mills
➢ Abundant water for processing jute
➢ Cheap labour from West Bengal and adjoining states of Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
➢ Kolkata, a large urban centre provides – banking, insurance and port facilities for exporting jute
goods.
Other features: -
➢ India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods
➢ India stands at the second place as an exporter after Bangladesh
SUGAR INDUSTRY
Regions – 60% mills are in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Other areas - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and
Madhya Pradesh.
Other features: -
➢ India stands second as a world producer of sugar.
➢ India occupies the first place in the production of gur and khandsari.
➢ The raw material used in this industry is bulky, and in haulage its sucrose content reduces.
➢ This industry is seasonal in nature so, it is ideally suited to the cooperative sector.
In recent years, there is a tendency for the mills to shift and concentrate in the southern and western
states, especially in Maharashtra. Why?
➢ This is because the cane produced here has a higher sucrose content.
➢ The cooler climate also ensures a longer crushing season.
➢ Moreover, the cooperatives are more successful in these states.
MINERAL BASED INDUSTRIES
Major area – Chottanagpur plateau
Why Iron and steel industry has the maximum concentration in Chottanagpur plateau?
➢ It is largely, because of the relative advantages this region has for the development of this
industry.
➢ These include, low cost of iron ore,
➢ high grade raw materials in proximity
➢ cheap labour and vast growth potential in the home market.
Other features: -
➢ The iron and steel industry is the basic industry since all the other industries — heavy, medium
and light, depend on it for their machinery.
➢ Iron and steel is a heavy industry because all the raw materials as well as finished goods are heavy
and bulky entailing heavy transportation costs
➢ Production and consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of a country’s development.
➢ 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.
➢ Steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods, construction material, defence,
medical, telephonic, scientific equipment and a variety of consumer goods.
➢ The finished products also need an efficient transport network for their distribution to the markets
and consumers.
