CLASS 10TH GEOGRAPHY
CHAPTER 6 – MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRIES
TOPIC – AGRO-BASED INDUSTRIES
(COTTON TEXTILES)
HISTORY OF COTTON TEXTILES IN INDIA
In ancient India, cotton textiles were produced with hand
spinning and handloom weaving techniques.
The first successful textile mill was established in Mumbai in
1854.
After the 18th century, power-looms came into use. Our
traditional industries suffered a setback during the colonial
period because they could not compete with the mill-made
cloth from England.
And then during the world wars, India produced the largest
amount of cotton for England and the allied nations traded
TEXTILE INDUSTRY KEY TO DEVELOPMENT IN
GUJARAT AND MAHARASHTRA
In the early years, the cotton textile industry was concentrated in
the cotton growing belt of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
IDEAL INDUSTRIAL LOCATION: Availability of raw cotton, market,
transport including accessible port facilities, labour, moist climate,
etc. contributed towards its localization.
PROMOTED AGRICULTRUAL DEVELOPMENT: This industry has
close links with agriculture and provides a living to farmers, cotton
boll-pluckers and workers engaged in ginning, spinning, weaving,
dyeing, designing, packaging, tailoring and sewing.
PROMOTED OTHER INDUSTRIES: The industry by creating
demands supports many other industries, such as, chemicals and
dyes, mill stores, packaging materials and engineering works.
DISTRIBUTION OF COTTON TEXTILES IN INDIA
Major textile industries are set up close to cotton farms.
These are in Gujarat and Maharashtra, followed by
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh.
Today, there are nearly 1600 cotton and human made
fibre textile mills in the country.
About 80 per cent of these are in the private sector and
the rest in the public and cooperative sectors.
Apart from these, there are several thousand small
SPINNING AND WEAVING: WHERE DO WE FALL SHORT?
While spinning continues to be centralized in Maharashtra,
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, weaving is highly decentralized
to provide scope for incorporating traditional skills and
designs of weaving in cotton, silk, embroidery, etc.
India has world class production in spinning, but weaving
supplies low quality of fabric as it cannot use much of the
high quality yarn produced in the country.
Weaving is done by handloom, power-loom and in mills.
The handspun khadi provides large scale employment to
weavers in their homes as a cottage industry.
INDIA’S STAND ON THE GLOBAL SCALE
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 several African
countries.
We have a large share in the world trade of cotton yarn,
accounting for one fourth of the total global trade. However,
our trade in garments is only 4 per cent of the world’s total.
Our spinning mills are competitive at the global level and
capable of using all the fibres we produce.
The weaving, knitting and processing units cannot use
much of the high quality yarn that is produced in the country.
WHY IS THE NEED FOR COTTON IMPORTS FELT TODAY?
Power supply is erratic which is essential to run power looms.
Machinery needs to be upgraded in the weaving and
processing sectors in particular.
Low output of labour does not guarantee small-scale
production.
Stiff competition with the synthetic fibre industry.
Most of the production is in fragmented small units which cater
to the local market.
This mismatch is a major drawback for the industry.
As a result, many of our spinners export cotton yarn while
