Manufacturing Industries

Ans. Mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry generates heavy amount of dust which is released in the atmosphere.

Later, it settles down in the surrounding areas which retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil.

This is how land gets degraded due to Cement industries.

Ans. The chemical industry in India is growing and expanding rapidly, contributing around 3% of GDP. It is one of the third largest industries in Asia and twelfth in the world.

The chemical industry consists of large and small production units and has grown rapidly in both the organic and inorganic sectors.

Inorganic chemicals, including sulphuric acid, nitric acid, alkalis, etc., are used to make fertilizers, adhesives, plastics, detergents, soaps, dye, etc. This industry is widespread throughout the subcontinent.

Organic chemicals include petrochemicals, which are used to make synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, plastics, dyes and pharmaceuticals. These organic chemical plants are located near various oil refineries or petrochemical plants.

The chemical industry in India is the largest consumer. Basic chemicals are processed into chemicals that are very important for industrial, agricultural or direct use for the consumer market.

Ans. The steps to be taken to minimize the environmental degradation caused by industry are:

• To control water pollution, industrial effluents need to be treated on all three levels.
• For the minimisation of air pollution, smokestacks should be fitted to factories with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial separaters. Also, smoke can be reduced by using oil or gas instead of coal.
• Noise pollution can be controlled by fitting generators with silencers, redesigning machinery to reduce noise, and using earplugs and earphones besides other noise absorbing material.

Ans. Reasons for location of sugar mills close the fields:                 

• The raw material used, i.e., sugarcane is bulky and perishable.
• It cannot be transported to long distances because its sucrose content dries up fast, so it should be processed within 24 hours of its harvest.

Ans. Economic strength of a country is measured by the development of manufacturing industries as

• It helps in modernizing agriculture, which is the base of our economy.
• It reduces heavy dependence on agricultural income by providing jobs in non-agricultural sectors.
• Industrial development is necessary for eradication of poverty and unemployment because people get jobs and generate more income.
• Export of manufactured goods expands trade and brings in much needed foreign exchange.
• Industries bring riches faster to a nation because manufacturing changes raw materials into finished goods of a higher value, so industrial development brings prosperity to the country.

Ans. Since all the other industries – heavy, medium and light, depend on it for their machinery.

Steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods.

Steel is needed for construction material, defence and medical equipment’s.

Steel is needed for telephonic, scientific equipment and a variety of consumer goods.

Production and consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of a country’s development.

Ans. Agriculture and Industry in India are inseparable or interdependent on each other:

• Agro-industries in India have boosted agriculture by raising its productivity.
• Industries depend on agriculture for their raw materials, e.g. cotton textile industry.
• Industries provide many agricultural inputs like irrigation pumps, fertilisers, insecticides, PVC pipes, machines and tools etc. to the farmers.
• Manufacturing industries have assisted agriculturists to increase their production and also made the production processes very efficient.
• Development of different modes of transport by industrial sector has not only helped farmers to obtain agricultural inputs but has also helped them trade their products.

Ans. Raw material: Cheap and abundant availability of raw material. Industries which use heavy and perishable raw material have to be located close to the source of raw material.

Labour: Availability of cheap labour is necessary for keeping the cost of production low.

Power: Cheap and continuous supply of power is extremely necessary for continuity in the production process.

Capital: It is necessary for developing infrastructure, for the entire manufacturing process and for meeting manufacturing expenditure.

Banking and insurance facilities, favourable government policies are other factors which affect location of an industry.

They ‘key’ to the decision of a factory location is least cost so that the venture is profitable.

Ans. Factors responsible for the concentration of jute industry on the banks of Hugli:

• Proximity of the jute producing areas to the Hugli Basin.
• Inexpensive water transport provided by the Hugli river.
• It is well connected by a good network of railways, waterways and roadways to facilitate movement of raw materials to the mills.
• Abundant water for processing raw jute.
• Availability of cheap labour from West Bengal and the adjoining States of Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.
• Kolkata as a port and large urban centre, provides banking, insurance and port facilities for export of jute goods.

Ans. The Textile Industry occupies a unique position in the Indian Economy because:

• It contributes significantly to industrial production (14%)
• It employs largest number of people after agriculture, i.e., 35 million persons directly.
• Its share in the foreign exchange earnings is significant at about 24.6%.
• It contributes 4% towards GDP.
• 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.