Manufacturing Industries Long Questions And Answers
Question 1. How will you classify the industries on the basis of capital investment, basis of ownership and on the basis of raw material and finished goods?
Answer:
Industries can be classified into the following categories:
- On the basis of capital investment:
- Large-scale industries make large capital investments of more than one crore of rupees. They employ a large number of people and use a large number of machinery, For example., cotton textile.
- Small-scale industries involve a capital outlay of less than rupees one crore, employ a smaller number of labourers and use few power-driven types of machinery, For example., cycle parts manufacturing.
- On the basis of ownership:
- Public sector industries are owned and operated by government agencies, For example., Rourkela Steel Plant.
- Private sector industries are owned and operated by an individual or a group of individuals, For example., Bajaj Auto Ltd.
- Joint sector industries are jointly run by the state and individual entrepreneurs, For example., Oil India Ltd.
- Cooperative sector industries are owned and managed by the producers and suppliers of raw materials or by workers. They pool their resources and share the profits and losses proportionately, For example., the sugar industry in Maharashtra.
- On the basis of bulk or weight of raw material and finished products:
- Heavy industries use bulky raw materials and their finished products are also heavy, For example., the iron and steel industry.
- Light industries use light raw materials and their finished products are also light, For example., electrical industries produce bulbs.
Question 2. Describe the factors responsible for the localisation of the cotton textile industry in the Maharashtra-Gujarat region in the early years. What factors were responsible for the decentralisation of the industry? Mention three main problems faced by the industry. What is the contribution of the textile industry to the Indian economy?
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Answer:
The favourable factors for the location of the cotton textile industry in the Maharashtra-Gujarat region in the early years were as follows:
- Availability of raw cotton from the cotton growing belt of Deccan in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
- The port of Mumbai facilitates the export of cotton goods and the import of machinery and other inputs.
- The moist climate in the belt facilitated spinning.
- Market for the finished goods.
- Finance or capital from Parsi and Bhatia traders.
- Good transport network.
- Availability of cheap and skilled labourers.
Huge markets, the development of transport networks, banking facilities and the availability of cheap electricity contributed to the decentralisation of cotton mills in the country.
Weaving is highly decentralised to provide scope for incorporating traditional skills and designs of weaving in cotton, zari, embroidery, etc., prevalent among local weavers in different parts of India.
Three major problems faced by cotton textile industries in India are:
- Erratic Power Supply
- Old and obsolete machinery
- Stiff competition with the synthetic fibre industry.
The textile industry occupies a unique position in the Indian economy:
It contributes significantly to industrial production, 14% of the total production of industries comes from textiles.
- It provides employment to about 35 million people directly.
- It contributes about 24.6% of the foreign exchange earnings of the country.
- Textiles contribute 4% towards GDP.
Question 3. How are integrated steel plants different from mini steel plants? Name the integrated steel plants of India. What are the problems faced by this industry? What is India’s present position with regard to manufacturing and consumption of iron and steel?
Answer:
Mini steel plants are smaller, have electric and induction furnaces, and use steel scrap and sponge iron as raw materials. They may have re-rollers manufacturing bars and rods.
They produce mild and alloy steel, and also liquid steel which are turned into ingots. They are decentralised secondary units scattered across the country to meet local demands.
An integrated steel plant is large and handles everything in one complex from assembling raw material and melting iron ore in the blast furnace to steel making, rolling and shaping.
They are usually concentrated near the sources of raw materials and markets.
Presently there are 10 integrated steel plants in India, which are as follows:
- Indian Iron and Steel Company, IISCO at Kulti and Burnpur, West Bengal.
- Tata Iron and Steel Company, TISCO at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
- Visveswarayya Iron and Steel Plant at Bhadravati, Karnataka.
- Bhilai Steel Plant at Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.
- Bokaro Steel Plant at Bokaro, Jharkhand.
- Durgapur Steel Plant at Durgapur, West Bengal.
- Rourkela Steel Plant at Rourkela, Odisha.
- Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
- Salem Steel Plant, Salem, Tamil Nadu.
- Vijayanagar Steel Plant in Karnataka.
Though India is an important iron and steel-producing country in the world, we are not able to perform to our full potential largely due to the following problems faced by the industry:
- High costs and limited availability of coking coal
- Lower productivity of labour
- Irregular supply of energy
- Poor infrastructure
Today with 32.8 million tonnes of steel production, India ranks ninth among the world crude steel producers. It is the largest producer of sponge iron. In spite of the large quantity of production of steel, per capita consumption of steel per annum is only 32 kg.
Question 4. In which region are most of the jute mills of India concentrated? Why? List any four challenges faced by this industry.
Answer:
Most of the jute mills of India are concentrated in the Hooghly basin in West Bengal.
It is a narrow belt 98 km long and 3 km wide along the Hooghly River. The factors responsible for the localisation of the jute industry in this region are as follows:
- Proximity to the jute-producing areas of the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. West Bengal is the leading producer of raw jute in the country and provides the mills with the required raw material.
- Abundant water for processing of raw jute.
- Cheap water transport, supported by a good network of railways and roadways, facilitates the movement of raw materials to the mills.
- Cheap labour from West Bengal and adjoining states of Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
- Banking and insurance facilities from the city of Kolkata.
- Port facilities of Kolkata for export of jute goods.
Challenges faced by the jute industry are as follows:
- Stiff competition in the international market from synthetic substitutes.
- Competition from other jute goods producing countries like Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand, Egypt and Brazil.
- Decrease in demand for packing materials and jute carpet, and high cost of production.
- Old and inefficient machinery.
To face the competition from synthetic fibres and other countries producing jute, the government has taken measures to boost up production of jute goods.
In 2005, the National Jute Policy was formulated with this objective. The government policy of mandatory use of jute packaging has resulted in an increase in internal demand for jute in recent years.
Question 5. Write about the role of the Information Technology industry in modern India. What are software technology parks and where in India are they located?
Answer:
The information Technology industry or IT as it is popularly known specialises in Research and Development (R and D), the manufacture of electronics and the production of hardware and software.
A major impact of this industry in India has been on employment generation.
Up to 31st March 2005, the IT industry employed over one million people. This number was expected to increase eightfold in the following 3 to 4 years.
This means that by 2008-2009 the IT industry was expected to provide employment to nearly 8 million people. The industry has also provided employment opportunities to women, and about 30% of the people employed in this sector are women.
The IT industry has been a major foreign exchange earner in the last few years because of its fast-growing Business Processes Outsourcing (BPO) sector.
The continuing growth in hardware and software is the key to the success of the IT industry in India. The IT industry has provided India with a special position in the industrial world.
Software technology parks provide single window service and high data communication facilities for software exports. There are 17 software technology parks in India.
They are located at Srinagar, Mohali, Noida, Jaipur, Gandhinagar, Indore, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mysore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Vishakhapatnam.
Question 6. Discuss the role of NTPC in paving the way to control environmental degradation.
Answer:
NTPC is a major power-providing corporation in India. It has ISO certification for EMS (Environmental Management System) 14001.
The corporation has a proactive approach to preserving the natural environment and resources like water, oil, gas and fuels in places where it is setting up power plants. This is achieved through the following methods:
- Optimum utilisation of equipment adopting the latest techniques and upgrading existing equipment.
- Minimising waste generation by maximising ash utilisation.
- Providing green belts for nurturing ecological balances and encouraging afforestation.
- Reducing environmental pollution through ash pond management, ash water recycling system and liquid waste management.
- Ecological monitoring reviews and online database management for all its power stations. The inputs, outputs, factors of production, etc.
Question 7. “The economic strength of a country is measured by the development of manufacturing industries”. Elaborate the statement.
Answer:
Resource utilisation cannot be made without manufacturing industries. Manufacturing industries transform raw materials into finished products which add value to it.
Countries having a good number of manufacturing industries are able to utilise resources more fruitfully and therefore they are considered advanced countries.
India’s contribution to the manufacturing industry is 17% as compared to 30% of Japan and 25% of France, respectively.
Question 8. Explain any three factors which are responsible for the decentralisation of the cotton industry in India.
Answer:
The following are the factors which are responsible for the decentralisation of the cotton textile industry in India.
- The industry caters to the needs of large domestic markets.
- Cotton growing areas spread over many new areas, For example., Rajasthan and Punjab.
- Decentralised to provide the scope of incorporating traditional skills and design weaving in cotton, silk, zari embroidery, etc.
Question 9. Explain any three factors that affect the location of industries in a region.
Answer:
Industrial locations are complex in nature. They are influenced by both physical and human factors. Three important factors that influence the location of industries in a region are as follows:
- Availability of raw material: Raw materials required for the industry must be available cheaply and at close range or at well-linked places. In the case of industries using bulky raw materials like iron, bauxite, etc., the ideal location is near the raw material sources.
- Power resources: Power, energy or fuel is essential for the working of any industry. They are required for running the machines and as fuel in smelters in the case of mineral-based industry. So, power resources like coal and electricity must be available in abundance in the vicinity where an industry is located.
- Market: The goods produced must have a market for their sale. The market influences the demand as well as the type of goods produced in a region. For example, cold regions like Jammu and Kashmir will have requirements for woollen garments. So woollen textiles will be located in that region. Consumer goods industries and automobile industries are located near big towns and cities.
Question 10. A factory produces aluminium saucepans with plastic handles. It obtains aluminium from a smelter and a plastic component from another factory. All the manufactured saucepans are sent to a warehouse:
1. (1) Which raw material is likely to be the most expensive one to transport and why?
(2) Which raw material is likely to be the cheapest one to transport and why?
2. Do you think the cost of transporting the finished products after packaging is likely to be cheaper or more expensive than the cost of transporting aluminium and plastic? Why?
Answer:
(1) Aluminium because it is very bulky and cannot be easily transported to faraway areas.
(2) Plastic because it is a very light material. It is easily available in the nearby areas.
2. The transporting of finished goods is likely to be more costly because these goods are carefully packed and handled than the raw materials.
2. Where would it be economically viable to set up the cement manufacturing units?
Answer:
The cement manufacturing units must be closed to raw materials.
- They need a continuous supply of electricity.
- Region hours can be well developed by railway and transport networks.