Page 156 - SST Class 08

MAJOR INDUSTRIES fibres, such as cotton, wool, jute flax and silk,
Iron and Steel Industry
The iron and steel industry is a very important
industry as its output is required to make houses
and buildings, vehicles, equipment, machinery,
household appliances, and much more. It has
helped in generating power. And also supports
transport fuel and communication industries. It is
a heavy industry. All it raw materials are heavy
and massive, so this industry is located near the
sources of raw materials, predominantly coal. The
manufactured products are also heavy and need
efficient transport system for their distribution. It is
also a basic or key industry as it provides the base
for heavy machines and tools industry.
For refinement of iron ore, coal and limestone is
used. Coal is used in blast furnaces. Burning of
coal gives out the heat which runs the blast
furnace. Limestone is used as fluxing material
which helps remove impurities from the iron ore.
The product obtained is known as pig iron , which
is further processed to obtain cast iron to wrought
iron and finally steel .
Top ten countries to have Iron and Steel industries
are—Japan (Tokyo, Yokohama Fukuoka-
Yamaguchi and Hokkaido) USA (Lower Great
Lakes, south-east region and western region)
China, (southern Manchuria, northern China and
Yangtze Valley), Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Korea
Republic, Italy, Brazil and India.
In India, the iron and steel industry is growing at a
very fast pace and is the fifth largest producer in
the world today. Most of the industries located
close to raw material sources, cheap labour and a
good transportation network. All the important
steel producing centres such as Bhilai, Durgapur,
Burnpur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro are
situated in favourable location. India’s steel
productions increased from one million ton in
1947 to 32.60 million in 2004-05. In 2004, India
was the largest exporter of steel which accounted
for 2.25% of the global steel trade.
Textile Industry
Textile industry uses both natural fibres and
synthetic fibres as basic raw materials. Natural
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obtain their raw materials from plants and
animals. Synthetic fibres, such as rayon and nylon,
obtain their raw materials from chemicals. The
textile industry converts both natural and synthetic
fibres into yarn, cloth etc. for use in manufacturing
of clothing, upholstery, bedding, courtains, rugs
and carpets, household linen etc.
Cotton industry is a labour-intensive industry. It
can be large-scale or small-scale. Initial
investments are high for large-scale industry but
prices of manufactured clothes are lowered with
increased production. Climatic conditions are
important for spinning and weaving. Generally,
this industry is established close to raw materials.
Some of the major players in Indian textile
industry are Arvind Mills Ltd., Raymonds Ltd.,
Reliance Textiles, Bombay Dyeing Ltd., Welspun
India Ltd. etc.
The main centres of the textile industry in the
world are USA, China, Japan, and India.
Germany, UK, France and Spain are the leading
manufacturers of synthetic clothes.
Info Bits
Info Bits
The cotton textile industry is one of the oldest
industries in the world. For centuries Indian cotton
and silk textiles especially the ‘Muslins’ of Dhaka,
Calico of Calicut and Chintzes of Masulipatnam
were unparalleled and prized for their quality and
designs.
In India, the first cotton mill was established in
Bombay in 1854. Subsequently a number of
cotton textile industries came up in Maharashtra
and Gujarat (Shahpur Mill in 1861 and Calica Mill
in 1863 Ahmedabad). Ahmedabad in Gujarat
became the second largest textile city after
Bombay (Mumbai) and was referred to as
Manchester of India. Today this industry has
spread widely to other parts of India. Important
cotton textile centres are Coimbatore, Madurai,
Indore, Sholapur, Kolkata, Delhi, Ludhiana,
Kanpur, Puducherry and Panipat. Today cotton
textile contributes significantly to Indian foreign
exchange earnings. About one-third of India’s
textile industry’s total production is exported.