Manufacturing Industries Class 10 Notes

Manufacturing Industries is Chapter 6 of Class 10 Geography (NCERT, Contemporary India II). It explains why manufacturing matters for a country’s development, what decides where a factory is built, how industries are classified and how industrial pollution can be controlled.

These notes cover the chapter in simple English, with classification tables and the questions that come most often in board exams.

Chapter at a glance

Manufacturing means producing goods in large quantities from raw materials, turning them into more valuable products.
Manufacturing is the backbone of development. It modernises agriculture, reduces dependence on farming, creates jobs and earns foreign exchange.
Industries are classified by source of raw material, role, capital investment, ownership and bulk and weight of raw materials and finished goods.
Important industries: cotton textile, jute, sugar, iron and steel, aluminium, chemical, fertiliser, cement, automobile and IT/electronics.
Industries cause air, water, land and noise pollution. It can be controlled with better technology and practices.

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Importance of manufacturing

It helps modernise agriculture, which is the backbone of our economy.
It reduces the heavy dependence of people on agricultural income by providing jobs in secondary and tertiary sectors.
It helps remove unemployment and poverty, and reduces regional disparities by setting up industries in tribal and backward areas.
Export of manufactured goods expands trade and earns foreign exchange.
Countries that turn raw materials into a wide variety of finished goods of higher value are prosperous.

Agriculture and industry go hand in hand. Agro-industries in India have boosted agriculture by raising its productivity. Industries depend on agriculture for raw materials (cotton, jute, sugarcane), and agriculture depends on industry for irrigation pumps, fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, plastic and PVC pipes, machines and tools.

Contribution to national economy

According to NCERT, the share of manufacturing in GDP has stayed at around 17% for a long time, out of about 27% for industry as a whole (which also includes mining, quarrying, electricity and gas). The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) was set up with the aim of raising growth in manufacturing, and the target mentioned is a growth rate of 12% over the next decade.

Industrial location

Industrial location is influenced by the availability of raw material, labour, capital, power and market. It is rarely possible to find all these at one place, so manufacturing tends to locate where most of these factors are available or can be arranged at a lower cost. Once an industry comes up, urbanisation follows. Cities provide markets and services like banking, insurance, transport and labour. Many industries tend to come together to use these advantages, which are called agglomeration economies.

Classification of industries

Basis	Types	Examples
Source of raw material	Agro-based	Cotton, woollen, jute, silk textile, rubber, sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil
	Mineral-based	Iron and steel, cement, aluminium, machine tools, petrochemicals
Prime role	Basic or key industries (supply products to other industries)	Iron and steel, copper smelting, aluminium smelting
	Consumer industries (goods for direct use)	Sugar, toothpaste, paper, sewing machines, fans
Capital investment	Small-scale industry (investment below the prescribed limit)	—
	Large-scale industry (investment above the limit)	—
Ownership	Public sector (owned by government)	BHEL, SAIL
	Private sector (owned by individuals or groups)	TISCO, Bajaj Auto, Dabur
	Joint sector (state and individuals together)	Oil India Ltd (OIL)
	Cooperative sector (owned by producers or suppliers of raw material)	Sugar industry in Maharashtra, coir industry in Kerala
Bulk and weight	Heavy industries	Iron and steel
	Light industries	Electrical industries

Agro-based industries

Cotton textiles

In ancient India, cotton textiles were produced by hand spinning and handloom weaving. After the eighteenth century, power looms came into use.
The first successful textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854.
Early mills were concentrated in the cotton-growing belt of Maharashtra and Gujarat because of raw cotton, markets, transport, ports, labour and a moist climate.
The industry has close links with agriculture and provides a living to farmers, cotton ball pluckers and workers in ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, designing, packaging, tailoring and sewing.
Problems: spinning is concentrated in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, but weaving is highly decentralised. India exports yarn, but a lot of it is woven in other countries and imported back as garments. Other problems: erratic power supply, outdated machinery, low output of labour and stiff competition from synthetic fibres.

Jute textiles

India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods, and stands second as an exporter after Bangladesh.
The first jute mill was set up near Kolkata in 1859 at Rishra.
Most mills are located in West Bengal, mainly along the banks of the Hugli river, because of jute-producing areas nearby, cheap water transport, a good network of railways and roadways, abundant water for processing raw jute, cheap labour and Kolkata as a large urban centre with banking, insurance and port facilities.
Challenges: stiff competition from synthetic substitutes and from Bangladesh, Brazil, the Philippines, Egypt and Thailand. The National Jute Policy was formulated in 2005. Demand is growing because of mandatory use of jute in packaging and its eco-friendly nature.

Sugar

India stands second as a world producer of sugar, but occupies the first place in the production of gur and khandsari.
The raw material is bulky, and sucrose content falls during haulage, so mills are located near sugarcane-growing areas.
In recent years, mills have shifted to southern and western states, especially Maharashtra, because cane there has higher sucrose content, the cooler climate gives a longer crushing season, and cooperatives are more successful.
Challenges: seasonal nature of the industry, old and inefficient methods of production, transport delays and the need to maximise use of bagasse.

Mineral-based industries

Iron and steel

It is a basic industry, because all other industries, heavy, medium and light, depend on it for their machinery. It is also a heavy industry, because all raw materials and finished goods are heavy and bulky.
Raw materials: iron ore, coking coal and limestone in the ratio of approximately 4 : 2 : 1. Some manganese is also needed to harden the steel.
Most public sector undertakings market their steel through the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). TISCO markets through Tata Steel.
The Chotanagpur plateau region has the maximum concentration of iron and steel industries, because of low cost of iron ore, high-grade raw materials close by, cheap labour and vast growth potential in the home market.
Problems: high costs and limited availability of coking coal, lower productivity of labour, irregular supply of energy and poor infrastructure. Liberalisation and foreign direct investment have given a boost to the industry.

Aluminium smelting

Aluminium is the second most important metallurgical industry in India. It is light, resistant to corrosion, a good conductor of heat, malleable and becomes strong when mixed with other metals. Bauxite, a dark reddish, bulky rock, is the raw material. Regular supply of electricity and assured supply of raw material at minimum cost are the two main factors for location.

Other industries

Chemical industries: both inorganic (sulphuric acid, nitric acid, alkalies, soda ash, caustic soda) and organic (petrochemicals used for synthetic fibres, rubber, plastics, dye-stuffs, drugs).
Fertiliser industry: centred around nitrogenous fertilisers (mainly urea), phosphatic fertilisers, ammonium phosphate and complex fertilisers.
Cement: needs bulky raw materials like limestone, silica and gypsum. The first cement plant was set up in Chennai in 1904.
Automobile industry: trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, scooters and three-wheelers; after liberalisation, new and contemporary models came into the market.
Information technology and electronics: Bengaluru has emerged as the electronic capital of India. Software technology parks provide single-window services and high-speed data communication. A major impact of this industry is on employment generation.

Industrial pollution and environmental degradation

Industries cause four types of pollution:

Air pollution: caused by high proportions of undesirable gases like sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, and airborne particles like dust and smoke. Smoke is emitted by chemical and paper factories, brick kilns, refineries and smelting plants.
Water pollution: caused by organic and inorganic industrial effluents discharged into rivers. The main culprits are paper, pulp, chemical, textile and dyeing, petroleum refineries, tanneries and electroplating industries.
Thermal pollution: occurs when hot water from factories and thermal plants is drained into rivers and ponds before cooling.
Noise pollution: results in irritation, hearing impairment, increased heart rate and blood pressure. Sources include industrial and construction activities, machinery, generators and saws.

Control of environmental degradation

Minimise the use of water by reusing and recycling it in two or more successive stages.
Harvest rainwater to meet water requirements.
Treat hot water and effluents before releasing them into rivers and ponds. Treatment can be primary (mechanical), secondary (biological) and tertiary (biological, chemical and physical).
Overdrawing of groundwater reserves by industry, where there is a threat to groundwater resources, needs to be regulated legally.
Reduce particulate matter in the air by fitting smoke stacks with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial separators. Use oil or gas instead of coal in factories.
Redesign machinery to be energy efficient and reduce noise. Use noise-absorbing material and ear plugs.

NTPC shows the way

NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) is a major power-providing corporation that has ISO 14001 certification for its environment management system. It uses the latest techniques, optimises equipment, minimises waste generation, reuses ash, and has built ecological monitoring, reviews and online databases for its power stations.

Important questions

Why is manufacturing considered the backbone of economic development? (3 marks)
“Agriculture and industry move hand in hand.” Explain. (3 marks)
Classify industries on the basis of ownership, with examples. (3 marks)
Why are most jute mills located along the banks of the Hugli? (3 marks)
Why is the iron and steel industry called a basic industry? What problems does it face? (5 marks)
Explain the types of pollution caused by industries and suggest ways to control them. (5 marks)

Map work: CBSE usually asks students to locate major cotton textile centres, iron and steel plants and software technology parks. Check the latest CBSE map list for your year.

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FAQs

What is the difference between basic and consumer industries?

Basic industries supply their products or raw materials to manufacture other goods, like iron and steel. Consumer industries produce goods for direct use by consumers, like sugar, toothpaste and fans.

Why has the sugar industry shifted to southern and western states?

Sugarcane there has higher sucrose content, the cooler climate ensures a longer crushing season, and cooperatives are more successful in these states.

Which chapters are linked with Manufacturing Industries?

Minerals and Energy Resources explains where the raw materials come from, and Agriculture explains the crops used by agro-based industries. History’s Age of Industrialisation gives the background of India’s first factories.

More Class 10 Social Science notes

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