Syllabus- India- Industries- Major Industries – Iron and Steel, Cotton Textiles, Cement, Sugar, Automobile, IT, & Food Processing Industries, Localisation Factors.
Number of questions- Mains: 02, Prelims – 10
Mains Questions of the day-
1.Discuss the merits and demerits of regional resource-based manufacturing in India.
Introduction: –
Briefly write about India’s resource wealth.
Body: –
Briefly write about the location and factors influencing the regional resource-based industries.
Write about the advantages and disadvantages of resources-based manufacturing.
Conclusion: –
Definitely there are advantages in implementing the resources based manufacturing but before that we need to address the associated challenges to that such as:
- Reduce the regional imbalance by providing the government incentives to the industries.
- Skilling the people by collaborating the industry with the people.
- Implementing the proper infrastructure.
Content: –
- Local resource-based manufacturing will utilize the raw materials present nearby the regional Industry.
- Regional resource-based manufacturing means developing industry that can easily utilize the raw material or resource available locally.
- Regional resource-based manufacturing employment means industry that can prefer to utilize the local people of that region.
- The increase of Industrialization would create the employment in India.
- It has been observed that some of the areas are growing at a faster rate due to the locational advantage with the increase in industrialization whereas some are lagging behind.
- Example- Employment generated in a great number by the Tata Steel for locals in city of Jamshedpur.
Advantages of resources based manufacturing in employment:
- Cost Cutting: –
- The proximity of raw materials and manufacturing unit will help in reducing the cost of transportation.
- Efficient Use of Local resource.
- This will help in hiring more capable employment from that particular region.
- For Example: -Millers in Punjab buy rice from local farmers, thereby providing ready market.
- Development of Expertise: –
- Expertise could be developed in the region itself to meet the demand of industries criteria.
- Product and Service specialization in diverse areas.
- Supply Chain: –
- Development of supply chain in the area creates more employment opportunities because a supply chain is the network between company and final buyer there involves suppliers and distributors.
- In this network, it includes:
- Different activities
- People
- Entities
- Information and
- Resources.
- So, the regional resource-based manufacturing creates ancillary industries, hence it will create a separate job opportunity for locals.
- Creating ancillary Industries-
- When a particular kind of industry is set up with specific resource, various small industries are established that act as suppliers of smaller items to the main Industry.
- These small industries will help in creating employment.
- For example:
- Gurugram in Haryana is dedicated to automobile manufacturing.
- The presence of automobile manufacturing has enabled smaller industries to develop, which supply smaller items like nuts, axles, cranks etc. to the large Industry.
- Or Dairy industry in Gujarat provided employment to lakh of dairy farmers in Gujarat.
Disadvantages of resources based manufacturing in employment:
- Disruption in the Supply Chain: –
- Even though region having abundant resources, there exists a supply chain interruptions are due to lack of proper infrastructure (power, roads, railways, port etc.).
- Sometimes, this will increase the cost of supply.
- For example:
Like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh has abundant of mineral resources, but they don’t have adequate infrastructure mainly roads and power that has been a major roadblock.
- Lack of skilled workers: –
- Even, region having specific resources has lack of adequate infrastructure, skills amongst the people etc.
- For example: –
- Like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh has abundant of mineral resources, but the lack of skills amongst people.
- MSME sector is already facing challenges related to marketing, credit, growth, and non-availability of suitable technology for manufacturing, etc.
- Promote the Regionalism and urbanization problems: –
- Some states with resources are going to develop and some states without resources are lacking in the development processes.
- States with resources provide abundant opportunities to their local people.
- People in the state without resources will automatically migrate to other state in search of their livelihood and expanding their skills.
- This will create urbanization problems in state with resources.
- Sometimes locals treat migrant workers as potential threat to their employment opportunity. This will promote the regional feeling among the people. Create the Regional Imbalance
2.“The Food Processing Sector, has great potential to contribute to Indian economy”, Explain.
Introduction: –
Write briefly about food processing sector and its present context.
Body: –
Mention the significance of Food Processing Sector for the Indian Economy.
Conclusion: –
Despite the efforts of the Government, this sector suffers from factors such as
- Low level of funding from government
- Unfinished reforms of APMC
- Tariff and non-tariff barrier
- Insufficient infrastructure.
Thus, there is a need to give further support to this sector.
Context: –
- Food processing industry is one area which has the potential to add value to farm output, create alternate employment opportunities, improve exports and strengthen the domestic supply chain.
- Recognizing the immense potential of this sector in promoting inclusive growth, it has been identified as one of the sunrise sector.
- This sector serves as an important link between the agriculture and the industrial sector.
Significance of Food Processing Industries for Indian economy: –
- Employment Generation:
- Over 16 % of the total workforce in the organised sector and 32 % in the unorganised manufacturing sector are employed in the food processing industries.
- The industry employs nearly 15 million people directly and 37 million indirectly.
- As per a report by ASSOCHAM, it can generate employment of 9 million peple by 2024.
- Absorbing Rural Workforce:
- In India, it is estimated that nearly 50% of the Indian labour force is engaged in agriculture and allied sectors.
- Thereby, food processing industries can absorb a major share of workers from the agriculture sector, who face disguised unemployment.
- Investment:
- Indian food processing sector has the potential to attract US$ 33 billion of investment by 2024 according to an ASSOCHAM report.
- Private sector can invest 100 per cent FDI under automatic route.
- Liberalisation and growth of this sector have made the Indian market more attractive for global players.
- With a large agriculture sector, abundant livestock, and cost competitiveness, India has potential to emerge as a hub of processed food.
- Food Security:
- Industries in India, raw materials such as grains or meat can be converted into food for domestic and foreign consumption.
- Somewhat, it will solve nutritional problem in India.
- Increasing Exports:
- With the changing the needs of society, there is an increasing demand for processed food.
- Thus, by leveraging food processing industries, India can become a key player in the exports of processed food.
- This may also assist the government to earn foreign exchange reserves and check the current account deficit.
- Curbing Migration:
- Since rural areas are a more favourable factor of location for food processing.
- Thus, it will check rural-urban migration and poverty in rural India.
- Doubling Farmers’ Income:
Given this multi-sectoral significance, food processing industries can play a critical role in achieving the goal of doubling the farmers’ income.
- Other benefits include:
- well-developed food processing sector reduces wastage
- ensures value addition
- promotes crop diversification as well as export earnings.
Looking at the benefits and potential of this sector, the Government has taken many initiatives to promote this sector such as:
- SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters)
- starting National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) during 12th FYP
- Bringing food and agro–based processing units and cold chain infrastructure under Priority Sector Lending (PSL)
- permitting 100% FDI in food retail in India and
- setting up a Special Fund of Rs.2000 crore in NABARD to make available affordable credit at concessional rate of interest
Prelims Questions of the day: –
1. Which of the following activities comes under Blue-Collar job?
- Primary Activities
- Secondary Activities
- Tertiary Activities
- Quaternary Activities
Answer: B
Explanation:
Secondary Activities:
- Transforming raw materials into valuable/useful products.
- Examples- manufacturing, processing, and construction (infrastructure) industries.
- This sector Activities comes under Blue-Collar job.
2. Which of the following represents the contribution of manufacturing to the GDP?
- 28%
- 10%
- 20%
- 50%
Answer: A
Explanation: –
Contribution of Industry to Manufacturing Sector:
- The contribution of the manufacturing sector has been dormant at 28% of GDP – out of a total of 28% for the industry which includes 10% for Mining, Quarrying, electricity, and gas.
- This is less as compared to various other growing East Asian economies, where it is 30 to 35%.
- The growth rate in the manufacturing sector over the last decade has been around 7-9% per annum.
- The desired growth rate over the next decade is considered to be around 12%.
3.Which of the following represent the industries based on raw materials?
- Public sector and private sector
- Basic industries and consumer industries
- Agro-based and mineral-based industries
- None of the above
Answer: C
Explanation: –
On the Basis of Source of Raw Material
- Agro based: Agro based industries are those industries which obtain raw-material from agriculture. Cotton textile, jute textile, sugar and vegetable oil are representative industries of agro-based group of industries
- Mineral based: The industries that receive raw materials primarily from minerals such as iron and steel, aluminium and cement industries fall in this category.
- Pastoral based: These industries depend upon animals for their raw material. Hides, skins, bones, horns, shoes, dairy, etc. are some of the pastoral-based industries.
- Forest based: Paper card-board, lac, rayon, resin, tanning of leather, leave- utensils, basket industries are included in this type of industries.
4. Which of the following represents the contribution of the textile industry to India’s GDP?
- 20%
- 15%
- 5%
- 10%
Answer: C
Explanation: –
- India is among the world’s largest producers of Textiles and Apparel.
- The domestic apparel & textile industry in India contributes
- 5% to the country’s GDP,
- 7% of industry output in value terms, and
- 12% of the country’s export earnings.
5.Where was the first successful textile mill was established?
- Bombay
- Calcutta
- Surat
- Madras
Answer: A
Explanation:
- India’s first textile mill, the Bombay Mill was set in 1854.
- Indian textile industry is one of largest Industries in the Indian economy
6.Which two of the following extreme locations are connected by the “East – west corridor”?
- Mumbai and Silcher
- Mumbai and Kolkata
- Silcher and Porbandar
- Ahmedabad and Siligud
Answer: C
Explanation:
- The National Highways Authority of India initiated the National Highway Development Program (the program) in 1998 to ease chronic capacity constraints by upgrading key arteries of the national highways network.
- The program upgraded into four lanes the following highway corridors:
- Corridor connecting the major metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata—known as the golden quadrilateral
- North–south corridor connecting Srinagar to Kanyakumari (4,000 km) and
- East–west corridor that connects Silcher to Porbandar (3,300 km).
7. “Border Roads Organization” works under the administrative control of which of the following ministries?
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
- Ministry of Home
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Shipping
Answer: C
Explanation:
- The Border Roads Organisation is a road construction executive force in India that provides support to and is a part of the Indian Armed Forces. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries.
- This organisation was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and northeastern border areas. These roads have improved accessibility in areas of difficult terrain and have helped in the economic development of these area
- The Border Roads Organisation functions under the control of the Ministry of Defence.
- The East-West Corridor connects Silcher in Assam with the port of Porbandar in Gujarat with a 3,460 km of road length.
8. “Golden Quadrilateral” national highway not connects which of the following cities?
- Chennai
- Ahmedabad
- Delhi
- Kolkata
Answer: B
Explanation:
- The Golden Quadrilateral is a national highway network connecting most of the major industrial, agricultural and cultural centres of India.
- It forms a quadrilateral connecting the four major metro cities of India, viz., Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
- It is the largest highway project in India and was launched in 2001 as part of National Highways Development Project (NHDP).
The overall length of the quadrilateral is 5,846km consisting of four / six lane express highways.
9.Which of the following statement is incorrect?
- Bombay plan Emphasizes the importance of basic industries
- Sarvodaya plan Emphasis upon land reforms
- People’s plan Emphasized doubling the per capita income within 15 years
- None
Answer: D
Explanation:
- A small group of influential business leaders in Bombay drew up and published in January 1944, a plan for the economic development of India. The principal objectives of the plan are to achieve a balanced economy and to raise the standard of living of the masses.
- The Sarvodaya plan was drafted by Jayaprakash Narayan. The plan was mainly inspired by the Gandhian Plan provided by S N Agarwal & the Idea of Sarvodaya presented by another Gandhian leader Vinoba Bhave. The Sarvodaya plan put forward and emphasized the importance of agriculture and village industries especially small-scale textile & cottage industries in the process of economic development.
- The People’s Plan was Authored by M N Roy and drafted by the Post- War Reconstruction Committee of the Indian Federation of Labour. The object of the Plan is to provide for the satisfaction of the immediate basic needs of the Indian people within ten years. This objective is to be achieved by expanding production and by ensuring an equitable distribution of the goods produced.
10.Which of the following activity comes under gold collar jobs?
- Quinary Activities
- Tertiary Activities
- Quaternary Activities
- Primary Activities
Answer: A
Explanation:
Quinary Activities:
Some economists further subdivide the quaternary sector into the quinary sector, which includes the highest levels of decision making in a society or economy.
This sector includes top executives or officials in such fields as government, science, universities, nonprofits, health care, culture, and the media. It may also include police and fire departments, which are public services as opposed to for-profit enterprises.
Economists sometimes also include domestic activities (duties performed in the home by a family member or dependent) in the quinary sector.
These activities, such as child care or housekeeping, are typically not measured by monetary amounts but contribute to the economy by providing services for free that would otherwise be paid for.
The activities in this sector come under Gold collar professions.