Geography
Major Industries of India
More Articles
- Major Industries Of India
- Introduction - Geography
- The Solar System & Universe
- Continents of the World
- Oceans on The Earth
- Biosphere: Lithosphere, Hydrospher
- Time & Zones (Latitude and Longitude)
- Coriolis & Different Effect
- Atmosphere
- Winds, Clouds, Rainfall, Islands & Rocks
- Earthquakes and Volcanoes
- Various Landforms – Mountains, Plateaus, Plains, Glaciers, Rivers, Groundwater etc. / India Physical Features
- Soil Resources of the Indian Sub-continent
- Agriculture in India
- Minerals in India
- India State of Forest Report 2019
- The Drainage System of India
- Transport in India (Road, Rail, Air)
- India Facts and Figures- States, UTs and their Capitals
- Census - Population, Literacy, Sex Ratio
- Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks in India
- RAMSAR Wetland Sites
- Important Irrigation and Power Projects
- Mount Everest
- Indian Subcontinent, Union Territories & Border with Neighboring Countries
- Project Tiger & Tiger Reserves
- Cities at the Bank of River
- Wonders of the World - Ancient, Medieval, New & Others
- Some Important Industries
- Famous Sites of India & World
- Major Straits of the World that (Connect & Separate)
- Important Discoveries (World)
- Major Island, Canals, Dams & Deserts of the World
- Aquatic Area, Coastline, Boundary Lines & Geographical Epithets
- Some Important Tribes and their Homeland (World)
- Some Important Places in the World
- Major Waterfalls and Lakes of India & World
- Country, Capital and Currency
- Glossary of Geographical Terms
- Miscellaneous - Geography
Major Industries of India
Iron & Steel Industry
- The Ministry of Steel is responsible for planning and development of iron and steel industry, development of essential inputs such as iron ore, limestone, dolomite manganese ore, chromites, ferro-alloys, sponge iron etc., and other related functions.
- This industry has been a core pillar of industrial development in the country. India's crude steel capacity has steadily risen to 142 MT at present and India has become the world's second largest producer of steel (-111 MT crude steel production in 2018).
Global Ranking of Indian Steel
- Out of a total global crude steel production of 1,003.9 MT (during January-June 2021, up by 14.4%), India was the 2nd largest crude steel producer (57.9 MT) with a 5.8% share in total world production and a 31.3% growth in production over the same period of 2020. China produced 563.3 MT of crude steel during this period and remained the largest crude steel producer in the world, accounting for 76.4% of Asian production and 56.1% of world crude steel production. [Source: INDIA 2022]
Iron & Steel Industries before Independence
Place |
State |
Est. Year |
Facts |
Kulti |
West Bengal |
1874 |
It was changed into Bengal Iron & Steel Company |
Sakchi |
Bihar (Now Jharkhand) |
1907 |
Tata Iron & Steel Company was established by Jamshed Ji Tata. The modern Iron & Steel industry of India is supposed to have started from here. It was Private Sector company. |
Hirapur |
West Bengal |
1918 |
Its name was Indian Iron & Steel Company. |
Bhadravati |
Karnataka |
1923 |
Earlier its name was Mysore Iron & Steel Company, which later changed to Vishweshwaraia Iron & Steel Works Limited. It was the first PSU company. |
Burnpur |
West Bengal |
1937 |
Steel Corporation of Bengal was established which later merged into Indian Iron & Steel Company. Hirapur is the earlier name of Bumpur. |
Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) established by Jamshed Ji Tata at the bank of Subarnarekha river in a place called Sakchi, Singhbhum, Jharkhand (the then Bihar) is considered to be the first major establishment in this industry in India.
Iron & Steel Industries after Independence
Industries established during 2nd 5-Year Plan (1956-61):
- Bhilai Steel Plant: It was established in 1955 in Bhilai, the then Madhya Pradesh (currently in Durg district, Chhat-tisgarh) with the help of Soviet Union. Production was started here in 1959.
- Hindustan Steel Limited, Rourkela: It was established in 1959 with the help of West Germany in Rourkela in Odisha.
- Hindustan Steel Limited, Durgapur: It was established in 1956 with the help of Britain in Durgapur, West Bengal. Production was started here in 1962.
Purvodaya |
• A flagship initiative-Pur-vodaya was envisaged for an integrated steel hub in the Eastern states. It will drive best in class capacity creation, augment value addition and boost compe-tiveness through the setting up of Greenfield steel plants, clusters, capital goods and requisite logistics infrastructure. • The Eastern states of India (Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Northern Andhra Pradesh) are home to 80% of the Indian iron reserves. Additionally they have access to important logistic infrastructure such as ports, inland waterways and slurry pipelines. Therefore, for the envisaged expansion of Indian steel sector, the Eastern Hub will serve as the engine driving the growth of the steel sector. [Source: INDIA 2022] |
Industries established during 3rd 5-Year Plan
- Bokaro Steel Plant:
This steel plant was set up in 1964 at Bokaro with Russian collaboration (The Then Soviet Union). This plant was set up on the principle of transportation cost minimisation by creating Bokaro-Rourkela combine. It receives iron ore from the Rourkela region and the wagons on return take coal to Rourkela.
Industries established during 4th 5-Year Plan
- Salem Steel Plant: The Salem Steel Plant in Tamil Nadu was commissioned in 1982.
- Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant: The Vizag Steel Plant, in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh is the first port-based plant which started operating in 1992.
- Vijaynagar Steel Plant: The Vijaynagar Steel Plant at Hosapete (Bellari district) in Karnataka was developed using indigenous technology.
- Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL): After independence, during the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61), three new integrated steel plants were set up with foreign collaboration : Rourkela in Odisha, Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and Durgapur in West Bengal. These were public sector plants under Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL). On 24th January, 1973, the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) was created with a capital of Rs. 2000 Crores to manage these plants.
Aluminium Industry
- The first Aluminium industry in India was set up in 1937 near J.K. Nagar, Asansol in West Bengal.
- Further in 1938 the second industry was established at Muri, Bihar (Now Jharkhand), Alwaye (Kerala), Belur (W.B.) and Hirakud (Odisha). Subsequently the third industry of Aluminium was established at Renukoot (U.P) and the forth industry was started by Madras Aluminium Company at Mettur (Tamil Nadu).
- Hindustan Alluminium Corporation (HINDALCO) was established at Renukoot (U.P.) in 1958. Its first real contribution to the vision of an industrial India occurred four years later, when G.D. Birla set up India's First integrated aluminium facility at Renukoot, in the eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. It was backed by a captive thermal power plant at Renusagar in 1967.
- On 7th January, 1981, National Aluminium Company was established with the purpose of production of Alumina and Aluminium. Its registered office is at Bhuwaneshwar, Odisha.
- The Jawahar Lai Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), Nagpur is a Centre of Excellence set up in 1989 as a joint venture of Ministry of Mines, Govt, of India and UNDP.
Company |
Cooperating country |
Major Centers |
BALCO |
Former USSR |
J.K. Nagar (West Bengal), Korba (Chhattisgarh), Koyana (Maharashtra) |
NALCO electricity |
France |
Damanjodi (Odisha) |
HINDALCO |
USA |
Renukoot(UttarPradesh) |
INDALCO |
Canada |
Muri (Jharkhand), Alwaye (Kerala) |
MALCO |
Italy |
Chennai, Mettur, Salem (Tamil Nadu) |
VEDANTA |
Germany |
Jharsugueda |
Cottton Industry
- In 1854, the first modern cotton mill was established in Mumbai.
- Subsequently, two more mills, the Shahpur Mill and the Calico Mill were established in Ahmedabad. By 1947, the number of mills in India went up to 423 but the scenario changed after partition and this industry suffered a major recession. This was due to the fact that the most of the good quality cotton growing areas had gone to West Pakistan and India was left with 409 mills and only 29% of the cotton producing area.
- After Independence, this industry gradually recovered and eventually flourished.
- The production of the organised sector has drastically fallen from 81% in the mid-twentieth century to only about 6% in 2000.
- Cotton is a "pure" raw material which does not lose weight in the manufacturing process.
- After 1921, with the development of the railway network other cotton textile centres expanded rapidly. In southern India, mills were set up at Coimbatore, Madurai and Bengaluru. In central India, Nagpur, Indore, Solapur and Vadodara became cotton textile centres. Cotton textile mills were set up at Kanpur based on local investment. Mills were also set up at Kolkata due to its port facilities.
- Cotton is one of the most important cash crops in India and the country accounts for around 25% of the total global fiber production.
- In the raw material consumption basket of the Indian textile industy, the proportion of cotton is around 59%.
- Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the leading cotton producing states.
- Tamil Nadu has the largest number of mills and most of them produce yarn rather than cloth.
- The cotton textile industry is located in the cotton producing Telengana region, where most of the mills are spinning mills producing yam.
Jute Industry
- Jute is popularly known as 'Golden Fibre of Bengal'.
- India is the largest producer of jute in the world with an average production of about 80 lakh bales of raw jute annually.
- This first factory of Jute was established at Rishra (West Bengal) in 1855.
- The Jute Corporation of India has been set up in 1971 for its development and to manage import, export and the internal market.
- India is the second largest exporter of Jute items after Bangladesh.
- India contributes 35% in the production of Jute items.
Important places related to Jute Industry
State |
Places |
West Bengal |
Titagarh, Rishra, Bally, Agarpara, Bansberia, Kankinara, Uluberia, Serampore, Budge Budge, Howrah, Shyam Nagar, Shibpur, Sealdah, Bir-lapur, Holinagar, Barrackpore |
Andhra Pradesh |
Vishakhapattanam, Guntur |
Uttar Pradesh |
Kanpur, Sahjanwa (Gorakhpur) |
Bihar |
Pumea, Katihar, Saharsa, Darbhanga |
Note - International Jute Organisation (H.Q.: Dhaka) was founded on 09.01.1984.
Sugar Industry
- The sugar industry is the second most important agro-based industry in the country. India is the largest producer of both sugarcane and cane sugar and contributes about 8% of the total sugar production in the world.
- This industry provides employment for more than 4 lakh persons directly and a large number of farmers indirectly.
- Development of the industry on modern lines dates back to 1903, when a sugar mill was started in Bihar.
- In 1840 the first sugar industry was setup in Betia, Bihar but its actual production started in 1931 when protection of this industry was provided by the central government.
- In 1950-51,139 factories were in operation. The number of sugar factories rose to 662 in 2010-11.
Important places related to Sugar Industry
State |
Places |
Maharashtra |
Mansar, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur |
Uttar Pradesh |
Deoria, Bhatni, Padrauna, Gorakhpur, Gauri Bazar, Siswan, Basti, Balrampur, Barabanki, Sitapur, Hardoi, Bijnor, Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bulandshahar, Kanpur, Ayodhya (Faizabad), Mujaffamagar, Lakhim-pur Kheri, Gonda, Bahraich, Ghaziabad, Baghpat |
Bihar |
Motihari, Sugauli, Majhaulia, Chanpatia, Narka-tia Ganj, Marhaura, Sasamusa, Motipur, Gopalganj, Dalmia Nagar, Saran, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Cham-paran, Hasanpur, Siwan, Gaya |
West Bengal |
Beldanga, Palashi (Palasi/Plassey), Howrah, Murshidabad |
Punjab |
Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Sangarur, Patiala and Amritsar, Hamira, Phagwara |
Haryana |
Yamuna Nagar, Rohtak, Hissar, Faridabad, Jagdhari |
Tamil Nadu |
Coimbatore, Vellore, Tiruvanamalai, Villupuram, Madurai, Arcot, Tiruchchirappalli |
Andhra Pradesh |
Sitapuram, Pithapuram, East Godavari, West Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, |
Karnataka |
Hosapete, Belagavi, Ballari, Mandya, Shivamogga (Shimoga), Vijayapura, Chitradurg |
Rajasthan |
Ganga Nagar, Bhopal Sagar |
Telangana |
Nizamabad, Medak |
Gujarat |
Surat, Junagarh, Amreli, Valsad, Bhavnagar |
- Maharashtra has emerged as a leading sugar producer in the country and produces more than one-third of the total production of sugar in the country.
- Uttar Pradesh is the second largest producer of sugar.
More Related Articles
The word Geography was first used by a Greek scholar Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.). The word Geography has been derived from two Greek words- Geo and Graphos, which jointly means the description
Universe The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies and the contents of intergalactic
Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Antarctica are the seven continents. Asia: The word 'Asia' is derived from the word 'Asu' (of Hibru language), w
There are four oceans. In order of their size, they are: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Pacific Ocean The explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who circumnaviga
Biosphere The part of the Earth where life exists is called the Biosphere ('bios'means 'life'). The Earth is the only planet of the solar system that supports life. Life is pos
Latitude and Longitude Any location on Earth is described by two numbers- its latitude and its longitude. Latitude On a globe of the Earth, lines of latitude are circles of different siz
Coriolis Force The invisible force that appears to deflect the wind is the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force applies to movement on rotating objects. It is determined by the mass of the object
The envelope of air that completely surrounds the earth is known as atmosphere. The atmosphere extends to about 1000 km from the surface of the earth. But 99% of the total mass of the atmosphere
Winds Wind is the movement of air caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the Sun. Sometimes wind blows gently, refreshing us. At other times, it blows strongly creating storms th
Earthquakes The sudden tremors or shaking of the earth's crust is called an earthquake. When a part of the earth's surface moves backward and forward or up and down, the earth's