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Manufacturing Industries

Manufacturing:Production of goods in large quantities after processing the raw materials into morevaluable products is called manufacturing.

Importance of Manufacturing:

Manufacturing industries help in modernizing agriculture; which forms the backbone of our

economy. Apart from this, manufacturing industries also reduce the heavy dependence ofpeople on agricultural income. This becomes possible because of creation of new jobs insecondary and tertiary sectors.

Industrial development helps in eradication of unemployment and poverty. Export of manufactured goods expands trade and commerce and brings in much needed

foreign exchange. A country with high level of manufacturing activities becomes prosperous.

Contribution of Industry to National Economy The share of manufacturing sector in the GDP(Gross Domestic Product) has been stagnant at 17% over the last two decades. The total contributionof industry to the GDP is 27% out of which 10% comes from mining, quarrying, electricity and gas.

The growth of the manufacturing sector had been 7% in the last decade. Since 2003, the growth ratehas been 9 to 10% per annum. The desired growth rate over the next decade is 12%.

The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has been set with the objectives ofimproving productivity through proper policy interventions by the government and renewed efforts bythe industry.

Industrial Location

Some of the factors which affect the industrial location are as follows:

Availability of raw materials Availability of labour Availability of capital Availability of power Availability of market Infrastructure

Sometimes, industries are located in or near cities. Cities provide markets and also provide serviceslike banking, insurance, transport, labour, consultants, etc. Many industries tend to come together tomake use of the advantages of an urban centre. Such centre is then called as agglomeration

economy.

In the pre-independence period, most of the manufacturing units were located in places which werenear the ports, e.g. Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, etc. As a result, these belts developed as industriaurban centres surrounded by huge agricultural rural hinterland.

CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIES:

On the basis of raw materials:

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Agro Based Industries: Cotton, woolen, jute, silk textile, rubber, sugar, tea, coffee, etc. Mineral Based Industries: Iron and steel, cement, aluminium, petrochemicals, etc.

According to their main role:

Basic or Key Industries: These industries supply their products or raw materials to manufactureother goods, e.g. iron and steel, copper smelting, aluminium smelting.

Consumer Industries: These industries produce goods which are directly used by consumers,

e.g. sugar, paper, electronics, soap, etc.

On the basis of capital investment:

Small Scale Industry: If the invested capital is upto Rs. one crore, then the industry is called asmall scale industry.

Large Scale Industry: If the invested capital is more than Rs. one crore, then the industry iscalled a large scale industry.

On the basis of ownership:

Public Sector: These industries are owned and operated by government agencies, e.g. SAILBHEL, ONGC, etc.

Private Sector: These industries are owned and operated by individuals or a group ofindividuals, e.g. TISCO, Reliance, Mahindra, etc.

Joint Sector: These industries are jointly owned by the government and individuals or a groupof individuals, e.g. Oil India Limited.

Cooperative Sector: These industries are owned and operated by the producers or suppliers ofraw materials, workers or both. The resources are pooled by each stakeholder and profits orlosses are shared proportionately. AMUL which is milk cooperative is a good example. Thesugar industry in Maharashtra is another example.

Based on the bulk and weight of raw materials and finished goods:

Heavy Industries: Iron and steel. Light Industries: Electronics

Textile Industry

The textile industry contributes 14% to industrial production in India. In terms of employmentgeneration, this industry is the second largest after agriculture. 35 million persons are directlyemployed in the textiles industry in India. The contribution of textiles industry to GDP is 4%. This isthe only industry in the country which is self-reliant and complete in the value chain.

Cotton Textiles:Cotton textiles were traditionally produced with hand spinning and handloom weavingtechniques. Power-looms came into use after the 18th century. During the colonial period, thecompetition of mill-made cloth from England destroyed the Indian textiles industry.

At present, there are 1600 cotton and synthetic textile mills in India. Almost 80% of them are in theprivate sector. The rest are in the public sector and cooperative sector. Additionally, there are severathousand small factories with four to ten looms.

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Location of Cotton Textile Industry:This industry was earlier concentrated in the cotton belt ofMaharashtra and Gujarat. Availability of raw materials, port facilities, transport, labour, moist climateetc. were in favour of these locations. The industry provides a source of livelihood to farmers, cottonboll pluckers and workers engaged in ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, designing, packaging,tailoring and sewing. This industry supports many other industries; like chemical and dyes, mill stores,packaging materials and engineering works.

Spinning still continues to be centralized in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. However, weaving

is highly decentralized and there are many weaving centres in the country.

India exports cotton yarn to Japan. Cotton goods are also exported to USA, UK, Russia, France, EastEuropean countries, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and African countries.

At around 34 million, India has the second largest installed capacity of spindles in the world; afterChina. India accounts for one fourth of the world trade in cotton yarn. However, Indias share ingarment trade in the world is only 4%. Our spinning mills are globally competitive and can use all thefibres we produce. But the weaving, knitting and processing units cannot use much of the high qualityyarn produced in the country.

Problems in cotton textile industry: Erratic power supply and obsolete machinery are the major

problems. Low output of labour and stiff competition; with the synthetic fibre are the other problems.

Jute Textiles

India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods in the world. It is the second largest exporterof jute; after Bangladesh. Most of the 70 jute mills in India are located in West Bengal; mainly alongthe bank of Hooghly. The jute industry is in a narrow belt which is 98 km long and 3 km wide.

Location advantages of Hooghly basin: Proximity of the jute producing areas, inexpensive watertransport, good rail and road network, abundant water for processing raw jute and cheap labour fromWest Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.

The jute industry directly supports 2.61 lakh workers. It also supports 40 lakh small and marginafarmers who are engaged in cultivation of jute and mesta.

Jute industry is facing challenge from synthetic fibre and also from other competitors like Bangladesh,Brazil, Philippines, Egypt and Thailand. But the internal demand has been rising because ofgovernment policy of mandatory use of jute packaging. The National Jute Policy was formulated in2005 with an objective to increase productivity, improve quality and ensure good prices for the jutefarmers. Due to growing global concern for environment friendly and biodegradable material; thefuture of jute looks bright. USA, Canada, Russia, UAE, UK and Australia are the main markets.

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Sugar Industry

India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world. It is the largest producer of gur andkhandsari. There are over 460 sugar mills in the country. They are spread over Uttar Pradesh, BiharMaharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and MadhyaPradesh. Sixty percent mills are in UP and Bihar. This industry is seasonal and hence is more suitedto the cooperative sector.

In recent years, there has been a growing tendency to shift and concentrate in the southern andwestern states; especially in Maharashtra. The cane produced in this region has higher sucrosecontent. The cooler climate of this region ensures a longer crushing season.

Challenges for Sugar industry: Seasonal nature of industry, old and inefficient methods of production,transport delay and the need to maximize the use of baggase are the major challenges for thisindustry.

MINERAL BASED INDUSTRIES

Iron and Steel Industry

Iron is required for making machineries for all other industries hence it is the basic industry. Due tothis, production and consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of a countrys development.

India is 9th among the world crude steel producers and produces 32.8 million tons of steel. India isthe largest producer of sponge iron. But per capita consumption of steel is only 32 kg per annum.

At present, there are 10 primary integrated steel plants in India. Additionally, there are many minsteel plants in the country. SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) is the major public sector companyin this sector, while TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company) is the major private sector company in thisindustry.

Most of the iron and steel industries are in the Chhotanagpur plateau region. This region has plenty oflow cost iron ore, high grade raw materials, cheap labour and good connectivity through railways androadways.

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Reasons for underperformance of Iron and steel Industry in India:

a. High cost and limited availability of coking coalb. Low productivity of labourc. Erratic energy supplyd. Poor infrastructure

Aluminium Smelting

Aluminium smelting is the second most important metallurgical industry in India. Aluminium is oftenturned into alloy and then used for making various products.

There are 8 aluminium smelting plants in India, located in Orissa (NALCO and BALCO), West BengalKerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. India produced over 600 milliontones of aluminium in 2004.

Chemical Industries

The chemical industry contributes about 3% to the GDP. The chemical industry of India is the thirdlargest in Asia and is at twelfth position in the world.

Inorganic Chemicals: Sulphuric acid, nitric acid, alkalies, soda ash and caustic soda are the inorganicchemicals. Sulphuric acid is used to manufacture fertilisers, synthetic fibres, plastics, adhesivespaints, dye stuffs. Soda ash is used to make glass, soaps and detergents, paper, etc.

Organic Chemicals: These include petrochemicals. Petrochemicals are used for manufacturingsynthetic fibres, synthetic rubber, plastics, dye-stuffs, drugs and pharmaceuticals. Organic plants arelocated near oil refineries or petrochemical plants.

The chemical industry is usually its own largest consumer.

Fertiliser Industry

Fertiliser industry is centred around the production of nitrogenous fertilisers, phosphatic fertilisers andammonium phosphate and complex fertilisers. Complex fertilisers have a combination of nitrogen (N)phosphate (P) and potash (K). Potash is entirely imported because India does not have any reservesof commercially viable potash or potassium compounds.

India is the third largest producer of nitrogenous fertilisers. There are 57 fertiliser units which

manufacture nitrogenous and complex nitrogenous fertilisers. Out of them, 29 units manufacture ureaand 9 manufacture ammonium sulphate as by-product. There 68 small units which produce singlesuperphosphate.

Cement Industry

Cement industry requires bulky raw materials like limestone, silica, alumina and gypsum. There aremany cement plants in Gujarat because of proximity to ports.

There are 128 large and 323 mini cement plants in India.

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Improvement in quality has found the Indian cement a readily available market in East Asia, MiddleEast, Africa and South Asia. This industry is doing well in terms of production as well as export.

Automobile Industry

Almost all types of vehicles are manufactured in India. After liberalization in 1991, many automobilemanufacturers set up their base in India. With the launch of contemporary models, India became anattractive market for automobiles. At present, there are 15 manufacturers of cars and multi-utility

vehicles, 9 of commercial vehicles, 14 of two and three-wheelers. Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, PuneChennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Bangalore, Sanand, Pantnagar, etc.are the major centres of automobile industry.

Information Technology and Electronics Industry

Bangalore is often termed as the electronic capital of India. Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad,Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Coimbatore are the other important centres. There are 18 softwaretechnology parks in the country and they provide single window service and high data communicationto software experts.

This industry had generated a large number of employments. Upto 31 March 2005, over one millionpersons were employed in the IT industry. Because of fast growth of BPO (Business ProcessOutsourcing); this sector has been a major earner of foreign exchange.

Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation

Air Pollution:High proportion of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide create airpollution. Suspended particulate matters also create problems. Smoke is emitted from chimneys ofvarious factories. Some industry also pose the risk of leak of hazardous chemicals; the way ithappened during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Air pollution has adverse effect on human health, animals,plants, buildings, and the atmosphere as a whole.

Water Pollution:Organic and inorganic industrial wastes and effluents cause water pollution. Paperpulp, chemical, textile, dyeing, petroleum refineries, tanneries, etc. are the main culprits of waterpollution.

Thermal Pollution of water: It occurs when hot water from factories or thermal plants is drained intorivers and ponds before cooling. This plays havoc with the aquatic life.

Waste from nuclear power plants contains highly radioactive materials and it needs to be properlystored. Any leakage of radioactive material can cause short term and long term damages to humansas well as to other life forms.

Noise Pollution:Noise pollution can result in constant irritation, hypertension and hearing impairment.Factory equipments, generators, electric drills, etc. are the major sources of noise pollution.

Preventing Environmental Degradation by Industry:

Water should be reused and recycled in the industry. This will help in minimizing the use offreshwater.

Rainwater harvesting should be promoted. Hot water and effluents should be treated before being released in rivers and ponds.

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Minerals and Energy Resources

Minerals:A homogenous, naturally occurring substance with definable internal structure is calledmineral.

Types of Minerals

Mode of occurrence of minerals:

(1) In igneous and metamorphic rocks: The smaller occurrences are called veins and the larger

occurrences are called lodes. They are usually formed when minerals in liquid/molten and gaseousforms are forced upwards through cavities towards the earths surface. Examples: tin, copper, zinc,lead, etc.

(2) In sedimentary rocks: In these rocks, minerals occur in beds or layers. Coal, iron ore, gypsum,potash salt and sodium salt are the minerals found in sedimentary rocks.

(3) By decomposition of surface rocks: Decomposition of surface rocks and removal of solubleconstituents leaves a residual mass of weathered material which contains ores. Bauxite is formed inthis way.

(4) As alluvial deposits: These minerals are found in sands of valley floors and the base of hills.These deposits are called placer deposits. They generally contain those minerals which are notcorroded by water. Examples; gold, silver, tin, platinum, etc.

(5) In ocean water: Most of the minerals in ocean water are too widely diffused to be of economicimportance. But common salt, magnesium and bromine are mainly derived from ocean waters.

Iron Ore

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India is rich in good quality iron ores. Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of ironupto 70%. This iron ore is valuable for the electrical industry because of its excellent magneticproperties. Hematite ore is the most important industrial iron ore; in terms of usage. The iron content

of hematite is 50-60%.

The Major Iron Ore Belts in India:

(1) Orissa Jharkhand Belt: Badampahar mines in

the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts of Orissahave high grade hematite ore. Additionallyhematite iron ore is mined in GUa and Noamundin Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.

(2) Durg Bastar Chandrapur Betl: This belt lies inChhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The Bailadilarange of hills in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarhhave very high grade hematite ore. This hillyrange has 14 deposits of super high grade

hematite ore. Iron from these mines is exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakapatnam port.

(3) Bellary Chitradurga Chikmaglur Tumkur Belt: This belt lies in Karnataka. The Kudremukh mineslocated in the Western Ghats are a 100 percent export unit. The ore from these mines is transportedas slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangalore.

(4) Maharashtra Goa Belt: This belt inculdes the state of Goa and Ratnagiri district of MaharashtraThe ores in these mines are not of very high quality. They are exported through Marmagao port.

Manganese

Manganese is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese alloy. It is also used in

making bleaching powder, insecticides andpaints.

Copper

Copper is mainly used in electrical cables,electronics and chemical industries. TheBalaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh produce52% of Indias copper. Rajasthan is the nextleading producer with about 48% share.Copper is also produced in the Singhbhum

district of Jharkhand.

Aluminium

Aluminium is lightweight yet strong and hence is used in a variety of applications. Amarkantakplateau, Maikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni are the main areas of bauxite deposits.Orissa is the leading producer of bauxite in India with 45% share. Panchpatmali in Koraput district isthe most important centre of bauxite deposit in Orissa.

Mica

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Mica is a mineral which is made up of a series of plates or leaves. The mica sheets can be so thinthat a thousand of them can be layered into a few centimetre thick mica sheet. Mica has excellent di-electric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and resistance to high voltage. Mica iswidely used in electric and electronic industries.

Mica deposits are found in the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau. Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer of mica. Ajmer in Rajasthan and Nellore in

Andhra Pradesh are the other important producers of mica.

Hazards of Mining

Mining is a hzaradous industry; both for the workers and for the residents. The Miners have to workunder tough conditions where no natural light is available. There is always a risk of collapse of mineroof, inundation with water and fire. The areas around mines face the problem of too much dust fromthe mines. Slurry from mines damages the roads and the farmland. Houses and clothes become dirtymore often than in other areas. Miners are at great risk of getting afflicted with pulmonary disorders.Cases of respiratory tract diseases are very high in mining areas.

Conservation of Minerals

It takes millions of years for the formation of minerals. Compared to the present rate of consumption,the replenishment rate of minerals is very slow. Hence, mineral resources are finite and non-renewable. Due to this, it is important that we conserve the mineral resources.

Energy Resources

Conventional Energy Resources: Firewood, cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas andelectricity (both hydel and thermal)

Non-conventional Energy Resources:Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic energy.

Firewood and cattle dung cake: As per estimates, more than 70% of energy need in rural householdsis met by firewood and cattle dung cake. A decreasing forest area is making it difficult to usefirewood. Dung cake can be put to better use in the form of manure and hence its use should also bediscouraged.

Coal:

India is highly dependent on coal for meeting its commercial energy requirements. Depending on thedegree of compression during its formation, there are varieties of coal.

(a) Lignite: It is a low grade brown coal. It is soft and has high moisture content. Neyveli in TamilNadu has the main reserves of lignite coal. This type of coal is used for electricity generation.

(b) Bituminous coal:Coal which was formed because of increased temperature and was buried verydeep is called bituminous coal. This is the most popular coal for commercial use. High gradebituminous coal is ideal for use in metallurgy.

(c) Anthracite coal:This is the highest quality hard coal.

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In India, coal occurs in rock series of two main geological ages. The Gondwana coal was formed over200 million years ago. The tertiary deposits are about 55 million years old. The major sources ofGondwana coal are located in the Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhan). In this belt; Jharia,Raniganj and Bokaro are important coalfields. Coal deposits are also present in the Godavari,Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys.

Tertiary coal is found in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh andNagaland.

Petroleum

After coal, the next major energy resource in India is petroleum. Petroleum is a major source of fuefor various uses. Petroleum also provides raw materials for various manufacturing industries; likeplastic, textiles, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Most of the petroleum in India occurs in anticlines and fault traps in the rock formations of the tertiaryage. The oil bearing layer is a porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may flow. Theintervening non-porous layers prevent the oil from rising or sinking. Petroleum is also found in faulttraps between porous and non-porous rocks. Gas usually occurs above the oil because it is lighter

than oil.

Mumbai High produces about 63% of Indias petroleum, Gujarat produces 18% and Assam 13%Ankeleshwar is the most important oil field in Gujarat. Assam is the oldest oil producing state of IndiaImportant oil fields of Assam are Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan.

Natural Gas

Natural gas is found alongwith or without petroleum. It is used as fuel and also as industrial rawmaterial. Large reserves of natural gas have been discovered in the Krishna-Godavari Basin. Gulf ofCambay, Mumbai High and Andaman Nicobar islands are also important areas with large reserves of

natural gas.

The 1700 km long Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline links Mumbai High and Bassein with thefertiliser, power and industrial complexes in western and northern India. Natural gas is mainly used bythe fertiliser and power industries. Now-a-days, use of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is increasingas vehicle fuel in the country.

Electricity

Electricity is generated mainly by two methods; by running water which drives hydro turbines and byburning other fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas to drive turbines. Bhakra Nangal, Damodar

Valley Corporation, Kopili Hydel Project, etc. are major hydroelectric producers in the country. Atpresent, there are over 300 thermal power stations in India.

Non-conventional Sources of Energy

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is obtained by altering the structure of atom. When the structure of an atom is altered,too much energy is released in the form of heat. This heat is utilised to generate electric power.

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Uranium and Thorium are used for generating atomic power. These minerals are available inJharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan. The Monazite sand of Kerala is also rich in Thorium.

Solar Energy

Photovoltaic technology is used to convert solar energy into electricity. The largest solar plant of Indiais located at Madhapur near Bhuj. Solar energy holds great promises for the future. It can help inminimizing the dependence on firewood and animal dung cakes in rural areas. This will also help in

conservation of fossil fuels.

Wind Power

India now ranks as a Wind Super Power in the world. The wind farm cluster in Tamil Nadu (fromNagarcoil to Madurai) is the largest cluster in India. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, KeralaMaharashtra and Lakshadweep are also important centres of wind power production.

Biogas

Biogas can be produced from shrubs, farm waste, and animal and human waste. Biogas is more

efficient than kerosene, dung cake and charcoal. Biogas plants can be set up at municipal,cooperative and individual levels. The gobar gas plants provide energy and also manure.

Tidal Energy

Floodgate dams are built across inlets. The water flows into the inlet during high tide and gets trappedwhen the gate is closed. Once the tide recedes, the gates are opened so that water can flow back tothe sea. The flow of water is used to run the turbine to generate electricity. A 900 mw tidal energypower plant is set up by the National Hydropower Corporation in the Gulf of Kuchchh.

Geo Thermal Energy

We know that the inside of the earth is very hot. At some places, this heat is released on the surfacethrough fissures. Groundwater in such areas becomes hot and rises up in the form of steam. Thissteam is used to drive turbines. Two experimental projects have been set up in India to harnessgeothermal energy. They are; the Parvati valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh and the PugaValley in Ladakh.

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LIFELINES OF NATIONAL ECONOMY

Transport plays an important role in the economy. Because of transport raw materials reach thefactory and finished products reach to the consumer. The pace of development of a country dependsupon the production of goods and services as well as their movement over space. Therefore, efficientmeans of transport are pre-requisites for fast development.

Apart from transport, the ease and mode of communications, like telephone and internet makesseamless flow of information possible.

Today, India is well-linked with the rest of the world despite its vast size, diversity and linguistic andsocio-cultural plurality. Railways, airways, water ways, newspapers, radio, television, cinema and

internet, etc. have been contributing to its socio-economic progress in many ways. The trades fromlocal to international levels have added to the vitality of its economy. It has enriched our life andadded substantially to growing amenities and facilities for the comforts of life.

Roadways

India has one of the largest road networks in the world, aggregating to about 2.3 million km atpresent. In India, roadways have preceded railways. They still have an edge over railways in view ofthe ease with which they can be built and maintained. The growing importance of road transport vis--vis rail transport is rooted in the following reasons;

(a) construction cost ofroads is much lower than that of railway lines,

(b) roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography,

(c) roads can negotiate higher gradients of slopes and as such can traverse mountains such as theHimalayas,

(d) road transport is economical intransportation of few persons and relatively smaller amount ofgoods over short distances,

(e) it also provides door-to-door service, thus the cost of loading and unloading is much lower,

(f) road transport is also used as a feeder to other modes of transport such as they provide a linkbetween railway stations, air and sea ports.

In India, roads are classified in the following six classes according to their capacity

Golden Quadrilateral:-The government has launched a major road development project linkingDelhi-Kolkata- Chennai-Mumbai and Delhi by six-lane Super Highways. The North-South corridorslinking Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), and East-West Corridor

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connecting Silcher (Assam) and Porbander (Gujarat) are part of this project. The major objective ofthese Super Highways is to reduce the time and distance between the mega cities of India. Thesehighway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

National Highways:-National Highways link extreme parts of the country. These are the primaryroad systems and are laid and maintained by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). Anumber of major National Highways run in North-South and East-West directions.

State Highways:- Roads linking a state capital with different district headquarters are known asState Highways. These roads are constructed and maintained by the State Public Works Department(PWD) in State and Union Territories.

District Roads:-These roads connect the district headquarters with other places of the district. These roads

are maintained by the Zila Parishad.

Other Roads:Rural roads, which link rural areas and villages with towns, are classified under thiscategory. These roads received special impetus under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak YojanaUnder this scheme special provisions are made so that every village in the country is linked to amajor town in the country by an all season motorable road.

Border Roads:Apart from these, Border Roads Organisation a Government of India undertakingconstructs and maintains roads in the bordering areas of the country. This organisation wasestablished in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern andnortheastern border areas. These roads have improved accessibility in areas of difficult terrain andhave helped in the economic development of these area. The Indian Railways is the largest publicsector undertaking in the country. The first train steamed off from Mumbai to Thane in 1853, coveringa distance of 34 km. concrete or even bitumen of coal, therefore, these are all weather roads.Unmetalled roads go out of use in the rainy season.

Road Density

The length of road per 100 sq. km of area is known as density of roads. Distribution of road is notuniform in the country. Density of all roads varies from only 10 km in Jammu & Kashmir to 375 km inKerala with the national average of 75 km (1996-97). Road transportation in India faces a number ofproblems. Keeping in view the volume of traffic and passengers, the road network is inadequate.

About half of the roads are unmetalled and this limits their usage during the rainy season. TheNational Highways are inadequate too. Moreover, the roadways are highly congested in cities andmost of the bridges and culverts are old and narrow.

Railways

Railways are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India. Railways alsomake it possible to conduct multifarious activities like business, sightseeing, pilgrimage along withtransportation of goods over longer distances. Apart from an important means of transport the IndianRailways have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years. Railways in India bind theeconomic life of the country as well as accelerate the development of the industry and agriculture.

Rail Network:The Indian Railway have a network of 7, 031 stations spread over a route length of 63221 km. with a fleet of 7817 locomotives, 5321 passenger service vehicles, 4904 other coachvehicles and 228, 170 wagons as on 31

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Rail Gauge and Length of routes in India

Development of Railways:

The Indian Railway is now reorganised into 16 zones. The distribution pattern of the Railway networkin the country has been largely influenced by physiographic, economic and administrative factors.

The northern plains with their vast level land, high population density and rich agricultural resourcesprovided the most favourable condition for their growth. However, a large number of rivers requiringconstruction of bridges across their wide beds posed some obstacles. In the hilly terrains of thepeninsular region, railway tracts are laid through low hills, gaps or tunnels. The Himalayan

mountainous regions too are unfavourable for the construction of railway lines due to high relief,sparse population and lack of economic opportunities. Likewise, it was difficult to lay railway lines onthe sandy plain of western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat, forested tracks of Madhya PradeshChhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand. The contiguous stretch of Sahyadri could be crossed onlythrough gaps or passes (Ghats). In recent times, the development of the Konkan railway along thewest coast has facilitated the movement of passengers and goods in this most important economicregion of India. It has also faced a number of problem such as sinking of track in some stretches andland slides.

Today, the railways have become more important in our national economy than all other means oftransport put together. However, rail transport suffers from certain problems as well. Many

passengers travel without tickets. Thefts and damaging of railway property has not yet stoppedcompletely. People stop the trains, pull the chain unnecessarily and this causes heavy damage to therailway.

Pipelines:

Pipeline transport network is a new arrival on the transportation map of India. In the past, these wereused to transport water to cities and industries. Now, these are used for transporting crude oilpetroleum products and natural gas from oil and natural gas fields to refineries, fertilizer factories and

big thermal power plants. Solids can also be transported through a pipeline when converted intoslurry. The far inland locations of refineries like Barauni, Mathura, Panipat and gas based fertilizerplants could be thought of only because of pipelines. Initial cost of laying pipelines is high butsubsequent running costs are minimal. It rules out trans-shipment losses or delays.

There are three important networks of pipeline transportation in the country.

From oil field in upper Assam to Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), via Guwahati, Barauni and Allahabad. Ithas branches from Barauni to Haldia, via Rajbandh, Rajbandh to Maurigram and Guwahati to Siliguri.

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From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab, via Viramgam, Mathura, Delhi and Sonipat. It hasbranches to connect Koyali (near Vadodara, Gujarat) Chakshu and other places.

Gas pipeline from Hazira in Gujarat connects Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh, via Vijaipur in MadhyaPradesh. It has branches to Kota in Rajasthan, Shahajahanpur, Babrala and other places in UttarPradesh.

Waterways

Waterways are the cheapest means of transport. They are most suitable for carrying heavy and bulkygoods. It is a fuel-efficient and environment friendly mode of transport. India has inland navigationwaterways of 14,500 km in length. Out of these only 3,700 km are navigable by mechanised boats.

The following waterways have been declared as the National Waterways by the Government:

The Ganga river between Allahabad and Haldia (1620 km) -N.W. No.1

The Brahmaputra river between Sadiya and Dhubri (891 km) -N.W. No.2

The West-Coast Canal in Kerala (Kottapurma-Komman, Udyogamandal and Champakkara canals-205 km)N.W. No.3

The other viable inland waterways include the Godavari, Krishna, Barak, Sunderbans, BuckinghamCanal, Brahmani, East-west Canal and Damodar Valley Corporation Canal.

Major Sea Ports

With a long coastline of 7,516.6 km, India is dotted with 12 major and 181 medium and minor ports.These major ports handle 95 per cent of Indias foreign trade. Kandla in Kuchchh was the first portdeveloped soon after Independence to ease the volume of trade on the Mumbai port, in the wake ofloss of Karachi port to Pakistan after the Partition. Kandla is a tidal port. It caters to the convenienthandling of exports and imports of highly productive granary and industrial belt stretching across thestates of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Mumbai is the biggest port with a spacious natural and well-sheltered harbour. The Jawaharlal Nehruport was planned with a view to decongest the Mumbai port and serve as a hub port for this region.Marmagao port (Goa) is the premier iron ore exporting port of the country. This port accounts for

about fifty per cent of Indias iron ore export.

New Mangalore port, located in Karnataka caters to the export of iron ore concentrates fromKudremukh mines. Kochi is the extreme south-western port, located at the entrance of a lagoon witha natural harbour.

On the east coast, is the port of Tuticorin, in Tamil Nadu. This port has a natural harbour and richhinterland. Thus, it has a flourishing trade handling of a large variety of cargoes to even ourneighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, etc. and the coastal regions of India.

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Chennai is one of the oldest artificial ports of the country. It is ranked next to Mumbai in terms of thevolume of trade and cargo.

Vishakhapatnam is the deepest landlocked and well-protected port. This port was, originally,conceived as an outlet for iron ore exports.

Paradip port located in Orissa, specialises in the export of iron ore.

Kolkata is an inland riverine port. This port serves a very large and rich hinterland of Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. Being a tidal port, it requires constant dredging of Hoogly.

Haldia port was developed as a subsidiary port, in order to relieve growing pressure on the Kolkataport.

Airways:

The air transport was nationalised in 1953. On the operational side, Indian Airlines, Alliance Air

(subsidiary of Indian Airlines), private scheduled airlines and non- scheduled operators providedomestic air services. Air India provides international air services. Pawanhans Helicopters LtdProvides helicopter services to Oil and Natural Gas Commission in its off- shore operations, toinaccessible areas and difficult terrains like the north-eastern states and the interior parts of Jammuand Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Indian Airlines operations also extend to theneighbouring countries of South and south-east Asia and the Middle east.

It can cover very difficult terrains like high mountains, dreary deserts, dense forests and also longoceanic stretches with great ease.

Communication

Personal communication and mass communication including television, radio, press, films, etc. arethe major means of communication in the country.

Indian Post: The Indian postal network is the largest in the world. It handles parcels as well aspersonal written communications. Cards and envelopes are considered firstclass mail and areairlifted between stations covering both land and air. The secondclass mail includes book packetsregistered newspapers and periodicals. They are carried by surface mail, covering land and watertransport. To facilitate quick delivery of mails in large towns and cities, six mail channels have been

introduced recently. They are called Rajdhani Channel, Metro Channel, Green Channel, BusinessChannel, Bulk Mail Channel and Periodical Channel.

Telephone:India has one of the largest telephone networks in Asia. In order to strengthen the flow ofinformation from the grassroot to the higher level, the government has made special provision toextend twenty-four hours STD facility to every village in the country. There is a uniform rate of STDfacilities all over India. It has been made possible by integrating the development in space technologywith communication technology.

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Mobile Telephones:India is one of the fastest growing mobile network in the world. Mobile phoneshave changed the way Indians conducted business. Now even low income group people likevegetable vendors, plumbers and carpenters get better business because they are connectedthrough mobile phones.

Mass Comunication: Mass communication provides entertainment and creates awareness amongpeople about various national programmes and policies. It includes radio, television, newspapers,magazines, books and films. All India Radio (Akashwani) broadcasts a variety of programmes in

national, regional and local languages for various categories of people, spread over different parts ofthe country. Doordarshan, the national television channel of India, is one of the largest terrestrialnetworks in the world. It broadcasts a variety of programmes from entertainment, educational tosports, etc. for people of different age groups.

Newspapers: India publishes a large number of newspapers and periodicals annually. They are ofdifferent types depending upon their periodicity. Newspapers are published in about 100 languagesand dialects. Largest number of newspapers published in the country are in Hindi, followed by Englishand Urdu.

Films: India is the largest producer of feature films in the world. It produces short films; video feature

films and video short films. The Central Board of Film Certification is the authority to certify bothIndian and foreign films.

International Trade

Trade between two countries is called international trade. It may take place through sea, air or landroutes. Advancement of international trade of a country is an index to its economic prosperity. It is,therefore, considered the economic barometer for a country.

Export:When the goods are sent to other country for sale it is called as export.

Import:When the goods come from other country to be sold in India it is called import.

Balance of Payment:This is the difference between export and import of a country. When export ishigher than import then this is a situation of favourable balance of payment. On the other hand whenthe import is hihger than export then this is a situation of unfavourable balance of payment.

Indian Commodities Witnessing growth in share in Export:

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Major Imports to India

Bulk imports as a group registered a growth accounting for 39.09 per cent of total imports. This groupincludes fertilizers (67.01 per cent), cereals (25.23 per cent), edible oils (7.94 per cent) and newsprint(5.51 per cent).

International trade has under gone a sea change in the last fifteen years. Exchange of commoditiesand goods have been superseded by the exchange of information and knowledge.

India has emerged as a software giant at the international level and it is earning large foreignexchange through the export of information technology.

Tourism as a Trade

Foreign tourists arrivals in the country witnessed an increase of 23.5 per cent during the year 2004as against the year 2003, thus contributing Rs 21,828 crore of foreign exchange. Over 2.6 millionforeign tourists visit India every year. More than 15 million people are directly engaged in the tourismindustry.

Tourism also promotes national integration, provides support to local handicrafts and cultural pursuitsIt also helps in the development of international understanding about our culture and heritage.