Industrial Sector

Introduction

The processing of natural resources into more useful items is called manufacturing. These manufactured goods are finished products derived from the raw materials. These raw materials used in manufacturing industry may be either in their natural form such as cotton, wool, iron ore etc. or may be in the semi processed form like cotton yarn, pig iron etc. which can further be used for making more useful goods. Thus, the finished product of one industry may serve as the raw material for another industry. Economic development cannot be achieved by a country without developing its industries. There is a direct relationship between the level of industrial development and the economic prosperity of a country. Developed countries like the USA, Japan, Russia owe due to their prosperity to highly developed industries. Industrially less developed countries export their natural resources and import finished goods at higher prices and continue to remain economically backward.

• In India manufacturing industries contributed about 30 per cent of the gross domestic product. These industries provide employment to about 28 million people. Thus, industries are a major source of national income and employment.

Brief History of Modern Industries

• The modern industrial development in India started with the establishment of the first cotton textile mill at Mumbai in 1854, predominantly with Indian capital and entrepreneurship. Jute industry made a beginning in 1855 with the establishment of a jute mill in the Hooghly Valley near Kolkata with foreign capital and entrepreneurship. Coal mining was first started at Raniganj in 1772. Railways were introduced in 1854. Tata Iron and Steel Plant was set up at Jamshedpur in 1907. Several other medium and small size industries like cement, glass, soaps, chemicals, jute, sugar and paper followed. The industrial production in preindependence period was neither adequate nor diversified.
• At the time of independence, the economy was under-developed with agriculture contributing to more than 60 per cent of the GDP and most of the country’s export earnings. After 60 years of independence, India has now shown the signs of becoming a leading economic power.
• Industrial development in India can be divided into two phases. The Government successively increased its control over different economic sectors during the first phase (1947-1980). In the second phase (1980-97) it took measures to liberalise the economy between 1980 and 1992. These measures were somewhat adhoc. After 1992, the whole process of liberalization became more focused and radically different in nature.
• After independence, systematic industrial planning under different five-year plans helped in establishing a large number of heavy and medium industries. The main thrust of the industrial policy was to remove regional imbalances and to introduce diversification of industries. Indigenous capabilities were developed to achieve self-sufficiency. It is due to these efforts that India has been able to develop in the field of industry. Today, we export a large number of industrial goods to various countries.