MINERAL-BASED INDUSTRIES
Apart from agro- based industries there are industries that use minerals as raw materials. These are called mineral-based industries. Can you think of any such industry?
Iron and steel industry– Iron and steel is also known as the basic industry. This is because all other industries depend on it and the products of this industry form the basis of these industries. Steel is used in manufacturing of various industrial goods, equipment, machinery, automobiles and scientific equipment, etc.
- Iron and steel industry is also known as heavy industry as the raw materials used and the finished goods manufactured are heavy and bulky. The raw materials used in the iron and steel industry are iron ore, coking coal, limestone and manganese. Can you make out these characteristics of the iron and steel industry where it should be located? Find out a clue to the answer in the given box.
- Distribution – The first modern steel plant in India was set up at Kulti, Bengal in 1870 and production began in 1874. Today, there are 10 major steel plants in India.
- Finished products of Iron and steel industry need efficient transport network for their distribution in markets so that, consumers can use it.
- Steel industry was delicensed in 1991 and de-controlled in 1992. Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) is the authority through which public sector undertakings market their steel.
- Surrounded by the existing large mother plants of Iron and Steel, a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) is being developed at Kalinganagar, Odisha. Spread over 160 sq km, the zone is envisaged to become a self-contained ecosystem along with residential, commercial and social amenities and will enable the potential investors for setting up value added downstream facilities. It is expected that the Kalinganagar industrial complex in Odisha can contribute 20 percent of the country’s targeted 300 million tons steel capacity by 2030.
