With industrial revolution, the use of
inanimate power by harnessing the
energy of water, coal, and petroleum
brought tremendous changes in the primary
sector. It helped in the evolution of large
manufacturing system, which utilised
products of the primary sector and hence,
called secondary. Production of raw materials
for both domestic and industrial uses grew.
As a result, the purchasing power of the people
engaged in primary activities increased and it
led to the growth in the demand for
manufactured goods. It thus, promoted
growth of the secondary activities.
(more content follows the advertisement below) A D V E R T I S E M E N T
At the outset, it would be useful to explain
what do we mean by the terms �industry� and
�manufacturing� . We, very often, use terms like
film industry, fishing industry, steel industry
and tourism industry, but each of these
represents a different kind of economic activity.
However, geographers usually use the term
�industry� to describe those activities which are
concerned with processing, fabricating and
manufacturing of primary products obtained
from agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining.
Industry is called a secondary activity to
distinguish it from primary activities.
Manufacturing literally meant �making by
hand�, but now it also includes goods made
by machines. It is a process, which involves
transformation of raw materials into finished
goods of higher value. For example, cotton is
an agro-product. It is used as a raw material
in the manufacture of cotton textiles, which may
further be transformed into garment. Cotton
textiles and garments are products of
manufacturing.
of inorganic or organic substance
into new products, whether the work is
performed by power-driven machinery or by
hand, whether it is done in a factory or in the
worker�s home, and whether the products are
sold wholesale or in retail.� This is, however, a
very broad definition. Usually modern
manufacturing industry is characterised by
complex organisation, specialised labour, use
of machinery and inanimate power and mass
production.
CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIES
Industries can be classified in many ways: size,
nature of products and raw materials, and
ownership.
Classification by Size
The amount of capital invested, number of
people employed and the volume of production
determine the size of an industry. Accordingly,
industries may be classified into the following
groups: cottage or household, small scale and
large scale industries.
Cottage or household industries are the
smallest manufacturing units. The craftsmen
or the artisans with the help of their family
members manufacture goods within their
homes using local raw material and simple
tools. The skills of production are passed on
from one generation to the other. The scale of
operation is small. The tools and equipments
are ordinary. The goods produced are
generally, sold locally. Thus potters,
carpenters, weavers and blacksmiths produce
goods in the household sector. In many
countries of Asia and Africa, this sector is quite
important and some of the handicraft items
are in great demand in the developed
countries.
Small scale industries are differentiated
from the former by the technique of production.
They use modern power driven machines and
employ labour as well. The raw materials are
also obtained from outside, if not available
locally. These industries are larger in size than
cottage industries. Their products are sold
through traders beyond local markets. In
many developing countries, the role of these
industries are crucial as they provide
employment to a large number of people. In
countries like India and China, a large number
of goods such as clothes, toys, furniture, edible
oil and leather goods are produced by small
scale industries.
Large scale industries include mainly
heavy and capital intensive industries, which
use heavy machineries, employ large number
of workers and produce goods for a bigger
market. The management is hierarchy-based
and complex. Emphasis is laid on quality
control and production specialisation. Such
industries require a very large resource base
and hence, raw materials are obtained from
various places. The production of goods is also
on a large scale, which is sent to distant
markets. These industries, therefore, require
good infrastructure facilities such as roads,
railways, and power supply. Iron and steel
industry, petro-chemicals, textiles and
automobiles fall under this category.
Some geographers prefer to divide
manufacturing industries on the basis of size
of operation and the nature of products
together. Accordingly, there are two classes.
Heavy industries are of large-scale. They deal
in bulky products and are heavily dependent
on the raw materials and hence, tend to be
located near the source of raw material e.g. iron
and steel industry. Light industries are usually
small-scale in operation. They deal in lighter
and compact products. For them, accessibility
is the most important factor. The electronics is
one example of this kind.
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AKHAND PRATAP SINGH
