Industries Class 8

Industries is chapter 5 of the Geography–SST NCERT book for class 8. It talks about industries, their types, factors that affect them among other things. It will be a very interesting and informative chapter for the students to understand various aspects of the manufacturing process. It may help them appreciate the amount of work that goes into everything that they use.  In this blog, we will read about the important details in the chapter and notes for Industries Class 8.

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Brief Notes on Industries Class 8

In the class 8 geography chapter 5 on Industries, there are two major segments such as:

Industry refers to an economic activity that is concerned with production of goods, extraction of minerals or the provision of services. Examples – iron and steel industry (production of goods), coal mining industry (extraction of coal) and tourism industry (service provider) etc.

Manufacturing or secondary activities change raw materials into products. The paper made from pulp and cloth made from cotton has value added to them at each stage of the manufacturing process. In this way the finished product has more value and utility than the raw material that it is made from.

Classification of Industries Class 8

In the chapter Industries Class 8, the classification of these industries is important. Industries can be classified on the basis of raw materials, size and ownership:

• Raw Materials – Industries may be agro based, mineral based, marine based and forest based depending on the type of raw materials they use.
• Agro based industries use plant and animal based products as their raw materials. Food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile, dairy products and leather industries are examples of agro-based industries.
• Mineral based industries are primary industries that use mineral ores as their raw materials. The products of these industries feed other industries. Iron made from iron ore is the product of mineral based industry. This is used as raw material for the manufacture of a number of other products such as heavy machinery, building materials and railway coaches.
• Marine based industries use products from the sea and oceans as raw materials. Industries processing seafood or manufacturing fish oil are some examples of this type.
• Forest based industries utilize forest produce as raw materials. The industries associated with forests are pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture and buildings.
• Size – It refers to the amount of capital invested, number of people employed and the volume of production. Based on size industries can be classified into small scale and large scale industries.
  • Cottage or household industries are a type of small scale industry where the products are manufactured by hand, by the artisans. Basket weaving, pottery and other handicrafts are examples of cottage industry. Silk weaving and food processing industries are small scale industries
• Investment of capital is higher and the technology used is superior in large scale industries. Production of automobiles and heavy machinery are large scale industries. Small scale industries use lesser amount of capital and technology as compared to large scale industries that produce large volumes of products
• Ownership – Industries can be classified into private sector, state owned or public sector, joint sector and cooperative sector.
• Private sector industries are owned and operated by individuals or a group of individuals.
• The public sector industries are owned and operated by the government such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Steel Authority of India Limited.
• Joint sector industries are owned and operated by the state and individuals or a group of individuals. Maruti Udyog Limited is an example of the joint sector industry.
• Co-operative sector industries are owned and operated by the producers or suppliers of raw materials, workers or both Anand Milk Union Limited or AMUL and Sudha Dairy are success stories of a co-operative venture. 

Check Notes On:

• When People Rebel Class 8
• Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age Class 8 Notes
• From Trade to Territory Class 8 Study Notes
• How When and Where Class 8
• Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Notes
• Weavers, Iron Smelters and Factory Owners

Factors Affecting Location of Industries

In the class 8 geography chapter 5, the factors affecting location of industries should be available. and understood. The factors affecting the location of industries are the availability of raw material, land, water, labor, power, capital, transport and market. Industries are situated where some or all of these factors are easily available. Sometimes the government also provides incentives like subsidized power, lower transport cost and other infrastructure so that industries may be located in backward areas. Industrialization often leads to development and growth of towns and cities.

Industrial System – An industrial system consists of inputs, processes and outputs. The inputs are the raw materials, labor and costs of land, transport, power and other infrastructure. The processes include a wide range of activities that convert the raw material into finished products. The outputs are the end product and the income earned from it. In the textile industry the inputs may be cotton, human labor, factory and transport cost. The processes include ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing and printing and the output is the shirt you wear.

Industrial Regions – Industrial regions emerge when a number of industries locate close to each other and share the benefits of their closeness. Major industrial regions of the world are eastern North America, western and central Europe, Eastern Europe and eastern Asia. Major industrial regions tend to be located in the temperate areas, near sea ports and especially near coal fields. India has several industrial regions like Mumbai – Pune cluster, Bangalore-Tamil Nadu region, Hugli region, Ahmedabad-Baroda region, Chota Nagpur industrial belt, Vishakhapatnam-Guntur belt, Gurgaon-Delhi-Meerut region and the Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram industrial cluster.

Industrial Disaster – In industries accidents mainly occur due to technical failure or irresponsible handling of hazardous material. One of the worst industrial disasters of all time occurred in Bhopal on 3 December 1984 and is also called the Bhopal gas tragedy. It was a technological accident in which highly poisonous Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas along with Hydrogen Cyanide and other reaction products leaked out of the pesticide factory of Union Carbide. The official death toll was 3,598 and thousands who survived still suffer from one or many ailments like blindness, impaired immune system, gastrointestinal disorders etc.

Risk Reduction Measures 

The class 8 geography chapter 5 also focuses on Risk Reducation Measures such as:

• Densely populated residential areas should be separated far away from the industrial areas.
• People staying in the vicinity of industries should be aware of the storage of toxins or hazardous substances and their possible effects in case an accident occurs.
• Fire warning and fighting systems should be improved.
• Storage capacity of toxic substances should be limited.
• Pollution dispersion qualities in the industries should be improved.

 Distribution of Major Industries

In the Industries for class 8 geography, chapter 5, the Distribution of Major Industries is important. The world’s major industries are the iron and steel industry, the textile industry and the information technology industry. The iron and steel and textile industry are the older industries while information technology is an emerging industry. The countries in which the iron and steel industry is located are Germany, USA, China, Japan and Russia. The textile industry is concentrated in India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The major hubs of the Information technology industry are the Silicon Valley of Central California and the Bangalore region of India.

Iron and Steel Industry

The class 8 geography chapter 5 on Industries focuses on the Iron and Steel industry. The backbone of every country’s advanced and growth. Like other industries, the iron and steel industry too comprises various inputs, processes and outputs. This is a feeder industry whose products are used as raw material for other industries. The inputs for the industry include raw materials such as iron ore, coal and limestone, along with labor, capital, site and other infrastructure. The process of converting iron ore into steel involves many stages. The raw material is put in the blast furnace where it undergoes smelting and is then refined. The output obtained is steel which may be used by other industries as raw material.

Steel is tough and it can easily be shaped, cut, or made into wire. Special alloys of steel can be made by adding small amounts of other metals such as aluminium, nickel, and copper. Alloys give steel unusual hardness, toughness, or ability to resist rust. Steel is often called the backbone of modern industry since almost everything we use is either made of iron or steel or has been made with tools and machinery of these metals.

In India the iron and steel industry has developed taking advantage of raw materials, cheap labor, transport and market. All the important steel producing centers such as Bhilai, Durgapur, Burnpur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro are situated in a region that spreads over four states — West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Bhadravati and Vijay Nagar in Karnataka, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Salem in Tamil Nadu are other important steel centers utilizing local resources.

Jamshedpur – Before 1947 there was only one iron and steel plant in the country Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO). It was privately owned. After Independence, the government took the initiative and set up several iron and steel plants. Geographically Jamshedpur is the most conveniently situated iron and steel centre in the country. Sakchi is close to the iron ore, coal and manganese deposits as well as to Kolkata which provided a large market. TISCO gets raw material from Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The Kharkai and Subarnarekha rivers ensure sufficient water supply. Government initiatives provided adequate capital for its later development. Other industrial plants were also set up in Jamshedpur. They produce chemicals, locomotive parts, agricultural equipment, machinery, tinplate, cable and wire. The development of the iron and steel industry opened the doors to rapid industrial development in India. Almost all sectors of the Indian industry depend heavily on the iron and steel industry for their basic infrastructure. The Indian iron and steel industry consists of large integrated steel plants as well as mini steel mills.

Pittsburgh – It is an important steel city of the United States of America. The steel industry at Pittsburgh also enjoys locational advantages. Raw material such as coal and iron ore is easily available. Adequate water and transportation facilities are also available in the form of trains. Finished steel is transported to the market by both land and water routes. The Pittsburgh area has many factories other than steel mills. These use steel as their raw material to make many different products such as railroad equipment, heavy machinery and rails etc.

Cotton Textile Industry

Weaving cloth from yarn is an ancient art. Cotton, wool, silk, jute, flax have been used for making cloth. The textile industry can be divided on the basis of raw materials used in them. Fibers are the raw material of the textile industry. Natural fibers are obtained from wool, silk, cotton, linen and jute. Manmade fibers include nylon, polyester, acrylic and rayon. The cotton textile industry is one of the oldest industries in the world.

Before the British rule Indian hand spun and hand woven cloth already had a wide market. The Muslins of Dhaka, Chintzes of Masulipatnam, Calicos of Calicut and Gold-wrought cotton of Burhanpur, Surat and Vadodara were known worldwide for their quality and design. But the production of hand woven cotton textile was expensive and time consuming. Hence traditional cotton textile industry could not face the competition from the new textile mills of the West which produced cheap and good quality fabrics through mechanized industrial units.

The first successful mechanized textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854. The warm, moist climate, a port for importing machinery, availability of raw material and skilled labor resulted in rapid expansion of the industry in the region. Coimbatore, Kanpur, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Puducherry and Panipat are some of the other important centres.

Ahmedabad – It is located in Gujarat on the banks of the Sabarmati river. The first mill was established in 1859 and soon it became the second largest textile city of India after Mumbai. Ahmedabad was therefore often referred to as the ‘Manchester of India’. Favorable locational factors were responsible for the development of the textile industry in Ahmedabad. It is situated very close to the cotton growing area which ensures easy availability of raw material. The climate is ideal for spinning and weaving, the flat terrain and easy availability of land is suitable for the establishment of the mills, the densely populated states of Gujarat and Maharashtra provide both skilled and semi-skilled labor and well developed road and railway network permits easy transportation of textiles to different parts of the country providing easy access to the market. Mumbai port nearby facilitates import of machinery and export of cotton textiles. But in recent years several textile mills have closed down. This is primarily due to the emergence of new textile centers in the country and non upgradation of machines and technology in the mills.

Osaka – It is an important textile centre of Japan also known as the ‘Manchester of Japan’. The textile industry developed in Osaka due to several geographical factors. The extensive plain provides ample land, climate is suitable, river Yodo provides water and labor is available easily. The textile industry at Osaka depends completely upon imported raw materials. Cotton is imported from Egypt, India, China and the USA. The finished product is mostly exported. Though it is one of the important textile cities in the country, other industries like iron and steel, machinery, shipbuilding, automobiles, electrical equipment and cement have replaced the textile industry.

Information Technology (IT)

The information technology industry deals in the storage, processing and distribution of information. Today this industry has become global. This is due to a series of technological, political, and socio-economic events. The main factors guiding the location of these industries are resource availability, cost and infrastructure. The major hubs of the IT industry are the Silicon Valley, California and Bengaluru, India which is also called ‘Silicon Plateau’. There are other emerging information technology hubs in metropolitan centers of India such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai. However, Bengaluru has always had a unique advantage as a city with highest availability of middle and top management talent.

Check Class 8 Science Notes:

• Reproduction in Animals Class 8
• Some Natural Phenomena Class 8
• Class 8 Crop Production and Management
• Class 8 Materials Metals and Non-metals
• Synthetic Fibres and Plastics
• Class 8 Reaching the Age of Adolescence
• Class 8 Pollution of Air and Water
• Class 8 Light
• Stars and Solar System Class 8
• Class 8 Force and Pressure
• Cell Structure and Function Class 8
• Class 8 Combustion and Flame

FAQs

We hope these notes helped you understand the chapter better and we also hope it will help you get better marks in exams. For help with other chapters and subjects like English, Maths, Science and others for class 8 please check out other blogs by Leverage Edu.