Secondary Activities
• Secondary activities add value to natural resources by transforming raw materials into valuable products.
• They are concerned with manufacturing, processing and construction (infrastructure) industries.
Manufacturing
• Manufacturing literally means ‘to make by hand’. It is essentially a process which involves transforming raw materials into finished goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets.
Characteristics of Modern Large Scale Manufacturing
• Specialisation of Skills/Methods of Production: Mass production involves production of large quantities of standardised parts by each worker performing only one task repeatedly there by reducing the cost of production.
• Mechanisation: It refers to gadgets which accomplish task Automation (without aid of human thinking) is the advanced form of mechanisation.
• Technological Innovation: Through research and development strategy are an important aspect for quality control, eliminating waste and efficiency combating pollution.
• Organisational Structure and Stratification Modern manufacturing is characterised by:
(i) a complex machine technology
(ii) extreme specialisation and division of labour for producing more goods with less effort, and low costs
(iii) vast capital
(iv) large organisations
(v) executive bureaucracy.
• Unevern geographic distribution: Modern manufacturing centres cover < 10% of world’s land area. These nations are the centres of economic and political power.
Location of Industry
• Industries maximise profits by reducing costs. Therefore industries should be located at places with lowest production cost.
• Some factors are:
(i) Access to market: Market means people who have a demand for these goods and also have the purchasing power (ability to purchase). Villages and towns offer small market and the developed countries like Japan, Australia, USA, European countries (high purchasing power) along with thickly populated areas of South-East Asia, South Asia offer large global market.
(ii) Access to raw materials: Industrial raw material should be cheap and easy to transport. Industries based on cheap, heavy, bulky and weight losing raw material are located near the source, for example, iron and steel, cement, etc. Industries using perishable raw materials (sugar) are located close to raw materials of farm products.
(iii) Access to power supply: Earlier coal was the major source of energy but today hydro electricity, petroleum are also important sources of energy. Industries with more power requirements are located close to the source of power e.g. aluminium industry.
(iv) Access to labour supply: Some type of manufacturing skill require skilled labour—though increasing mechanisation, automation and flexibility of industrial processes have reduced dependency of industries upon labour.
(v) Access to transportation and communication facilities: Speedy and efficient transportfacility to carry raw materials to factories and to move finished products to the markets are essential for development of industries. Improvement in transportation has led to integrated economic and regional specialisation of manufacturing. Communicationis also an important need for the exchange and management of information.
(vi) Government policy: Governments adopt regional policies to promote balanced economic development and set up industries in backward regions.
(vii) Access to Agglomeration economies/links between industries: These benefits are termed as agglomeration economies. Savings are derived from the linkages which exist between different industry.
Foot Loose Industries
• They can be located in a wide variety of places. They produce in small quantity and also employ a small labour force.
Classification of Manufacturing Industries
Industries based on Size
• The amount of capital invested, number of workers employed and volume of production determine the size of industry.
• Accordingly, industries may be classified into household or cottage, small-scale and large-scale.
Household Industries or Cottage Manufacturing
• Smallest manufacturing unit.
• Uses local raw materials.
• Finished products may be for consumption in the same household or, for sale in local (village) markets, or, for barter.
• Simple tools to produce everyday goods in their homes with the help of their family members or part- time labour.
• Products include foodstuffs, fabrics, shoes, pottery and bricks from clays and stones.
Small Scale Manufacturing
• Use generally local raw materials
• Simple power driven machines
• Semi-skilled labour
• Provides employment and raises local purchasing power.
• Countries like India, China, Indonesia and Brazil, etc. have developed labour-intensive small scale manufacturing.
Large Scale Manufacturing
It involves
• A large market.
• Various raw materials from outside.
• Enormous power resources.
• Skilled labour.
• Advanced technology.
• Assembly line mass production.
• Large capital investment.
On the basis of the system of large scale manufacturing, the world’s major industrial regions may be grouped under two broad types, namely
(i) traditional large-scale industrial regions which are thickly clustered in a few more developed countries.
(ii) high-technology large scale industrial regions which have diffused to less developed countries.
Industries based on Inputs/Raw Materials
On the basis of the raw materials used, the industries are classified as: (a) agro-based; (b) mineral based; (c) chemical based; (d) forest based: and (e) animal based.
(a) Agro based Industries
• Agro processing involves the processing of raw materials from the field and the farm into finished products for rural and urban markets. Products are sugar, pickles, fruits juices, spices, rubber, etc.
• Food Processing: It includes canning, producing cream, fruit processing and confectionery.
(b) Mineral based Industries
• Use minerals as a raw material.
• Some industries use ferrous metallic minerals which contain ferrous (iron), such as iron and steel industries but some use non-ferrous metallic minerals, such as aluminium, copper and jewellery industries.
• Many industries use non-metallic minerals such as cement and pottery industries.
(c) Chemical based Industries
• Use natural chemical minerals. Example, mineral-oil (petroleum).
• Also based on raw materials obtained from wood and coal. Example, Synthetic fibre, plastic, etc.
(d) Forest based Raw Material using Industries
• Industries that use forests products like wood, bamboo and grass etc.
(e) Animal based Industries: Industries that use animal products such as leather, woollen textiles, ivory etc.
Industries Based On Output/Product
• Basic industry are the ones whose products are used as raw materials by other industries—like iron and steel industry supplies raw materials for machine tools industry.
• Consumer goods industries: Produce finished products which are directly consumed by the customers e.g. biscuits, TV, garments, etc.
Industries Based on their Ownership
• Public Sector: Owned and managed by the government. In India, there were a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
• Private Sector: Owned and managed by individual investors.
• Joint Sector: Managed by Joint Stock Companies or sometimes jointly by both the public and private sectors.
Traditional Large-Scale Industrial Regions
• These are based on heavy industries near coalfields and engaged in metal smelting heavy engineering or textiles.
• They are characterised by:
(a) High proportion of employment in manufacturing.
(b) High density housing with poor services
(c) Unattractive environment, for example, pollution, waste heaps, and so on.
(d) Problems of unemployment, emigration and closure of factories.
The Ruhr Coal-field, Germany
• It was one of a major industrial region of Europe but as the cold of demand decline, the industry started shrinking. Even after iron was exhausted it functioned based on imported ore.
• This region is responsible for 80% of Germany’s total steel production.
• Changes in the industrial structure have led to the decay of some areas, and there are problems of industrial waste and pollution.
• The future prosperity of the Ruhr is based on the new industries like the huge Opel car assembly plant, new chemical plants, universities. Out- of-town shopping centres have appeared resulting in a ‘New Ruhr’ landscape.
Iron and Steel Industry
• The iron and steel industry is called a basic industry because it provides raw material for other industries such as machine tools used for further production.
• The large integrated steel industry is traditionally located close to the sources of raw materials – iron ore, coal, manganese and limestone – or at places where these could be easily brought, e.g. near ports.
• Mini steel mills are less expensive to build and operate and can be located near markets because of the abundance of scrap metal, which is the main input.
• The industry is concentrated in the advanced countries of North America, Europe and Asia.
→ In U.S.A, most of the production comes from the north Appalachian region (Pittsburgh), Great Lake region (Chicago-Gary, Erie, Cleveland, Lorain, Buffalo and Duluth) and the Atlantic Coast (Sparrows Point and Morisville).
→ In Europe, U.K., Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourgh, the Netherlands and Russia are the leading producers.
→ In Asia, the important centres include Nagasaki and Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan; Shanghai, Tienstin and Wuhan in China; and Jamshedpur, Kulti-Burnpur, Durgapur, Rourkela, Bhilai, Bokaro, Salem, Visakhapatnam and Bhadravati in India.
Cotton Textile Industry
• Cotton textile industry has three sub-sectors i.e. handloom, powerloom and mill sectors.
• Handloom sector is labour-intensive and provides employment to semi-skilled workers which requires small capital investment.
• The powerloom sector introduces machines and becomes less labour intensive and the volume of production increases.
• Mill sector is highly capital intensive and produces fine clothes in bulk.
• India, China, U.S.A, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt produce more than half of the world’s raw cotton.
• The U.K, NW European countries and Japan also produce cotton textile made from imported yarn.
Concept of High Technology Industry
• High technology, or simply high-tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing activities.
• It is best understood as the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character.
• White collar (professionals) highly skilled, make up the workforce. Robotics, CAD manufacturing and constant R&D chemical and pharma products are examples of high tech industries.
• Neatly spaced, low modern, dispersed office–plant-cab buildings mark the hitech industrial landscape. Planned business parks are examples.
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History – Themes
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Science – Contemporary World Politics |
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– Politics
in India since Independence |
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Geography – Indian
People and Economy |
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– Fundamental of Human Geography |
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Chapter 1: - Population: Distribution, Density, Growth
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Chapter 12: - Geographical Perspective on Selected
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