Geography 3 Marks Question

Points of distinction between small scale manufacturing and large scale manufacturing:

• Small scale industries use local raw material, whereas large scale industries use variety of raw materials brought from far and near.
• Small scale industries use simple power driven machines, whereas large scale industries use advanced technology and work on assembly line production,
• Small scale industries use skilled and semi-skilled labour, whereas large scale industries use skilled labour.
• Small scale industries provide large scale employment and raise local purchasing power, whereas large scale industries provide employment with mass production and huge capital.

Secondary activities add values to natural resources by transforming raw materials into valuable products. Three examples are:

• Cotton in the ball has limited use but after it is transformed into yarn, becomes more valuable and can be used for making clothes and garments
• Iron ore can be used; directly from the mines, but after being converted into steel it gets its value and can be used for making many valuable machines, tools, etc.
• Most of the materials from the farm, forest, mine and the sea are processed into various valuable items.

Technological innovations through research and development strategy are an important aspect of modem manufacturing,

• It is essential for quality control,
• Technological innovations required for eliminating waste and inefficiency,
• In the modern days it is highly essential for combating pollution.

On the basis of ownership industries can be grouped into:

• Public Sector Industries,
• Private Sector Industries and
• Joint Sector Industries

Main features of each group are:

• Public Sector Industries are owned and ‘ managed by governments. In India, there are a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
• Private Sector Industries are owned by individual investors. These are managed by private organisations.
• Joint Sector Industries are managed by joint stock companies or sometimes the private and public sectors together establish and manage the industries.

High technology is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. It is the best understood as the application of intensive research and development efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character.
Characteristics of High tech Industry:

• They are neatly spaced, low, modern, dispersed, office plant lab buildings rather than massive assembly structures.
• Robotics on the assembly line computer aided design and manufacturing, electronic controls of smeting and refining processes.

Foot loose industries can be located in a wide variety of places. They are not dependent on any specific raw-material, weight losing or otherwise. They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere.

Manufacturing adds value to natural resources by transforming raw materials into finished goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets. It involves a full array of production from handicrafts to moulding iron and steel and stamping out plastic toys to assembling delicate computer components or space vehicles.

This is the latest generation of manufacturing industries. It merges the application of intensive research and development into the manufacturing of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character. Professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of the total workforce and outnumber the actual (blue collar workers).

Traditional large scale industrial regions are based on heavy industry, often located near coal-fields and engaged in metal smelting, heavy engineering, chemical manufacture or textile production. These industries are now known as smokestack industries. Traditional industrial regions can be recognized by:

• High proportion of employment in manufacturing industry. High-density housing, often of inferior type, and poor services. Unattractive environment, for example, pollution, waste heaps, and so on.
• Problems of unemployment, emigration and derelict land areas caused by closure of factories because of a worldwide fall in demand.

Based on ownership, industries are classified as:

• Public Sector Industries are owned and managed by government. In India, there were a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Socialist countries have many state owned industries. Mixed economies have both Public and Private sector enterprises.
• Private Sector Industries are owned by individual investors. These are managed by private organisations. In capitalist countries, industries are generally owned privately.
• Joint Sector Industries are managed by joint stock companies or sometimes the private and public sectors together establish and manage the industries.

Cotton textile industry has three sub¬sectors i.e. handloom, power loom and mill sectors.

• Hand loom sector is labour intensive and provides employment to semi skilled workers. It requires small capital investment. This sector involves spinning, weaving and finishing of the fabrics.
• The powerloom sector introduces machines and becomes less labour intensive and the volume of production increases.
• Cotton textile mill sector is highly capital intensive and produces fine clothes in bulk.

Footloose industries can be located in a wide variety of places. They are not dependent on any specific raw material, weight losing or otherwise. They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere. They produce in small quantity and also employ a small labour force. These are generally not polluting industries. The important factor in their location is accessibility by road network.

These 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. Traditionally, most of the steel was produced at large integrated plants, but mini mills are limited to just one-step process steel making and are gaining ground.

It has been a major industrial region of Europe for a long time. With time the demand for coal has declined as petrol, diesel, CNG, solar energy have replaced coal and therefore coal industry is shrinking but as iron and steel form the basis of industrial growth. The Ruhr region is responsible for 80% of Germany’s steel production.