The Agro-based Industries In

India (With Maps)

Article shared by DK Sinha

This group of industries depends on the raw material produced by the

agricultural sector. The products comprise mostly consumer goods. Agrobased industry is important from the point of view of contribution to industrial
production and employment generation. A survey of various agro- based
industries is given below.

1. Textile Industry:
The textile industry plays predominant presence in the Indian economy. It is
the only industry which is self-reliant, from raw material to the highest value
added products, viz., garments/made-ups.

A. Cotton Textiles:
Cotton accounts for a major portion of the total fabric produced. The first
successful cotton textile mill was set up at Mumbai by Parsi entrepreneurs.
The following factors favoured the development of cotton textiles
industry at and around Mumbai:
1. Location of port facilitated import of capital goods, chemicals, etc., and the
export of finished goods.
2. Mumbai got progressively well connected through rail and road links with
cotton growing areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra in the interior.
3. The humid coastal climate favoured textile- making without breaking the
thread.

4. Development of chemical industry around Mumbai made available the

necessary inputs.
5. Availability of capital and financial resources helped the industry grow.
6. Cheap labour was available for the industry.
Ahmadabad grew as another cotton textile centre. The size of cotton mills is
small here, but they produce high quality goods. The raw materials for the
industry come from cotton growing areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Since cotton industry is not a weight losing industry, it does not make much
difference if either raw material or the finished product is transported. Hence,
the industry tends to be located at sites with favourable transport links with the
market. The most notable feature of the distribution of cotton textiles industry
is that even within a state, it tends to get localised within particular areas and
regions, to the complete seclusion of others.
Geographical Distribution:
The major centres of cotton textiles production are given below state wise and
are shown in Fig. 16.1. It will be noticed that they are generally in cotton
growing regions.

1
. Andhra Pradesh:
Dharmavaram, Venkatagiri, Anantapur, Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur
are important centres.

2. Maharashtra:
With Mumbai as the focal point, the industry has spread to Sholapur,
Kolhapur, Pune, Jalgaon, Akola, Sangli and Nagpur.
3. Gujarat:
Besides Ahmedabad, other cotton textiles centres are Surat, Vadodara,
Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Nadiad, Porbandar, Rajkot and Navsari.
4. Tamil Nadu:
Coimbatore, Tirupur, (which has some of Asias largest garment manufacturing
units), Chennai, Tirunelvelli, Madurai, Tuticorin, Salem, Virudhnagar and
Pollachi are the major cotton textile industry centres.
5. Karnataka:
Bengaluru and its hinterland have attracted cotton textiles industry. Hassan,
Harihar, Mangalore and Belgaum are other centres.
6. Uttar Pradesh:
The state has the advantage of a large home market, cheap and efficient
labour, excellent transportation facilities and of the homegrown raw material
from Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The major cotton textiles producing
centres in Uttar Pradesh are Kanpur, Etawah, Modinagar, Moradabad,
Bareiley, Hathras, Agra, Meerut and Varanasi.
7. Madhya Pradesh:
Indore, Gwalior, Mandsaur, Dewas, Ujjain, Nagda, Bhopal, Jabalpur and
Rajnandgaon.
8. Rajasthan:

Kota,

Jaipur,

Sriganganagar,

Bhilwada,

Bhavanimandi,

Udaipur

and

Kishengarh.
9. West Bengal:
Kolkata, Howrah, Serampore, Shyamnagar, Murshidabad and Saikia.
The Indian cotton textiles industry has a complex three-tier structure:
1. Handspun and hand woven khadi sector,
2. Intermediate, labour intensive sector of handlooms and powerlooms,
3. Mill sector, which is large scale, capital intensive and sophisticated.
The bulk of the cotton cloth comes from handloom and powerloom sector. The
cotton textiles industry in India is the single largest organised industry. It gives
employment to a large number of workers and supports a number of ancillary
industries. Partition had created problems for supply of raw material, because
22 per cent of the cotton growing area went to Pakistan. This deficit was
gradually made up through imports and by expansion of area under long
staple cotton.
One-third of the looms in the country are in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Three-fourths of the looms produce
cotton, while the rest produce silk, staple fibre, wool, composite fabric, artificial
silk and synthetic fabrics.
Problems of Cotton Textiles Industry:
1. There is shortage of raw material, particularly of long staple cotton.

2. The industry faces constant threats of sickness and consequent closure, on

account of (i) uncertainty of raw material, (ii) low productivity of machine and
labour; (iii) increasing competition from power-loom sector; (iv) lack of
modernisation; (v) management problems.
3. A majority of the spindles and looms are of the olden type. India has the
lowest percentage in the world of automatic looms to total loomage.
4. There is a danger of loss of foreign markets due to (i) continued increase in
cost of production, (ii) development of cotton textiles industry in other
developing countries, (iii) protectionist policies abroad.
5. Inadequacy of power and machinery is another problem of the industry.
The increase in number of closed mills is indicative of a structural
transformation in the textiles sector. The weaving mills in the organised sector
are losing ground to the decentralised sector or the powerlooms, on account
of greater cost-effectiveness of the latter.

B. Woollen Textiles:
The first woollen textiles mill was set up in 1876 at Kanpur, because Kanpur
was the principal depot for the British Indian Army. But the industry did not
flourish because of a short winter and long summer in India leading to an
inadequate demand. Also, the textiles produced were of poor quality. After
independence, there was rapid development of the industry mainly as an
export oriented industry.
The woollen textiles industry in India is partly a cottage industry and partly a
factory industry.

The organised sector has three sub-sectors:

(i) Woollen (superior yarn for fabrics and hosiery);
(ii) Worsted (medium quality goodsblankets, tweeds, suitings, etc.);
(iii) Shoddy (for blankets).
Geographical Spread Most of the woollen textiles mills are situated in Punjab
along the Amritsar-Gurdaspur-Ludhiana belt, and at Patiala and Dhariwal (Fig.
16.2). The concentration in Punjab is due to its proximity to the high demand
region in northern India in general and the hilly areas in particular.
Also, because Punjab is close to the sheep-rearing regions of Jammu and
Kashmir (where the Bakerwals are associated with sheep-rearing) and
Himachal Pradesh (where the Gaddis rear sheep). A statewise survey of other
centres in the country is given below.

Uttar Pradesh:
Kanpur, Agra, Mirzapur
Rajasthan:
Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner
Madhya Pradesh:
Gwalior Gujarat Jamnagar, Ahmeda- bad, Vadodara

Maharashtra:
Mumbai Karnataka Bengaluru Jammu and Kashmir The state is a large
producer of handloom woollen goods (tweeds, carpets) and manufacturing is
centred around Srinagar.
Problems of the Industry:
1. The size of the mills is small and productivity is low.
2. Nearly half the capacity remains idle for want of adequate raw-wool. Also,
the wool is of poor quality.
3. Obsolete technology is still in use.
4. There is stiff competition from terrywool and synthetic yarn- wool mix items.

C. Silk Textiles:
Sericulture is a labour- intensive industry. It provides employment to nearly 55
lakh people, most of them being small and marginal farmers, or working in tiny
and household industry mainly in the hand reeling and hand weaving sections.
This sector of the Indian industry got great patronage during the medieval
period. The famous Silk Route passed through India, and Indian silk found
markets worldwide. India is the second largest producer of natural silk, after
China, and is the only country producing all varieties of natural silk. The
demand for Indian silk dress materials and scarves comes from the USA.
Europe, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
However, the competition from Japan, China and Italy has resulted in
shrinking markets, and the problem has been further compounded by

introduction of artificial silk and synthetic fibres, which provide stiff

competition, as they are cheaper and easy to maintain.
Geographical Spread Karnataka produces most of the silk in the country.
Major silk producing centres in the state are Tumkur, Dodballapur, Bengaluru
and Mysore (Fig. 16.3). Other silk producing states and centres therein, are as
follows.

Tamil Nadu:

Dharmapuri, Salem, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli

Andhra Pradesh:
Karimnagar, Warangal, Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Ongole, Adilabad
Maharashtra:
Chandrapur
Chhattisgarh:
Raigarh
Uttar Pradesh:
Varanasi, Mirzapur
Bihar:
Katihar, Bhagalpur Jharkhand Ranchi
West Bengal:
Malda, Murshidabad, Bankura Assam Assam has received a geographical
indication for the production of muga silk. Sualkuchi in the Kamrup district is
considered the silk village of Assam. Dibrugarh, Sibsagar and Jorhat are other
famous silk centres.
Kashmir Silk weaving is an important industry in and around Srinagar. The
Kashmiri silk is known for its fine texture.

D. Synthetic Textiles:
Although weaving of synthetic fibres began around 1920, the first rayon plant
was set up at Rayonpuram, Ernakulam, in Kerala. The raw materials used in

manufacturing of synthetic textiles, include cellulose pulp which produces

viscose Or acetate rayon yarns, and petrochemicals such as naphtha,
caprolactum which produce nylon, polyester, terelene and acrylic yarns.
The handlooms and the powerlooms were the first to use synthetic yarn;
weaving mills came later. Now, most of the synthetic fibre is produced by
cotton weaving mills. During the last four decades or so, the capacity and
production of synthetic textiles industry has gone up by more than 100 times.
With the growth of petrochemicals, more raw material is available and there is
more scope for growth in production. Also, because of paucity of raw cotton,
the mills are going in for blended materials. But, high prices of synthetic fibres
are a problem.
Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Surat, Kolkata, Amritsar and Gwalior are the
centres of this industry.

E. Jute textiles:
The first modern jute mill was set up at Rishra near Kolkata in 1855. It was
powerloomed in 1859 and included both spinning and weaving. After
independence, this sector made rapid progress as an export-oriented industry.
But a peculiar problem arose due to the partition of the country, 80 per cent of
the jute growing areas went to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), while all the
mills remained in India. Imports from Bangladesh were not possible due to
political reasons. This problem was overcome to a large extent by extending
the area in India under jute and mesta.
The jute products include gunny bags, canvas, pack sheets, jute webs,
hessians, carpets, cordage and twines. Now, jute is also being used, in one

form or the other, in plastic furniture, insulation, bleached fibres to blend with
wool, and is being mixed with cotton to make carpets and blankets.
The jute sector has been playing an important role in the economy of the
country in general and the eastern region in particular. The socio-economic
significance of the jute sector stems not merely from the contribution it makes
to the national exchequer as earnings from exports and through taxes and
levies, but also from the sizeable employment it provides in the agricultural
and industrial sectors.
Besides, providing a livelihood to millions of farmers, most of them small and
marginal, and employment to some 2 lakh workers, the jute sector also
provides indirect employment to a considerable number of people. India tops
in production of raw jute and jute goods and second in export of jute goods.
Geographical Location:
Nearly 90 per cent of the manufacturing capacity is located in a narrow belt
about 100 km long and 3 km wide along river Hooghly (Fig. 16.4). This
concentration in the Hooghly region is because of the following reasons.

(i) Soil and agronomic conditions suit jute cultivation here.

(ii) The East India Companys initial efforts in and around Kolkata were of
great advantage for the industry.
(iii) This belt is well connected through waterways and rail with the jute
growing areas.
(iv) There is ample availability of water for jute processing.
(v) There is close proximity to coal producing areas of Bihar and Orissa. Also,
power is readily available from the Damodar Valley Corporation.
(vi) The presence of the port and a humid climate favoured the industry.
Import of machinery and export of finished products were easy.
(vii) Capital and financial services were easily available.
(viii) Ready market in the vicinity promoted sales.
(ix) Cheap labour was easily available.
In the recent past, there has been a slight dispersal of the industry to Uttar
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh because of the increasing demand for gunny
bags in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, due to rapid development of sugar and
cement industry, and because of availability of local fibres like mesta and
Bimlipatlan jute.
Problems of the Industry:
1. The industry is facing stiff competition from modern packing material from
the West, bulk handling capacities developed in the West, and development of

jute substitutes like sisal (East Africa), caroa (Brazil), linseed fibre (Russia and
Argentina) and the Manila hemp.
2. Newly established factories and improved machines in Bangladesh are
posing a tough competition.
3. There is shortage of raw material. To overcome this problem, acreage is
being expanded in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. New hybrid
varieties like JRO-632, JRO-753 are being grown.
4. Obsolete machinery, shortage of power and industrial sickness affect
production.
Thus, what is required is modernisation and diversification of production,
reduction of costs and introduction of new products.

2. Sugar Industry:
Sugar production is known in India since ancient times, but modern sugar
industry in the country developed in first decade of the twentieth century.
Indian sugar industry is the second largest agro- based industry in India.
The basic raw material is sugarcane, which has some specific qualities:
(i) It is a weight losing raw material;
(ii) It cannot be stored for long, because in that case, it loses the sucrose
content;
(iii) It cannot be transported over long distances, because that results in
higher production costs and in drying up of sugarcane.

Because of these considerations, the sugar factories tend to be located near

the sugarcane cultivation area. And since the harvesting is done in a particular
season, the crushing is confined to a limited period, and the sugar factories
keep lying idle for the rest of the period. This restricts sugar production.

Geographical Distribution:

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu account for about 70 per cent of
the total production of sugar in the country. A survey of sugar producing
centres in India is given below.
Uttar Pradesh:
There are two beltsone in western Uttar Pradesh and the other in eastern
Uttar Pradesh. The western belt includes Meerut, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar,
Bijnor and Moradabad, and the eastern belt includes Gorakhpur, Deoria, Basti
and Gonda.
Bihar:
There is an extension of the eastern Uttar Pradesh belt, which includes
Darbhanga, Saran, Champaran and Muzaffarpur.
The reasons for concentration of sugar industry in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
are
(i) Fertile alluvial soil, rich in lime and potash;
(ii) Level topographysuitable for irrigation;
(iii) Abundant water for washing and processing;
(iv) Sugar industry is relatively independent of coal and electricity, because
bagasse is enough to run steam;
(v) Densely populated market in the surrounding regions, coupled with
excellent transport links;
(vi) Availability of cheap labour;

(vii) Cultivation is done in compact blocks, which ensures ready availability of

fresh cane to factories.
Maharashtra:
Nasik, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Sholapur are the centres well
integrated in the cooperative sector in terms of cultivation^ and sugar
factories.
Punjab:
Centres exist mainly in the eastern side, in Phagwara, Dhuri.
Karnataka:
Munirabad, Shimoga and Mandya are the main centres here.
Tamil Nadu:
In this state Nalikupuram, Pugulur, Coimbatore and Pandyarajpuram are
famous for producing sugar.
Andhra Pradesh:
Nizamabad, Medak, west and east Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Chittoor
produce sugar.
West Godavari, East Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, Bargarh, Rayagada,
,Shimoga,

Mandya

Chittoor,

Nalikupuram,

Pandyarajpuram .
Orissa:
Bargarh and Rayagada in Orissa produce sugar.
Madhya Pradesh:

Pugulur,

Coimbatore,

Sihor is the sugar-producing centre here.

Differences in Sugar Production in North India and Peninsular India:
1. Yields are higher in south India.
2. The southern sugarcane, being of the tropical variety, has more sucrose
content.
3. The crushing season is longer in the south, where it lasts from October to
May-June. In the north, it lasts from November to February.
In spite of the tropical climate, good irrigation and transportation facilities,
there is not overall comparable growth in the peninsula, because (i) other
cash crops are more lucrative, which include cotton, groundnut, tobacco,
coconut etc.; (ii) cost of production is higher in Maharashtra, because of high
irrigation rates and costly manuring practices; (iii) the peninsular sugarcane is
not grown in compact blocks, as in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Problems of Sugar Industry:

1. There is a paucity of good quality sugarcanethe Indian sugarcane has
low sucrose content and gives poor yields.
2. The high costs of production are due to (i) uneconomic nature of
production; (ii) short crushing season; (iii) heavy excise duties; (iv)
manipulation of stocks and hoarding, etc.
3. Small, uneconomic units with obsolete technology are still functioning.

3. Vegetable Oil Industry:

Vegetable oil is a major source of fat in Indian diet and a widely used cooking
medium. Vanaspati is hydrogenated vegetable oil. Different regions use
different raw materials for oil, depending on the technology used.
There are mainly three types of technologies used:

(i) Ghani:
This is used mainly in the rural areas and uses local materials like coconut (in
Kerala), groundnut (in Gujarat) and mustard (in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Rajasthan).

(ii) Intermediate:
Technology This is used by the factories located in towns, and uses regionspecific raw materials.

(iii) Sophisticated Technology:

This is used by units located in large towns. The acquisition of raw materials is
from a larger area and the units cater to a larger market.
The vegetable oil industry is widely scattered and the sizes of the units differ
from location to location. Maharashtra has the largest number of vanaspati
units, followed by Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.
New emerging raw materials for edible oil include sunflower, safflower,
soyabean, cottonseed, rice bran, etc.

4. Tea Industry:
Tea cultivation in India first started in the mid- 19th century in Darjeeling,
Assam and the Nilgiris. Nearly 98 per cent of the tea production comes from

Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Some tea is also
grown in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
The tea estates are generally set upon cleared hill slopes, while in Assam, tea
cultivation is done in the lowlands, above the flood level. The production of tea
has more than doubled since independence mainly through increase in yield
by improved varieties and optimum use of inputs.
The tea industry provides direct gainful employment to more than one million
workers mainly drawn from the backward and socially weaker sections of the
society. It is also a substantial foreign exchange earner and provides
significant contribution to the state and central exchequer. Tea plantations in
India are mainly located in rural, hill and backward areas of northeastern and
southern states.

5. Coffee Industry:
Coffee was first grown in Bababudan Hills in Karnataka during the 17th
century, but on a plantation scale, it was cultivated in Chikmaglur (Karnataka)
in 1826. Later, coffee cultivation was extended to Wynad, Shevaroy and the
Nilgiris.
Among the plantation crops, coffee has made significant contribution to the
Indian economy in the last few decades. Although India contributes only a
small percentage of the world production, Indian coffee has created a niche
for itself in the international market, particularly Indian robustas, which are
highly preferred for their good blending quality. Arabica coffee from India is
also well received in the international market.

More than half of the countrys coffee production comes from Karnataka, of
which 80 per cent comes from Coorg and Chikmagalur. Hasan is the third
largest producer in the state. In Kerala, coffee is produced in Wynad (Palghat
region), Kozhikode and Cannanore. In Tamil Nadu, coffee comes from the
Nilgiris, Annamalai (Coimbatore region) Shevaroy hills (Salem district), Palani
hills, Tirunelveli and Madurai. Small quantities come from Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh and the north-eastern states.

6. Leather Goods Industry:

The importance of this sector lies in wide dispersal, vast employment and
export potential. Hides and skins are the basic raw materials which come from
pelts of cattle and large animals and small ones like goat and sheep. India has
a large livestock population.
West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the largest producers of cattle hides and
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal of the goat skin. Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh also produce substantial quality hides. Major footwear production
centres in the country include Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai,
Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur.
Leather is a highly labour-oriented industry in India, and has been identified as
one of the major thrust areas for export. It is one of the traditional industries of
India spread over organised and unorganised sector. The small-scale, cottage
and artisan sector account for over 75 per cent of the total leather production.
India has traditionally a rich advantage in this industry both in terms of raw
material and skilled manpower. People employed in this sector are
predominantly from the minorities and disadvantaged sections of the society.

The leather industry has made significant strides during the 1990s and early
twentieth century.