Mentors Comments:
- Class 8 NCERT – Resources and development geography
- The question is based on the location factor of the raw material and its significance in deciding the location of the Steel and Heavy industry per se.
- In the intro, in brief, highlight the locations of coal-iron resources in India.
- In the main body, first, explain why the steel and iron industries were initially located in and around the raw material regions and now there has been a shift from such a trend.
- Discuss the causative factors of such a trend; transport factor, the use of heavy machines to transport etc.
- Explain that the capital, market and transport are the other factors influencing the localization of iron and steel industry.
- Conclude with the significance of development in general that has led to such a trend.
Answer:
Many important geographical factors are involved in the location of individual industries which are of relative significance. But besides such purely geographical factors influencing industrial location, there are factors of historical, human, political and economic nature which are now tending to surpass the force of geographical advantages.
Despite the depletion of coal-iron resources, the steel and heavy engineering industries don’t frequently shift their location due to the following reasons:
-
- Capital:
- It takes a lot of time and money to build a factory and equip it with the necessary machines. This discourages the entrepreneur from shifting to a new location, especially for the steel industry, heavy engineering works, petrochemical refineries.
- It is usually cheaper to modernize or expand an existing location rather than move to a new site.
- For example, as the cotton industry of Lakeshire declined, they converted textile mills into light engineering goods factories, rather than moving to a different location.
- Labour:
- As time progressed, area near coal fields developed into industrial cities. There is already a large pool of skilled and experienced workers, support services. New area may not have the same labour supply
- Capital:
- Technology and alternative sources of fuel:
-
- Today, coal is not the only source of energy. We’ve natural gas, hydel electricity even nuclear power.
- With the introduction of new technologies in steel production, there is no need a massive amount of coking coal.
- Transportation:
- The railroad, transport and communication infrastructure = well-developed in the old area. Therefore, even if the local raw material supply is exhausted, they can be imported from other areas.
- Market:
- Iron and steel industries provide raw material to many secondary manufacturing industries such as automobile, heavy engineering etc.
- If the primary industries moved to a new location but the corresponding Customers like automobile / heavy engineering industries don’t change location, then it will affect the profit level.
-
- Government policies:
- The industrialists in old area usually have deep pockets and political connections so they lobby to the government for favourable protectionist policies and large labour population in the old area which acts a vote bank.
- For example, Pittsburgh is not a coastal city and nearby coal-iron ore reserves are getting depleted and it was becoming more expensive to produce steel using imported iron-ore.
- But then Pittsburgh industrialists lobbied, and US government made steel-pricing policies like “Multiple Basing system”, “Pittsburgh plus” etc. (in the early 1900s).
The other raw materials besides iron ore and coking coal, essential for iron and steel industry are limestone, dolomite, manganese and fire clay. All these raw materials are gross (weight losing), therefore, the best location for the iron and steel plants is near the source of raw materials. In India, there is a crescent-shaped region comprising parts of Chhattisgarh, Northern Odisha, Jharkhand and western West Bengal, which is extremely rich in high-grade iron ore, good quality coking coal and other supplementing raw materials.
payment id
MOJO9610000D44695722 kindly review the uploaded answers sir
@Ganesh DV
Please do not upload all the answers in a single page. We have a performance matrix on the website which takes the marks given in each question automatically.
There is an issue with the structure of the answer but on that later.
In terms of the content, 2nd part of the answer is up to the mark.
The coverage there is decent with various apt talking points.
They are discussed with fine explanation.
The 1st part where you discussed the reasons behind the location of the steel and heavy industries needs more talking points because that is the main demand of the question. Also, it is a 15 mark question hence there has to be more content there.
You can add more dimensions like issue of capital, government policies, technology etc. Read the model answer for these talking points.
The discussion done in the subheading of analysis should be shifted in the 1st part of the answer. That will improve your structure. That will give a background to your main discussion.
Also, use a better subheading. Subheadings like “analysis” are not suited for the demand of the UPSC answers. They lack weight plus they feel like a breakage to your discussion because in the rest of the answer you have used relevant subheadings aligned to the demand of the question but here we have a single word subheading. A better subheading would be “factors behind the location of steel and heavy industries in the early days:”
Examples quoted by you in the answer are relevant and very good.
Highlight your subheadings more prominently so that they do not get lost in the discussion.
The language in the answer is fine.
Start writing answers on the UPSC Mains sample answer sheets to get a better hold of the space that UPSC gives.
Please upload the rest of the answers under their respective questions and do not upload a single file everywhere.
Even after local coal-iron resources are depleted, the steel and heavy engineering industries do not frequently shift their location, why? Analyse. (15 Marks)
The steel and heavy engineering industries require a significant amount of capital investment and infrastructure, which makes it difficult for them to frequently shift their location. Once established, these industries create a network of suppliers and customers, which also makes it challenging to relocate.
One of the main reasons why the steel and heavy engineering industries do not frequently shift their location is because of the high cost of establishing a new plant or factory. These industries require massive amounts of capital investment to purchase equipment, build infrastructure, and train employees. Moving a plant or factory to a new location would require a similar level of investment, which many companies are reluctant to make.
Furthermore, these industries require specialized infrastructure such as ports, railroads, and highways to transport raw materials and finished products. These infrastructures take years to build and develop, making it difficult for companies to relocate to a new location with similar infrastructure. Moreover, shifting to a new location may result in a loss of the existing network of suppliers and customers, which may take years to reestablish.
Another reason why steel and heavy engineering industries do not frequently shift their location is that they create a significant impact on the local economy. These industries provide direct and indirect employment opportunities to thousands of people, contribute to the tax revenue of the region, and stimulate the growth of related industries such as construction and transportation. The closure or relocation of a plant or factory can result in significant job losses, negatively impacting the local economy.
Finally, the availability of raw materials is another crucial factor that influences the location of steel and heavy engineering industries. Once established, these industries develop long-term relationships with local suppliers of raw materials such as coal and iron ore. These relationships are difficult to replicate in a new location, making it challenging for companies to relocate.
In conclusion, the steel and heavy engineering industries do not frequently shift their location, even after the depletion of local coal and iron resources, due to the significant investment and infrastructure required to establish these industries, the impact on the local economy, and the availability of raw materials. These factors create a network of suppliers and customers that make it challenging to relocate, even after the depletion of local resources.