Class 12 Geography Notes Chapter 6 (Secondary activities) – Fundamentals of Indian Geography Book

Alright, let's get started with our detailed discussion on Chapter 6: Secondary Activities. This chapter is crucial as it deals with the transformation of raw materials into finished goods, adding significant value and driving economic development. Pay close attention, as these concepts frequently appear in government exams.

Chapter 6: Secondary Activities - Detailed Notes

1. Introduction to Secondary Activities:

• Definition: Secondary activities involve the processing of natural resources (obtained from primary activities) or semi-finished goods to create finished, usable products. This process adds value to the raw materials.
• Core Concept: Manufacturing is the most prominent secondary activity. It can range from simple handicraft production to complex, high-technology assembly lines.
• Significance: These activities are vital for economic growth, employment generation, and raising living standards. They transform resources into wealth.

2. Characteristics of Modern Large-Scale Manufacturing:

Modern manufacturing differs significantly from earlier forms. Key characteristics include:

• Specialisation of Skills/Methods of Production: Workers perform a specific task repeatedly (assembly line concept), leading to efficiency and increased production (though potentially monotonous work).
• Mechanisation: Use of machines and automation to perform tasks, increasing speed, precision, and output volume while reducing reliance on human labour for strenuous tasks.
• Technological Innovation: Continuous research and development (R&D) lead to new products, improved processes, reduced waste, enhanced quality control, and solutions to pollution.
• Organisational Structure and Stratification: Complex structures involving division of labour, management hierarchies, clear roles, and responsibilities are necessary to manage large operations.
• Uneven Geographic Distribution: Manufacturing industries are not evenly spread globally. They tend to concentrate in specific regions due to favourable factors, leading to economic disparities.
• Access to Market: Proximity to markets is crucial for reducing transport costs, understanding consumer needs, and ensuring timely delivery, especially for perishable or bulky goods.
• Access to Labour: Availability of skilled and semi-skilled labour at competitive wages is essential.
• Access to Energy: Industries, especially heavy industries, require an uninterrupted and affordable power supply.
• Access to Transportation and Communication: Efficient transport (road, rail, water, air) is needed for moving raw materials and finished goods. Good communication networks are vital for coordination.
• Government Policy: Favourable policies (tax incentives, subsidies, infrastructure development, stable political environment) attract industries.
• Agglomeration Economies/Linkages between Industries: Industries often cluster together to benefit from shared infrastructure, services, labour pool, and inter-industry linkages (e.g., an automobile plant attracts component suppliers).

3. Classification of Manufacturing Industries:

Industries can be classified based on various criteria:

• (a) Based on Size:

  • Household Industries (Cottage Manufacturing): Smallest unit, using local raw materials, simple tools, family labour. Products often consumed locally or sold in nearby markets (e.g., pottery, weaving, food processing at home). Capital investment is minimal.
  • Small-Scale Manufacturing: Uses power-driven machines, employs hired labour (outside the household), uses local or imported raw materials. Provides employment and caters to local/regional markets (e.g., furniture making, small engineering workshops).
  • Large-Scale Manufacturing: Huge capital investment, advanced machinery, vast factories, specialised workers, mass production. Products sold in national and international markets (e.g., iron and steel plants, automobile manufacturing, petrochemicals).

• (b) Based on Inputs/Raw Materials:

  • Agro-based Industries: Process agricultural produce (e.g., sugar, textiles (cotton, jute), food processing, vegetable oils, beverages (tea, coffee)).
  • Mineral-based Industries: Use minerals as raw materials.
    • Ferrous: Iron and Steel industry.
    • Non-ferrous: Aluminium, Copper smelting.
    • Non-metallic: Cement, Pottery.
  • Chemical-based Industries: Use natural minerals (e.g., salt, sulphur, potash) or synthetically produced chemicals (e.g., petrochemicals used for plastics, synthetic fibres, synthetic rubber).
  • Forest-based Industries: Use forest products (e.g., timber for furniture, paper industry, lac industry).
  • Animal-based Industries: Use animal products (e.g., leather goods, woollen textiles, dairy products - though often overlaps with agro-based).

• (c) Based on Output/Product:

  • Basic Industries: Produce raw materials used by other industries (e.g., Iron and Steel industry - its products are used to make machinery, tools etc.). Also known as Key Industries.
  • Consumer Goods Industries: Produce goods directly consumed by people (e.g., textiles, electronics, food products, automobiles).

• (d) Based on Ownership:

  • Public Sector Industries: Owned and operated by the government (e.g., BHEL, SAIL in India). Often focused on strategic sectors or public welfare.
  • Private Sector Industries: Owned and managed by individuals or groups of individuals (e.g., TISCO, Reliance Industries). Driven primarily by profit motive.
  • Joint Sector Industries: Managed jointly by the government and private entities (e.g., Maruti Udyog Ltd. was initially a joint venture). Combines public accountability with private efficiency.

4. Factors Influencing Industrial Location:

The decision of where to locate an industry depends on a complex interplay of factors. Their relative importance has changed over time with technological advancements.

• Access to Raw Materials: Crucial, especially for weight-losing industries (where raw material is heavier/bulkier than the final product, e.g., sugar mills, steel plants) which locate near sources. Perishable raw materials also necessitate proximity (e.g., fruit processing).
• Power/Energy: Industries needing large amounts of power (like Aluminium smelting) often locate near power sources (hydroelectric plants, coal fields).
• Labour: Availability of skilled, unskilled, or specialised labour at appropriate costs influences location.
• Transportation: Efficient and cheap transport is vital for moving raw materials to the factory and finished goods to the market. Cost and mode of transport are key considerations.
• Market: Proximity to markets is important for reducing distribution costs, especially for bulky or perishable goods, and for understanding consumer preferences.
• Capital: Availability of finance for setting up and running industries is essential. Banking and financial institutions play a key role.
• Government Policies: Governments can influence location through zoning regulations, tax incentives, subsidies, infrastructure development, and trade policies.
• Agglomeration Economies: Benefits derived from industries clustering together (shared infrastructure, labour pool, services, inter-firm linkages).

5. Footloose Industries:

• Definition: Industries that are not tied to a specific location based on raw materials, energy, or market. They often produce lightweight, high-value products.
• Characteristics: Depend more on component parts (which can be transported easily), employ a skilled workforce, often located in clean environments, and rely heavily on communication and transportation networks.
• Examples: Electronics, software development, diamond processing.

6. Concept of High Technology Industry (Technopoles):

• Definition: The latest generation of manufacturing, focusing on intensive Research and Development (R&D), highly skilled workers (scientists, engineers), advanced technology, and clean, modern infrastructure.
• Characteristics: Often located in planned business parks or "technopoles" near universities or research centres. Emphasis on quality control, innovation, and information technology.
• Examples: Silicon Valley (USA), Silicon Forest (Seattle region, USA).

7. Traditional Large-Scale Industrial Regions:

• These regions developed based on heavy industries, often coal-based. Many are now declining or restructuring.
• Characteristics: High density of factories, often located near coal fields, high proportion of employment in manufacturing, often associated with pollution and urban decay ("Rust Belts").
• Examples:
  • The Ruhr Coalfield, Germany: Historically based on coal and steel, now diversifying.
  • Appalachian Region (USA): Traditional coal, iron, and steel area.
  • Great Lakes Region (USA/Canada): Major manufacturing belt (automobiles, steel).

8. Key Industries in Detail:

• (a) The Iron and Steel Industry:

  • Type: Basic, heavy industry. Provides raw material for other industries.
  • Location Factors: Traditionally near sources of raw materials – Iron Ore, Coking Coal, Limestone, and Manganese (all are bulky/weight-losing). Access to water is also crucial. Proximity to markets is increasingly important. Coastal locations are favoured for access to imported raw materials and export markets (e.g., Japan).
  • Distribution: Major producers include China, Japan, USA, India, Russia, South Korea. Key regions include North Appalachian (Pittsburgh), Great Lakes, Ruhr Valley, North East China, Southern Brazil.

• (b) The Cotton Textile Industry:

  • History: One of the oldest industries, mechanised during the Industrial Revolution.
  • Types: Handloom (labour-intensive, traditional), Powerloom (uses machines, decentralised), Mill Sector (highly capital-intensive, large scale).
  • Location Factors: Initially depended on raw cotton availability, humid climate (less important now due to artificial humidifiers), labour, power, and market. It's a relatively 'footloose' industry compared to steel, as cotton is lightweight and non-perishable. Market access and cheap labour are now very significant factors.
  • Distribution: Major producers include China, India, USA, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt. Labour costs have led to shifts in production towards less developed countries.

9. Conclusion:

Secondary activities are dynamic and form the backbone of modern economies. Their location, structure, and nature are constantly evolving due to technological advancements, changing global economic conditions, and government policies. Understanding these activities is key to comprehending patterns of economic development and global trade.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):

1. Which of the following activities involves the transformation of raw materials into finished goods of higher value?
   (a) Primary Activities
   (b) Secondary Activities
   (c) Tertiary Activities
   (d) Quaternary Activities

2. Modern large-scale manufacturing is characterized by:
   (a) Simple hand tools and family labour
   (b) Production mainly for local consumption
   (c) Specialisation of skills and mechanisation
   (d) Low capital investment and small production units

3. Industries classified based on raw materials like cotton, jute, and sugar are known as:
   (a) Mineral-based industries
   (b) Forest-based industries
   (c) Chemical-based industries
   (d) Agro-based industries

4. An industry that produces raw materials primarily for other industries to use is called a:
   (a) Consumer Goods Industry
   (b) Footloose Industry
   (c) Basic Industry
   (d) Household Industry

5. Which factor's importance for industrial location has significantly decreased due to technological advancements like artificial humidifiers?
   (a) Access to Raw Materials
   (b) Access to Markets
   (c) Climatic conditions (e.g., humidity for cotton textiles)
   (d) Access to Power

6. Industries like electronics and software development, which are not heavily dependent on specific raw material locations, are termed:
   (a) Heavy Industries
   (b) Agro-based Industries
   (c) Footloose Industries
   (d) Public Sector Industries

7. The Ruhr region in Germany is historically famous for which type of industrial activity?
   (a) Cotton Textiles
   (b) High-Technology Parks
   (c) Coal Mining and Iron & Steel Production
   (d) Petrochemicals

8. Which set of raw materials is crucial for the traditional location of Iron and Steel plants?
   (a) Cotton, Water, Labour
   (b) Iron Ore, Coking Coal, Limestone
   (c) Bauxite, Electricity, Market
   (d) Timber, Chemicals, Water

9. High-technology industrial clusters often located near universities and research centres are known as:
   (a) Rust Belts
   (b) Technopoles
   (c) Basic Industrial Zones
   (d) Cottage Industry Hubs

10. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of cottage or household industries?
    (a) Use of local raw materials
    (b) Heavy capital investment and mass production
    (c) Production with simple tools
    (d) Labour usually provided by family members

Answer Key:

1. (b)
2. (c)
3. (d)
4. (c)
5. (c)
6. (c)
7. (c)
8. (b)
9. (b)
10. (b)

Study these notes thoroughly. Focus on the classifications, location factors, and the characteristics of different types of industries. Understanding the examples provided in the textbook is also very important. Good luck with your preparation!