1. Tick (✔) the correct option.
a. Which industry is known as the feeder industry?
i. Information technology industry
ii. Cost of the industry
iii. Iron and steel industry
iv. Sugar industry
Answer: iii. Iron and steel industry
b. There are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark your answer as per the codes provided below:
Assertion (A): The iron and steel industry is commonly referred to as the backbone of modern industry.
Reason (R): The Iron and steel industry plays essential role in providing raw materials and supporting infrastructure development.
i. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
ii. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
iii. A is true, but R is false.
iv. A is false, but R is true.
Answer: i. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
c. Read the information given. Which industry is most suitable to set up in the region with the following conditions?
a. Highly educated and skilled labour
b. Favourable state and central government policies
c. Good infrastructure
i. Tea industry
ii. Furniture industry
iii. Sugar industry
iv. Information technology industry
Answer: iv. Information technology industry
2. Answer the following questions in 10 to 20 words.
a. List the major industrial regions of India.
Answer: Mumbai-Pune, Hugli, Bengaluru-Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chotanagpur, Vishakhapatnam-Guntur, and Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut.
b. What are the primary industries in the Chotanagpur Industrial Region?
Answer: Iron and steel, heavy engineering, and mining industries.
c. Name any two major iron and steel producing regions of India.
Answer: Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and Rourkela (Odisha).
3. Answer the following questions in 50 to 70 words.
a. Define industrial regions. Name four major industrial regions of the world.
Answer: Industrial regions are geographical areas with high concentration of industries, supported by necessary infrastructure and resources. Four major global industrial regions are:
- Eastern North America (Great Lakes region)
- Western Europe (Rhine-Ruhr region)
- Eastern Asia (Japan and China)
- Eastern Europe
b. ‘The steel industry in Pittsburgh enjoys locational advantages.’ – Justify the given statement.
Answer: Pittsburgh has excellent locational advantages for steel industry due to proximity to raw materials (coal from Appalachians, iron ore from Great Lakes), good transportation via rivers and railways, availability of skilled labor, and access to large markets in the industrial Midwest.
c. What are the locational advantages enjoyed by the iron and steel industry at Jamshedpur?
Answer: Jamshedpur enjoys locational advantages including proximity to iron ore, coal and manganese mines, good railway connectivity, availability of water from Subarnarekha River, and skilled labor. The region’s established infrastructure and market access further support steel production.
d. What is the reason behind Bengaluru being called the ‘Silicon Valley of India’?
Answer: Bengaluru is called ‘Silicon Valley of India’ due to its high concentration of IT companies, software parks, research institutions, and educational centers. The city’s pleasant climate, skilled workforce, and supportive government policies have made it India’s premier technology hub.
4. Give reasons.
a. Industries are not evenly spread out among continents.
Answer: Industries concentrate in regions with favorable factors like raw material availability, good transportation, skilled labor, market access, and government policies. These factors vary geographically, causing uneven industrial distribution.
b. Silicon Valley, located around Palo Alto in California, is renowned as the technological hub of the United States.
Answer: Silicon Valley benefits from proximity to prestigious universities (Stanford, UC Berkeley), venture capital availability, skilled workforce, collaborative ecosystem, and supportive infrastructure, making it ideal for technology innovation and startups.
5. Think Ahead [HOTS]
Imagine you are a 21st-century Indian business entrepreneur planning to establish an information technology industry in an ideal location. What key challenges do you anticipate, and how do you intend to overcome them?
Answer: Key challenges include intense competition for skilled talent, high operational costs, infrastructure limitations, and rapid technological changes. I would overcome these by:
- Establishing partnerships with engineering colleges for talent pipeline
- Choosing a Tier-2 city with good connectivity but lower costs
- Investing in continuous employee training and R&D
- Leveraging government incentives for IT parks and startups
6. Source-based Question.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions.
The key components or inputs essential for the growth and success of the iron and steel industry include raw materials such as iron ore, coal, limestone, and manganese. Additionally, labour, capital, land, electricity, water, and necessary infrastructure play crucial roles. The process of converting iron ore into steel involves several steps: smelting the ore in a blast furnace, refining it, and finally obtaining steel as the end product.
a. What are the primary raw materials needed in the production of iron and steel?
Answer: Iron ore, coal, limestone, and manganese.
b. What are the main steps involved in converting iron ore into steel?
Answer: Smelting the ore in a blast furnace, refining it, and obtaining steel as the final product.
c. What role does labour, capital, land, electricity, water, and infrastructure play in the iron and steel industry?
Answer: These are essential supporting inputs – labor operates plants, capital funds operations, land provides space, electricity powers machinery, water cools processes, and infrastructure enables transportation and connectivity.