Key Points
Key Points: Integrated steel plants and Mini Steel Plants
- Steel in India is produced in two types of plants—Integrated steel plants and Mini steel plants.
- Integrated steel plants carry out pig iron production, steel making and rolling under one roof.
- Mini steel plants are smaller units using electric furnaces and scrap iron or sponge iron as raw material, and are mostly located near cities.
- Advantages of mini steel plants include low cost of production, less pollution, lower capital investment and flexible location.
- The main limitation of mini steel plants is their total dependence on electric power; major centres include Kanpur, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune and Ranchi.
Key Points: Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO)
- Tata Steel (formerly TISCO) was established in 1907 by Sir Jamshedji Tata at Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and is the oldest and largest private sector steel plant in India.
- The plant has an ideal location, with iron ore, coal, limestone and manganese available within a short distance from Jharkhand and Odisha.
- Coal from Jharia and Bokaro, water from the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers, and power from the Damodar Valley Corporation support its operations.
- It has good transport and market access, being well connected by rail and road and close to Kolkata port for export of steel products.
- Tata Steel produces carbon steel, acid steel for railways, alloy steel, tin plates, rods, sheets and defence-grade steel.
Key Points: Iron and Steel Industry
- Iron and steel industry is a basic or key industry, as many industries like construction, railways, machinery, defence and engineering depend on it; its production shows a country’s economic growth.
- The industry is mainly located in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal due to the availability of raw materials like iron ore, coal, manganese and limestone.
- Steel production involves three main stages—smelting of iron ore, purification by adding alloys, and casting/rolling into sheets, rods and other shapes.
- Sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron) is produced by reducing iron ore using carbon; India is one of the largest producers of sponge iron.
Key Points: Bhilai Steel Plant(BSP)
- Bhilai Steel Plant was set up in 1955 at Bhilai (Durg district, Chhattisgarh) with USSR collaboration and is a unit of SAIL.
- It is India’s first and main producer of steel rails for the Indian Railways and one of the largest steel plants in the country.
- The plant gets iron ore from Dalli–Rajhara, manganese from Balaghat, limestone from Nandini, and coal from Jharia, Bokaro and Korba.
- Thermal power from Korba, water from the Tandula reservoir, and good rail transport on the Mumbai–Nagpur–Kolkata route support its functioning.
- Its major products include heavy rails, structural beams, wire rods, billets, shipbuilding plates, and by-products like coal tar and ammonium sulphate.
Key Points: Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP)
- Rourkela Steel Plant started production in 1959 with German collaboration (Krupps and Demag) and is the first public sector integrated steel plant in India under SAIL.
- It is located at Rourkela in Sundargarh district, Odisha, near the confluence of the Sankha and Koel rivers, ensuring good water supply.
- The plant gets iron ore from Sundargarh and Keonjhar, manganese from Barajamda, limestone from Birmitrapur, and coal from Jharia, Talcher and Korba.
- Power from the Hirakud Project, water from the Mandira Dam and Mahanadi River, and location on the Kolkata–Nagpur rail line support its operations.
- Major products include hot and cold rolled sheets, galvanised sheets, electrical (silicon) steel, and nitrogen by-products used in fertilizers.
Key Points: Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant
- Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is the only shore-based, large integrated steel plant in India, located at Visakhapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh.
- It is a modern and export-oriented plant, producing steel of international quality, exported to China and South-East Asia.
- The plant gets iron ore from Bailadila (Chhattisgarh) and limestone, dolomite and manganese from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
- Coal from the Damodar Valley, power from the Vizag Steel Plant Power Station, and water from the Kanithi Balancing Reservoir support its operations.
- The plant produces liquid steel and saleable steel and employs labour mainly from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha.
Key Points: Petrochemical Industry
- Petrochemicals are organic chemicals derived from petroleum, LPG, natural gas and coal and are usually located near oil refineries for raw materials like naphtha, ethylene and benzene.
- This industry manufactures a wide range of products such as synthetic fibres, synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilizers, insecticides, paints, adhesives, drugs and pharmaceuticals.
- Petrochemical products are widely used in domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors and often replace natural materials like jute, leather, steel and rubber (e.g., PVC pipes instead of steel pipes).
- Advantages include low cost, mass production, stable supply of raw materials, and less dependence on agriculture, making products cheaper and easily available.
- Major petrochemical centres in India include Vadodara (IPCL, PCL), Mumbai–Belapur (NOCIL), Chennai (Herdillia Chemicals), Bongaigaon (Assam), Hazira (Reliance) and Haldia (West Bengal).
Key Points: Electronics
- The electronics industry in India began in the 1950s with radio manufacturing and has expanded into computers, defence, medical, communication, space and IT sectors.
- It is a skill-intensive and fast-growing industry, mainly concentrated in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, with Bengaluru as the ‘Electronic Capital of India’.
- Major public sector units include ITI (Bengaluru) for telecom equipment, BEL (Bengaluru) for defence and radar systems, and ECIL (Hyderabad) for nuclear, medical and industrial electronics.
- The electronics industry strongly supports space technology, with ISRO (Bengaluru), NRSA (Hyderabad) and Sriharikota playing key roles in satellite launches like INSAT, PSLV, GSLV and Chandrayaan missions.
- India’s software and IT industry, centred in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and growth of TV and audio equipment industries have made electronics a major contributor to exports and employment.
Key Points: Others
- Software technology in India is mainly concentrated in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with Bengaluru known as the “Silicon Valley of India.”
- Major IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Oracle are located in Bengaluru, making it a leading software hub.
- The software industry is a major foreign exchange earner due to BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services.
- The growth of the software industry in Bengaluru is due to world-class IT infrastructure, English-speaking skilled manpower, pleasant climate and international conferences.
- Entertainment technology (audio and television) is centred in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata, while space technology is controlled by the Union Government through ISRO (Bengaluru) and NRSA (Hyderabad).
Important Questions [23]
- State any one advantage of locating Iron and Steel industry at Rourkela.
- The Iron and Steel Industry Constitutes the Backbone of the Modern Industrial Economy’. Give Two Reasons to Justify the Statement.
- Name an Iron and Steel Industry Set up in Orissa with the Help of a Famous German Firm. from Where Does the Industry Name Get Its Iron Ore and Manganese?
- Which Type of Coal is Mostly Used in Iron and Steel Industries?
- Name the Following: An Iron Ore Mine of Karnataka.
- Mention Two Advantages that a Mini Steel Plant Has Over an Integrated Iron and Steel Plant.
- Name an Iron and Steel Plant Which Was Established with British Collaboration.
- Why is the iron and steel industry called a basic industry?
- Define a Mini Steel Plant.
- Name One Integrated Iron and Steel Plant in the Private Sector. Where Does It Obtain Its Iron and Coal From?
- Give a Reason for Each of the Following: Vishakhapatnam is a Leading Center for Ship Building.
- Give a Reason for Each of the Following: Mini Steel Plants Cause Less Pollution than Integrated Steel Plants.
- Name the Steel Plants that Were Set up with the Russian Collaboration
- Explain three reasons as to why there is a large concentration of iron and steel plants in the Chota Nagpur Region.
- Which of the following is a basic/key industry?
- What is the importance of Manganese for the Iron and Steel industry?
- Where is TATA STEEL located?
- Which of the following is NOT a centre for the iron and steel industry?
- Based on the ownership, what type of industry is Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant?
- Explain the following term: Integrated steel plant.
- Give one reason to explain the following: Mini-steel plants help in conservation of coal.
- Name the Following: the Location of an Iron and Steel Industry Set up with German Collaboration.
- Give one reason to explain the following: The electronic industry is growing at a fast rate.
