Have you ever given a thought to the fact that the note book you use for writing has come to you after a long process of manufacturing. It started its life as part of a tree. It was cut down and transported to the pulp mill. There the wood of the tree was processed and converted into wood pulp. The wood pulp was mixed with chemicals and finally changed into paper by machines. This paper found its way to the press where ink made from chemicals was used to print the lines on the pages. The pages were then bound in the form of a note book, packed and sent to the market for sale. Finally, it reached your hands.
Secondary activities or manufacturing change raw materials into products of more value to people. As you have seen pulp was changed into paper and paper into a note book. These represent the two stages of the manufacturing process.
The paper made from pulp and cloth made from cotton have had value added to them at each stage of the manufacturing process. In this way the finished product has more value and utility than the raw material that it is made from.
Industry refers to an economic activity that is concerned with production of goods, extraction of minerals or the provision of services. Thus we have iron and steel industry (production of goods), coal mining industry (extraction of coal) and tourism industry (service provider).
ClassifiCation of industries
Industries can be classified on the basis of raw materials, size and ownership.
Raw Materials: Industries may be agro based, mineral based, marine based and forest based depending on the type of raw materials they use. Agro based industries use plant and animal based products as their raw materials. Food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile, dairy products and leather industries are examples of agro-based industries.
Mineral based industries are primary industries that use mineral ores as their raw materials. The products of these industries feed other industries. Iron made from iron ore is the product of mineral based industry. This is used as raw material for the manufacture of a number of other products, such as heavy machinery, building materials and railway coaches. Marine based industries use products from the sea and oceans as raw materials. Industries processing sea food or manufacturing fish oil are some examples.
Forest based industries utilise forest produce as raw materials. The industries associated with forests are pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture and buildings.
Click on the below link to download NCERT Class 8 Geography Resource and Developmernt Industries
