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Iron and Steel Industry
The iron and steel industry is the basic industry since all the other Industries — heavy, medium and light, depend on it for their machinery. Steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods, construction
material, defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment and a variety of consumer goods.
Production and consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of a country’s development. Iron and steel is a heavy industry because all the raw materials as well as finished goods are heavy and bulky entailing heavy transportation costs. Iron ore, coking coal and lime stone are required in
the ratio of approximately 4 : 2 : 1. Some quantities of manganese, are also required to harden the steel. The finished products also need an efficient transport network for their distribution to the markets and consumers.
In 2016 with 95.6 million tonnes of crude steel production, India ranked 3rd among the world crude steel producers. It is the largest producer of sponge iron. In 2016 per capita consumption of steel in the country was only around 63 kg per annum against the world average of 208 kg. Most of the public sector undertakings market their steel through Steel Authority of
India Ltd. (SAIL).
In the 1950s China and India produced almost the same quantity of steel. Today, China is the largest producer of steel. China is also the world’s largest consumer of steel.
Chhotanagpur plateau region has the maximum concentration of iron and steel industries. It is largely, because of the relative advantages this region has for the development of this industry. These include, low cost of iron ore, high grade raw materials in proximity, cheap labour and vast growth potential in the home market. Though, India is an important iron and steel producing country in the world yet, we are not able to perform to our full potential largely due to:
(a) High costs and limited availability of coking coal
(b) Lower productivity of labour
(c) Irregular supply of energy
(d) Poor infrastructure
Aluminium Smelting
Aluminium smelting is the second most important metallurgical industry in
India. It is light, resistant to corrosion, a good conductor of heat, malleable and becomes strong when it is mixed with other metals. It is used to manufacture aircraft, utensils and wires. It has gained popularity as a substitute of steel, copper, zinc and lead in a number of industries.
Aluminium smelting plants in the country are located in Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Bauxite, the raw material used in the smelters is a very bulky, dark reddish
coloured rock. Regular supply of electricity and an assured source of raw material at minimum cost are the two prime factors for location of the industry.
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