The most important industries are the large-scale, highly developed industries that are able to produce not only for the domestic market but also for trade on the international market. Globalization requires strong exports.
The top four industries of the world are Textile Industry, Iron and Steel Industry, Information Technology (IT) Industry and Petroleum Refining Industry.
Iron and steel industries are located in Germany, USA, China, Japan and Russia. Textile industries are locate in India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
The Silicon valley of Central California and Bangaluru region of India are the major hubs of information technology industry.
Iron and Steel Industry:
The iron and steel industry is one of the basic industries of the country, its products are used for constructing buildings, bridges, railway coaches, ships, automobiles etc. There are many iron and steel plants in the country with different capacities.
Inputs in this industry include raw materials such as iron ore, core and limestone, labour, capital and other infrastructure.
In processing iron ore is converted into steel by undergoing different stages like smelting, refining. Output results obtained is the steel.
Steel is called the backbone of modern industry as almost everything is made of iron and steel.
In India, iron and steel industry has developed taking advantages of raw materials, cheep labour, transport and market.
Major steel producing centres in India are-Bhilai, Durgapur, Bumpur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and is spread over four states-West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh.
Cotton Textile Industry
Cotton, wool, silk, jute, flax and synthetic fibres such as polyester and rayon are used for making cloths. The wearing of clothing made from these materials is known as textile clothing. The textile clothing industry runs on the basis of materials used in manufacturing process.
Different types of fibres are used to produce yarn. Cotton remains the most important natural fibre, so is treated in depth.
There are many variable processes available at the spinning and fabric-forming stages coupled with the complexities of the finishing and colouration processes to the production of a wide range of products.
Information Technology (IT)
Information technology industry deals in the storage, processing and distribution of information. The main factors guiding the location of these industries are resource availability, cost and infrastructure.
Information technology is a vital part of nearly all business processes, especially on computers and networks on which the operation of an organization depends on.
Information Technology industry works in tandem with electronics, software industry and telecom industries to work together for better performance and technological growth.
The major hurbs of the IT industry are the Silicon Valley, California and Benguluru in India.
Benguluru is known as ‘Silicon Plateau’. IT hubs in metropolitian centres of India are Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.