Industries Industries | Class 8 Social Science Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 4 min read
Industries Industries – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Industries Industries from Class 8 Social Science, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
Classification of Industries
Industries are classified based on three main criteria: raw materials, size, and ownership.
1. Raw Materials: Industries may be agro-based, mineral-based, marine-based, or forest-based depending on the raw materials they use. Agro-based industries use plant and animal products, such as food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile, dairy, and leather industries. Mineral-based industries use mineral ores as raw materials and are primary industries; for example, iron made from iron ore is used in heavy machinery and building materials. Marine-based industries utilize sea products like seafood and fish oil. Forest-based industries use forest produce for pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture, and building materials.
2. Size: This refers to capital invested, number of employees, and production volume. Small scale industries include cottage or household industries where products are handmade by artisans, such as basket weaving and pottery. Small scale industries use less capital and technology compared to large scale industries, which produce large volumes using superior technology and higher capital investment. Examples of small scale industries include silk weaving and food processing; large scale industries include automobile and heavy machinery production.
3. Ownership: Industries can be private sector (owned by individuals or groups), public sector (owned and operated by the government, e.g., Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Steel Authority of India Limited), joint sector (owned by government and individuals, e.g., Maruti Udyog Limited), and cooperative sector (owned and operated by producers or workers, e.g., Anand Milk Union Limited, Sudha Dairy).
📊 Diagram: Figure 4.1 illustrates the stages in food processing of Gorgon nut (makhana), showing how raw materials are transformed into finished products.
🧪 Activity: Trace the journey of your shirt from a cotton field to your wardrobe.
🔗 Connection: Leads to the factors affecting the location of industries.
Frequently asked questions
1. Answer the following questions. (i) What is meant by the term ‘industry’? (ii) Which are the main factors which influence the location of an industry? (iii) Which industry is often referred to as the backbone of modern industry and why?
(i) Industry refers to the economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories.
(ii) The main factors influencing the location of an industry include availability of raw materials, power supply, labour, capital, market, transport facilities, and government policies.
(iii) The iron and steel industry is often called the backbone of modern industry because it provides essential materials for construction, machinery, transport, and other industri
2. Distinguish between the following. (i) Agro-based and mineral based industry (ii) Public sector and joint sector industry
(i) Agro-based industry uses agricultural products as raw materials, e.g., sugar, cotton textiles. Mineral based industry uses minerals as raw materials, e.g., iron and steel, cement.
(ii) Public sector industry is owned and operated by the government, e.g., Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Joint sector industry is owned and operated jointly by the government and private sector, e.g., some power plants.
3. Give two examples of the following in the space provided: (i) Raw Materials: __________ and _______________ (ii) End products: __________ and _______________ (iii) Tertiary Activities: __________ and _______________ (iv) Agro-based Industries: __________ and _______________ (v) Cottage Industries: __________ and _______________ (vi) Co-operatives: __________ and _______________
(i) Raw Materials: Iron ore and coal (ii) End products: Steel and cement (iii) Tertiary Activities: Transport and banking (iv) Agro-based Industries: Sugar and cotton textile (v) Cottage Industries: Handloom weaving and pottery (vi) Co-operatives: Dairy co-operative and credit co-operative societies
4. Activity How to identify a location for establishing an industry — Divide your class into groups. Each group is a Board of Directors faced with the problem of choosing a suitable site for an iron and steel plant of Developer Dweep. A team of technical experts has submitted a report with notes and a map. The team considered access to iron ore, coal, water and limestone, as well as the main market, sources of labour and port facilities. The team has suggested two sites, X and Y. The Board of Directors has to take the final decision about where to locate the steel plant. - Read the report submitted by the team. - Study the map to find out the distances of the resources from each site. - Give each resource a ‘weight’ from 1 to 10, according to its importance. The greater the ‘pull’ of the factor on the industry the higher the weight from 1 to 10. - Complete the table on the next page. - The site with the lowest total should be the most satisfactory site. - Remember each group of directors can decide differently.
This is an activity-based question requiring students to analyze the given report and map, assign weights to factors like iron ore, coal, limestone, water, market, labour supply, and port facilities for sites X and Y, calculate weighted distances, and decide the best location based on the lowest total weighted score.
Steps to solve: 1. Read the report carefully to understand the importance of each factor. 2. Note the distances of each resource from sites X and Y from the map. 3. Assign weights
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