1. Introduction

Every morning, when you wake up from bed, you use a brush and toothpaste to brush your teeth, then you use soap and a towel to take a bath, then you get ready by wearing clothes, after getting ready, you travel to school by your school bus or van. On reaching school, you use a pen or pencil to write in a notebook. First, let's take a look at the products we used - a brush, toothpaste, soap, towel, clothes, school bus, pen, pencil, notebook etc. Like this, in our day-to-day life, we use several products. Have you ever questioned where they are from? Let's listen to the conversation between a teacher and her students before answering the above question.

 

 

Teacher: You all carry a pen, right?
Students: Yes, mam.
Teacher: Do you know where this pen came from?
Student 1: I bought it from the shop near to my house.
Teacher: Ok, where the shopkeeper bought this pen from?
Student 2: I think from another shopkeeper.
Teacher: No. The pen is manufactured in the industry. Now can anyone tell me what does industry mean?

 

Many raw materials in their original form are not fit for human consumption. So, they must be converted to the form which is fit for human consumption. This conversion of goods from one form to another is called processing. Processing is the essence of manufacturing industries or secondary groups of economic activities. Advent and the growth of Science and Technology helped human beings to fabricate raw materials into finished products. The development of manufacturing industries determines the economic strength of a country. So, for any country, the effective growth of industries is basic for its economic development.

 

In the following sections, let us discuss the nature and the importance of Industries, the general classification of economic activities, the factors responsible for the location of Industries and the classification of Industries.