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As in many other developing nations, industrial development was limited during the colonial rule. It consisted of the traditional, rural craft industry dealing with cloth weaving, woodwork, and making of sugar, brass and leather products, except for the two modern industries of textiles and iron and steel.
Since 1950 government has attempted to expand and modernize the industry, especially through foreign aid, emphasizing in heavy metallurgical industries, and the manufacture of chemicals, and fertilizers in the public sector. Textiles and other light industries remained in the private sector. In 1993, a reversal of the industrial policy aiming at a more liberal participation of foreign investment was introduced.
The present distribution of industry shows a four-zone regional concentration, with major manufacturing regions located in northeastern India (west of Kolkata), the western coast near Mumbai-Pune area, and in the far south near Bangalore. The Kolkata-Jamshedpur area is the primary manufacturing region.
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Jamshedpur is the oldest and largest of iron and steel manufacturing center in the country. In Kolkata region several manufacturing plants are located in a sprawling belt along the tributary of Ganga River. Jute manufacture is the main industry, followed by engineering, chemical, food processing, rubber, automotive parts, paper, glass, plastics and fertilizer industries, and the manufacture of a wide range of consumer goods.
The region is well served by a network of transport connections, a large urban market, port facilities of Kolkata, and draws upon the proximity to India’s main mineral belt in the Chota-Nagpur Plateau.
Mumbai-Pune industrial area is the country’s second ranking manufacturing region that had its early start in textiles. Since 1995, growth of several industries particularly those of engineering, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, electrical, automobile, film and food processing led to industrial diversification. Power is provided by the nearby hydroelectric plants on the Western Ghats. Mumbai’s easy access to the Middle East oil is an additional advantage. India’s first major nuclear plant is also located nearby at Trombay. Ahmedabad-Baroda area dealing primarily with cotton textile manufacturing lies to the north of the Mumbai region.
Petrochemical and oil refining are some newer industries in the area. In south India lies India’s fourth major industrial region of Bangalore-Coimbatore. In addition to the traditional industry of textile, several newer industries have come up during the last two decades such as aircraft, automobile, locomotives, and telephone manufacture, mostly of which are in the public sector.