3.2.1. Geographical Factors

Following are the important geographical factors influencing the location of industries.

Raw Materials: Location of industries is often governed by the location of raw materials. Industries using weight-losing raw materials are located in the regions where raw materials are located. For raw materials which lose weight in process of manufacture or which cannot bear high transport cost or cannot be transported over a long distance because of their perishable nature, industries are often located near the supply of raw materials. Examples of this type of industry are sugar mills, pulp industry, copper smelting and pig iron industries.

Power: Regular supply of power is a pre-requisite for the location of industries. Coal, mineral oil and hydro electricity are the three important conventional sources of power. Most of the industries tend to concentrate around the source of power. Certain industries, like aluminium and synthetic nitrogen manufacturing industries tend to be located near sources of power because they are power intensive and require huge quantum of electricity.

Labour: Availability of cheap labour is a prerequisite for many industries which are labour intensive in nature. Labour supply should be available in large numbers and also they should have skill or technical expertise as needed. Light consumer goods and agro-based industries need plentiful of labour supplies.

Transport: Transport by land or water is necessary for the assembly of raw material and for the marketing of finished goods. Thus, for proper industrial development, we need to have well developed transport facilities.

Market: The process of manufacturing requires that the finished goods do reach the market. Nearness to market is essential for quick disposal of manufactured goods. It helps in reducing the transport cost and enables the consumers to get products at reasonable prices. Similarly heavy machine, machine tools, heavy chemicals are located near the high demand areas as these are market orientated. Cotton textile industry uses a non-weight-losing raw material and is generally located in large urban centre, e.g. Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Surat, etc. Petroleum refineries are also located near the markets as the transport of crude oil is easier and several products derived from them are used as raw material in other industries.

Site: Site requirements for industrial development are of considerable significance. Sites, generally, should be flat and well served by adequate transport facilities. Large areas are required to build factories. Now, there is tendency to set up industries in rural areas as cost of land has shot up in urban areas.