Case Study Based Questions: Industries | Social Studies (SST) Class 8 PDF Download

Case Study 1

Industry refers to an economic activity that is concerned with production of goods, extraction of minerals or the provision of services. Thus we have iron and steel industry (production of goods), coal mining industry (extraction of coal) and tourism industry (service provider). Industries can be classified on the basis of raw materials, size and ownership. Raw Materials: Industries may be agro based, mineral based, marine based and forest based depending on the type of raw materials they use. Agro based industries use plant and animal based products as their raw materials. Food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile, dairy products and leather industries are examples of agro-based industries. Mineral based industries are primary industries that use mineral ores as their raw materials. The products of these industries feed other industries. Iron made from iron ore is the product of mineral based industry. This is used as raw material for the manufacture of a number of other products, such as heavy machinery, building materials and railway coaches. Marine based industries use products from the sea and oceans as raw materials. Industries processing sea food or manufacturing fish oil are some examples. Forest based industries utilise forest produce as raw materials. The industries associated with forests are pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture and buildings.

Question and Answer: 1 Mark

Q1: Give 2 examples of Agro based industries.
Ans: Cotton textile and leather industries are examples of Agro based industries.

Q2: What are the raw materials used by Marine based industries?
Ans: Marine based industries use products from the sea and oceans as raw materials.

Question and Answer: 2 Mark

Q1: What does the term industry refer?
Ans: Industry refers to an economic activity that is concerned with production of goods, extraction of minerals or the provision of services.

Q2: What kind of products are used as raw materials by Agro based industries?
Ans: Agro based industries use plant and animal based products as their raw materials.

Case Study 2

Size: It refers to the amount of capital invested, number of people employed and the volume of production. Based on size, industries can be classified into small scale and large scale industries. Cottage or household industries are a type of small scale industry where the products are manufactured by hand, by the artisans. Basket weaving, pottery and other handicrafts are examples of cottage industry. Small scale industries use lesser amount of capital and technology as compared to large scale industries that produce large volumes of products. Investment of capital is higher and the technology used is superior in large scale industries. Silk weaving and food processing industries are small scale industries. Production of automobiles and heavy machinery are large scale industries.

Ownership: Industries can be classified into private sector, state owned or public sector, joint sector and cooperative sector. Private sector industries are owned and operated by individuals or a group of individuals. The public sector industries are owned and operated by the government, such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. and Steel Authority of India Limited. Joint sector industries are owned and operated by the state and individuals or a group of individuals. Maruti Udyog Limited is an example of joint sector industry. Co-operative sector industries are owned and operated by the producers or suppliers of raw materials, workers or both. Anand Milk Union Limited and Sudha Dairy are a success stories of a co-operative venture.

Question and Answer: 1 Mark

Q1: Who owned private sector industries?
Ans: Private sector industries are owned and operated by individuals or a group of individuals.

Q2: Write down one example of joint sector industry.
Ans: Maruti Udyog Limited is an example of joint sector industry.

Question and Answer: 2 Mark

Q1: What do you mean by small scale industry?
Ans: Cottage or household industries are a type of small scale industry where the products are manufactured by hand, by the artisans.

Q2: Write down 2 examples of large scale industries.
Ans: Production of automobiles and heavy machinery are large scale industries.

Case Study 3

An industrial system consists of inputs, processes and outputs. The inputs are the raw materials, labour and costs of land, transport, power and other infrastructure. The processes include a wide range of activities that convert the raw material into finished products. The outputs are the end product and the income earned from it. In case of the textile industry the inputs may be cotton, human labour, factory and transport cost. The processes include ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing and printing. The output is the shirt you wear.

Industrial regions emerge when a number of industries locate close to each other and share the benefits of their closeness. Major industrial regions of the world are eastern North America, western and central Europe, eastern Europe and eastern Asia. Major industrial regions tend to be located in the temperate areas, near sea ports and especially near coal fields. India has several industrial regions like Mumbai Pune cluster, Bangalore-Tamil Nadu region, Hugli region, Ahmedabad-Baroda region, Chotanagpur industrial belt, Vishakhapatnam-Guntur belt, Gurgaon-Delhi-Meerut region and the Kollam Thiruvananthapuram industrial cluster. In industries, accidents/disasters mainly occur due to technical failure or irresponsible handling of hazardous material. One of the worst industrial disasters of all time occurred in Bhopal on 3 December 1984 around 00:30 a.m. It was a technological accident in which highly poisonous Methyl Isocynate (MIC) gas along with Hydrogen Cyanide and other reaction products leaked out of the pesticide factory of Union Carbide. The official death toll was 3,598 in 1989. Thousands, who survived still suffer from one or many ailments like blindness, impaired immune system, gastrointestinal disorders, etc. The world’s major industries are the iron and steel industry, the textile industry and the information technology industry. The iron and steel and textile industry are the older industries while information technology is an emerging industry.

Question and Answer: 1 Mark

Q1: Why industrial disasters occur?
Ans: In industries, accidents/disasters mainly occur due to technical failure or irresponsible handling of hazardous material.

Q2: Give one example of major industry.
Ans: One example of major industry is iron industry.

Question and Answer: 2 Mark

Q1: What are the inputs of industrial system?
Ans: The inputs are the raw materials, labour and costs of land, transport, power and other infrastructure.

Q2: Where can we find major industrial regions?
Ans: Major industrial regions tend to be located in the temperate areas, near sea ports and especially near coal fields.