It was the time when there was no, electricity, radio, television, computer, internet, vehicles, etc and people work with their hands so by this they waste a lot of time in their works. But after the Industrialization, their life fully changes. Those work which takes a lot of time now easily done in minutes. Industrial Revolution makes human life more advance and luxurious. Many people in the world enjoy the benefits of Industrialization. Humans of this generation do much less labour than the previous generation. A large number of people enjoy good health facilities, education, travel, a life which is never possible without Industrialization. Industrial development also plays a very important role in providing employment and increasing the economy of the country.
Industrialization is a process in which the economy is transformed from agricultural goods to the manufacturing of goods and labour replaced by mechanized mass production. And the period of Industrialization is called Industrial Revolution which started in the 19th century.
Industrial Revolution in India
Pre-Colonial Industrial India-
Before the British Rule, India known for its handicraft industry. In the whole world, the Indian Industry was in demand. Various articles like wool, cotton, silk were famous inside and outside the country. Industries are also famous for the good quality of jewellery made of gold and silver, brass and bell-metal. In those days carving work in ivory, wood, stone, and marble of India was in demand. India was known for its export and no other country at that time produced such types of products that can be exchanged with Indian products. Because of this Europe paid a large amount of money for purchasing those products. So, India is known for its richness and established a well stable position in the world map.
Indian Industrialization under British Rule-
The traditional industry of India was in high demand. Then Britishers put their steps toward India on one side and on another side in England passed two Acts in 1700 and in 1720 to restrict on import of India cotton, silk, and other trade items by imposing heavy duties but these measures did not give the desired result. After a long struggle, the British won two important wars (1) Battle of Plassey (2) Battle of Buxar.
And after these wars, foreign rule started in India then the phase of the deindustrialization of India started. The motive behind deindustrialization was to make India an exporter of raw materials and to sell British products at higher rates in the Indian market. They followed Discriminatory tariff polls. Their primary objective was to develop the Indian industry in such a way so they never compete with British Industry and always dependent on British capital goods.
After 1850 new phase of India started because a large scale private industry of jute, cotton, and silk established. The first jute industry started at Hooghly Valley at Kolkata in 1854. To transport the goods easily from one place to another Railway started in India. First Rail starts from Bombay to Thane in 1854. Then Britishers tried to establish the iron and steel industry in 19thcentury which was set up in 1907 and the credit went to Jamshedji Tata and his son Dorabji. The progress of India was increased day by day. The total number of factories increased from 2936 in 1914 to 11,613 in 1939 and the number of workers engaged in them increased from 9,50,000 lakhs to 17,50,000 lakhs.
During the Second World War a huge pressure faced by the Indian economy because India played a major role in providing war materials without indulged in war. And this affects on Industry because of excessive material produced for the war. It arose continuous deterioration to machinery as there was no proper attention paid to them. After this Indian industry was in great danger because of low production. Almost all industries registered for low output. Then 1947 marked as a serious threat to the nation.
Indian Industrialization after Independence-After the Independence condition of Industry was disrupted. Industries ownership was in few hands, there was a short supply of technology and educated workers. The biggest problem was the lack of capital. Private industrialists did not have enough capital to open new industry and if they tried then there was very high risk involved. So, in 1948 State played an important role to promote Indian industries by complete control over the industrial sector.
Coal, petroleum, aviation, steel, etc have come under the control of State. After this Indian Factory Act 1949 passed which laid certain rules like health safety, the welfare of workers, and demarcating the spheres of the public and private sector.After this definite improvement seen except in the case of two industries of steel and coal? Because of the lack of raw materials. Then the government works for the infrastructure of the country by providing a country with facilities like transport, rail, banking communication, etc because without these facilities the economy never is improved. The government also decided to focus on the capital goods industry for industrial development so this Mahalanobis Model came, which deal with the development of heavy industries like a machine, chemical, electrical, etc. In 1955 Karve committee was made which advised for the promotion of small-scale industries. And in 1977 Janata Government came with a new industrial policy. Its basic aim is to increase employment and develop a small scale sector for rural development. In 1991 the government again come back with a new industrial policy to increase international competition.
India was not independent at the time of the first and second revolution but in the phase of the third revolution India faced challenges of the disrupted economy and poor condition of the industry. After that India emerged as the source for the global IT industry with the fastest-growing e-commerce market also known for the world’s largest highly-skilled IT workforces and one of the largest technology start-up sectors which open the gates for India to enter in the fourth revolution.
Role of India for Fourth Industrial Revolution
It is a very big question that Indian industries come under the fourth revolution or not. Fourth Revolution covers various technologies such as 5G technology, Internet of things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence (AI). At this stage, a question arises that India will remain on its past of caste, creed, religion or it prepares its citizens for vastly different future.
Technology like 3D printers for functioning organs, ocean harvested for food, autonomous vehicles for parking space, artificial blood comes in India on one side and on another side it changes the nature of jobs by providing more opportunities. More than half of the population of India comes under the age of 27 and it now becomes the largest data consuming country with the cheapest data rates. India constantly improving its rank on the Global Innovation Index by moving up to 5 places to rank 57th in 126 countries. India soon achieves its aim by emerging as a global power.
Conclusion
Industrialization is very important for the economic growth and development of the country but it also affects our environment. It causes climate change, pollution (to air, water, land), global warming, ozone depletion, various diseases. It increases the gap between rich and poor. Many workers migrate from villages to the city which creates a problem in the stability of the city. So, if we do not take proper steps to cure these problems then this industrialization causes great destruction. To solve the environment and other problems it is the duty of the government to frame such policies and schemes which balance the rapid industrialization.
“The views of the authors are personal“
Frequently Asked Questions
What is meant by the Capital goods Industry?
These are those industries which produce machine tools, article for consumption and generate a good amount of capital.
Which Indian industry affected by the partition and why?
The jute industry affected by the partition of India because of a lack of raw materials and after partition jute producing area which was in the east came to Pakistan.
References-
- www.byjus.com
- www.cram.com
- economictimes.indiatimes.com
- www.forbesindia.com
- www.historydiscussion.net
- shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
