Gujarat: Natural Resources and Industrial Location

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-III (Main Examination, Paper VI), (C) Geography:

• Distribution of key natural resources across India and Gujarat: Major resources: Land, soil, rocks, minerals, water and vegetation resources, etc. Factors responsible for the location of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary sector industries in various parts of India and Gujarat, issues and problems, etc.

This page takes the Gujarat part of the line. Gujarat is one of India's most industrialised States, with industry tied closely to its coast, ports, oil and gas, and salt.

Topics in detail

Land, soil and water

• Land use: a large share of wasteland and saline land in Kachchh and the Rann; high net sown area in Saurashtra and the mainland
• Water: uneven between a water-rich south and water-scarce Kachchh, Saurashtra and North Gujarat
• Groundwater depletion and fluoride in North Gujarat; salinity ingress on the Saurashtra coast
• The Narmada canal network; SAUNI Yojana (bringing Narmada water to Saurashtra's dams); check dams and Sujalam Sufalam
• Desalination plants on the coast

Minerals and fuels

• Crude oil and natural gas in the Cambay basin: Ankleshwar, Kalol, Mehsana, Lunej, and offshore
• Lignite: Panandhro (Kachchh), Rajpardi (Bharuch), Tadkeshwar (Surat), and Bhavnagar; Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation
• Limestone in Saurashtra and Kachchh, the base of the cement industry
• Bauxite in Kachchh, Jamnagar and Devbhumi Dwarka
• Fluorite at Amba Dongar (Chhota Udaipur); manganese in Panchmahal
• Building stones: marble at Ambaji, Dhrangadhra sandstone, Porbandar stone; bentonite in Kachchh
• Agate (Ratanpur), worked at Khambhat
• Salt: from the Little Rann (by the agariyas) and coastal salt works; Gujarat makes most of India's salt

Primary sector

• Agriculture in Saurashtra (groundnut, cotton), North Gujarat (cumin, isabgol, castor), Charotar (tobacco), South Gujarat (sugarcane, fruit)
• Animal husbandry and dairying across the State
• Marine fisheries: Veraval, Porbandar, Mangrol, Okha; fish processing and export
• Forestry in the eastern hills

Secondary sector: industrial regions

• The 'golden corridor' from Ahmedabad through Vadodara, Bharuch and Surat to Vapi: chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering
• Ahmedabad: textiles (once called the Manchester of the East), pharmaceuticals, engineering; the automobile hub at Sanand
• Vadodara: refinery at Koyali, petrochemicals, power equipment
• Bharuch and Dahej: chemicals; the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region at Dahej
• Surat: synthetic textiles and diamond cutting and polishing; Hazira (steel, gas, port)
• Jamnagar: oil refining (one of the world's largest refining complexes), brass parts
• Rajkot: engineering and auto parts; Morbi: ceramic tiles and clocks
• Bhavnagar: shipbreaking at Alang; chemicals
• Mithapur, Porbandar and Dhrangadhra: soda ash and salt-based chemicals; cement along the Saurashtra coast
• Kachchh: growth after the 2001 earthquake (tax incentives): Gandhidham, Anjar and Mundra (ports, power, steel, salt, timber)
• North Gujarat: dairy, spices at Unjha, automobiles at Hansalpur near Becharaji
• Semiconductor and electronics projects at Dholera and Sanand

Tertiary sector

• Ports and logistics: Deendayal (Kandla), Mundra, Pipavav, Hazira, Dahej, Sikka; Gujarat Maritime Board (1982)
• Financial services: GIFT City and its International Financial Services Centre
• Diamond trading (Surat Diamond Bourse), wholesale trade, tourism

Factors behind Gujarat's industrial location

• Coast and ports for imports of crude oil, coal and raw materials and for exports
• Oil and gas of the Cambay basin and LNG terminals; a State gas grid
• Salt and limestone as raw materials
• Trading and entrepreneurial communities; capital from the diaspora
• Policy: Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (1962) and its estates, Special Economic Zones, the Gujarat Special Investment Region Act, 2009 (Dholera), industrial policies and investor summits

Issues and problems

• Pollution in industrial clusters and estuaries (Vapi, Ankleshwar, the Sabarmati and Mahi estuaries)
• Water scarcity in industrial and coastal areas
• Concentration of industry in the golden corridor and lagging tribal and border districts
• Land acquisition, salt-pan workers and fishing communities affected by coastal industry
• Stress in small units (diamonds, textiles, ceramics) from global demand and energy prices

Overlaps

• Economy of Gujarat: Agriculture, Industry and Cooperatives on this paper.
• Prelims General Studies: Economy of Gujarat (forests, water resources, mining, industry and service sector).