Iron and Steel Industry

The Iron and Steel Industry is the primary industry since all the other industries depend on it for their machinery. Steel is needed to manufacture various engineering goods, construction materials, defence, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment and various consumer goods.

The index of a country's development is in direct correlation with the production and consumption of steel. Since iron and steel are heavy and bulky and entail heavy transportation costs the industry is regarded as a heavy industry. Iron ore, coking coal and limestone are required in a ratio of approximately 4: 2: 1. Some quantities of manganese, are also required to harden the steel.  

The Ideal location for a steel plant is obviously near the raw materials whilst taking an efficient transport network into account. The finished products need this network for distribution to the markets and consumers. This is why most of the iron and steel industries are located either near coalfields (Bokaro, Durgapur, etc.) or near sources of iron ore (Bhadravati, Bhilai, and Rourkela).