INDUSTRIES

Punjab has essentially an agrarian economy with a low industrial output. The absence of basic minerals is the main reason for low level of industrial progress. A notable feature of the industrial scenario of the Punjab is its small-sized industrial units. There are 194,000 small scale industrial units in the state in addition to 586 large and medium units. 

IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES

Industrial units in the state are namely divided into three:

1. Agro-based industrial units:- These may be classified as food products, beverages, cotton, wood and paper industries.

2. Machinery units

3. Chemical units

Some notable industries are:

COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Punjab produces about 70 percent of the best quality cotton in India. The easy availability of the raw material facilitates the localisation of this industry in Punjab. In spite of several advantages, there is one main disadvantage that the total spindlage capacity of the state is only 1.5 percent of the country.

The cotton mills are located at Abohar, Malout, Phagwara, Amristar, Kharar and Ludhiana. Malerkotla, Abohar, Malout and Bhatinda are important for cotton ginning and pressing and about 25.3 lakh bales of cotton are pressed annually over here. About 97 million kgs of yarn and 36.5 million metres of cloth were produced in the cotton textile mills of Punjab.

SUGAR INDUSTRY

The Sugar mills in Punjab are located at Batala, Gurdaspur, Bhogpur, Phagwara, Nawanshahar, Zira, Morinda, Rakhra, Dhuri, Fazilka, Nakodar, Budhewal, Bhatinda and Jagraon.

A salient feature of the Sugar industry is that out of the 14 mills,12 are in the Co-operative sector and only two are privately owned. Compared to Uttar Pradesh and some other states, the size of the sugar mills in Punjab is small. The Co-operative sugar mill at Morinda is the biggest in the state with a daily crushing capacity of 4,000 tonnes of sugarcane.

DAIRY INDUSTRY

The primary source of milk and other dairy products in the state is the buffalo. Punjab ranks at the top in the country is the availability of milk. A major part of the milk produced in the state is consumed at the individual household level, only a limited quantity of milk is produced and processed in the milk plant.

In Punjab there are milk plants in the Public Sector, Private sector and Co-operative sector. The plants are mainly located at Verka (Amristar district), Ludhiana, Mohali, Jalandhar, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Sangrur, Bhatinda, Faridkot, Nabha, Moga, Kot Kapura and Hamira. The plant at Moga, known as Food Specialities, is the biggest plant in the state with a processing capacity of 435 thousand litres of milk. This plant produces a variety of milk products like ghee, sweets, lassi etc.

VANASPATI GHEE INDUSTRY

The Vanaspati ghee industry is based mainly on the production of groundnut. This industry is not very big, as the oilseeds for the country are brought from other states. The Vanaspati ghee units are situated at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Khanna, Doraha and Rajpura.

WOOLEN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Woolen textile industries are situated at Amritsar, Ludhina and Dhariwal.

HOSIERY INDUSTRY

Punjab leads the whole of the country in the manufacture of hosiery products. Most of these units are located in Ludhiana. This industry is a major foreign exchange earner.

SPORTS GOODS INDUSTRY

The sports goods industry of Punjab became well known only after 1947. Jalandhar is the main centre for the production of sports goods. This industry play a major part in earning foreign exchange.

ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES

In the absence of basic minerals, the heavy engineering industry is almost absent in the state.

a. BICYCLES: Punjab now ranks at the top of the bicycle industry. Main centres are Ludhiana and Rajpura.

b. SEWING MACHINES: Punjab not only fulfils the home requirements for sewing machines but also exports the same. Ludhiana and Bassi Pathana are important centres for the production of sewing machines and machine parts.

c. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINE TOOL: The important centres for manufacture of agricultural implements are Batala, Ludhiana, Phillaur, Jalandhar, Phagwara, Goraya and Amristar.

d. TRACTORS AND COMBINES: The state has a tractor plant at Mohali and a combine harvester plant at Bhadson.

FEED INDUSTRY AND CONCENTRATES

To develop livestock and poultry industries, it is of utmost importance to develop the feed industry on a priority basis. The possible sources of feed and concentrates are oilseed cakes and the by-products of milling and the cereals.

WHEAT BRAN

This is a by-product of the roller flour mills and there are about 11 such mills in the state.

OILSEED CAKES

The cotton seed is preferred as such by the farmers for feeding the milk animals. Cotton seed is utilised for oil production which is a costly product and is in great demand.

RICE MILLING

About 80 percent of the paddy produced in Punjab is marketed and processed in different types of rice mills. There are about 2,200 hullers mostly in rural area,148 shellers and 43 hullers-cum-shellers. The major by-products of rice milling are two percent germ, five percent bran and 23 percent husk.

WHEAT MILLING

There are about 15 roller flour mills in the Punjab with a capacity of flour lakh tonnes. Local consumption of wheat is to the tune of 20 lakh tonnes, mostly as atta.

BAKERY

The bakery industry is in its infant stage. There are mechanised bakery units in the Punjab which produce biscuits and bread.

BARLEY PROCESSING AND MALTING

Barley is the chief cereal which is prepared for malting. There are two malt factories in Punjab. Considerable export of malt extract is now contracted by a Punjab malt factory.

MAIZE PROCESSING

Two private factories in Punjab manufacture starch and starch products from maize. One modern maize processing plant has been set up at Sangrur. Cornflakes is a popular breakfast food which can be manufactured as part of the maize processing mills in the malt factories. It is also possible to utilize maize for malting purposes.

CEREAL BASED NUTRITIVE FOODS

Manufacture of nutritive food is important to counter the widely prevalent malnutrition. Several high protein rich foods such as Bal-Ahar, Multi-purpose food, Nutro Biscuits, Bulgar wheat, Vegetable Milk and Fortified Bread can be produced.

COTTON SEED CRUSHING

Cotton seed is highly valued for its protein and oil contents. It is high in protein and its oil content varies from 12 to 18 percent. Besides extracting oil, protein-rich flour can also be produced.

MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING

One modern chicken dressing plant was installed at Chandigarh. Other such plants are in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amristar.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROCESSING

Punjab has a good market for pickles and preservers. It has wide scope for processing units for the production of juice concentrates and dehydration factories for vegetables