Q90. Where was the first cement factory in India established?
[WBCS Mains, 18 Aug 2024]
(A) Mumbai
(B) Porbandar
(C) Madras
(D) Bokaro
Answer: (C) Madras
Explanation: An early cement factory was established near Madras in 1904, although it was not commercially successful. Cement manufacture later expanded in locations offering limestone, gypsum, fuel, power and access to construction markets.
Q89. Which is one of India’s oldest and most widespread manufacturing industries?
[SSC Selection Post, 24 Jun 2024]
(A) Aircraft production
(B) Shipbuilding
(C) Textile industry
(D) Semiconductor fabrication
Answer: (C) Textile industry
Explanation: Textile production has a long history in India, from traditional handloom weaving to modern spinning and garment factories. Its widespread distribution reflects raw material supplies, varied technologies, local skills and domestic consumer demand.
Q88. Which city is recognised as India’s first planned industrial city?
[SSC MTS, 11 Nov 2024]
(A) Lucknow
(B) Jaipur
(C) Varanasi
(D) Jamshedpur
Answer: (D) Jamshedpur
Explanation: Jamshedpur was systematically developed around Tata’s steelworks in the early twentieth century. Residential areas, transport, civic facilities and industry were organised together, making it a prominent early example of planned industrial urban development.
Q87. In which states did India’s cotton textile industry develop earliest on a large scale?
[SSC CHSL, 11 Jul 2024]
(A) Bihar and Jharkhand
(B) Assam and Meghalaya
(C) Maharashtra and Gujarat
(D) Punjab and Haryana
Answer: (C) Maharashtra and Gujarat
Explanation: Mumbai and Ahmedabad emerged as early cotton textile centres in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The western region benefited from cotton-growing hinterlands, entrepreneurial capital, ports, humid conditions and trading connections that supported mechanised mills.
Q86. Which of these is not an agro-based industry?
[SSC CPO, 28 Jun 2024]
(A) Sugar
(B) Fertiliser manufacturing
(C) Jute
(D) Cotton textiles
Answer: (B) Fertiliser manufacturing
Explanation: Agro-based industries obtain their principal raw materials from crops or other farm products. Sugar, jute and cotton textiles use agricultural inputs, while fertiliser manufacture is generally classified as chemical or mineral-based manufacturing.
Q85. Which is an example of an agro-based industry?
[RSMSSB LDC, 11 Aug 2024]
(A) Steel
(B) Cement
(C) Aluminium
(D) Sugar
Answer: (D) Sugar
Explanation: Sugar manufacturing uses sugarcane or sugar beet, both agricultural crops, as its basic input. Mills are commonly situated near cane-growing areas because harvested cane is bulky, perishable and loses recoverable sugar if processing is delayed.
Q84. Which Indian state is the largest producer of sugar?
[Bihar D.El.Ed, 15 Apr 2024]
(A) Uttar Pradesh
(B) Himachal Pradesh
(C) Sikkim
(D) Goa
Answer: (A) Uttar Pradesh
Explanation: Uttar Pradesh is a leading centre of sugar production, supported by extensive sugarcane cultivation in its fertile plains and many sugar mills. Sugar production varies by season, and Maharashtra also plays a major role in the industry.
Q83. Which state produced the highest quantity of sugarcane in India in 2022–23?
[SSC MTS, 8 Oct 2024]
(A) Maharashtra
(B) Uttar Pradesh
(C) Karnataka
(D) Gujarat
Answer: (B) Uttar Pradesh
Explanation: Uttar Pradesh led sugarcane production in the referenced agricultural year because of its extensive cane acreage and irrigated cultivation. A strong concentration of sugar mills provides an important manufacturing linkage to its farming economy.
Q82. In which river valley is India’s leading bituminous coal belt located?
[SSC MTS, 14 Nov 2024]
(A) Narmada
(B) Mahanadi
(C) Damodar
(D) Cauvery
Answer: (C) Damodar
Explanation: The Damodar Valley contains important coalfields including Raniganj and Jharia. Coal from these areas historically supported nearby railways, power stations and iron and steel industries, encouraging the development of a major eastern heavy-industrial belt.
Q81. The iron and steel industry is concentrated in which Indian plateau region?
[SSC MTS, 13 Nov 2024]
(A) Malwa Plateau
(B) Chhota Nagpur Plateau
(C) Meghalaya Plateau
(D) Deccan Traps only
Answer: (B) Chhota Nagpur Plateau
Explanation: The Chhota Nagpur Plateau holds major iron ore and coal resources, with links to nearby water and transport. These advantages attracted steel plants and allied industries and made the region a central focus of India’s heavy manufacturing geography.
