Explain any five factors responsible for the development of ‘Gujarat Industrial Region’.

The Gujarat Industrial region became an important textile region with the decline of the cotton textile industry at Mumbai. The heart of this region lies between Ahmedabad and Vadodara but this region extends up to Valsad and Surat in the south and to Jamnagar in the west. Enlargement of this region is also connected with the location of the cotton textile industry since the 1860s.

Factors affecting the increasing concentration of cotton textile industries are

• Location

The main part of this region lies between Ahmedabad and Vadodara but this region extends up to Valsad and Surat in the south and to Jamnagar in the west. This region became an important textile region because of the decline of the cotton textile industry at Mumbai. Since it is located in a cotton growing area, this region has double improvement of the proximity of raw materials as well as of the market. The port at Kandla helped in the rapid growth of this region

• Transportation

The area is highly connected with all forms of transportation. It has an inexpensive water transport network, reinforced by a good network of railways, roadways and waterways. This helps in the easy and cheap movement of raw material to the industries.

• Allied Sectors

The invention of oil fields has led to the establishment of petrochemical industries around Ankleshwar, Vadodara and Jamnagar. The port at Kandla helped in the rapid growth of this region. Another industry which helped to improve the industry was petroleum refinery which was established at Koyali, this provided raw materials to a host of petrochemical industries.

• Labour

Labour is another factor that has to be considered while establishing industries. Cheap labour can be obtained from neighbouring states such as Mumbai and adjoining states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and many other states.

• Important industrial centres

Important industrial centres of this region are Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Koyali, Anand, Khera, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Surat, Valsad and Jamnagar.