Journal of Global Resources

Volume 3

July 2016
Page 171-178
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

21
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS PROBLEM AND PROSPECTS
A CASE STUDY OF ALIGARH CITY
Nida Fatima
Research Scholar, Department of Geography,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
Email: nida.fatima2012@gmail.com
Abstract: Industrial development is the backbone for the economic development of a region.
One cannot imagine development without the development of enterprises. Industrial
development refers to creations of industries, expansions of industries and uses of modern
techniques of production of industries. As the industrialisation has taken place at a very fast
rate in India as planners understand that without the development of industries one cannot
imagine the development of nation likewise there has been rapid growth of industries in
Aligarh City and a large number of industries occupies 3.85 percent of the total area of Aligarh
City. The city has concentrated of both large scale and small scale industries. Among thevarious industries lock industries is dominated and for this Aligarh is famous all over the world.
There are 5,000 lock manufacturing industries in Aligarh city which providing employment to 2
lakh people directly or indirectly. Besides lock industries other industries are rolling mill,engineering industries, Building fitting, electrical goods industries and chemical industries. The
present paper is an attempt to find out the industrial development and its problem andprospects in Aligarh city. The present paper is based on secondary of data that has beencollected report from various organisation and magazines. The paper has been analyzed bypercentage method. The main objectives behind this study are to find out the development ofindustries and the problems which are the obstacle in the path of development and also
evaluate the prospects of these industries and suggest the remedial measure to overcome theproblem in industrial development.
Key words: Industrial Development, Small Scale Industries, Lock Industries.
Introduction
Industrial development is the outcome of the economic development and it is the importantfactor behind the economic development of the country. Large scale industry, small scaleindustry as well as the cottage industry is the three major sectors which are emphasis in theprocess of the industrialisation. India is the country which is famous for the handicraft for allover the world, Malmal silk, wood handicraft, designed stones, Gold ornaments are theproducts which are manufactured in India during the pre British period but as the Britishers
starting occupied India nit firstly closed the Indian enterprises and stating their company East
India Company. We propose to study problem and prospects of industrialisation. As theindustries are the back bone of the Indian economy, on the one hand the large scale industry
like iron & steel, cotton textile, sugar mills generating the national income for the country on
171the other hand the small scale generating the income as well as employment for the people
therefore small scale industrial sector plays a dominant role in the economic development of
the nation as a whole. Even though there are many problems which industries have to be
faced in the path of the, i.e., inadequate irregular supply of raw material, lack of organizedskilled labour, unorganized nature of operations, imperfect knowledge of market operations, of
sickness, inadequate data base for the small scale sector, burden of local taxes, competition
from large scale units, non-availability of cheap power etc. So, these are some of the
problems, which directly affect the growth and development of Industries
Literature Review
The review of related literature is an important pre-requisite to actual planning and executionof any research work. A review of literature on the research topic makes the researcher
familiar with the existing studies. . Industrial development refers to creations of industries,
expansions of industries and uses of modern techniques of production of industries. As theindustrialisation has taken place at a very fast rate in India as planners understand that without
the development of industries one cannot imagine the development of nation Judith A. Davey(1970) said that Government had played a vital role in establishing and promoting theIndustrial Development by the industrial decentralization, improved the transport facilities to
exploit the new market brought increased population wealth in the region, and therefore policy
should be on made regional development. Jhabvala R and Sinha (2002) said that
globalization is caused the shrinking of the organized sector accompanied by the expansion of
informal sector. Economic opportunities created by the liberalization are highly unequal. Those
who are skilled , have access to market , have better link, have been able to benefit for women
workers of upper class , the quality as well as opportunity for employment have improved . But
for most women worker however, the quality of employment is poor without any skill or access.
T.S Jan and C.T Hsiao (2004) analysed that the industrial development in the developing
countries is very dynamic and complex and therefore government should establish timely
policy to encourage the cooperation of foreign and domestic firms.
Study Area
Aligarh is the city of administrative headquarters for Aligarh district, in the Northern
Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . Aligarh city is located 27º 291 North latitude and 78º361 castlongitude, at a distance of 130 km to the south east of Delhi – Kolkata railway line and grandtrunk Road. The climate up to 48ºC and cold dry in winter with a minimum temperature down
to 2º C and intervening rainy season up to 60 – 100 cm. Aligarh is an important city of Uttar
Pradesh. The total area of Aligarh city is 33.98 sq. km and its total population is 909, 559. Outof which 482, 828 are males (Provisionally data of 2011 census). The literacy rate of the city is
70.54 percent. The number of household in the city at that time reached about one lakh, since
independence Aligarh city has grown from a small town to an important centre for industries
and learning.
There are three factors which have contributed to the development of Aligarh city;
these include the establishment of Aligarh Muslim University during pre-independence period
the growth of trade through the establishment of light industrial and its demarcation as the
district headquarter, which gave its administrative importance. Aligarh city is divided in two172

district parts, the old city civil lines; these two parts are the district form in appearance,
occupations distribution and social living conditions. The city is an agricultural tradecentre.[8] Agricultural product processing and manufacturing are important. Aligarh is an
important business centre of Uttar Pradesh and is most famous for its lock industry. Aligarh
locks are exported across the world. In 1870, Johnson & Co. was the first English lock firm in
Aligarh. In 1890, the company initiated production of locks on a small scale here. Aligarh is
also famous for brass hardware and sculpture. Today, the city holds thousands ofmanufacturers, exporters and suppliers involved in the brass, bronze, iron and aluminium
industries Aligarh District is well known for manufacturing the different type of locks used in
Building doors, Automobiles, V.I.P Suitcases, Wooden & Steel Furniture etc. due to which
Aligarh possess an important position in the industrial map of India and Aligarh is known as“Tala Nagri”. Locks and Hardware industries are the main industries of Aligarh. Aligarh there
are 7 – 10 large lock manufacturers; 30-35 medium sized & 1500+ small manufacturers. Totalof 1683 lock industrial units are functioning in Aligarh city. In Aligarh city the main lockmanufacturing is located in main industrial area, while the small scale manufacturing industries
are located randomly but cluster of industries are located all along the railway tract and centreof the city.
Objectives• To study the development of the industries in Aligarh city.
• To find out the problems which are obstacles in the path of development?
• To suggest the prospects of industrial development in Aligarh city.
• To suggest the remedial measure for over come from these problems of industrial
development.
Data base and Methodology
The present paper is an attempt to find out the industrial development and its problem andprospects in Aligarh city. The present paper is based on secondary of data that has beencollected report from various organisation and magazines. The paper has been analyzed bypercentage method
Discussion
Industrial Development of Aligarh City
Aligarh city is known for the locks industry before the time of independence but mainly
flourished due to the industrial development since 20th century. Industrial development in city
and along the highways has acquired agricultural lands on a very large scale. From 1971-81,
during post-independence period decade has witnessed an increase of 8.2 per cent in thearea of the city because lots of agricultural lands utilized for industrial purposes. During thisdecade a large number of industries have been established in the city. Most of these industries
were established on the outskirts of city mainly along the G.T. Road (Delhi and Kanpur), Agra
Road, Ramghat Road, Anupshahar Road etc.

173

Table 1 Growth of Industries in Aligarh City (1971-2001)
#

Year

Small
Scale
Industry
No. of No.
ofUnits Workers

Total
Industry

Total
NumbersofWorkers

585

Large
scale
IndustryNo.
No. ofofWorkers
Units
9
956

1.

1971

95

2.

1981

3.

1541

Decadalgrowthofindustry(percent)_

Decadalgrowthofworkers(percent)
_

104

439

2851

11

2165

450

5016

332.69225.50

1991

3316

9641

13

3985

3329

13626

639.78171.65

4.

2001

5650

34132

14

5165

5664

39297

70.14

188.39

5.

2011

12107

43848

19

12784

12126

55974

114.0842.43

Source: Industrial Directory, DIC, Aligarh, 2011

Table 1 shows that in 1971, there were 95 small scale industries and 9 large scales,
which increased to 439 and 11 in 1981, respectively, showing a growth of 332.69 per cent.
There is continuity in the growth of industries in each decadal period. The period of 1981-91
shows a very high growth of 639.78 per cent in which a total number of industries increased
from 450 (1981) to 3329 (in 1991). During the decadal period of 1991-2001, the number
industrial units in Aligarh though increased, but with a slow growth of 70.14 per cent, as
compare to the previous decade of 1981-91. But during the decadal period 2001-2011 there is
the high growth of 114.08.Similarly, the number of workers engaged in industrial units
increased from 1541 (in 1971) to 55974 (2011).
Table 2 Development of Industrial Units in Aligarh City
Industrial
Running
Workers
Production value
Units
Units
engaged(lakh rupee)

#

Year

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

2000-01
2005-06
2006-05
20007-08
2008-0920009-10

198
216
232
242
249
256

132
124
117
107
127
121

10840
10019
9666
9402
9300
8634

97.68
108.89141.99178.44201.30262.37

Source: (a) Economics and Statistics Department, Aligarh.
(b) Office of the Manger, District Industries Centre, Aligarh.

Table 2 shows that during the last decade (2001-10) until to 2009-10, there were total
256 factory units registered under Factory Act 1948. The data clearly shows that, out of total
registered units, 121were in running state, engaging 8634 workers and provided a profit of Rs.
262.37 lakh. Table also reveals that, there is a positive trend of increase in number ofregistered units i.e. 198, 216, 232 , 242, 249 and 256 during 2000-01, 2005-06, 2006-07,
2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively. There is also a continuous decline in number ofrunning units i.e. 132, 124, 117 and 107, from 2000-01 to 2007-08. The reason behind thisdecreasing trend is Global Economic Recession. But after it the running units increase in
2008-09 again decline to 121. and became 127 and in next year in 2009-10 , the table also
reveals that number of workers engaged also shows the declining trend i.e. 10,840, 10019,
174

9666, 9402, 9300 and 8634 in the respective years. However, the data in the table shows thatthe production value shows an increasing trend i.e. from Rs. 97.68 lakh (2000-01) to Rs.
262.37 lakh (2009-10).
Table 3 Industrial Estates in Aligarh and their Area Occupied#

Number of Industrial state

Road/Highway

Area (Hectare)Type of Land

1.

IIT Industrial Estate

Exbition Road44

Non Agriculture2.

Talanagri Industrial Estate Ramghat Road
Phase I
Talanagri Estate
Ramghat Road
Phase-II
CDF Industrial Complex
Khair Tappal

167

Agriculture

143

Agriculture

56

Agriculture

3.
4.

Source: Office of the Manager, District Industries Centre, Aligarh.

During last four decades (1971-81, 1981-91, 1991-01 and 2001-11) a large number of
medium and large industries were established in the urban fringe of Aligarh city, acquired alarge amount of productive cultivable land. Majority of industries which is found in Aligarh areclassified in to as; agro and food processing, locks and hardware industry, and otherhousehold industry. Lock industry basically the oldest one and mainly found in the old Aligarh
city. And Agro and food processing mainly found in the fringe, some of these industries are
Satha Sugar Mill which has occupied 50 ha. of agricultural land, Heinz India Limited which was
earlier known as Glaxo Milk Laboratories has utilized 40 ha. of land, a High Frequency Radio
Station which is occupied on 60 ha. of cultivable land, the Harduaganj Thermal Power Station
at Kasimpur which utilized 65 ha. of agricultural land and there are many more examples. The
other large industries are Al-Hamd Agro and Food, Hind Agro, Allen and Alvan, Allana Frozen
Foods, Rama Agro, Aligarh Roller-Flour Mills, Alka Plastics, Prashant Enterprises, Hicks
Thermometers, Link Locks, Zeb Securities, RCS Flour Mills, Mascuts Ltd. Darshan Oil Mills,
Double Hiran Oils and Vanspati and many more. During 1991, 323.44 ha. of land covered by
the industries which rose to 612.61 ha. until to 2001. The Master Plan of 2001-21 has
proposed another 1077.70 ha. land for sequential industrial development in Aligarh toaccommodate the growing industrial base.
The Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Corporation (UPSIDC) have established fourIndustrial Estates around Aligarh (Table 4.22) namely; ITI Industrial Estate Exhibition road (44ha.), Talanagari (Phase I & II) on Ramghat road (167 ha. and 143 ha.) and CDF Industrial
Complex Anupshahr road (56 ha.). A new Industrial Estate on Khair-Tappal road in thewestern fringe of the city has been proposed recently in order to develop a consolidated
cluster. This new complex is proposed to facilitate from the Yamuna Expressway passing
through western side of Aligarh district. The setback created from these industrial complexes
is that, they have been established or proposed over productive agricultural areas of thefringe.

175

Problems for Industrial Development in Aligarh City
Inadequate Finance and Credit
Lack of finance and credit is the vital problem for the industrial development in Aligarh district.
The position of development of cottage and village industries is even worse. In Aligarh city,
problem of finance is a major problem for the development of industries because the banks
and the financial institutions both are unable to meet the long requirement of the industrial
units. So, this indirectly or directly retards their development as well as growth.
Problem of Marketing
In the field of marketing small scale and cottage industries continue to face a number ofproblems. Similar condition is prevailing in Aligarh city; marketing is a severe problem forindustrial development, because industries do not have adequate knowledge about the active
market. And most of the small unit are unable to take their products in the active market.
Problem of Power Supply
One of the major problems faced by the industrial development of Aligarh city is the problem ofpower that’s why most sever constraint is power. Industries in Aligarh city depend on StateElectricity Board (SEB) for meeting their requirement which do not supply adequate power tothe small units because at reasonable rate, capacity generation is impossible for small units.
Many Industries of Aligarh city are forced to make private deal with electricity official due toincreasing corruption.
Problem of Management
Management problem is one of the most common problem found in every small scaleindustries of Aligarh city, this is because entrepreneur is the whole and sole and therefore isno division of labour in industries. And this problem became the major obstacle in the path ofindustrial development.
High Cost of Production
In Aligarh city, cost of production is high due to traditional methods and old technology used in
the production process.
Problem of Raw Material
For the majority of small-scale industries in Aligarh city problem of raw material is one of the
major problem most of the raw material required for manufacturing process are not easily
available in the city, therefore, this hampers the industrial development.
Lack of Skilled Personnel
Un skilled personnel is one of common problem for the industrial development in Aligarh city
as most of the labour working in the industries are unskilled , for example in lock industries theworkers knows the method of manufacturing from their parents and there is no training centre
for the same.
Problem of increasing competition
Small-scale industrial units in Aligarh city face increasing competition because of cheap
products brought by the wholesaler from other parts of the country. As Chinese lock captured
the marked of Aligarh manufactured lock.
176

Improper assistance as well as guidance from government and other organizations
Industries in Aligarh city do not get proper assistance as well as guidance from thegovernment and other organization due to their indifferent attitude towards the SSIs sectors in
U.P. The government from time to time has adopted various schemes through institutionalsources by providing marketing assistance to lessen these problems.
Child Labour
Due to lack of education and over population most of the poor families surrender theirchildren’s childhood to the darkness of Industries. Child labour means cheap labour, the young
even the very young are most employable. Child labour is a prominent feature of the Lockindustry of Aligarh City. More than 50,000 children do polishing and packing job.
Problem of registration
One of the most important problems of industrial development in Aligarh city is related toregistration of industries. An industry, after getting the approval of the Industries Department
for establishment, is granted a temporary license but Permanent registration is granted only
after the unit launched, begins it production. But, the industries are not granted permanentregistration even after one or two years of production due to which they are unable to sell theirgoods outside the state and avail the benefit of concessional facilities.
Problem of Standardization
Those industrial units in Aligarh city, which are engaged in the manufacture of plastic,
polythene, textile goods, hosiery, medicine goods etc., face the problem of standardization. As
a result, they are unable to market their products outside the state of U.P. Moreover
entrepreneurs are facing critical problems at the time of planning for investment due toawareness of proper planning, lack of knowledge of market survey, selection of appropriate
type of plant and machineries etc.
Future Prospects of Industrial Development in Aligarh City
Aligarh is a well known industrial and mercantile city in Western Uttar Pradesh. The city has
made a significant headway in industrial development and has earned a name in metal works.
Basically, Aligarh is famous for ‘locks, and therefore also known as ‘Talanagri’. There are morethan 7130 small scale units registered under Indian factories Act 1948. These industries
include agro and food processing, light engineering, carpets, manufacturing of building, fitting
materials, electrical equipment and other metal products. Although in the Industrial Policy, thegovernment is giving emphasize on the development of small and tiny industrial units
predominantly in rural areas. But this city is still lagging behind by many other states/ districts
in terms of industrial development are concerned. With the onset of economic reforms thefocus has broadly shifted to these parts of the country to bear the fruits of industrialization. So,
small-scale industries will have to play a considerable role in the industrial development of thecity. Though the Industrial Policy of 1991 was not much successful, the new industrial policy
was initiated with a promise for adopting a smooth and rapid industrialization in the state .The
new industrial policies introduced by both central and state government, the future prospectsof SSIs in U.P. seems to be quite bright. The central government has also made provision fortax concession to newly developed industries in a backward state like U.P. which has
brightened the scope for the promotion and development of SSI of Aligarh district. The
government of India also announces various incentives to newly developed small units.
177

Through the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), the government of India provides various
types of help to poor people to establish an industrial unit in a district. Recently State
Government has also made special provision for financial support, data bank for the small
scale industries of the state which has brightened the prospects of the development of SSIs in
U.P. Thus in view of the current economic reforms, the prospect of SSIs is quite high. But inthe ultimate analysis many more things also need to be improved like law and order situation,
finance problem, marketing problem, etc, which will create conducive environment for theindustrial development of Aligarh. Moreover, SSIs should be promoted and based on locallyavailable resources for which local entrepreneurs should come forward and participate actively
in the industrialization process of Aligarh. Finally, it is observed that in view of the current
situation prevailing in Aligarh the current economic reforms has not created much impact in theprocess of industrialization of the district. But keeping a positive frame of mind and theprospects of SSIs are very bright, provided an investment friendly climate is created in Aligarh.
Conclusion and Suggestions
Aligarh is the city which is famous for ‘locks, since the ancient time and therefore also known
as ‘Talanagri’. Although in the Industrial Policy, the government is giving emphasize on thedevelopment of small and tiny industrial units particularly in rural areas. But this city is still
lagging behind by many other states/ districts in terms of industrial development areconcerned. With the onset of economic reforms the focus has broadly shifted to these parts ofthe country to bear the fruits of industrialization. So, small-scale industries will have to play asignificant role in the industrial development of the city. The small scale sector generating theincome as well as employment for the people therefore small scale industrial sector plays adominant role in the economic development of the nation as a whole. Even though there aremany problems which industries have to be faced in the path of the, i.e., inadequate irregularsupply of raw material, lack of organized skilled labour, unorganized nature of operations,imperfect knowledge of market operations, of sickness, inadequate data base for the small
scale sector, burden of local taxes, competition from large scale units, non-availability of cheap
power etc. SO, these are some of the problems, which directly affect the growth anddevelopment of Industries.
References
1. District Statistical Diary, Aligarh 2001 and 2011, Economics and Statistical Division, Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh.
2. Economic Times, 27th January 2005, p. 12.
3. Farooq S and Ahmad, S., 2008. Urban sprawl development around Aligarh city: A study aided
by satellite remote sensing and GIS. Journal of Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol. 36, pp.
77-88.
4. Information gathered from Regional office, Canara Bank, Aligarh.
5. J.H .Chen and T.S. Jan (2005) A System Dynamic Model of the Semiconductor Industry in
Taiwan, The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol.56, No.10 , Oct, pp 11411150,Palgrave Macmillan Journal on the behalf of the Operational Research Society
6. Jhabuala, R, and Sinha (2002) Liberalisation and the Women Workers, Economic and political
Weekly. Vol. 25, May 200.
7. Judith. A. Davey (1970) Industrial Development in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh , India ,Transaction of the Institute of British Geographers , No. 49 , pp.183-199 , The Royal
Geographical Society.
8. Master Plan Reports of Aligarh 1991-01 and 2001-21, Aligarh Development Authority (ADA),
Aligarh.
9. www. Indian lock industry.com
10. Wikipedia.org/wiki/Aligarh

178