India's Industrial Growth

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 181, 2 August 1941, Page 13

India's Industrial Growth

THE mines, mills and workshops 1 of India are pouring out an ever-increasing stream of raw and finished products needed for the oroeecution of the war. Primarily V agricultural country, rich in raw materials, India on a war footing i» now enterm S upon a few phase of industrial activity. Although the immediate aim is to increase' the country's war effort, the expansion of industrial enterprise for this purpose is laying the foundations of what may presently prove to be a new Indian economy. faponded Production rphe war requirements of the British Government, have not only enabled Indian ordnance factories to work at capacity, they have also encouraged civil industry to embark on ambitious programmes of expanded production. The small but highly organised ordnance factories which existed when war broke out have been enlarged in scope and increased in number, and civil industry has been invoked to supplement output both in military requirements and in meeting the needs of civilian populations at Homo and abroad. The Indian Press is unanimous in demanding that the industrial resources of the country should be used to the utmost, not merely in developing me output of existing products, but in embarking on new industrial enterprises, including the establishment of heavy and specialised industries, and not excluding the manufacture of aeroplanes and motor cars. The view is held by some that the Ministry of Aircraft Production has not appreciated what is possible of achievement in India in the field of aircraft manufacture, although thoughtful observers concede that failure to establish aircraft plant in India has not been due to unwillingness but rather to the difficulty of sparing plant, tools and technicians more urgently required elsewhere. Tramg in Britain . This problem will to some Extent be overcome under the new scheme which" the Ministry of Labour is eponsoring for the training of Indians in British workshops. This Is being augmented in India by a project which aims at securing that the skilled labour at present available in the country shall be put to the most efficient use. A technical training scheme devised by the Government is designed to increase trained labour by 15,000 men a year. Technicians from Great Britain will assist in this development, and will be later reinforced by the trained Indians who will return from Great Britain. Difficulties which still prevent India from securing some types of industrial equipment from oversea are being removed. The possibility of produc- * j

remn£ Craf U s no longer regarded as nJn «° far as Indla can meet her ?r??uiT4Tn qUi T nents the effort is kL swing. Armour plate never fun°vVln de /^ ken , there is s «ecess i : hi « r " anu f ac tured and will shortly be produced at the rate of thousand ?l£3i monthly. A suitable type of hassis has been selected and is now in &,t™ P t Ort ? d, and plans exist ™' an output of something like 3000 a £ mo " red t fi ehting vehicles within the next year for India's own requirements. A railway workshop is being adapted for making tanks and am tT* ed nf Cars, 3 nd - most of the difficul- .° f Producing a suitable armoured fighting vehicle are being overcome. There are arrangement! tor the manufacture of practice ammurition for anti-tank riflss, and the problem of fabricating complete parachutes is under investigation. Rifles machine-guns, small arms ammunition, ana guns up to 6in howitzers are flowing from the fac- ) ,

■ toriesT Since the war began' more than 120,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition have been sent , oversea, together with more than ■ 400,000_ rounds of gun ammunition \ of various kinds. Large quantities ' of explosives have also been dis- , patched. I Steel Industry's Growth The steel industry has been work--5 ing to the limits of its capacity, with 1 orders booked for several months ■ ahead, and if is now able to meet - nearly all domestic requirements. • except in special steels, and has a i substantial exportable surplus for 1 the common cause. The manufac--2 ture of steel buildings, engineering i supplies, and many items of weapons 3 and ammunition are under production by civil industry. The pre-war - output of iron and steel has been - increased by 300,000 tons and 100,000 - tons respectively.

S One firm alone is manufacturing o monthly 50,000 tools of varied types t for the defence forces, in addition I to structural rails, galvanised sheets, a and a large tonnage of special bars I for the production of shells. Progress is being made on special alloy , sheets for steel helmets for Indian troops, for armour piercing bullets v and shells, for spring steels for r machine-guns, and deep stamping t steels for rifles and machine-gun , magazines. ' The forces in India and the Middle ' East are now obtaining from India ' supplies which formerly were ob- 1 tamed from the United States and the European Continent. By the end of the first year of war the pur- 1 chasing organisations of the Departmerit of Supply had placed orders in , India bordering on £39,750,000, which , included 280,000 tons of Indian tim- ' ber. 12.000.000 garments worth ; ■ nearly £5.500,000. cotton canvas and 1 jute union canvas valued at over < : £2.000,000, and tents costing £3,900,000. : 1 The labour force employed in ' making clothing has risen from 750 ' • before the war to 18,000. Speaking j

, *- at Calcutta recently, the Viceroy said that India was procuring naval craft at an estimated cost of £555,000. and recently the country received orders for naval vessels worth £292,000. Already powerful and well armed craft are being constructed in Indian shipyards, where every slip is occupied. Electric cable for "'degaussing" merchant ships is being produced. Industrial Research Work The Government of India decided that during the period of the war its Industrial Research Bureau should focus attention on industrial research and development for war purposes. A special financial grant was set aside for this work, mainly to equip laboratories , and small plants and to cover remuneration for research workers. , «~

Investigation has been made into the substitution of vegetable oils for mineral oils as high grade lubricants for use in internal combustion engines, and these have disclosed that vegetable oils offer a potential source of supply. Other substitutes are being introduced and investigated. For some purposes cotton canvas and cotton jute union fabric have been substituted for flax. Cotton jute union fabric, of which over 3,000.000 yards have been supplied to Great Britain, is an entirely new fabric which India can claim to have initiated and developed, at the instance of the Defence Department assisted by the Department of Supply. Flax growing schemes are being developed in Bengal and Bihar. To make the army in India independent of overseas supplies, a survey of the canning industry is being undertaken, the scheme being confined to milk, cheese and fish. Mysore and Travancore are producing burnt coconut shell for use in antisas respirators. Raw material for aluminium is available in the country, and facilities are afforded by the Government for its early production. Export Trade Steps have been taken to increase reserves of aviation spirit and to introduce the manufacture of aircraft lubricating oil. Manufacturers are being encouraged to experiment in the production of khaki dyes from indigenous materials. Owing to extended domestic production a large number of drugs have been removed from the imported list and additional factories are being built to produce more. Many chemicals and drugs including chloroform, calcium lactate, carbolic acid, and extract taraxaci are being produced. Oversea demands for goods arc being regularly met. Empire coun .tries are buying khaki shirting, rails and fishplates, steel shelters tents materials and fittings for military hospitals, textiles and engineering goods. Egypt has been a large pur

chaser of Indian products, including electric fans, telephone line equipment and stores, steel hutting, nails binding wire, rolled steel joists, steel tanks and stagings, and road-rolling plant. Demands from abroad for medical -supplies are a feature of current trade. Other overseas requirements include heavy chemicals, soap, coal coke, cement, asbestos cement sheets, cigarettes, food products, tea. sugar and cotton and woollen textiles. The woollen industry has been taken over in its entirety for the manufacture of uniforms, blankets and other war needs: the handloom industry is being developed for the same purpose. ■ > . _^___