Question

The only major industry in the hands of Indian Capitalists during the late nineteenth century was
1. Cotton textile
2. Jute
3. Iron and Steel
4. None of these

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Cotton textile

The correct answer is Cotton textile.

• The only major industry in the hands of Indian Capitalists during the late nineteenth century was Cotton textile.
  • At present, cotton textile industry is largest organised modem industry of India.
  • There has been a phenomenal growth of this industry during the last four decades. 
  • There are at present 1,719 textile mills in the country, out of which 188 mills are in public sector, 147 in cooperative sector and 1,384 in private sector.
  • About three-fourths were spinning mills and the remaining one-fourth composite mills.
  • Apart from the mill sector, there are several thousand small factories comprising 5 to 10 looms.
  • Cotton cloth is produced in three different sectors :
    •  Mills, Power-looms and Handlooms.
• Hence, option 1 is correct. 

• The cotton sector in India is considered the second most developed sector in the textile industry.
• The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the major cotton producing areas in India.
• The first modem cotton textile mill was set up in 1818 at Fort Glaster near Kolkata.
  • But this mill could not survive and had to be closed down.
• The first successful modem cotton textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854 by a local Parsi entrepreneur C.N. Dewar.
• Shahpur mill in 1861 and Calico mill in 1863 at Ahmedabad were other landmarks in the development of Indian cotton textile industry.
• The First World War, the Swadeshi Movement and the grant of fiscal protection favoured the growth of this industry at a rapid pace.