Engineering industries are some of the most important industries of India after Cotton Textiles and Iron and Steel Industry. India has taken a considerable leap in the manufacture of a variety of machinery and equipment since the independence of the country. Engineering industries produces the basic raw materials like foundry-grade iron special steels and alloys for further fabrication into a wide range of machine tools, equipment and machinery. Like for instance, special alloy steels for forging industry are made at Kolkata, Durgapur and Bhadravati. Interestingly, most of the engineering goods, industrial equipment and machinery are being manufactured in India in collaboration with reputed foreign firms and consortiums.
At a certain point India was wholly dependent on other countries for all kinds of refined goods. Then the country started manufacturing articles in its own land. Even for this India had to import the total machinery from overseas. But now, the situation has altered extensively. The country now manufactures the entire machinery for textile, sugar, paper, tea, cement, mining and petrochemical plants. The heavy engineering plant at Ranchi has been designing and manufacturing enormous machines required for iron and steel industry. Reasonably vast ranges of engineering goods are produced not only for domestic but for international market also. The industry earns the hard-needed foreign exchange. Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) produces an extensive variety of machines and precision tools, preserving extremely lofty international standards. It has umpteen production centres in the country. In light engineering, the country tops the developing world. It has set up `Industrial Estates` in several Afro-Asian countries too.
Goods manufactured by the engineering industries of India are exported by other countries. The major production of this industry includes machine tools that form the basis for the manufacture of industrial machinery, automobiles, defence equipment, railway engines and electrical machinery. In India, the modern machine tool manufacturing factories started after independence. First large scale modern industry was established by the Government of India at Bengaluru. However, to some extent, India is not yet self sufficient in machine tools. Bengaluru is the leading machine tools manufacturing centres in the country followed by other centres like Kolkata, Mumbai, Ludhiana and Ranchi.
Heavy plates and vessel equipment are manufactured at Vishakhapatnam. Heavy plates are used in the construction of distillation columns, tanks and various other types of vessels. The general mechanical engineering industries include the production of diesel engines, pumps, nuts, bolts, nails, razor blades, bicycles, lifts, metallic capsules, sewing machines, razor blades, etc. It also comprises the manufacture of industrial machinery and heavy electrical equipment. Further, manufacturing of transformers, switchgear and motor control gear equipment, household electrical machines and appliances, winding wires, cables, electric motors and more is a part of the engineering industries.
