NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Chapter 6 Secondary Activities

Ans : (i) (b) Sugar, cotton textiles and vegetable oils are footloose industries.
(ii) (a) Capitalist
(iii) (c) Basic Industries
(iv) (d) Iron and Steel industry Pittsburgh 

Ans : (i) High technology is the latest generation of manufacturing activities which is best
understood as the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts
leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character.
Highly skilled specialists greatly outnumber the actual production (blue collar) workers. Examples are robotics on the assembly line. 


(ii) Manufacturing literally means to make by hand'. However. now it includes goods 'made by
machines'. It is a process which involves transforming raw materials into finished goods of
higher value for sale in local or distant markets.


(iii) Footloose industries are not dependent on any specific raw material. weight losing or
otherwise. They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere. They
produce in small quantity and also employ a small labour force. It can be located in a wide
variety of places. 

Ans : (i)



(ii) Modern industrial activities involve the application of power. mass production of identical
Products and specialised labour in factory settings for the production of standardised commodities. Some major trends of modern industrial activities especially in the developed countries are:
Specialisation of Skills of Production: Mass production involves production of large quantities of standardised parts by each worker performing only one task repeatedly.
Mechanisation: Mechanisation refers to using gadgets which accomplish tasks. Automation is the advanced stage of mechanisation. Automatic factories with feedback and closed loop computer control systems where machines are developed to 'think'. have sprung up all over the world.
Technological Innovation: Technological innovations through research and development
strategy are an important aspect of modern manufacturing for quality control. eliminating
waste and inefficiency. and combating pollution.
Modern manufacturing is characterised by:
(a) a complex machine technology
(b) extreme specialisation and division of labour for producing more goods with less effort. and low costs
(c) vast capital
(d) large organisations
(e) executive bureaucracy.


(iii) High-tech industries are the latest generation of manufacturing activities. It is the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character. Professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of the total workforce. High qualities need better facilities such as institutions. hospitals. shopping malls. restaurants etc. Neatly spaced. low. modern. dispersed. office-plant-lab buildings rather than massive assembly structures. factories and storage areas mark the high-tech industrial landscape. Planned business parks tor high-tech start-ups have become part of regional and local development schemes.
Therefore. high-tech industries in many countries are being attracted to the peripheral areas
of major metropolitan centres.


(iv)The continent of Africa is very rich in natural resources such as crude oil. copper. coal,
manganese but they are still backward because:
Colonial Exploitation: African countries remained under foreign rules who exploited the natural resources for their own benefits rather than developing industries and infrastructure.
Lack of Human Resources: The continent lack good institutions and thus the people are not well educated and skilled. The utilization of natural resources demands human resources.
Civil Wars: The civil wars in the countries of Africa are frequent. There is mass scale
corruption in the governments of the African countries which hinder the growth of countries.
Lack of technological development: The countries of Africa are technologically very poor. The exploration and extraction of natural resources could not be possible without technology