Question

Which state of India has the largest number of cotton textile mills?
a)Maharashtra
b)Gujarat
c)Tamil Nadu
d)Andhra Pradesh

Answer 1

Hint: Cotton textile industry in India started in 1818AD . The cotton textile mills are located in four clusters in India- the northern region, the western region, the eastern region and the southern region.

Complete answer:
The cotton textile mill industry is influenced by a number of factors. Availability of labour, accessibility to market and proximity to areas that have black soil, influence the location of textile mills.

Let us look at the options given to us.
Option (a ) Maharashtra is one of the leading producers of cotton textile in India. Mumbai has rightly got the epithet of ‘Cottonopolis of India’. The textile mills are mostly found in the cities of Sholapur, Kolhapur, Pune, Jalgaon, Akola, Sangli, Nagpur, Satara, Wardha, Aurangabad and Amravati.
Availability of skilled labour and proximity to black soil region is the reason behind cotton production in this area. Maharashtra ranks first in the number of cotton textile mills in India.

Option (b) Gujarat too is an important centre for cotton textile production. Ahmedabad is called ‘Manchester of India & Boston of East’. Cotton mills in Gujarat are mostly located in cities of Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Nadiad, Porbandar, Rajkot, Navsari, Mauri and Viramgam.

Option (c) Tamil Nadu has one of the largest number of operational mills in India. It has cotton producing cities like Chennai, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Tuticorin, Salem, Virudhunagar and Polachi . Most mills in Tamil Nadu produce yarn rather than cloth. Coimbatore has emerged as the most important centre with nearly half the mills located there and thus its rightly called ‘Manchester of South India’
Availability of labour and water from hydel projects in the state helped in the growth of the cotton industry here.

Option (d)Andhra Pradesh comes third in the number of cotton textile mills in India as it lies close to the Telangana region which grows cotton. Guntur in Andhra Pradesh is an important centre for textile mills.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A)

Note: The first cotton mill in India was established in 1818 at Fort Gloster near Kolkata . But this mill was a commercial failure. The second cotton mill in India was established by Indian Parsi man C.N. Davar in 1854 and was named Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company.