Which of the following industry pairs is correctly grouped as heavy industries?

Correct — B. Heavy industries use bulky, heavy raw materials such as steel, need large capital and plant, and turn out heavy finished goods.

A ship is built from steel plate in a dockyard, and automobile manufacture runs on steel, heavy presses and assembly lines. Both fit → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Sewing machines and Paint brushes — Sewing machines and paint brushes are light goods made from light materials, the kind classed as light industry. Neither needs the heavy inputs of a steel-based industry.
• (c)
  Electric bulbs and Fuse wires — Electric bulbs and fuse wires are electrical goods, the example NCERT gives of light industry: light raw materials and light finished products.
• (d)
  Watches and Paint brushes — Watches are small precision goods and paint brushes simple consumer items, both light in material and product. Neither half of the pair is heavy industry.

Industries are classed by several yardsticks: source of raw material, role, capital, ownership, and the bulk and weight of what goes in and comes out.

On that last yardstick, NCERT's Class 10 geography sets heavy industries such as iron and steel against light industries, which use light raw materials and make light goods such as electrical items.

Key facts

• NCERT classifies industries by the bulk and weight of raw material and finished goods into heavy and light.
• Iron and steel is the textbook example of a heavy industry.
• Electrical goods are the textbook example of a light industry.
• The Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61) gave priority to heavy industry.

Common traps

• Treating anything machine-made as heavy: a sewing machine is an engineering product, but a light one.
• Mixing yardsticks: 'basic' describes an industry's role as a supplier to others, while 'heavy' describes the bulk of its inputs and outputs.

No directly related past PYQ was found.