Location of Indian cement industry

Abstract

The paper examines four hypotheses about the location of the Indian Cement Industry, viz., (a) its location is not optimum, (b) it is not evenly distributed throughout the country, (c) its location is becoming more and more dispersed over time, and (d) recent changes in its location are towards the optimum location. These hypotheses are tested on the basis of various determinants of location, and on two measures of location, i.e. location quotient and coefficient of localisation. The findings have endorsed all the four hypotheses. In particular, we have found that the location coefficient has declined from around 0.53 in 1960 to around 0.46 in 1965. While Madras and Bihar were the leading States in cement production in 1947, the leading States in this respect in 1971 were Madras, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and so on.