Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
India’s history is rooted in the distant past. One of the oldest hotbeds of the world civilization originated on the Indo-Gangetic Plain. States began to form here since time out of mind, with highly developed agriculture and textile industry. Indian scholars contributed heavily to the world culture and science. They stood at the cradle of algebra, geometry, trigonometry; they were the first to use numbers that came known in Europe via Arabs as the Arabic numbers.
Ancient gems of Indian literature – epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana – have won world renown. Indian architects and artists made India famous as a country of miracles.
Modern-day India has made significant progress in the development of heavy industry. It has in fact recreated ferrous metallurgy based on its own iron ore and coal resources.
Metal processing and mechanical engineering are developing at a fast pace. Colonial India had only a few factories making weaving looms, assembling some basic machines and mechanisms. Now the country manufacturers equipment for metallurgy, machines, power equipment, diesel-, electricity- and coal-fired locomotives, rail cars, ships, cars, and medical instruments. It has built major power plants, including the hydroelectric unit Bhakra-Nangal on the Satledge River. The coal-fired power plant in Neiveli has been built with USSR assistance. Still the country experiences a shortage of electricity. It has started building nuclear power plants in Trombei and Kota.
The Indian government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru supported the creation of a public sector and introduction of a planned economy. When international monopolies started to obstruct India’s industrialization, the Soviet Union offered its help. With USSR assistance, India has built metallurgical plants in Bhilai and Bo-karo (to put out 7 and 10 million tons of steel, respectively, after upgrades), a heavy machine building plant in Ranchi, and other major industrial facilities.