Examples of Non-Geographical Factors
There is a trend of the establishment of many industries in an area where they will get the advantage of resources that can be geographical and non-geographical. Often non-geographical factors become major deciding factors for business establishments. The history of the Indian cotton textile industry in and around Bombay in the early days was mainly due to wealthy and enterprising Parsi and Bhatia merchants who supplied vast financial resources. Another influencing factor for the cotton industry was Bombay’s cheap and excellent transportation network. Government policies introduced during the five-year plans greatly influence the establishment and growth of industries in various parts of India.
The iron and steel plants, fertilizers factories, engineering firms, oil refineries, power projects, and construction industries have come up in the new planning era of independent India. In south India, the emergence of suitable industries around the public sector plants and their expansion to backward areas result from government policies and initiatives. The locations of the oil refinery at Mathura and the fertilizer plant at Jagdishpur are the results of government policies applicable to those areas.
Non-geographical Factors Needed for Industries
Many factors influence the establishment of an industry in a particular region or location. Apart from geographical factors such as land, raw material resource, energy supply, etc., a range of non-geographical factors also determines the location and presence of industries in a region. These factors include a source of capital, labor supply, market demand, and many other factors. Non-geographical factors can be related to that region’s economic, social, or political environment that generates some favorable conditions for the establishment and functioning of the industries. In general, industrial establishments tend to locate where all the favorable factors of industrial activities are either available or can be arranged conveniently at a lower cost. The location decisions of the industry have been generally based on demand, market, and revenue factors which often are affected by several non-geographical factors.