General Studies I · Subtopic
Secondary-sector location factors
Official syllabus
Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub- continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
UPSC CSE 2026 notification
What this covers
Secondary activities transform raw or intermediate materials. Their location reflects trade-offs among material inputs, energy, water, labour, land, capital, transport, markets, technology, infrastructure, policy, risk and environmental regulation. Distinguish raw-material-oriented, market-oriented, transport-oriented and footloose tendencies. Explain agglomeration economies, industrial inertia, deglomeration, global production networks and relocation as dynamic processes rather than fixed lists of factors.
Key ideas
- Material energy and water orientation
- Market and transport orientation
- Labour land capital and infrastructure
- Agglomeration and localization economies
- Industrial inertia and path dependence
- Deglomeration relocation and dispersal
- Technology value chains and footloose activity
- Policy risk regulation and sustainability