Cottage Industries Occupy An Important Place
Cottage industries occupy an important place in the economy of India. India is a predominantly agricultural country. About eighty per cent of our country’s population depends on agriculture. In India agriculture can be termed the largest and the most important industry. Agriculture is a seasonal industry which does not provide any work to the agriculturists for about three to four months in a year. The women and the old are without any useful employment almost throughout the year. Cottage industries can provide them some gainful employment and add to their income. They can increase the total production in the country as well.
This is the age of machines. Mechanisation is the order of the day all over the world. But in’an underdeveloped and agricultural country like India, the importance of cottage industries cannot be over-emphasised. Even Mahatma Gandhi strongly recommended the development and expansion of cottage industries in India. He said, “I can have no consideration for machinery which is meant to enrich the few at the expense of many.” According to him, “Mechanisation is good when the hands are too few for the work intended to be accomplished. It is an evil when there are more hands than required for work as is the case in India • The problem is how to utilise the idle hours of teeming million inhabitants of our villages which are equal to the working days of six months in a year.”
Cottage industries are of special importance because they can be carried on with the help of the members of the family. They do not require large premises, huge machines and great investment. They are labour intensive. The greatest advantage of such industries is that even the women and the old in the family can usefully utilise their leisure. They not only increase the income of the family but also reduce unemployment and thus raise the standard of living of the members of the family. In olden times, India had fairly developed cottage industries. The commodities produced in
This is the age of machines. Mechanisation is the order of the day all over the world. But in’an underdeveloped and agricultural country like India, the importance of cottage industries cannot be over-emphasised. Even Mahatma Gandhi strongly recommended the development and expansion of cottage industries in India. He said, “I can have no consideration for machinery which is meant to enrich the few at the expense of many.” According to him, “Mechanisation is good when the hands are too few for the work intended to be accomplished. It is an evil when there are more hands than required for work as is the case in India • The problem is how to utilise the idle hours of teeming million inhabitants of our villages which are equal to the working days of six months in a year.”
Cottage industries are of special importance because they can be carried on with the help of the members of the family. They do not require large premises, huge machines and great investment. They are labour intensive. The greatest advantage of such industries is that even the women and the old in the family can usefully utilise their leisure. They not only increase the income of the family but also reduce unemployment and thus raise the standard of living of the members of the family. In olden times, India had fairly developed cottage industries. The commodities produced in