Classification of Industries

Industries are classified in a number of ways.

Size

On the basis of size, capital investment and labour force employed, industries are classified as large, medium, small scale, and cottage industries.

Ownership

On the basis of ownership, industries are categorised as: (i) public sector, (ii) private sector, and (iii) joint and cooperative sector. Public sector enterprises are government /state controlled companies or corporations funded by governments. 

Products

Industries are also classified on the basis of the use of their products such as: (i) basic goods industries, (ii) capital goods industries (iii) intermediate goods industries, and (iv) consumer goods industries.

Raw Materials

Another method of classifying industries is on the basis of raw materials used by them. Accordingly, these can be : (i) agriculture based industries, (ii) forest-based industries, (iii) mineral-based industries, and (iv) industrially processed raw material based industries.

Nature of Products

Another common classification of industries is based on the nature of the manufactured products. Eight classes of industries identified are: (1) Metallurgical Industries, (2) Mechanical Engineering Industries, (3) Chemical and Allied Industries, (4) Textile Industries, (5) Food Processing Industries, (6) Electricity Generation, (7) Electronics and (8) Communication Industries.