India is not only self-supporting in the manufacture of railway equipment but is also capable of exporting the same to Asian and African countries.
The two-wheeler industry has promising future with the rising income level of the people in both urban and rural areas. Most of the leading players such as TVS-Suzuki, Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto have cut throat competition and are introducing a wide range of new products like catalytic convertors, 4 stroke engines, lean burn engines and fuel injected engines. Next few years will see a flood of new vehicles from various manufacturers, which would be more comfortable and environment friendly.
Three-wheelers are mostly manufactured by 2 companies, Bajaj Tempo of Pune and the Automobile Products of India, Mumbai. The total production was 16,947 vehicles in 1979.
Defense Vehicles
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Vehicles for defense forces are produced by the Vehicles Factory, Jabalpur (1969). The product includes one-tone light Nissan trucks in collaboration with the Japanese Company, Nissan. Heavy Shaktiman trucks are also made with license from the MAN Company, Germany.
Exports
India exports some automobiles and ancillaries to the countries of East Africa, Middle East, and South East Asia etc. Main items of export include buses, trucks, car, jeep, chassis, motor cycle, fuel injection equipment, radiators, engine valves etc. The total value of such exports was Rs. 84 crores in 1978-79.
Locomotives
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There are three units producing locomotives in the country.
(1) Chittaranjan Locomotive Works-It is a public sector undertaking set up in 1950 near Mihijam (Barddhaman district). The factory obtains its iron and steel from Asansol and Jamshedpur and hydel power from Maithon dam. The Chittaranjan Works produced 2,351 steam locomotives upto 1970. It started manufacturing electric locomotives since 1961 and up to March 1981 it had produced 828 electric locos, 404 diesel shunting locomotives and 40 ZDM-3 narrow gauge diesel engines. In 1996-97 the CLW manufactured 155 broad-gauge electric locomotives.
(2) Diesel Locomotive Works-It was set up at Varanasi in 1964 to assemble locomotives from inported components with annual capacity of 150 locos. Up to March 1981 it had manufactured 1,131 broad gauge, 41 meter gauge locos, 86 diesel shutters and 21 WDS diesel electric shutters. In 1996-97 the DLW produced 157 broad-gauge diesel locomotives and 14 meter-gauge diesel locos.
(3) Tata Engineering and Locomotive Works- It is a private sector unit set up at Jamshedpur in 1952 with annual capacity of producing 50 locomotives and 50 spare boilers. It produced 1,300 complete locomotives and 400 spare parts up to June 1970 when the production was stopped. Presently its products include tippers, forklifts, dumper placers and shutters.
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Rails, Wagons and Coaches
The major producers of rails of sections varying from 32 to 62 meters used by the Indian railways include SAIL, TISCO and IISC. The total annual rated capacity is about 7.5 lakh tones. After meeting the requirements of the Indian Railways about 5 lakh tones of rails are annually available for export.
There are 13 units in the private sector with installed capacity of 30,625 wagons and 3 railway workshop with installed capacity of24, 000 wagons (in terms of 4-wheelers). The total production was 11,000 wagons in 1971 -72; 13,600 in 1980- 81; and 25,000 in 1992-93.
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Amongst the manufacturers of railway coaches the bulk of the production comes from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur, Chennai set up with Swiss collaboration in 1955. Originally designed to produce only broad gauge coach shells, its production has been expanded and diversified to produce furnished coaches, electric multiple unit stock, diesel rail-cars and air-conditioned coaches. Up to March 1981 it had manufactured 12,680 passenger coaches (unfurnished shells).
The furnishing meeting the demand. Presently there are eight units in the country engaged in the manufacture of lifts and escalators. The present installed capacity of these units is of the order of 3,000 Nos. per annum. A new range of lifts called Sky Climbers is under manufacture. There is sufficient capacity available in the country for the manufacture of different types of transmission line towers.
The Hindustan Cables Factory, Rupnarainpur (West Bengal) set up in 1954 manufactures electric cables. Its second unit is located at Hyderabad.
Household electric appliances include coolers, mixers, water heaters, and irons, cooking equipments, washing and drying machines, refrigerators, grinding machines, electric fans, room air-conditioners, radio receivers and television sets. These are mainly produced at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, etc. Major manufacturers include Usha, Bajaj, Kamanis, Orient, etc. India is one of the foremost producers of electric fans in the world.
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The country earns sizeable amount of foreign exchange by the export of electrical equipment. The Tiruchi plant has supplied high pressure valves to Poland and Germany. The Bhopal factory exported switchgears to Iraq and large motors and capacitates to UAR and Malaysia. Malaysia has bought three oil-fired boilers. There is regular export of domestic electrical appliances to many countries of Africa and Asia.