Indian Industrial Clusters

This book presents an in-depth analysis of the functional dynamics of Indian industrial clusters which have grown and stayed as hubs of business activity in India, thanks to a large calibrated domestic market for goods. The examples given contribute towards the understanding of theoretical underpinnings of small firm clusters in LDCs and also indicate steps towards effective policy making for SME development in general, and local economic regeneration in LDCs in particular. The industries studied include modern as well as traditional/artisanal sectors which span at least ten Indian states. They provide insights into informality, labour, inter-firm relationship (cooperation and competition), technological and organisational flexibility, and forms of supportive institutional arrangements and nature of linkages with agencies external to the cluster, among other things. This book will be of particular interest to SME practitioners and to students and researchers of economics, business management, regional development, economic geography, industrial sociology and industrial organisation.

Contents: Preface; Industrial clustering in India: local dynamics and the global debate, Keshab Das; An Italian model and an Indian reality: searching for a way-out of deteriorating sweatshop conditions, Peter Knorringa; Flexible accumulation and labour markets: case of the Tiruppur Knitwear Cluster, M. Vijayabaskar; Industrial clusters and labour in rural areas: the brick kiln industry in three States, Rachel Kurian; Competition and response in small firm clusters: two cases from Gujarat, Keshab Das; Organizational forms, technological change and income generation: handloom and conch shell product clusters in West Bengal, Pradip Kumar Biswas; Variations on the classical model: forms of cooperation in leather clusters of Palar Valley, Tamil Nadu, Loraine Kennedy; Industrial clustering and cooperation: the Kanpur Saddlery cluster, Mridula Dwivedi and Rahul Varman; Flexible specialization for rural industries? a study of the bamboo and rattan subsector, P.M. Mathew; The silver filigree cluster in Cuttack, Orissa: what ails it?, Gyana Chandra Kar; Handicrafts and 'Cluster Development Approach': the hand block printed textiles cluster of Jaipur, Tamal Sarkar; Transforming artisans to entrepreneurs through group enterprise: the footwear cluster of Athani, Karnataka, Madhura M. Chatrapathy; Classifying small enterprise clusters: a conceptual enquiry in Ahmedabad, Meine Pieter van Dijk; Index.

Keshab Das is Professor at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India.