Concept of High Technology Industry - High technology, or simply high-tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. It is best understood as the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character. Professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of the total workforce. These highly skilled specialists greatly outnumber the actual production (blue collar) workers. Robotics on the assembly line, computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacturing, electronic controls of smelting and refining processes, and the constant development of new chemical and pharmaceutical products are notable examples of a high-tech industry. Neatly spaced, low, modern, dispersed, office-plant-lab buildings rather than massive assembly structures, factories and storage areas mark the high-tech industrial landscape. Planned business parks for high-tech start-ups have become part of regional and local development schemes. High-tech industries which are regionally concentrated, self-sustained and highly specialized are called technopolies. The Silicon Valley near San Francisco and Silicon Forest near Seattle are examples of technopolies.
Which type of workers make up a large share of the total workforce in the high technology industry?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → White collar
Option (1) Red collar — Incorrect. Red is one of the collar colours used to group workers, but the large share of the high-tech workforce is professional (white collar).
Option (2) White collar — Correct. High-tech industry rests on intensive research and development, so professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of its workforce.
Option (3) Blue collar — Incorrect. Blue collar workers are the actual production workers; in high-tech industry the highly skilled specialists greatly outnumber them.
Option (4) Golden collar — Incorrect. ‘Gold collar’ stands for quinary top decision-makers, not the workforce of a high-tech factory.
Note 1: NCERT (2025-26) lists ‘Red’ in its ‘Colour of the collar’ activity but leaves the nature of the work for the student to find; the term red collar is generally used for government employees.
Note 2: This passage is NCERT’s section ‘Concept of High Technology Industry’ from the chapter ‘Secondary Activities’ (Fundamentals of Human Geography), almost word for word. NTA’s high-tech passage came straight off NCERT’s own pages — no new chip installed. One careful read of each short section, and these five marks are already yours.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 20-05-2025 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2023 on 21-06-2023 (Slot 3), 12-06-2023 (Slot 2) and 24-05-2023 (Slot 2).
NCERT (2025-26): “Concept of High Technology Industry High technology, or simply high-tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. It is best understood as the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character. Professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of the total workforce. These highly skilled specialists greatly outnumber the actual production (blue collar) workers. Robotics on the assembly line, computer -aided design (CAD) and manufacturing, electronic controls of smelting and refining processes, and the constant development of new chemical and pharmaceutical products are notable examples of a high-tech industry. Neatly spaced, low, modern, dispersed, office-plant-lab buildings rather than massive assembly structures, factories and storage areas mark the high-tech industrial landscape. Planned business parks for high-tech start-ups have become part of regional and local development schemes. High-tech industries which are regionally concentrated, self-sustained and highly specialised are called technopolies. The Silicon Valley near San Francisco and Silicon Forest near Seattle are examples of technopolies.…” |