Jamshedpur, as home to the first private Iron and Steel company of India, Tata Steel, is commonly called “Tata” as a result of the company’s significant presence. The areas surrounding Jamshedpur are rich in minerals, including iron ore, coal, manganese bauxite and lime. Some of these areas are Jamadoba, Noamundi and West Bokaro.

It is a modern, industrial city; the main industries being iron and steel, truck manufacturing, tinplate production, cement and other small and medium scale industries revolving around these products. The largest factory is that of Tata Steel (the erstwhile TISCO), and it is situated almost at the center of the city. Tata Steel is the largest iron and steel producing plant in India, as well as the oldest. Plans have been made for the expansion of Tata Steel’s existing plant at Jamshedpur from 5 million tonnes per annum to 10 million tonnes per annum. The steel plant still covers around a fourth of the land area of Jamshedpur, and has two inland water lakes.

The other major factory in the city is Tata Motors, which manufactures heavy vehicles & construction/earth moving equipment. Tata Motors was previously called The Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), as railway locomotives were once manufactured here.

Tata Tinplate (the erstwhile Tinplate Co. of India Ltd.) manufactures tinplate. It was originally a British company built in Golmuri, later on taken over by Tata. Another factory, located near Tata Motors, is the Indian Steel and Wire products (ISWP). ISWP was reopened after more than five years by Tata Steel after surmounting all legal impediments and BFIR-related hurdles. ISWP resumed production in its wire mill on January 2, 2004, after its takeover by Tata Steel, and has commenced its rod mill operations.

Several smaller industries, such as TRF (Tata Robins Fraser), which manufactures bulk material handling and processing machines and other engineering goods, are located in Jamshedpur. Agrico, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, manufactures agricultural implements. Tata Yodogawa Ltd manufactures rolls and dies for rolling mills. British Oxygen Company (BOC), producer of liquefied oxygen, nitrogen and other gases, also has a plant in the city.

Lafarge Cement, earlier Tata Cement, is located near Tata Motors. Along with the smokestacks of Tata Power, a coal fired captive power station that supplies a great deal of the city’s electricity, it can be conspicuously seen from the railway tracks while coming to Jamshedpur by rail.

Most of the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are located just outside Jamshedpur, in the Adityapur Industrial Estate.