Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Ancillary
adjective / noun
/ AN-sil-er-ee /
Medium
Meaning
Providing essential support or assistance to a main activity or organisation; subsidiary industries that supply components or services to a primary manufacturer.
Origin / Etymology
Latin ancillaris — belonging to a maidservant; ancilla (female servant)
Synonyms
Subsidiary
Auxiliary
Support
Supplementary
Antonyms
Primary
Core
Main
Example Sentence
"India builds less than 1% of global ship tonnage partly because it lacks an ancillary ecosystem — domestic producers of marine engines, propulsion systems, navigation equipment, and ship interiors are absent, forcing yards to import most components."
🎯 UPSC Usage
Key concept in industrial and MSME policy. The BHAVYA scheme's 100 industrial parks explicitly plan ancillary zones around core manufacturing units. NSHIP allocates 1,000 of 2,000 acres exclusively to ancillary supply-chain industries. In UPSC context, anchoring ancillary industries around large manufacturers multiplies employment and deepens industrial ecosystems — the Make in India and PLI strategy depends on this linkage.
Relevant Subjects