Chapter 7 Lifelines of National Economy
Question and AnswerQuestion 1: Why are efficient means of transport pre-requisites for the fast development of the country?
Answer:
• Economic development of a country largely depends upon dense network of transport and communication.
• They link areas of production with consumption, agriculture with industry and villages with towns and cities.
• They help the industry by providing raw materials and distribution of finished goods.
• They help in the development of all three sectors.
• They also help in the balanced regional development.
• Hence, efficient means of transport are pre-requisites for the fast development of the country.
Question 2: “Transport, communication and trade are complementary to each other.” Justify.
Answer:
• Today, the world has been converted into a large village with the help of efficient and fast moving transport.
• Transport has been able to achieve this with the help of equally developed communication system.
• Therefore, transport, communication and trade are complementary to each other.
• Today, India is well-linked with the rest of the world despite its vast size, diversity and linguistic and socio-cultural plurality.
• Railways, airways, waterways, newspapers, radio, television, cinema, internet etc. have been contributing to its socio-economic progress in many ways.
• The trades from local to international levels have added to the vitality of its economy.
• It has enriched our life and added substantially to growing amenities and facilities for the comforts of life.
Question 3: How have roadways an edge over railways in India? Explain.
Answer:
• The cost of construction of roadways is lower than railways.
• Roadways can be constructed on all types of topographical features and can negotiate higher gradient of slope.
• It is economical in transportation of few persons and relatively smaller amount of goods over short distances.
• It provides door to door services.
• It acts as a feeder to other modes of transport.
Question 4: How are the roads classified in India? Give a brief account on them.
Answer: In India the roads are classified as follows:
• Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways:
→ This six-lane superhighway connects Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.
→ The North-South corridor links Srinagar and Kanyakumari.
→ The East-West corridor connects Silcher and Porbandar.
→ The main objective of these superhighways is to reduce the time and distance between the mega cities of India.
→ These highway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India.
• National Highways:
→ These roadways connect the state capitals, big cities and other extreme parts of the country.
→ These roads are laid and maintained by the Central Public Works Department.
• State Highways:
→ These roads link a state capital with different district headquarters.
→ They are constructed and maintained by the State Public Works Department.
• District Roads:
→ These roads connect the district headquarters with other places of the district.
→ These roads are maintained by the Zilla Parishad.
• Other Roads:
→ These roads link rural areas and villages with towns.
• Border Roads:
→ The Border Roads Organisation, established in 1960, constructs and maintains roads in the bordering areas of the country.
→ These roads have improved accessibility in areas of difficult terrain (northern and north eastern border areas).
→ They have helped in the economic development of these areas.
Question 5: How are roads classified on the basis of the type of material used for their construction?
Answer:
• Roads, on the basis of the type of material used for their construction, have been classified as metalled and unmetalled roads.
• Metalled roads may be made of cement, concrete or even bitumen of coal, therefore, these are all weather roads.
• Unmetalled roads (mud roads), go out of use in the rainy season.
Question 6: Describe/mention the major problems faced by road transport in India.
Answer:
• The road network is inadequate in India as compared to the demand and the volume of traffic.
• The unmetalled roads, (mud roads) which constitute about half of the roads, go out of use in the rainy season.
• The roadways are highly congested in the cities.
• Most of the bridges and culverts are old and narrow.
Question 7: “Indian railways binds the economic life of the country as well as accelerates the development of industry and agriculture.” Justify the statement.
Answer:
• Railways are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India.
• They transport heavy and bulky goods over long distances.
• They also make it possible to conduct multifarious activities like business, sightseeing, pilgrimage etc.
• They have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years.
• Thus, railways in India bind the economic life of the country as well as accelerate the development of the industry and agriculture.
Question 8: “The distribution pattern of the railway network in the country has been largely influenced by physiographic, economic and administrative factors.” Give reasons to support the statement.
Answer:
• The density of railway network in the northern plains is quite high due to the vast level land, high population density and rich agricultural resources.
• In the hilly terrains of the peninsular region, railway tracts are laid through low hills, gaps or tunnels. But the density of railway network is lesser compared to the plains.
• The Himalayan mountainous regions are unfavourable for the construction of railway lines due to high relief, sparse population and lack of economic opportunities.
• Likewise, it is difficult to lay railway lines on the sandy plain of western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat and forested tracks of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha etc.
• It has also faced a number of problems such as sinking of tracks in some stretches and landslides.
Question 9: Mention the problems faced by railways.
Answer:
• Travelling without tickets.
• Thefts and damaging of railway property.
• Stopping of trains by pulling the chain, without any emergency or necessity.
Question 10: “Pipeline transport network is a new arrival on the transportation map of India.” Explain.
Answer:
• In the past, these pipelines were used to transport water to cities and industries.
• Now, these are used for transporting crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas to refineries, fertilizer factories and big thermal plants.
• Solids can also be transported when converted into slurry.
• Initial cost of laying pipelines is high but subsequent running cost is minimal.
• It rules out trans-shipment losses or delays.
• The three important networks of pipeline transportation in the country are as follows:
→ From Assam to Kanpur.
→ From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab.
→ From Hazira in Gujarat to Jagadishpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Question 11: What is the importance of waterways? Name the national waterways of India.
Answer:
• Waterways are the cheapest means of transport.
• They are most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods.
• It is fuel-efficient and environment friendly mode of transport.
• The national waterways of India are:
→ N.W. No.1 - the Ganga river between Allahabad and Haldia.
→ N.W. No. 2 - the Brahmaputra river between Sadiya and Dhubri.
→ N.W. No. 3 - the West-coast canal in Kerala.
Question 12: Why is air transport preferred in the north-eastern states of India? Explain.
Answer:
• The air travel is the fastest, most comfortable and prestigious mode of transport.
• It can cover very difficult terrains like high mountains, dreary deserts, dense forests and also long oceanic stretches with great ease.
• The north-eastern part of the country is marked with the presence of big rivers, dissected relief, dense forests, frequent floods and international borders etc.
• Hence air travel is preferred in the north-eastern states of India, as air travel has made access easier.
Question 13: What is the difference between personal communication and mass communication? What is the importance of mass communication?
Answer:
• Personal communication:
→ Communication between two or more persons at personal level is called personal communication.
→ Means of personal communication include letters, parcels, cards, envelopes, registered newspapers, periodicals etc.
• Mass communication:
→ Communication through which one can communicate with several persons at the same time is called mass communication.
→ Means of mass communication include radio, television, press, films etc.
→ It provides entertainment and creates awareness among people about various national programmes and policies.
Question 14: “Advancement of international trade of a country is an index of its prosperity.” Justify the statement.
Answer:
• Trade between two countries is called international trade.
• As the resources are space bound, no country can survive without international trade.
• Export and import are the components of trade.
• India has trade relations with all the major trading blocks and all geographical regions of the world.
• Major commodities of export include agriculture and allied products, ores, minerals, jewellery etc.
• Major commodities of import include petroleum products, machinery, pearls, fertilizers etc.
• International trade contributed to India’s economic growth, through higher productivity, raising income levels of people and large foreign exchange earnings.
• In the recent years India has emerged as a software giant through the export of information technology.
Question 15: How tourism has helped in developing Indian economy? / Describe the importance of tourism as a trade.
Answer:
• Tourism in India has grown substantially over the last three decades.
• Foreign tourists visit India for heritage tourism, eco tourism, adventure tourism, cultural tourism, medical tourism and business tourism.
• Our country earns foreign exchange through tourism industry.
• More than 15 million people are directly engaged in the tourism industry.
• Tourism promotes national integration, provides support to local handicrafts and cultural pursuits.
• It also helps in the development of international understanding about our culture and heritage.
Question 16: Write briefly about the major sea ports in India.
Answer:
• With a long coastline of 7516.6 km, India is dotted with 12 major and 181 medium and minor ports.
• These major ports handle 95 percent of India’s foreign trade.
• Kandla port:
→ It is a tidal port.
→ It was the first port developed soon after independence to ease the volume of trade on the Mumbai port (loss of Karachi port to Pakistan after the partition).
→ It caters to the convenient handling of exports and imports of highly productive granary and industrial belt stretching across the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Mumbai port:
→ It is the biggest port with a spacious natural and well-sheltered harbor.
→ The Jawaharlal Nehru port was planned with a view to decongest the Mumbai port and serve as a hub port for this region.
• Marmagao:
→ It is the premier iron ore exporting port of the country.
• New Mangalore port:
→ Located in Karnataka, it caters to the export of iron ore.
• Kochi port:
→ It is the extreme south-western port of the country, located at the entrance of a lagoon with a natural harbor.
• Tuticorin port:
→ It is the extreme south-eastern port in Tamil Nadu. This port has a natural harbor and a rich hinterland. It handles a large variety of cargoes to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives etc.
• Chennai port:
→ It is one of the oldest artificial ports of the country. It stands in second position in terms of the volume of trade and cargo.
• Visakhapatnam port:
→ It is the deepest landlocked and well-protected port. Iron ore is exported to other countries through this port.
• Paradip port:
→ Located in Orissa, it specializes in the export of iron ore.
• Kolkata port:
→ It is an inland riverine port. It is a tidal port. Hence it requires constant dredging of Hoogly. This port serves a very large and rich hinterland of Ganga-Brahmaputra basin.
• Haldia port:
→ It was developed as a subsidiary port, in order to relieve growing pressure on the Kolkata port.
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