JAC Board Class 10 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 7 Lifelines of National Economy
→ Modem means of transport and communication serve as iife lines of our nation and its modem economy.
→ Means of transportation can be divided into Roadways, Railways, Waterways, Airways and Pipelines.
→ Roadways: India has one of the largest road networks in the world, aggregating to about 54.7 lakh km at present.
→ The growing importance of road transport vis-a-vis rail transport is rooted in the following reasons:
(a) Constmction cost of roads is much lower than railway lines.
(b) Roads can traverse dissect on undulating topography.
(c) Roads can negotiate higher gradients of slopes and can traverse mountains such as the Himalayas.
(d) Road transport is economical in transportation of few persons and small amount of goods over short distances.
(e) It also provides door-to-door service, thus the cost of loading and unloading is much lower.
(f) Road transport is also used as a feeder to other modes of transport, such as, they provide a link between railway stations, air and sea ports.
→ In India, roads are classified into following six classes:
→ Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways:
The government has launched a major road development project linking Delhi-Kolkata- Chennai-Mumbai and Delhi by six-lane Super Highways. The North-South corridors linking Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), and East-West Corridor connecting Silchar (Assam) and Porbandar (Gujarat) are part of this project. National Highways: National Highways link extreme parts of the country. These are the primary road systems and are laid and maintained by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
→ State Highways:
Roads linking a state capital with different district headquarters are known as State Highways. These roads are constructed and maintained by the State Public Works Department (PWD) in State and Union Territories.
→ District Roads:
These roads connect the district headquarters with other places of the district. These roads are maintained by the Zila Parishad.
→ Other Roads:
Rural roads, link rural areas and villages with towns. These roads received special impetus under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana.
→ Border Roads:
Border Roads Organisation, a Government of India undertaking constructs and maintains roads in the bordering areas of the country.
→ Railways:
- Railways are the principal modes of transportation for freight and passengers in India.
- Railways bind the economic life as well as accelerate the development of industry and agriculture.
- The distribution pattern of the Railway network in the country has been largely influenced by the physiographic, economic and administrative factors. The northern , plains with their vast level land, high population density and rich agricultural resources provided the most favourable condition for their growth.
- It was difficult to lay railway tracks on sandy areas, etc.
- Pipeline transport network is a new arrival on the transportation map of India. In the past, these were used to transport water to cities and industries. Now, these are used for transporting crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas from oil and natural gas fields to refineries, fertilizer factories and big thermal power plants.
→ Waterways: Waterways are the cheapest means of transport. They are most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods. It is a fuel-efficient and environment friendly mode of transport.
- India has inland navigation waterways of 14,500 km in length. Out of these only 5685 km are navigable by mechanised vessels,
- Kandla in Kachchh was the first port developed soon after Independence to ease j the volume of trade on the Mumbai port, in the wake of loss of Karachi port to Pakistan after the partition. Kandla is a tidal port.
- Mumbai is the biggest port with a spacious natural and well-sheltered harbour.
→ Airways :
- The air travel, today, is the fastest, most comfortable and prestigious mode of transport. It can cover very difficult terrains like high mountains, dreary deserts, dense forests aiid also long oceanic stretches with great ease.
- The air transport was nationalised in 1953. Air India provides domestic and , international air services. Pawanhans Helicopters Ltd. provides helicopter services to oil and Natural Gas Corporation in its off-shore operations, to inaccessible areas and difficult terrains like the north-eastern states and the interior parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
→ Communication:
- Long distance communication is far easier without physical movement of the communicator or receiver. Personal communication and mass communication including television, radio, press, films, etc., are the major means of communication in the country. The Indian postal network is the largest in the world.
- India has one of the largest telecom networks in Asia. Apart from the urban places, more than two-thirds of the villages in India have already been covered with Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) telephone facility.
→ Mass Communication: Mass communication provides entertainment and creates awareness among people about various national programmes and policies. It includes radio, television, newspapers, magazines, books and films. All India Radio (Akashwani) broadcasts a variety of programmes in national, regional and local languages for various categories of people, spread over different parts of the country. Doordarshan, the national television channel of India, is one of the largest terrestrial networks in the world. It broadcasts a variety of programmes from entertainment, educational to sports, etc. for the people of different age groups.
→ International Trade: Trade is the exchange of goods among people, states and countries. The market is the place where such exchanges take place. Trade between two countries is called international trade. It may take place through sea, air or land routes. While local trade is carried in cities, towns and villages, state level trade is carried between two or more states.
- Export and import are the components of trade. The balance of trade of a country is the difference between its export and import. India has trade relations with all the major trading blocks and all geographical regions of the world.
- Tourism as a Trade: Tourism in India has grown substantially over the last three decades. More than 15 million people are directly engaged in the tourism industry.
- Foreign tourists visit India for heritage, eco, adventure, cultural, medical and business tourism.