Lifelines of National Economy Class 10 CBSE Notes Geography

Introduction

            Transport, communication and trade play an important role in our day to day life as they link production centre with consumption centre. Production itself becomes easy by transport, communication and trade as processing site is linked with the sites of raw materials. Developed transport, communication and trade help goods and services being distributed in the local, national and international markets. They not only ensure movement of people, materials and communication but also movement of ideas and skills from one region to another.

Means of Transport

           Transport network includes various means of transport. Major means of transport in India are :

1. Roads           
2. Railways
3. Pipelines
4. Waterways and
5. Airways

1. Roads

                Roads are the most important mode of transport of a country. India has one of the longest road networks in the world. Roads have been in existence from time immemorial in India. Emperor Ashoka and Chandragupta made efforts to build good roads. Numerous good roads were built during the Mughal Period. Sher Shah Suri built Grand Trunk Road (G.T. Road) between Kolkata and Peshawar across the Indo-Gangetic plains. It is still the most important road in India. Roads carry traffic, agricultural and industrial products from one place to another. They help in the mobility of people, in exchange of ideas, in taking relief measures during famines and other such natural calamities. Even from administrative and defence points of view, importance of roads can never be underrated.

                Classification of Roads in India

                Roads in India are grouped into six categories on the basis of their construction and maintenance.

                (a)   National Highways

                (b)   Freeways/Expressway Highways

                (c)   State Highways

                (d)   District Roads

                (e)   Village Roads

                (f)    Border Roads

(a)           National Highways

                National Highways are those roads which run from one corner to another corner of the country and join the major cities together. Their construction and maintenance broadly rests with the Central Public Works Department.

                National Highway Authority has taken in hand the National Highway Developement Project comprising 4/6 lanes of 14846 kms of National Highways which have two components.

                (i)    Phase I-Construction of Golden Quadrilateral.

                (ii)   Phase II-Construction N-S and E-W corridors.

                In order to meet the requirement of fast traffic, Expressways & National Highways have been planned. 4 to 6 lane National Highways of 14846 kms, distance are proposed to be constructed during the period 1999-2001. These expressway nationalhighways are grouped as under.

1. The Golden Quadrilateral connecting four metropolitan cities-Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi (2846 km) is making progress. The completion is expected in near future.
2. North-South and East-West corridors (7300 kms) which will connect Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Silchar to Porbander respectively.

(b)           State Highways

              The State Highways are constructed and maintained by the State Public Works Department (P.W.D) to join practically every town in a state with its capital. They are main arteries of trade and commerce and passenger transport in the state. The total length of the State Highways is nearly 1.3 lakh kms. 97% of the total length of state highways is metalled or surfaced. Chennai-Coimbatore State Highway is an example.

(c)           District Roads

                District authorities construct and maintain these district roads. These roads connect major towns of a district with its headquarters. These roads are maintained by Zila Parishad.

National Highways and State Highways

	National Highways	State Highways
1.	National highway is long distance wide road which joins important places of the country.	State highway is wide road joining important places within a state.
2.	The building and maintenance of national highways is the responsibility of the Central Government	State Government builds and maintains the state highways.
3.	They carry passengers and goods from one corner to the other in the country	They carry passengers and goods within the state.
4.	They are the main roads of the country.	They serve as feeders to national highways.
5.	They are nearly 52000 km long. Example : G.T. Road. (N.H.1.), N.H.7.	They are nearly 1.3 lakh km long. Example : Lucknow – Varanasi Road.

(d)           Village Roads

                Village roads connect villages together. They are generally constructed and maintained by village Panchayats. District authorities also help in their construction. They are mostly Kuchcha roads. Over 1.5 crore animal driven carts run on these roads. They carry nearly 90 crore tonnes of farm goods over short distances. Now they are being surfaced and made motorable. These roads received special impetus under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana. Under this scheme special provisions are made so that every village in the country is linked to a major town in the country by an all season motorable road.

Metalled and Unsurfaced Roads

	Metalled Roads	Unsurfaced Roads
1.	They are metalled roads and built of coaltar and stones or of cement and stones.	They are unmetalled. They are made of earth and mud. They join the villages to the state highways. Bullock-carts, tractors and pedestrians can be found on these roads.
2.	These roads are under the control of State or the Central Government	These roads are under the control of District Boards and Gram Panchaytas.
3.	The metalled  roads give a stimulus to trade and other business activities.	These roads are helpful in transporting agricultural  produce to the markets and necessaries from market to the doorstep.
4.	Example : Shershah Suri Marg, State Highways.	Rural roads are generally unmetalled roads.

(e)         Border Roads

                Border Roads Organisation of Government of India undertaking constructs and maintains roads in the border areas of the country. This organisation was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and north eastern border areas. These roads have improved accessibility in areas of difficult terrain and have helped in the economic development of these areas.

              Road Density

                The length of roads per 100 sq. km of area is known as density of roads. Distribution of roads is not uniform in the country. Density of all roads varies from only 10 km in Jammu and Kashmir to 375 km in Kerala with the national average of 75 km (1996-97).

              Problems of road transport

1. Inadequate road pavement thickness.
2. Inadequate capacity to handle the traffic.
3. Poor riding quality.
4. Old, Weak and narrow bridges and culverts.
5. Congested city sections.
6. Too many railway level crossings.
7. Lack of wayside amenities.
8. Weak road safety measures.
9. About half of the roads are unmettaled and this limits their usage during the rainy season.

(2)       Railways

                (i) The British introduced Railways in India in 1853 when the first train moved between Mumbai and Thane covering a distance of 34 km. Today it has become main artery of inland transport in India. Indian Railway is the largest public sector undertaking in the country. It carries large scale traffic and passengers over long distances. Hence it is lifeline of the country.

                (ii)   Network

                The total length of the railway network as on March 31, 2002 was 63028 km comprising.

                (1)   Broad Gauge (1.67 metre) — 44776 km. (70%)

                (2)   Metre Gauge (1 metre) — 14987 km. (24.64%)

                (3)   Narrow Gauge (.77 metre) — 3265 km. (5.36%)

                The total length of railway network as on March 31, 1951 was 53596 km. It means that only 18% increase has occurred in its length over 51 years period.

                (iii) Distribution of Railway network in the country :

                The distribution pattern of the Railway network in the country has been largely influenced by 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. 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 was difficult to lay railway lines on the sandy plain of western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat, forested tracks of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand.

                (iv)  Railway Zones

                For administrative convenience the Railways have been divided into zones. The sixteen zones and their headquarters are as under:

        Zones                                                     Headquarters

1. Central                                                    Mumbai CST
2. Eastern                                                   Kolkata
3. Northern                                                 New Delhi
4. North-eastern                                         Gorakhpur
5. North-east Frontier                                 Mallagaon (Guwahati)
6. Southern                                                 Chennai
7. South Central                                         Secundrabad
8. South-eastern                                         Kolkata
9. Western                                                  Mumbai Churchgate
10. East Central                                            Hazipur
11. East Coast                                              Bhubneshwar
12. North Central                                           Allahabad
13. North-Western                                        Jaipur
14. South Western                                        Hubli
15. West Central                                           Jabalpur
16. Bilaspur                                                   Bilaspur

                (v)    Railway problems

              Many passengers travel without tickets. Thefts and damaging of railway property has not yet stopped completely. People stop the trains, pull the chain  unnecessarily and this causes heavy damage to the railway.

(3)       Roads & Railways (A Comparison)

                In India, roadways have preceded railways. They still have an edge over railways in view of the ease with which they can be built and maintained. The growing importance of road transport vis-a-vis rail transport is rooted in the following reasons;

                (i)    construction cost of roads is much lower than that of railway lines.

                (ii)   Roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography.

                (iii)  Roads can negotiate higher gradients of slopes and as such can traverse mountains such as the Himalayas.

                (iv)  Road transport is economical in transportation of few persons and relatively smaller amount of goods over short distances.

                (v)   It also provides door-to-door services, thus the cost of loading and unloading is much lower.

                (vi)  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.

(4)       Pipeline Transport

                In the past pipelines were used to carry water to cities and industries. Now-a-days they have become a major means of transport and are used in transporting crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas from the oil and natural gas fields to refineries, fertiliser factories and big thermal power generation plants.  Solids can also be transported through a pipeline when converted into slurry. The far inland locations of refineries like Barauni, Mathura, Panipat and gas based  fertilizer plants could be thought of only because of pipelines. Initial cost of laying pipelines is high but subsequent running costs  are minimal . It rules out trans-shipment losses or delays. Pipelines have made it possible to set up big thermal power plants in a shortest possible time and very close to markets.

                Major categories of Pipeline Transportation in India

                There are three important networks of pipelines transportation in the country.

•           From oil field in upper Assam to Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), via Guwahati, Barauni and Allahabad. It has branches from Barauni to Haldia, via, Rajbandh to Maurigram and Guwahati to Siliguri.

•          From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab, via Viramgam, Mathura, Delhi and Sonipat. It has branches to connect Koyali (near Vadodara, Gujarat) Chakshu and other places.

•           Gas pipeline from Hazira in Gujarat connects Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh, via Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. It has branches to Kota in Rajasthan, Shahajahanpur, Babrala and other places in Uttar Pradesh.

PART – II

(5)       Waterways

                India has a large number of perennial rivers and a very long coast line. But unluckily it is not properly utilised for transport purposes. Much improvement is needed in the existing inland waterways of the country. Especially with the growing volume of the country’s internal trade it requires a mode of transport which can handle bulky goods at low cost. Inland waterways can obviously meet this requirement. This development will go a long way in removing the congestion of goods traffic on the railways. It will also open up many new areas where products cannot be moved at present because of high railway freight. There is an imperative need of developing new internal waterways and improving the old ones.

Types of Water Transport

                Inland water transport is done through internal waterways like rivers, canals and lakes. It is the cheapest means of transport but it has not been developed so far in the country. Now efforts are being made to promote inland water transport. India has over 14500 kilometres of inland waterways. Of these only 3700 km are major river waterways navigable by mechanised boats. Out of these navigable rivers only 2000 kilometres are actually utilised. As far as canals are concerned, total length of 4300 kilometres is available for navigation. Out of this, only 485 km is suitable for mechanised boats. In fact only 331 km of length of canals is utilised for navigation, so far, in the country. Inland waterways carry more than 160 lakh tonnes of goods every year.

                Ocean waterways have been in use since time-immemorial. In the past India exported spices and other commodities toseveral countries of the world through oceans. Today the ocean waterways play a very significant role in strengthening the position of India among the countries of the world. Our foreign trade is increasing day by day due to our improved ocean waterways. It is fuel-efficient and environment friendly mode of transport.

                National Waterways

                Government of India has declared the following inland waterways as national waterways :

1. The Ganga river between Allahabad and Haldia covering a distance of 1620 km. (N.W. No. 1)
2. The Brahmaputra river between Sadiya and Dhubri covering a distance of 891 km. (N.W. No. 2)
3. The west Coast Canal in Kerala (Kottapuram-Komman, Udyogmandal and Champakkara Canals – 205 km.) N.W. No. 3

(iv)          Sea Ports

                At the time of Independence there were only five major sea ports.  Indian coast line is nearly 7,516.6 km. long. 12 major ports and 181 minor sea ports are located on this coast line. Mumbai, Kochi (Cochin), Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai. Six more ports, namely, Paradip, Tuticorin, Kandla, Marmagao, New Mangalore and Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhova Sheva have been added to the list of major ports. 95 per cent of the country’s trade volume is moved by sea.

                A new subsidiary port has been developed at Haldia in West Bengal. It supplements the facilities available at Kolkata port. 12th major port at Ennore, 25 kms of north of Chennai, has been developed and operationalised.

 

             Coastwise distribution of major sea ports is given below :

     Seaports located                                             Seaports located

     at West Coast                                                  at East Coast

1. Kandla                                                      1.    Tuticorin
2. Mumbai                                                     2.    Chennai
3. Jawahar Lal Nehru                                   3.    Ennore
4. Marmagao                                                4.    Vishakhapatnam
5. Mangalore                                                5.    Paradip
6. Kochi                                                        6.    Haldia (Kolkata)

                Kandla in Kuchchh was the first port developed soon after Independence to ease 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. 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 is the largest sea port of India. This port really makes Mumbai the Gateway of India. It is spacious, natural and well sheltered harbour. The Jawahar Lal Nehru port was planned with a view to decongest the Mumbai port and  serve as a hub port for this region.

                The major ports are managed and controlled by the Port Trusts under the Central Government while State Governments control minor ports. Minor ports handle 1/10 of the total cargo.

                Marmagao port (Goa) is the premier iron ore exporting port of the country. This port accounts for about fifty per cent of India’s iron ore export. New Mangalore port of Karnataka caters to the export of iron ore concentrates from Kudremukh mines. Kochchi is the extreme south-western port, located at the entrance of a lagoon with a natural harbour.

                Tuticorin, in Tamil Nadu port has a natural harbour and rich hinterland. Thus, it has a flourshing trade handling of a large variety of cargoes to even our neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, etc. and the coastal regions of India. Chennai is one of the oldest artificial ports of the country. It is ranked next to Mumbai in terms of the volume of trade and cargo. Vishakhapatnam is the deepest landlocked and well-protected port. This port was, originally, conceived as an outlet for iron ore exports. Paradwip port located in Orissa, specialises in the export of iron ore. Kolkata is an inland riverine port. This port serves a very large and rich hinterland of Ganga – Brahmaputra basin. Being a tidal port, it requires constant dredging of Hoogly. Haldia port was developed as a subsidiary port, in order to relieve growing pressure on the Kolkata poart.

(6)       Airways

                Air transport was started in India in 1911. After Independence much attention has been paid to its development. In 1953 Indian airways were nationalised and bifurcated. Now-a-days four air services are in operation.

                (1)    Air India.

                (2)   Indian Airlines and Alliance Air

                (3)    Pawan Hans Helicopters

                (4)    Private Air Lines (Scheduled and Non-scheduled).

                Air India is one of the best airlines in the world. It provides services linking us with as many as 27 countries of the world. It has latest aircraft. The services rendered by Air India are commendable. The aircraft of Air India operate from major international airports like Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport), Mumbai (Sahar), Kolkata (Dumdum), Chennai (Meenambakkam) and recently developed Thiruvananthapuram airport. Six others have also been declared international airports recently. At present international air services are provided by Air India, Indian Airlines and other international airlines operating in India, PSU’s and private sector companies.

                Indian Airlines caters to our domestic needs linking major cities and towns of India, through its regular flights. Its flights operate to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka also. The company has lately introduced 4 new international services and also a few new domestic traffic routes. The Air lines Allied Services has been revitalised as Alliance Air.

                Pawan Hans Helicopters provides helicopter service to the petroleum sector including ONGC and Oil India Ltd. and connects the remote and inaccessible areas of the north-eastern region of India. It also provides air support services to several customers including state and union territory governments.

                Thirteen internationl airports are :

1. Delhi                                     8.    Panaji
2. Mumbai                                9.     Kochi
3. Chennai                               10.    Hyderabad
4. Kolkata                                11.    Guwahati
5. Amritsar                               12.    Bangalore
6. Ahmedabad                         13.     Thiruvananthapuram
7. Sri Nagar

              Airports are managed by  Airports Authority of India.  It has established civil enclaves at 28 defence airports. Other small airports are managed by state governments and private sector. Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. operates generally in remote areas, small cities with the big ones for connecting flights of Indian Airlines Ltd. Private air taxis operate within the country.

Electronic Media

                (a)    Radio

                In 1950,  All India Radio acquired its new name of Akashvani. At that time, AIR’s network consisted of only six stations.

                Now AIR has 200 stations and 327 transmitters operating in the country.

                Now AIR caters to 97.3% of the total population over 90% of the total area. It puts out over 300 news bulletins each day.

                (b)    Television

                The first television centre of the country was started as an experimental service at Delhi in September 1959 with a 500 watts transmitter which had a range of 24 km.

                Today it telecasts programmes on 110 channels with a network of 41 programme production centres and 897 transmitting stations. It provides TV service to 87% population of the country.

International Trade

                Definition

                Trade is the exchange and transfer of goods and commodities between or among persons, regions and nations for satisfying necessities and for profit considerations. When the exchange and transfer of goods and commodities takes place between persons, it is called domestic or local trade; on the other hand exchange and transfer of goods and commodities that takes place between regions of a nation, it is termed as national trade while trade taking place between or among nations of the world, is called foreign or international trade.

                Trade at domestic or local and national level is also  termed as internal trade, whereas trade between nations is called external trade.

                India’s Foreign Trade

              Foreign Trade includes exports and imports. Export trade is that trade in which a country supplies its surplus goods and commodities to other nations and earns valuable foreign exchange. On the other hand import trade is that trade in which a country obtains these goods and commodities from other countries in which it is deficient and has to spend the valuable foreign exchange reserves. By importing goods and commodities from other countries a country satisfies the needs of its people.

                Difference in the value of exports and imports is called  Balance of Trade. When the value of exports is more than that of imports the balance of trade is said to be favourable, whereas when the value of exports is less than that of imports the balance of trade is said to be unfavourable.

                Importance of Foreign Trade

                The importance of foreign trade can be discussed with regard to imports and exports.

(a)           Importance of Imports

1. Imports compensate shortage of essential consumer goods and commodities in the country.
2. They provide several capital goods which the country’s economy needs urgently and the country can not produce them efficiently.
3. Industry and agriculture needs certain inputs which are provided by imports from other countries like petroleum and fertilisers.

(b)           Importance of Exports

1. Comparative advantage to us and other countries. We send surplus goods like tea and coffee to other countries so that our industries can run profitably in the country.
2. Exports pay for imports.
3. Earning of foreign exchange is possible only through exports.
4. Foreign trade promotes mutual understanding among the nations of the world and also international brotherhood. Furthermore, due to mutual understanding and co-operation, clashes and conflicts are avoided among the nations.

Tourism as an invisible Trade

1. Tourism promotes national integration.
2. People of different areas, regions and countries mix with one another, thus, help in promoting and developing international understanding.
3. It supports local handicrafts and cultural pursuits. People buy the items of handicraft and cultural items.
4. Over 1.5 crore people of India earn their livelihood directly from tourism industry.
5. India earns more than 14,000 crores of rupees every year as 26 lakh foreign tourists visit India every year. In this way tourism promotes trade of India which is invisible.
6. Rajasthan, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and temple towns of south India are important destinations of foregin tourists in India. There is vast potential of tourism development in the north-eastern states and the interior parts of Himalayas, but due to strategic reasons these have not been encouraged so far. However, there lies a bright future ahead for this upcoming industry.

New Terms

(1)           Means of Transport : The means that transport men and material from one place to another are known as Means of  Transport. e.g. Railways, Trains, Buses, Aeroplanes. Ships etc.

(2)           Means of Communication : The means that communicate message, news and information from one place to another and from one man to another man are called means of Communication. e.g. Newspaper, Telegram, mail, Fax, Telex, Magazines, Radio, Telephone, Television, Satellite and E-mail.

(3)           National Highways : Roads connecting many states and cities while pasing through many areas, are known as National Highways.e.g. Grand Trunk Road, Agra Mumbai Road.

(4)           State Highways : The roads that connect major cities of states, and which  are under the control and management of the state governments are known as state highways. e.g. Lucknow-Varanasi Road.

(5)           Expressway National Highway : Roads with 4 to 6 lanes to meet requirements of fast traffic in the country are called Expressway National Highways.

(6)           Golden Quadrilateral : National highway connecting Delhi, Mumbai,  Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi is termed as Golden Quadrilateral.

(7)           North-South Corridor : Expressway which connects Srinagar with Kanyakumari is known as North-South Corridor.

(8)           East-West Coridor : Expressway connecting Silcher (in Assam) with Porbandar (in Gujarat) is East-west Corridor.

(9)           Road Density : Length of roads per 100 square kilometers of areas is known as road density.

(10)         Locomotives: Locomotives are all types of railway engines. Steam, diesel and electric engines.

(11)         Transportation : Carrying goods and people from one place to another is termed as transportation.

(12)         Container Service : Container service is the service provided by the railways for delivering goods in big containers through trucks at the doorstep.

(13)         Guage : Gauge is the width between the two rails of the railway lines.

(14)         Pipelines Transportation :  Transportation of liquids and gases through pipelines from one place to another is called Pipelines Transportation. Piplelines connect sources of production, refineries and markets. Example : Transportation of natural gas through HBJ pipeline.

(15)         Harbour : The place where there is provision of loading and unloading the ships is termed as Harbour. Maintenance, boarding and lodging facilites for man and material are available here.e.g. Mumbai harbour.

(16)         Port is  the place on the sea coast where goods are loaded in and unloaded from ships. e.g. Mumbai, Kolkata.

(17)         Dock : By dock we mean the high pedestal built along the coastline for the purpose of loading and unloading of the ships.

(18)         Tidal Port : Tidal port is a sort of port which is operational during the tides. During tides ships come to the port and during ebb they go to the seas.e.g. Kandla Port.

(19)        Riverine Port  : The port, situated on the bank of a river far away from the sea and connected through that river with the sea, is called Riverine Port.e.g. Kolkata Port.

(20)         Hinterland : Hinterland is the area which is served by a port by exporting and importing goods and commodities through  the port. e.g. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh mainly from the hinterland of Mumbai Port.

(21)         Gateways: Ports are termed as the gateways because, exports and imports of a country pass through them. They act as the links between continents and far off places.e.g. Mumbai, Kolkata etc.

(22)         Land-locked Port  : The port which is encircled by land from all sides with a water passage towards sea or ocean is termed as Land-locked Port. e.g. Visakhapatnam-The deepest land-locked port.

(23)         Trade : Exchange of goods and services between persons, regions and countries is known as Trade.

(24)         Market : The place where exchange of goods and servicese takes place is known as Market.

(25)         Foreign or International Trade : Exchange of goods and services between two or more countries is called Foreign Trade or International Trade.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

(1)       There are varied means of  transport in India like roads, railways, pipelines, waterways and airways. Roadways are easy to build and have low construction nad maintenance cost.

(2)       ‘BOT’ stands for Build, Operate and Transfer. Roads which are built under BOT, the agency transfers it to the government after realising the cost and profit for certain period.

(3)        QMS or Quick Mail Serive is the postal service under which mail is sent quickly in some major cities.

(4)        There are 12 main ports and 181 medium and minor ports in India. Port trust of India regulates major ports. Major ports regulate foreign trade at internatioal level while minor ports manage national or internatioal trade and promote fishing. Paradip and Vishakahapatnam are two main ports of  India, known for exports of the iron ore. Japan and  Iran import iron  ore from India.  

 

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