Chapter – 7

Lifelines of National Economy

Key Points
Means of Transport and Communication- True Lifelines

• Goods are transported from supply to demand locations by people called traders.
• Transport is a key factor that influences India’s rapid economic development.
• Based on the medium it uses, the means of transport can be divided into land transport,
water transport and air transport.

Means of Transport
• Land transport includes roadways and railways.
• Pipelines used to transport liquid and gaseous material over long distances.
• Water transport can be classified as inland transport and overseas transport.
• Inland transport happens along coastline between two domestic ports or through inland
waterways. Overseas transport involves sending goods from one country to another.
• Air transport can be classified as domestic and international. Private and government-run
domestic airways connect different cities of India.
• International airways connect India with destinations in all parts of the world.
• Modern advances in science and technology have not left any part of the world inaccessible.
Thus, the world appears a much smaller place today.
• Trade requires some means of exchanging ideas and connecting with people. This is where
communication comes in.
Means of Communication
• While transport physically transfers people and goods from one place to another, means of
communication allow people in different locations to connect with each other without
actually travelling.
• Some common means of communication are radio, television, cinema, newspapers, the
Internet, fax and phone services.
• A dense, efficient network of transport, and extensive, reliable means of communication are
the true lifelines of trade and economic development for India and the rest of the world.
Roadways – Advantages, Types and Challenges

• The road network in India is amongst the most widespread in the world.
• The length of all the roads in India adds up to around 2.3 million kilometers.

Advantages
• Road is easier to construct at a lower cost.
• Roads are easier to lay on undulating land and steep slopes, like in a mountainous region.
• Is cheaper and transports a small number of people or goods over short distances.
• Roads door-to-door connectivity.
 • Provides direct feeder links to other places of goods transport, like seaports, airports and
railway stations.

Types of Roads
• Based on their capacity to sustain traffic, roads are classified into the following six types: The
Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways, National Highways, State Highways, District Roads,
Border Roads and Other Roads.
• Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways: It is a 6 lane super highway. This connects four
mega cities of our country i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. East-West Corridor
connects Silchar (Assam) with Porbandar (Gujarat). North-South Corridor connects Srinagar
(J&K) with Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu).
• National Highways: These roads are most important in India. National Highways are
constructed by CPWD. Important National Highways are NH-1, NH-2, NH-7 etc. These
highways connect important cities, railways stations, port, mining areas, capital towns, etc.
• State Highways: These roads connect state capital with district headquarters. They are
constructed by SPWD (State Public Work Dept.).
• District Roads: These roads are found in rural areas. They connect district headquarter with
village and blocks. Other Roads: It includes village roads. They are mainly non-metalled roads.
Many roads have been constructed under “Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana”.
• Border Roads: Border Roads are constructed by Border Road Organisation (BRO). These
roads are constructed along the borders which are used to connect isolated parts with main
country. These roads are very important from strategic point of view.
• Road Density:-The length of roads per hundred square kilometers of area is called road
density.
• Jammu and Kashmir has the lowest road density at 10 kilometers, while Kerala has the
highest at 375 kilometers.
• The average road density of Indian states is 75 kilometers.
Challenges
India roadways are facing many challenges like:
• The roads and national highways in India are not enough to accommodate the large
volume of road traffic. This leads to frequent traffic jams.
• 50% of the roads in India are unmetalled and become difficult during the monsoons.
• Roads and bridges in most Indian cities are quite narrow.

Indian Railway at a Glance- Merits and Challenges

• Indian railway is about 150 years old. First rail was started in 1853 between Mumbai and
Thane.
• It connects State Capital with Capital of India. It also connects major towns and cities,
tourist places, mining centers, seaports, airports, etc.
• There are about more than 7,000 stations on 63,000 km. long railway tract.
• Indian railway is divided into 16 zones for proper administration.
• Railways in India have three gauge system: (a) Broad Gauge (1.676 m) (b) Meter Gauge
(1.0 m) (c) Narrow Gauge (0.762 and 0.610 m).
• There are various types of train running in India such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Mail and
Express, Local and Special Trains which carry passengers.
 • About 80% of freight (goods) and 70% of passenger traffic is carried by railways.
• Konkan Railways is built in Western Ghat Mountain. It is an example of best railway
engineering in India. It has hundred of tunnels and bridges.
• There is marked improvement in Indian railways. They are: (a) Computerised
Reservation System, (b) Waiting Room Facilities on Stations, (c) Catering Facility, (d)
Electrification of Tracks, (e) Uni-Gauge System (Conversion of all gauges into broad
gauge), (f) Replacement of Steam Engine with Electric Engine, (g) Special Trains like
Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Summer Special, etc.

Merits or Advantage of Railways

• Good for transportation of bulky and heavy materials.
• It is cheaper for transporting goods for longer distances.
• Best for transportation of raw materials e.g. iron ore, manganese, coal, etc.
• It is fast mode transportation.
• Large number of passengers can be transported. Railway provides various facilities such
as night berth, catering, computerised reservation, etc.
Challenges
• Many passengers travel on trains without a proper ticket leading to a huge revenue loss
to the railways.
• Misuse of the safety feature to stop the train.
• People disrupt railway traffic and damage railway property in the name of
demonstrations.

Network of Pipelines

• Pipelines are networks of pipes that bring water into our house and take wastes away.
• Now pipelines are being used to transport several industrial materials.
• There are three important gas and oil pipeline networks in India.
• An oil pipeline runs from the oil fields in Digboi in Assam to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh via
Guwahati, Barauni and Allahabad.
• The main branches of this oil pipeline are Guwahati to Siliguri, Barauni to Haldia via
Rajbandh, and Rajbandh to Maurigram.
• Another oil pipeline runs from oil fields in Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab. This oil
pipeline passes through Viramgam, Mathura, Delhi and Sonipat. It has several branches
leading to Koyali and Chakshu, etc.
• A natural gas pipeline runs from the Hazira gas fields in Gujarat to Jagdishpur in Uttar
Pradesh, while passing through Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. Its branches supply gas to Kota
in Rajasthan and several places like Barbala and Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
• Pipelines are difficult and expensive to construct. But once constructed, they require very little
maintenance and save a lot of money by eliminating transport losses and delays.

Advantages of Pipeline Transportation

• Pipeline is best for transportation of gas and liquid materials e.g. oil, natural gas, water and
milk.
 • Construction of pipeline is cheaper than road and railways.
• Pipeline can be constructed in forest, swampy area, hills and desert.
• It can also be laid down under river and ocean water.
• Pipeline can ensure regular, quick and on-demand supply of liquid and gaseous materials.
• Pipelines can be operated at low energy cost and it does not pollute environment.

Waterways

• Sea trade has been practised in India since ancient times. Transport by waterways is the most
fuel-efficient, cost-effective and environment-friendly way to carry heavy goods from one
place to another.
• Large rivers and backwaters provide around 14,500 kilometers of inland waterways in India
where, only 3,700 kilometers of these are accessible to mechanised boats.
• Inland waterways in India are provided by the rivers Ganga, Brahmputra, Godavari, Krishna,
Brahmani, Barak, canals like the East-West canal, West Coast canal, Buckingham canal,
Damodar Valley Corporation canal and the Sunderbans area.
• National waterway number 1 on the Ganga connects Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in
West Bengal covering a distance of 1,620 kilometers.
• National waterway number 2 on the Brahmaputra connects Sadiya in Arunachal Pradesh to
Dhubri in Assam covering a distance of 891 kilometers.
• National waterway number 3 on the West Coast canal in Kerala connects Kottapurma in the
north to Ashtamudi Kayal in the south, covering a distance of 205 kilometers.
• The major international trade from India is carried out from its ports that allow docking
facilities for large vessels. India has a long coastline of around 7,516 kilometers along which
lie 12 major and 181 medium and small ports.
• Around 95% of India’s international trade is carried out from these 12 major ports which
are:
The Kandla Port in the Gulf of Kutch handles exports and imports for the fertile plains and
industrial belts spread over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• The Mumbai Port is the largest port in India.
• The Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Navi Mumbai was constructed to decongest traffic at the old
Mumbai port.
• The Mormugao Port in Goa handles around 50% of the total iron ore exports from India.
• The New Mangalore Port in Karnataka handles excellent quality iron ore from the
Kudermukh mines.
• The Kochi Port is a natural harbor and the last port on the south-west coast.
• The Tuticorin Port in Tamil Nadu handles cargo bound for India as well as our
neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• The Chennai Port which is one of the oldest artificial ports in India, and second only to
Mumbai in terms of volume of trade and cargo handled.
• The Vishakhapatnam Port is the country’s deepest, most protected landlocked port.
• The Paradip Port in Orissa is the main centre for the export of iron ore.
• The Haldia Port was developed to decongest the Kolkata Port.
• The tidal port of Kolkata has a rich Ganga-Brahmaputra hinterland and is an inland port
services by the river Hooghly.
 Airways

• Air travel is the quickest and one of the most comfortable means of transport. The main
advantage of using airways is that it can easily cross all kinds of terrain - from mountains,
deserts, rainforests and wetlands to oceans.
• Nationalised air transport in India began in 1953 with the launch of Air India and Indian
Airlines. Air India operates international flights from India.
• Indian Airlines and its fully owned subsidiary Alliance Air operate domestic flights in India.
• Indian Airlines operates international flights to some countries in south-east Asia, south Asia
and the Middle East. A lot of private airlines operate domestic flights in India.
• Helicopter is another means of air travel that does not require long runways to take off or
land, unlike airplanes. This form of air transport is especially useful in the north-eastern parts
of India where densely forested mountains crisscrossed by rivers make it difficult to
construct roads and railways.
• Pawan Hans Helicopter Company Limited provides helicopter services to government
enterprises like ONGC and passenger services in mountainous area that are difficult to
access.
• Air travel is still very expensive in India and out of the reach of a large part of the
population.
• Air transport is especially useful in the north-eastern parts of India where special
arrangements have been made to make air travel services available to the common people.

Means of Communication

• Communication is of two types: Personal Communication and Mass Communication.

• Personal communication is where just two or a small group of people communicate with
each other. Personal letters, e-mails and phone calls are examples of inter-personal
communication.
• Mass communication is communication referred to an indefinite number of people spread
over a large geographical area. Radio, television, cinema, newspapers and magazines, and
Internet, are examples of mass communication.
• India’s postal service is the largest of its kind in the world where the services are provided by
the Department of Posts of the Government of India.
• The Indian postal service handles both letters and parcels. Post cards and envelopes are
classified as first-class mail and are delivered on priority using both air and land transport.
• Packets of books, and registered newspapers and periodicals are classified as second-class
mail, and are delivered using surface transport like roadways, railways and ships.
• The Indian postal service has introduced six channels for quicker delivery of letters in large
town and cities, called the Rajdhani Channel, Metro Channel, Green Channel, Business
Channel, Bulk Mail Channel and Periodical Channel.

Telecom Network
 • The telecom network in India is the largest in Asia, with about 37,565 telephone exchanges
spread all over the country.
• All the urban centres and over two-thirds of Indian villages are now connected with subscriber
trunk dialling, or STD facility.
• The Government of India has made provisions for 24-hour STD facility in every village of
India. A uniform rate of STD calls from anywhere in India is possible due to the integration
of our space and communication technology development programs.
• Radio, television, cinema, books, newspapers, magazines and the Internet serve the dual
purpose of providing entertainment and information to the masses.
• The national Indian radio broadcaster is Akashwani or All India Radio.
• Akashwani broadcasts a variety of programmes in regional languages all over India. The
national Indian television broadcaster Doordarshan is one of the largest networks in the world.
Doordarshan broadcasts a variety of entertainment, news and information, sports and
educational programmes for all age groups.
• Periodicals are publications like newspapers and magazines published at regular intervals, from
daily to weekly to monthly to yearly.
• Daily newspapers in India are published in more than 100 languages and local dialects. Hindi
has the largest share of newspaper publication, followed by English and Urdu.
• The Indian film industry is the largest producers of feature films in the world and also
produces short films and video films.
• The Central Board of Film Certification, more commonly known as the censor board, certifies
all Indian and foreign films before they can be released in India.

International Trade and Tourism

• The exchange of goods between people, companies, states or countries is called trade.
• The trade within a locality or between towns or villages of a state is called local trade.
• The trade between two states is called state-level trade.
• The trade between two countries is called international trade.
• International trade is the measure of the health of a country’s economy and has two
components.
• The goods purchased from other countries are called imports while the goods sold to other
countries are called exports.
• The difference between the exports and imports of a country is called its balance of trade.
When the value of the exports of a country is more than the value of its imports, the country
is said to have a favourable balance of trade.
• When the value of the imports of a country is more than the value of its exports, the country
is said to have an unfavourable balance of trade.
• The major products showing a rising trend in exports from India are agriculture and allied
products, ores and minerals, gems and jewellery, chemicals and allied products, engineering
goods and petroleum products.
• The main categories of products imported into India are petroleum and petroleum products,
pearls and gemstones, inorganic chemicals, coal, coke and briquettes and machinery.
• The bulk imports group accounts for around 39% of the total imports by India and includes
fertilisers, cereals, edible oils and newsprint. India is a leading software producing country
 and generates large amounts of foreign exchange through the export of information
technology.
• Tourism is an important form of international trade. The Indian tourism industry employs
around 15 million people to take care of around 2.6 million foreign tourists who visit India
every year.
• Foreign tourists visit India for heritage tourism, eco-tourism, adventure tourism, cultural
tourism, medical tourism and business tourism.
• Tourism not only promotes national integration, it also gives tremendous boost to local
handicraft industries and helps foreign tourists to understand and appreciate our cultural
heritage.

Key Terms
• Transport: Movement of people and goods from one place to another place is called
transport. Modes of transport are: (a) Land (Road, Rail, Pipeline), (b) Water (Inland, Oceanic)
and (c) Air (Domestic, International).
• Communication: Transfer of idea, message, and information from one place to another place
is called communication. Modes of communication are TV, radio, cellphone, newspaper,
magazines, internet. Communication has two types: (a) Print Media (Newspaper, Magazines)
and (b) Electronic Media (TV, Radio, Internet).
• Harbour: It is an area of sea which provides safe entrance to ships. It also protects ships from
waves and storms.
• Port: It is a point on the coast which provides facility of anchoring of ship. It also provides
facilities like loading and unloading, berth, cold storage. A port is connected with its hinterland.
Seaports help in international trade and commerce.
• Hinterland: It is an area which serves port for international trade. For example, Maharashtra,
M.P., Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana are hinterland for Mumbai seaport. Various things produced
in these states are exported through Mumbai port.
• Express Highway: These are 6 lanes best quality of roads. They have been constructed to
connect important cities of India and to provide fast traffic from one place to other place.
• International Trade: Exchange of goods and services between two or more countries is
called international trade.
• Meaning of Trade: Exchange of goods and services among people is called as trade. In other
words, buying and selling goods and services are called trade. The place where trade takes
place is called as market or trading center. Trade takes place because all parts of world do not
have same resources and they do not produce same commodity. Higher amount of trade
indicate higher economic development of a country.
• Balance of Payment: The ratio between value of export and import is called balance of
payment. If export is higher than import, it is called ‘favourable balance of payment’. If import
is higher than export, it is called negative balance of payment.

Flowchart Presentation
Classification of
Roads-
• Superhighways
• Domestic • National
Airways Highways
• International • State
Airways Highways
• District Roads
• Rural Roads
•
 Air
Railway
Roadways Track-
Lifelines of
Broad Gauge-
National Lan 1.67m
Economy Railways Meter Gauge-
d
1m
Narrow
Water Pipelines
Gauge-0.61m

Communicatio Important Pipelines-

• Inland n • Upper Assam to
• Overseas Kanpur
• Saalya to Jalandhar
• Personal • HBJ Pipeline
• Mass

NCERT SOLUTIONS
1. Multiple Choice Questions.

(i) Which two of the following extreme locations are connected by the east-west corridor?
(a) Mumbai and Nagpur (c) Mumbai and Kolkata
(b) Silcher and Porbandar (d) Nagpur and Siligudi
Ans. (b)
(ii) Which mode of transportation reduces trans-shipment losses and delays?
(a) Railways (c) Pipeline
(b) Roadways (d) Waterways
Ans. (b)
(iii) Which one of the following states is not connected with the H.V.J. pipeline?
(a) Madhya Pradesh (c) Gujarat
(b) Maharashtra (d) Uttar Pradesh
Ans. (b)
(iv) Which one of the following ports is the deepest land-locked and well protected port
along the east coast?
(a) Chennai (c) Tuticorin
(b) Paradwip (d) Vishakhapatnam
Ans. (d)
(v) Which one of the following is the most important modes of transportation in India?
(a) Pipeline (c) Roadways
(b) Railways (d) Airways
Ans. (b)
(vi) Which one of the following terms is used to describe trade between two or more
countries?
(a) Internal trade (c) External trade
(b) International trade (d) Local trade
Ans. (b)
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) State any three merits of roadways.

Ans. Roadways are the most important means of transportation in India. India has one of the largest
networks of roadways in the world, aggregating to about 2.3 million km. at present. Road transport
has preceded railways and still has an edge over it in view of the ease with which it can be built and
maintained.
Road transport is more useful than railways on account of its following merits :
(a) Construction and maintenance cost of roads is much lower than that of railways.
(b) Roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography. They can negotiate
higher gradients of slopes and can traverse mountainous regions such as the Himalayas. They can
reach remote villages and hilly regions where railway tracks cannot be constructed.
(c) Roads provided door to door service, thus the cost of loading and unloading is much.
(d) Road transport is also used as a feeder to other modes of transport, for example, they provide a
link between railway stations, airports and ports. They link the village, towns and cities to the railway
stations. They provide linkage between ports and markets and trading centres.
(ii) Where and why is rail transport the most convenient means of transportation?
Ans. Railways can transport larger number of goods and passengers over long distances at
economical cost. Hence, Railways are the most convenient means of transport in the vast Northern
Plains of India.
1. The flat terrain, dense population, rich agricultural resources and greater industrial activity have
favoured the development of railways in this region.
2. The Northern Plains, therefore, have the densest road networks.
3. Railways have accelerated the development of industry and agriculture in this region by providing
quick availability of raw materials and distributing the finished products to the market.
(iii) What is the significance of the border roads?
Ans. Significance of Border roads: Border Roads are very significant for the security of the country.
These roads are constructed and maintained by the Border Roads Organisation which is a
Government of India undertaking. The reasons for its significance are as given below:
(a) Its helps in the security of the country because in case of necessity, army can be deployed in the
sensitive border areas easily and quickly e.g., northern and north-eastern border areas of strategic
importance.
(b) It has provided access in the areas of difficult terrain.
(c) It helps in the economic development of the area.
(iv) What is meant by trade? What is the difference between international and local trade?
Ans. Exchange of goods, commodities or services between people, states or countries is termed as
trade. Trade means the exchange of products between regions of surplus and regions of
deficiency.
International Trade Local Trade
(i) Trade between two countries is called (i) Local trade is carried in cities, towns and
international trade. villages.

(ii) It takes place through see, air or land routes. (ii) It takes place in the local markets.

(iii) Advancement of international trade of a (iii) Advancement of local trade is a sign of

country is an index to its economic prosperity. economic prosperity of the local people.
It is therefore, considered the economic
barotmeter for a country.
iv) The international trade leads to earning of (iv) It does not earn foreign exchange but helps
foreign exchange and benefits for the traders in the fulfillment of needs of the people.
and exporters in the country.

3. Answer the following questions in about 120 words.

(i) Why are the means of transportation and communication called the lifelines of a nation
and its economy?
Ans. The means of transportation and communication are called the lifelines of a nation and its
economy due to the reasons given below:
(a) The means of transportation and communication help in the production and movement of goods
and services.
(b) Transport helps in the development of communication . Various means of communication help
us in interacting with other in all the parts of the world. It has brought the world closer.
(c) Transport like railways help us in conducting various activities like business, sight-seeing,
pilgrimage and transportation of goods over longer distances.
(d) Pipelines are used for transporting crude oil and natural gas to refineries and factories.
(e) Water provide the cheapest means of transport and is useful for international trade.
(f) Air transport provides the fastest, most comfortable mode of transport.
Thus, it is clear that there are many advantages of transportation and communication. These means
help in the development of the country. So they are rightly called the lifelines of a nation and its
economy.
(ii) Write a note on the changing nature of the international trade in the last fifteen years.
Ans. The nature of the international trade in the last fifteen years has changed due to globaliSation.
Earlier bilateral agreements were made to conduct trade between two countries. But through
globaliSation, an effort has been make to integrate national economy. Now producers from outside
country can sell their goods and services in other counties. GlobaliSation includes movement of
capital as well as workers from one country to other country. The restrictions on the import of
goods have been removed. Under World Trade OrganiSation, efforts are being made to have multi-
lateral agreements for international trade. WTO is regulating the international trade of goods as well
as services. Thus, the nature of the international trade has changed and it is hoped that in future all
the barriers and restrictions on trade among countries will go and it will flourish in the world.
QUIZ DRIVE
1. Northern terminal of the North-south corridor.- Srinagar
2. The name of National Highway No.2.- Grand Trunk Road