NCERT Class 11 Economics Infrastructure

INFRASTRUCTURE

8.1 INTRODUCTION

Have you ever thought of why some states in India are performing much better than others in certain areas? Why do Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh prosper in agriculture and horticulture? Why are Maharashtra and Gujarat industrially more advanced than others? How come Kerala, popularly known as ‘God’s own country’, has excelled in literacy, health care and sanitation and also attracts tourists in such large numbers? Why does Karnataka’s information technology industry attract world attention? It is all because these states have better infrastructure in the areas they excel than other states of India. Some have better irrigation facilities. Others have better transportation facilities, or are located near ports which makes raw materials required for various manufacturing industries easily accessible. Cities like Bangalore in Karnataka attract many multinational companies because they provide world-class communication facilities. All these support structures, which  facilitate development of a country,constitute its infrastructure. How then does infrastructure facilitate development?

8.2 WHAT IS INFRASTRUCTURE?

Infrastructure provides supporting services in the main areas of industrial and agricultural production, domestic and foreign trade and commerce. These services include roads, railways, ports, airports, dams, power stations, oil and gas pipelines, telecommunication facilities, the country’s educational system including schools and colleges, health system including hospitals, sanitary system including clean drinking water facilities and the monetary system including banks, insurance and other financial institutions. Some of these facilities have a direct impact on the working of the system of production while others give indirect support by building the social sector of the economy. speedy and large-scale transport of seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and the produce by making use of modern roadways, railways and shipping facilities. Modern agriculture also has to depend on insurance and banking facilities because of its need to operate on a very large scale. Infrastructure contributes to economic development of a country both by increasing the productivity of the factors of production and improving the quality of life of its people. Inadequate infrastructure can have multiple adverse effects on health.Improvements in water supply and sanitation have a large impact by reducing morbidity (meaning proneness to fall ill) from major waterborne diseases and reducing the severity of disease when it occurs. In addition to the obvious linkage between water and sanitation and health, the quality of transport and communication infrastructure can affect access to health care. Air pollution and safety hazards connected to transportation also affect morbidity, particularly in densely populated areas.

8.3 THE STATE OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN INDIA

Traditionally, the government has been solely responsible for developing the rural households use bio-fuels forcooking. Tap water availability is limited to only 24 per cent rural households. About 76 per cent of the population drinks water from open sources such as wells, tanks, ponds, lakes, rivers, canals, etc. Another study conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation noted that by 1996, access to improved sanitation in rural areas was only six per cent. Look at Table 8.1 which shows the state of some infrastructure in India in comparison to a few other countries. Though it is widely understood that infrastructure is the foundation of development, India is yet to wake up to the call. India invests only 5 per cent have to boost its infrastructure investment. In any country, as the income rises, the composition of infrastructure requirements changes significantly. For low-income countries, basic infrastructure services like irrigation, transport and power are more important. As economies mature and most of their basic consumption demands are met, the share of agriculture in the economy shrinks and more service related infrastructure is required. This is why the share of power and telecommunication infrastructure is greater in high-income countries.

EXERCISES

1. Explain the term ‘infrastructure’.

2. Explain the two categories into which infrastructure is divided. How are both interdependent?

3. How do infrastructure facilities boost production?

4. Infrastructure contributes to the economic development of a country. Do you agree? Explain.

5. What is the state of rural infrastructure in India?

6. What is the significance of ‘energy’? Differentiate between commercial and non-commercial sources of energy.

7. What are the three basic sources of generating power?

8. What do you mean by transmission and distribution losses? How can they be reduced?

9. What are the various non-commercial sources of energy?

10. Justify that energy crisis can be overcome with the use of renewable sources of energy.

11. How has the consumption pattern of energy changed over the years?

12. How are the rates of consumption of energy and economic growth connected?

13. What problems are being faced by the power sector in India?

14. Discuss the reforms which have been initiated recently to meet the energy crisis in India.

15. What are the main characteristics of health of the people of our country?

16. What is a ‘global burden of disease’?

17. Discuss the main drawbacks of our health care system.

18. How has women’s health become a matter of great concern?

19. Describe the meaning of public health. Discuss the major public health measures undertaken by the state in recent years to control diseases.

20. List out the six systems of Indian medicine.

21. How can we increase the effectiveness of health care programmes?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 11 Economics Infrastructure