Lifelines of National Economy – Chapter 6 Class 10 Geography (NCERT)

Lifelines of National Economy is Chapter 7 of Class 10 Geography (Contemporary India – II). It explains the importance of transport, communication, and trade in economic development. The chapter covers different modes of transport—roadways, railways, waterways, airways, and pipelines—along with major ports, airports, and communication networks. It also highlights the role of international trade and tourism in India’s growth. Below are complete notes of this chapter aligned with NCERT, RBSE and CBSE board exam patterns.

Introduction

In our daily life, we use a variety of materials and services. Some are available locally and others need to be brought from distant places. Goods and services do not move automatically from supply areas to demand areas. Their movement requires transport. Traders act as facilitators in this process by bringing products from producers to consumers. Efficient transport is essential for fast development.

• Transport is the system that moves goods and services from supply areas (producers) to demand areas (consumers).
• Trade is the exchange of goods and services. Traders acts as facilitators in transport process by bringing products from producers to consumers.
• Communication connects people and information, making trade and transport faster, easier, and more efficient.
• Therefore, transport, communication and trade are complementary to each other.

Mean of Transport

Roadways

• India has second largest road network of 62.16 lakh km after US.
• In India, roads were developed earlier than railways.

Advantages of Road Transport over Railways

1. Low Cost of Construction: Roads are cheaper and easier to build compared to railway lines.
2. Suitable for Difficult Landforms: Roads can pass through uneven lands such as hills, valleys etc.
3. Can Climb Steep Slopes: Unlike railways, roads can handle slopes. So, roads are suitable for mountains like Himalayas.
4. Best for Short Distance: Economical for short distance and small loads.
5. Door to Door Service: Provides direct delivery, reducing extra costs of loading and unloading.
6. Link to Other Transport: Connects villages, towns, and remote areas with railway stations, airports and seaports.

Classification of Roads

Roads in India are classified into six categories according to their capacity and importance:

1. Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways: A major NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) project connecting Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai with 6 lane highways. It also includes the North-South Corridor (Srinagar to Kanyakumari) and East-West Corridor (Silchar to Porbandar). The aim is to redue time and distance between mega cities.
2. National Highways: These are the primary road system of India that link distant and extreme parts of the country. These are constructed and maintained by CPWD (Central Public Works Department). The Historical Sher-Shah Suri Marg (Delhi to Amritsar) is called National Highway No. 1.
3. State Highways: These roads connect a state capital with different district headquaters. These are constructed and maintained by PWD (Public Works Department).
4. District Roads: These roads connect the district headquaters with other places of the district. These roads are maintained by the Zila Parishad.
5. Other Roads: These roads connect rural areas and villages with towns. These are developed Under the PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana). Aim is to provide all weather motorable roads to every village.
6. Border Roads: These roads are constructed and maintained by Border Roads Organisation (BRO, establishment in 1960). These roads are of strategic importance in the northen and north-eastern border areas. They improve defense movement and also support the economic development of remote border regions.

Roads can be classified into two categories on the basis of the type of material used for their construction:

1. Metalled Roads: Made of cement, concrete, or bitumen of coal. They are strong and durable, and can be used in all seasons, so they are also called all weather roads.
2. Unmetalled Roads: Made of mud, gravel or loose material. They are weak and usually become unusable during the rainy season.

Railways

• Principal mode of transport in India for passengers and goods.
• It enable long distance travel for business, pilgrimage, tourism.
• Railways are the backbone of India’s economy. They bind the country together and speed up both industrial and agricultural development by providing fast and cheap movement of goods and people.
• First train (1853) From Mumbai to Thane (34 km).
• It is Largest public sector organisation.
• Indian Railways is reorganised into 17 zones.
• The distribution pattern of the Railway network affected by physiographic, economic and administrative factors.
• Favorable Regions for Railway: North Plains (flat land, high population density and agriculture). But large number of river require construction of bridge.
• Unfavorable Regions or Difficult Regions:
  • Himalayas: High relief, low population density and lack of economic opportunities.
  • Penisular Hills: Identification of low hills and gaps, tunnel formation.
  • Western Rajasthan: Sandy plains.
  • Gujarat: Swamps.
  • MP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand: Dense Forests.
  • Sahyadri (Western Ghat): It form a long, continuous wall along the west coast of India. Becuase of this, it was very difficult to build railway lines across them. Only a few natural gaps or passes or ghats could be used. To overcome this barrier, the Konkan Railway project was built in along the west coast. It passes through the Sahyadris by using tunnels, bridge and ghats. This provided a direct link between Mumbai – Goa – Mangalore. It boost economy and connectivity.
• Problems of Railways
  • Thefts and damaging of railway property.
  • Many passengers travel without tickets.
  • Unnecessarily chain pulling to stop train.
• Total Railway Track – 67,956 Km.
  • Broad Gauge (1,676 m): 63,950 Km.
  • Metre Gauge (1,000 m): 2,402 Km.
  • Narrow Gauge (0.762 m & 0.610 m): 1,604 Km.

Pipelines

• Pipeline transport is a relatively new mode in India. Earlier pipeline used mainly for water supply to cities and industries. Now, used for crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas transport. Even solids (like coal, iron ore) can be transported when made into slurry.
• Advantages of Pipelines:
  • Carry liquid, gas, and slurry efficiently.
  • Enable setting up of refineries and fertilizer plants in far inland areas.
  • High initial cost, but very low running cost.
  • Avoid trans-shipment losses or delays (continuous flow).
  • Environmentally safer compared to road or rail transport.
• 3 Major Pipeline Networks in India
  1. Oil field of Upper Assam to Kanpur.
  2. From Salaya (Gujarat) to Jalandhar (Punjab).
  3. HVJ (Hazira – Vijaipur – Jagdishpur) Gas Pipeline.

Waterways

• Waterways role played in spreading Indian commerce and culture since the ancient period.
• Waterways are the cheapest means of transport.
• Best suited for heavy and bulky goods.
• Fuel efficient and environment friendly.
• India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways.
• To promote inland water transport, the National Waterways Act, 2016 declared 111 National Waterways (including 5 already existing ones).

Five Major National Waterways

1. National Waterways 1 (NM-1): Ganga River (Prayagraj to Haldia, 1620 km).
2. National Waterways 2 (NW-2): Brahmaputra River (Sadiya to Dhubri, 891 km).
3. National Waterways 3 (NW-3): West Coast Canal, Kerala (Kottapuram-Kollam, Udyogamandal, Champakkara canals, 205 km).
4. National Waterways 4 (NW-4): Godavari and Krishna rivers + Kakinada-Puducherry canals, (1078 km).
5. National Waterways 5 (NW-5): Brahmani River, Mahanadi delta channels, East Coast Canal (588 km).

Sea Trade and Major Sea Ports

• 95% of India’s trade by volume (68% by value) is carried by sea routes.
• India has 7516.6 km long coastline with 12 major ports and about 200 minor ports.
• Major ports handle 95% of Inida’s foreign trade.
• Major Sea Ports:
  1. Kandla port or Deendayal port (Gujarat) – First port developed after Independence.
  2. Mumbai port (Maharashtra) – Largest port.
  3. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra).
  4. Mormugao Port (Goa).
  5. New Mangalore Port (Karnataka).
  6. Cochin port (Kerala) – Extreme south west port.
  7. Tuticorin or V.O.Chidambaranar (Tamil Nadu) – Extreme south east port.
  8. Chennai port (Tamil Nadu) – Oldest artificial port.
  9. Visakhapatnam port (Andhra Pradesh) – Deepest, landlocked and well protected.
  10. Paradwip port (Odisha).
  11. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee or Kolkata port (West Bengal). – Inland riverine port.
  12. Haldia port (West Bengal) – Subsidiary port to Kolkata port.

Airways

• Airways are the fastest, most comfortable, and prestigious mode of transport.
• It can cover very difficult landforms like high mountain, deserts, dense forests and long oceanic area. Air travel has made access easier.
• The air transport was nationalised in 1953.
• Services like Pawanhans helicopters service to ONGC in its offshore operations to inaccessible and difficult land forms such as North-eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• Limitations: It is not within the reach of the common people.

Communication

• In modren times, communication has become fast and easy, even over long distances without moving physically.
• There are two types of communication: Personal and Mass Communication.
• Personal Communication: Between individuals (Postal Services, Telecommunication etc.)
• Mass Communication: To reach many people at once (TV, radio, press, films etc.)

Postal Services

• Largest in the world.
• First-class mail: Card and envelopes, delivered by air (fast).
• Second-class mail: Newspapers, periodicals, books packets, carried by surface transport such as land and water (slow).
• Six mail channels: Rajdhani, Metro, Green, Business, Bulk mail, Periodical Channels.

Telecommunications

• India has one of the largest telecom networks in Asia.
• More than two thirds villages have STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialing) facility. Government wants to extend 24 hours STD to every village.

Mass Communications

• All India Radio (Akashvani): Entertainment, news, education.
• Doordarshan: National TV of India, largest terrestrial network in the world. Offers entertainment, education, sports, news, etc.
• Print Media: Newspapers and periodicals. It is published in 100+ language. Largest in Hindi, followed by English and Urdu.
• Films: India is the largest producer of films in the world. Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certilified all Indian and foreign films.

Trade

• Exchange of goods and services among people, states and countries is known as trade.
• Market is the place where trade takes place.
• Trade within towns or villages is known as local trade.
• Trade between states is known as national trade.
• Trade between countries is known as international trade.

International Trade

• Trade between countries is known as international trade. International trade is indicator of prosperity.
• Like a barometer measures air pressure, international trade measures economic condition. So, international trade is known as economic barometer for a country.
• Favourable balance of Trade: When exports > imports.
• Unfavourable balance of Trade: When imports > exports.
• Exported Commodities from India:
  • Gems and Jewellary
  • Chemicals and Related products.
  • Agriculture and related products.
  • Information Technology (Software services – Earning large foreign exchange).
• Imported Commodities to India:
  • Petroleum crude and products
  • Gems and jewellery
  • Chemicals and related products
  • Base metals
  • Electronic items
  • Machinery
  • Agriculture and allied products.

Tourism as a Trade

• Grown rapidly in the last two decades.
• Promoted by government schemes, infrastructure, and global branding.
• Provide foreign exchange and employment.
• Promotes national integration.
• Supports handicrafts, art, and cultural activities.
• Builds international understanding about Indian culture and heritage.
• Government Schemes for Tourism:
  • Swadesh Darshan 2.0
  • Vibrant Village Programme
  • PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritiual Heritage Augmentation Drive)
  • Paryatan Mitra
• Types of Tourism in India
  • Heritage tourism (historical sites, monumnets)
  • Eco-tourism (Nature, wildlife)
  • Adventure tourism (trekking, rafting, skiing)
  • Cultural tourism (festivals, fairs, art forms)
  • Medical tourism (healthcare, Ayurveda)
  • Business tourism (conferences, trade fairs)
• Future of Tourism
  • Vast potential in all regions of India.
  • Efforts are being made to diversify tourism and develop it as a major industry.

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