We use many items in our daily life.

From tooth
Unit IV paste to our bed tea, milk, clothes, soaps, food
Chapter 10 items, etc. are required every day. All these can
be purchased from the market. Have you ever
thought as to how these items are brought from
the site of production? All the production is
meant for consumption. From the fields and
factory, the produce is brought to the place from
where consumers purchase it. It is the
transportation of these items from the site of
their production to the market which make
them available to the consumer.
We not only use material things like fruits,
vegetables, books, clothes, etc. but also use
TRANSPORT AND ideas, views and messages in our daily life. Do
you know we exchange our views, ideas and
COMMUNICATION messages from one place to another or one
individual to another while communicating with
the help of various means?
The use of transport and communication
depends upon our need to move things from
place of their availability to the place of their
use. Human-beings use various methods to
move goods, commodities, ideas from one place
to another.
The following diagram shows the major
means of transportation.

Land T
Trranspor
ansportt
The pathways and unmetalled roads have been
used for transportation in India since ancient
times. With the economic and technological
development, metalled roads and railways were
developed to move large volume of goods and
people from one place to another. Ropeways, (1961) was introduced to improve the
cableways and pipelines were devised to cater conditions of roads in India. However, roads
to the demands of transporting specific goods continue to concentrate in and around urban
under special circumstances. centres. Rural and remote areas had the least
connectivity by road.
Road Transport For the purpose of construction and
India has one of the largest road networks in maintenance, roads are classified as National
the world with a total length of 33.1 lakh km Highways (NH), State Highways(SH), Major
(2005). About 85 per cent of passenger and 70 District Roads and Rural Roads.

Rain-soaked : Nomads go about their routine during an early morning

downpour in Srinagar. Traffic on the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu and 434- A view of traffic flow in Delhi
km Srinagar-Leh National Highways is suspended as upper reaches of
J&K saw heavy snowfall while rain lashed the plains.

Fig. 10.1

per cent of freight traffic are carried by roads National Highways

every year. Road transport is relatively suitable
The main roads which are constructed and
for shorter distance travel.
maintained by the Central Government are
known as the National Highways. These roads
are meant for inter -state transport and
movement of defence men and material in
Sher Shah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road
strategic areas. These also connect the state
to strengthen and consolidate his empire
from the Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley capitals, major cities, important ports, railway
in Bengal. This road was renamed the junctions, etc. The length of the National
Grand Trunk (GT) road during the British Highways has increased from 19,700 km in
period, connecting Calcutta and Peshawar. 1951 to 65,769 km in 2005. The National
At present, it extends from Amritsar to Highways constitute only two per cent of the
Kolkata. It is bifurcated into 2 segments : total road length but carry 40 per cent of the
(a) National Highway(NH)-1 from Delhi to road traffic. (Table 10.1)
Amritsar, and (b) NH- 2 from Delhi to Kolkata. The National Highways Authority of India
Road transport in modern sense was very (NHAI) was operationalised in 1995. It is an
limited in India before World War-II. The first autonomous body under the Ministry of
serious attempt was made in 1943 when Surface Transport. It is entrusted with the
‘Nagpur Plan’ was drawn. This plan could not responsibility of development, maintenance
be implemented due to lack of coordination and operation of National Highways. This is also
among the princely states and British India. the apex body to improve the quality of the roads
After Independence, twenty-year road plan designated as National Highways.

114 India : People and Economy

 Table 10.1 : Indian Road Network (2005)
Serial No. Road Category Length in Km % of total road length

1. National Highways 65,769 2

2. State Highways 1,28,000 4
3. Major District Roads 4,70,000 14
4. Rural Rods 2,65,0000 80
Total 33,13,769 100

Rural Roads

National Highways These roads are vital for providing links in the
Development Projects rural areas. About 80 per cent of the total road
length in India are categorised as rural roads.
NHAI has taken up some major projects in There is regional variation in the density of rural
the country under different phases : road because these are influenced by the nature
of the terrain?
Golden Quadrilateral : It comprises
construction of 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high
density traffic corridor, to connect India’s four
big metro cities of Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-
Kolkata. With the construction of Golden
Quadrilateral, the time- distance and cost
of movement among the mega cities of India
will be considerably minimised.
North-South and East-West Corridors :
North-South corridor aims a
t connecting
Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with
Kaniyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including
Kochchi-Salem Spur) with 4,076 km long
road. The East-West Corridor has been planned
to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town Fig. 10.2 : Road constructed under the Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km o f
road length.

Why are the rural roads’ density very low

State Highways in hilly, plateau and forested areas? Why
does the quality of rural roads deteriorate
These are constructed and maintained by state
away from the urban centres?
governments. They join the state capitals with
district headquarters and other important
towns. These roads are connected to the Other Roads
National Highways. These constitute 4 per cent Other roads include Border Roads and
of total road length in the country. International Highways. The Border Road
District Roads Organisation (BRO) was established in May
1960 for accelerating economic development
These roads are the connecting link between and strengthening defence preparedness
District Headquarters and the other important through rapid and coordinated improvement
nodes in the district. They account for 14 per of strategically important roads along the
cent of the total road length of the country. northern and north-eastern boundary of the
Transport and Communication 115
 Fig. 10.3 : India – Density of Roads, 2001

116 India : People and Economy

country. It is a premier multifaceted construction This organisation has completed over
agency. It has constructed roads in high altitude 40,450 km of roads by March 2005. Apart
mountainous terrain joining Chandigarh with from the construction and maintenance of
Manali (Himachal Pradesh) and Leh (Ladakh). roads in strategically sensitive areas, the BRO
This road runs at an average altitude of 4,270 also undertakes snow clearance in high
metres above the mean sea level. altitude areas. The international highways are
meant to promote the harmonious relationship
with the neighbouring countries by providing
effective links with India. (Fig. 10.5 and 10.6)
The distribution of roads is not uniform in
the country. Density of roads (length of roads
per 100 square km of area) varies from only
10.48 km in Jammu and Kashmir to 387.24
km in Kerala with a national average of 75.42
km. The density of road is high in most of the
northern states and major southern states. It
is low in the Himalayan region, north-eastern
region, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Why
does this variation occur? Nature of terrain and
the level of economic development are the main
determinants of density of roads. Construction
of roads is easy and cheaper in the plain areas
while it is difficult and costly in hilly and plateau
areas. Therefore, not only the density but also
the quality of roads is relatively better in plains
as compared to roads in high altitude areas,
rainy and forested regions.

List the names of 10 important towns along NH-1 and

Fig. 10.4 : Khardung La Pass in Jammu & Kashmir
NH-2.

Delhi-Lahore Bus

Fig. 10.6 : Aman Setu between Srinagar and

Fig. 10.5 : A Bus from Lahore to Delhi at Wagah Border Muzaffarabad

Transport and Communication 117

Which one is the longest National Highway in India? Table 10.2 : Trends of Freight (in million
tonnes) and Passengers (in millions)
Why have Bangalore and Hyderabad in the South and Handled by the Indian Railways,
Delhi, Kanpur and Patna in north India have emerged 1970-71–2004-05
as important nodes? Commodities 1970-71 2004-05

Coal 47.9 251.75

Rail Transport
Raw Material for
Indian railways network is one of the longest in Steel Plants 16.1 43.65
the world. It facilitates the movement of both Pig Iron and
freight and passengers and contributes to the Finished Steel 6.2 14.66
growth of economy. Mahatma Gandhi said, the Iron ore 9.8 26.6
Indian railways “brought people of diverse
Cement 11 49.3
cultures together to contribute to India’s
Food grains 15.1 44.3
freedom struggle.”
Fertilisers 4.7 23.7
Indian Railway was introduced in 1853,
Petroleum 8.9 32
when a line was constructed from Bombay to
Other Goods 48.2 71.4
Thane covering a distance of 34 km.
Indian Railways is the largest government Total Traffic 167.9 557.39
undertaking in the country. The length of Indian Passengers Originating 2431 5112
Railways network is 63,221 km. Its very large Source : Economic Survey, Govt. of India, 2005-06
size puts lots of pressure on a centralised
railway management system. Thus, in India, zones. Table 10.3 shows the zone-wise
the railway system has been divided into sixteen performance of Indian Railways.

Table 10.3 : Indian Railways

Zone-wise income from passengers and goods (Rupees in lakhs)

Railway Zone Headquarters Earnings from Earnings from % of

Passengers % goods % Total earnings

Central Mumbai CST 13.62 8.36 10.07

Eastern Kolkata 6.18 3.3 4.24
East Central Hajipur 5.19 7.84 6.98
East Coast Bhubaneswar 2.27 9.69 7.27
Northern New Delhi 15.38 8.94 11.04
North Central Allahabad 6.71 8.76 8.09
North Eastern Gorakhpur 3.44 1.55 2.17
North East Frontier Maligaon (Guwahati) 2.34 2.59 2.51
North Western Jaipur 3.44 3.04 3.17
Southern Chennai 8.74 3.78 5.4
South Central Secunderabad 8.45 8.88 8.74
South Eastern Kolkata 3.23 7.86 6.36
South East Central Bilaspur 1.7 8.91 6.56
South Western Hubli 3.5 2.27 2.67
Western Mumbai (Church Gate) 12.16 7.32 8.9
West Central Jabalpur 3.62 6.91 5.83
Total 100 100 100
Source : Statistical Abstract of India, 2004 pg. 243

118 India : People and Economy

 Areas around towns, raw material
producing areas and of plantations and other
On the basis of width of the track of Indian commercial crops, hill stations and cantonment
Railways, three categories have been made: towns were well-connected by railways from the
Broad gauge: The distance between rails in British colonial era. These were mostly
broad gauge is 1.676 metre. The total length developed for the exploitation of resources. After
of broad gauge lines is 46,807 km which the Independence of the country, railway routes
accounts for 74.14 per cent of the total length have been extended to other areas too. The most
of rail routes in the country. significant development has been the
Metre gauge: The distance between rails is development of Konkan Railway along the
one metre. It runs over 13,290 km covering 21.02 western coast providing a direct link between
per cent of the total route length. Mumbai and Mangalore.
Narrow gauge: The distance between the rails Railway continues to remain the main means
in this case is 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre. of transport for the masses. Railway network is
Nearly 4.94 per cent of the total length of the relatively less dense in the hill states, north eastern
Indian Railways is narrow gauge, which
states, central parts of India and Rajasthan.
accounts for 3,124 km of route length. It is
generally confined to hilly areas.
Water Transport
Indian Railways has launched extensive Waterways is an important mode of transport
programme to convert the metre and narrow for both passenger and cargo traffic in India. It
gauges to broad gauge. Moreover, steam is the cheapest means of transport and is most
engines have been replaced by diesel and suitable for carrying heavy and bulky material.
electric engines. This step has increased the
It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of
speed as well as the haulage capacity.
transport. The water transport is of two types–
The replacement of steam engines run by
(a) inland waterways, and (b) oceanic waterways.
coal has also improved the environment of the
stations.
Inland Waterways
Metro rail has revolutionlised the urban
transport system in Kolkata and Delhi. It was the chief mode of transport before the
replacement of diesel buses by CNG run advent of railways. It, however, faced tough
vehicles along with introduction of metro is a competition from road and railway transport.
welcome step towards controlling the air Moreover, diversion of river water for irrigation
pollution in urban centres.

Konkan Railway
One of the important achievements of Indian
Railways has been the construction of
Konkan Railway in 1998. It is 760 km long
rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra
to Mangalore in Karnataka. It is considered
an engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers,
streams, nearly 2000 bridges and 91
tunnels. Asia’s largest tunnel which is nearly
6.5 km long, also lies on this route. The
states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka
are partners in this undertaking.

Fig. 10.7 : River navigation in the North-east

Transport and Communication 119

purposes made them non navigable in large only 2,000 km are actually used. Similarly, out
parts of their courses. India has 14,500 km of of 4,300 km of the network of navigable canal,
navigable waterways, contributing about 1% to only 900 km is navigable by mechanised vessels.
the country’s transportation. It comprises For the development, maintenance and
rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. At regulation of national waterways in the country,
present, 3,700 km of major rivers are navigable the Inland Waterways Authority was set up in
by mechanised flat bottom vessels, out of which 1986. The authority has declared three inland

Fig. 10.8 : Natinal Waterway No.3

Table 10.4 ; National Waterways of India

Waterways Stretch Specification Date of declaration

NW 1 Allahabad-Haldia It is one of the most important waterways in 27.10.1986

stretch (1,620 km) India, which is navigable by mechanical boats
up to Patna and by ordinary boats up to
Haridwar. It is divided into three parts for
developmental purposes– (i) Haldia-Farakka (560
km), (ii) Farakka-Patna (460 km), (iii) Patna-
Allahabad (600 km).

NW 2 Sadiya-Dhubri stretch Brahmaputra is navigable by steamers up to 26.10.1988

(891 km) Dibrugarh (1,384 km) which is shared by India
and Bangladesh

NW 3 Kottapuram-Kollam It includes 168 km of west coast canal along 01.02.1991

stretch (205 km) with Champakara canal (23 km) and
Udyogmandal canal (14 km).

120 India : People and Economy

waterways as National Waterways as given in distances by minimising the travel time. It is
the table 10.4. very essential for a vast country like India,
Inland Waterways Authority has also where distances are large and the terrain and
identified ten other inland waterways, which climatic conditions are diverse.
could be upgraded. The backwaters (Kadal) of Air transport in India made a beginning
Kerala has special significance in Inland in 1911 when airmail operation commenced
Waterway. Apart from providing cheap means over a little distance of 10 km between
of transport, they are also attracting large Allahabad and Naini. But its real development
number of tourists in Kerala. The famous Nehru took place in post-Independent period. The
Trophy Boat Race (VALLANKALI) is also held Airport Authority of India is responsible for
in the backwaters. providing safe, efficient air traffic and
aeronautical communication services in the
Oceanic Routes Indian Air Space. The authority manages 126
India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517 airports including 11 international, 86 domestic
km, including islands. Twelve major and 185 and 29 civil enclaves at defence air fields.
minor ports provide infrastructural support to The air transport in India is managed by
these routes. Oceanic routes play an important two corporations, Air India and Indian Airlines
role in the transport sector of India’s economy. after nationalisation. Now many private
Approximately 95 per cent of India’s foreign companies have also started passenger services.
trade by volume and 70 per cent by value moves
through ocean routes. Apart from international Air India
trade, these are also used for the purpose of Air India provides International Air Services for
transportation between the islands and the rest both passengers and cargo traffic. It connects
of the country. all the continents of the world through its
services. In 2005, it carried 12.2 million
Air Transportation passengers and 4.8 lakh metric tonnes of cargo.
Air transport is the fastest means of movement About 52 per cent of the total air traffic was
from one place to the other. It has reduced handled only at Mumbai and Delhi airports.

History of Indian Airlines

1911 – Air transport in India was launched between Allahabad and Naini.
1947 – Air transport was provided by four major companies namely Indian National Airways, Tata
Sons Limited, Air Services of India and Deccan Airways.
1951 – Four more companies
joined the services, Bharat
Airways, Himalayan Aviation
Limited, Airways India and Kalinga
Airlines.
1953 – Air transport was
nationalised and two Corporations,
Air India International and Indian
Airlines were formed. Now Indian
Airlines is known as ‘Indian’
.

Transport and Communication 121

 constructed by OIL from Naharkatiya oilfield
in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar. It was
The country’s largest state-owned domestic
further extended up to Kanpur in 1966.
carrier, Indian Airlines dropped the word
‘Airlines’ from its name and is known as Another extensive network of pipelines has been
‘Indian’ w.e.f. December 8, 2005. The new constructed in the western region of India of
brand name ‘Indian’ now appears on both which Ankleshwar-Koyali, Mumbai High-
sides of the fuselage. The logo on the Koyali and Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ)
orange tail depicting ‘IA’ has also been are most important. Recently, a 1256 km long
changed. It has been replaced by a new pipeline connecting Salaya (Gujarat) with
logo which is a partly visible blue wheel and Mathura (U.P.) has been constructed. It supplies
is inspired by the Sun Temple at Konark crude oil from Gujarat to Punjab (Jalandhar)
(Orissa), symbolising timeless motion, via Mathura. OIL is in the process of
convergence and divergence. It also constructing of 660 km long pipeline from
embodies strength as well as trust that has Numaligarh to Siliguri.
stood the test of time.
Communication Networks
In 2005, domestic movement involved Human beings have evolved different methods
24.3 million passengers and 20 lakh metric of communication over time. In earlier times,
tonnes of cargo. the messages were delivered by beating the
Pawan Hans is the helicopter service drum or hollow tree trunks, giving indications
operating in hilly areas and is widely used by through smoke or fire or with the help of fast
tourists in north-eastern sector. runners. Horses, camels, dogs, birds and other
In addition, Pawan Hans Limited mainly animals were also used to send messages.
provides helicopter services to petroleum sector Initially, the means of communication were also
and for tourism. the means of transportation. Invention of post-
office, telegraph, printing press, telephone,
satellite, etc has made the communication much
Open Sky Policy faster and easier. Development in the field of
science and technology has significantly
To help the Indian exporters and make their contributed in bringing about revolution in the
export more competitive, the government had field of communication.
introduced an Open Sky Policy for cargo in People use different modes of
April 1992. Under this policy, foreign airlines communication to convey the messages. On the
or association of exporters can bring any basis of scale and quality, the mode of
freighters to the country.
communication can be divided into following
categories :

Oil and Gas Pipelines

Pipelines are the most convenient and efficient
mode of transporting liquids and gases over
long distances. Even solids can also be
transported by pipelines after converting them
into slurry. Oil India Limited (OIL) under the
administrative set up of the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas is engaged in the
exploration, production and transportation of
crude oil and natural gas. It was incorporated
in 1959 as a company. Asia’s first cross country
pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km was

122 India : People and Economy

Personal Communication System only to the National Capital where it began in
1959. After 1972, several other centres became
Among all the personal communication system
internet is the most effective and advanced one. It operational. In 1976, TV was delinked from All
India Radio (AIR) and got a separate identity
is widely used in urban areas. It enables the user
to establish direct contact through e-mail to get as Doordarshan (DD). After INSAT-IA (National
access to the world of knowledge and information. Television-DD1) became operational, Common
It is increasingly used for e-commerce and National Programmes (CNP) were started for the
carrying out money transactions. The internet is entire network and its services were extended
like a huge central warehouse of data, with to the backward and remote rural areas.
detailed information on various items. The
network through internet and e-mail provides an Satellite Communication
efficient access to information at a comparatively Satellites are mode of communication in
low cost. It enables us with the basic facilities of themselves as well as they regulate the use of other
direct communication. You might have noticed means of communication. However, use of satellite
the proliferation of cyber cafes in urban areas. in getting a continuous and synoptic view of
larger area has made satellite communication very
Mass Communication System vital for the country due to the economic and
strategic reasons. Satellite images can be used
Radio for the weather forecast, monitoring of natural
Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 by calamities, surveillance of border areas, etc.
the Radio Club of Bombay. Since then, it gained On the basis of configuration and purposes,
immense popularity and changed the socio- satellite system in India can be grouped into two:
cultural life of people. Within no time, it made a Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) and
place in every household of the country. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS). The
Government took this opportunity and brought INSAT, which was established in 1983,is a multi-
this popular mode of communication under its purpose satellite system for telecommunication,
control in 1930 under the Indian Broadcasting meteorological observation and for various other
System. It was changed to All India Radio in data and programmes.
1936 and to Akashwani in 1957. The IRS satellite system became
All India Radio broadcasts a variety of operational with the launching of IRS-IA in
programmes related to information, education March 1988 from Vaikanour in Russia. India
and entertainment. Special news bulletins are has also developed her own Launching Vehicle
also broadcast at specific occasions like session PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). These
of parliament and state legislatures. satellites collect data in several spectral bands
and transmit them to the ground stations for
Television (T.V.) various uses. The National Remote Sensing
Television broadcasting has emerged as the Agency (NRSA) at Hyderabad provides facilities
most effective audio-visual medium for for acquisition of data and its processing. These
disseminating information and educating are very useful in the management of natural
masses. Initially, the T.V. services were limited resources.

Transport and Communication 123

 EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) In how many zones has the Indian Railways system been divided?
(a) 9 (c) 16
(b) 12 (d) 14
(ii) Which one of the following is the longest highway of India?
(a) N.H.-1 (c) N.H.-7
(b) N.H.-6 (d) N.H.-8
(iii) On which river and between which two places does the National Water
Way No. 1 lie?
(a) The Brahmaputra, Sadiya-Dhubri
(b) The Ganga, Haldia-Allahabad
(c) West Coast Canal, Kottapuram to Kollam
(iv) In which of the following year, the first radio programme was broadcast?
(a) 1911 (c) 1927
(b) 1936 (d) 1923
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Which activity does transportation convey? Name three major modes of
transportation.
(ii) Discuss advantages and disadvantages of pipeline transportation.
(iii) What do you mean by ‘communication’?
(iv) Discuss the contribution of Air India and Indian in the air transport of
India.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Which are the chief means of transportation in India? Discuss the factors
affecting their development.
(ii) Give a detailed account of the development of railways in India and
highlight their importance.
(iii) Describe the role of roads in the economic development of India.

Project
Find out the facilities that Indian Railways provide to the passengers.

124 India : People and Economy