Geography | Social Science - Transportation in India | 10th Social Science : Geography : Chapter 6 : India - Population, Transport, Communication & Trade

Chapter: 10th social science : geography : chapter 6 : india - population, transport, communication & trade, transportation in india.

Transportation

Transport is a system in which passengers and goods are carried from one place to another. Transport system is considered as the  lifeline of a country . Earlier man travelled on   foot or used animals for transport. With the discovery of wheel, transport was made easier and gradually different means of transport were developed. There are three major means of transport in the world.

geography project transport in india

Roads play an important role in carrying goods and passengers for short, medium and long distances. It is highly suitable for short distance services. It is comparatively easy and cheap to construct and maintain roads. Road transport system can establish easy contact between farms, fields, factories and markets and can provide door to door transport services. Roads are the most universal mode of transport. Indian roads are cost efficient. It is used by all sections of people in the society.

In India the densest road network is found in the northern plains where it is relatively easy to construct roads. In mountainous area, it is quite difficult to construct roads. Road density is the highest in Kerala and lowest in Jammu &Kashmir.

Shershah suri built the shahi (Royal) road to strengthen and consolidate his empire from the Indus valley to the Sonar valley in Bengal. This road from Kolkata to Peshawar was renamed as Grand Trunk (GT) road during the British period. At present, it extends from Amristar to Kolkata.

For the purpose of construction and maintenance, roads are classified into National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), District Roads, Rural Roads (Village roads), Border Roads and International Highways.

India - Roadways

geography project transport in india

Classification of Roads in India

A) national highways (nh).

National Highways form the most important system of road transportation in India. These highways are running through length and breadth of the country connecting capitals of states, major Ports, rail junctions, industrial and tourist centres. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India, is responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways in India. The longest National highway is NH- 44 which runs from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu covering a distance of 2369 km. The shortest national highway is NH- 47A, which runs from Ernakulum to Kochi port (Willington Island) covering a distance of 6 km.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was established in 1995. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Surface Transport.

geography project transport in india

b) State Highways

The state highways are usually roads that link important cities, towns and district headquarters within the state and connect them with national highways or highways of neighbouring states. These roads are administered and financed by state governments.

c) District Roads

District Roads provide connectivity between the district and taluk headquarters with the state highways and national highways. District Roads are constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department of the states.

d) Rural Roads (Village Roads)

These roads are vital for providing links in the rural areas. It links the different villages with their neighbouring towns. They are maintained by Village Panchayats.

e) Border Roads

These are the roads of strategic importance in border areas. They are constructed and maintained by Border Roads Organization. It was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and northeastern border areas. Border Roads Organization has constructed world’s highest road joining Chandigarh and Leh in Ladakh. This road runs at an average altitude of 4,270 meters.

f) Golden Quadrilateral

Golden Quadrilateral 5,846 km long road of 4/6 lanes connects, India’s four metropolitan cities: Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai-Delhi. This project was launched in 1999.

What are the highlights and benefits of the Golden Quadrilateral Highways?

g) North–South and East-West Corridors

North-South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kaniyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi-Salem Spur) with 4,076km long road.

The East-West corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640km of road length. The two corridors intersect at Jhansi.

h) Expressways

These are multi-lane good quality highways for high speed traffic. Some of the important expressways are; (i)Mumbai-Pune Road, (ii) Kolkata-Dumdum Airport road (iii) Durgapur-Kolkata road and (iv) Yamuna expressway between Delhi and Agra.

geography project transport in india

i) International Highways

These are the roads that link India with neighbouring countries for promoting harmonious relationship with them. These highways have been constructed with an aid from world bank under an agreement with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP). These roads connect important highways of India with those of the neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Indian railway system is the main artery of the country’s inland transport. Railways cater to the needs of large scale movement of traffic, both for freight and passenger, thereby contributing to economic growth. Railways are considered as the backbone of the surface transport system of India. It promotes national integration by bringing people together. It also promotes trade, tourism, education etc. Railways help in the commercialization of the agriculture sector by facilitating the bulky movement of perishable goods. Its role in transporting raw materials to industries and finished goods to markets is invaluable. Indian railways network is the largest in Asia and second largest in the world.

For operations and management, the Indian Railways is organized into 17 zones.

geography project transport in india

On the basis of width of the track, the Indian railways fall under four categories.

1. Broad gauge (1.676 meter width)

2. Meter gauge (1 meter width)

3. Narrow gauge (0.762 meter width)

4. Light gauge (0.610 meter width)

The first sub-urban railway was started in 1925 in Mumbai.

Gatiman Express is the fastest operational train in India. This train connects New Delhi and

Agra and touches 160 km/h.

Metro Railways in India

There are 8 cities with metro rail connectivity in India. They are Kolkata (West Bengal), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Delhi, Bengaluru (Karnataka), Gurgaon (Haryana), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Kochi (Kerala). The metro in Kolkata is the first one in India. It is also called as Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). As of September 2018, India has 507 km of operational metro lines and 381 stations

The state of Meghalaya has no railway network.

geography project transport in india

Pipeline transport

Pipelines provided a very convenient mode of transport to connect oil and natural gas fields, refineries and to the markets. In the past, these were used to transport water to cities and industries. Now solids can also be transported through a pipeline when converted into slurry. The initial cost of laying pipeline is high but subsequent running cost is minimum. It can be laid through difficult terrain as well as under water. It ensures steady supply of goods and reduces the transshipment losses and delays.

Oil field in upper Assam to Kanpur, from Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab and gas pipeline from the Hazira in Gujarat ot Jagadispur in Uttar Pradesh.

A waterway is an important mode of transport for both passenger and cargo traffic in India. It is the oldest and also the cheapest means of transport and most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky materials from one country to another. It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport. The water transport is of two types-

1. Inland Waterways

2. Ocean water ways(sea routes).

geography project transport in india

a) Inland Waterways

India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, lakes and backwaters. It depends upon the depth and width of the waterways and the continuity of the water flow. For the development, maintenance and regulation of national waterways in the country, the Inland water ways Authority was setup in 1986.

The major national waterways are:

National Waterway 1

It extends between Haldia and Allahabad, measures 1620 km and includes the stretches of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system.

National Waterway 2

This waterway includes the stretch of the Brahmaputra river between Dhubri and Sadiya a distance of 891 km.

National Waterway 3

This waterway extends between Kollam and Kottapuram in the state of Kerala. It is the first national waterway in the country with 24 hour navigation facilities along its entire stretch of 205 km.

b) Oceanic Routes

Oceanic routes play an important role in the transport sector of India’s economy. About 95% of India’s foreign trade by volume and 70 percent by value moves through ocean routes.

Coastal shipping plays an important role in transport of bulk goods in India. Shipping is not only the most economical mode of transport, it is also an environment friendly mode. The sea and oceanic routes are mainly used for international trade and are connected through ports. There are 13 major and 200 minor or intermediate ports in India. The major ports are administered by the Central Government and minor ports are managed and administered by various state governments. The major ports on the east coast are Kolkata (including Haldia Dock), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore and Tuticorin. The major ports on the west coast are Kandla, Mumbai, Nhava Seva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port), New Mangalore, Marmagao and Kochi.

India has four major shipyards.

1. Hindustan ship yard in Vishakhapatnam

2. Garden Reach workshop in Kolkata,

3. Mazagaon Dock in Mumbai

4. Kochi Shipyard in Kochi

India is the second largest ship owning country in Asia and ranks 16th in the World

Air Transport

Airways are the quickest, costliest, most modern and comfortable means of transport, Air transport facilitates connectivity on a national, regional and international scale. It has made accessibility easier by connecting difficult terrains like high mountains and sandy deserts. It carries passengers, freight and mail. Air transport plays a key role in times of emergency as well as in the event of natural and man-made calamities like floods, epidemics and wars.

Air transport in India made a beginning on 18th February, 1918 when Henry Piquet carried a mail from Allahabad to Naini. In 1953, eight different airlines which were in operation in the country were nationalised.

geography project transport in india

Domestic Airways  fly within the   boundaries of a country and  International   Airways  connect major cities of the world. The   Indian Air lines and Air India are the two airline services run by the government of India.  Indian   Air lines  provides the domestic air services and  Air India  provides international air services.   Presently, there are 19 designated international airports available in the country..

Hots: Why is air travel preferred in the north eastern states?

Pavan-Hans Helicopter Ltd

Pavan-Hans Helicopter Ltd has been providing Helicopter support services to the petroleum sector, including ONGC and oil India Ltd. It is a public sector company based in New Delhi. Its operations are based at the Juhu Aerodrome in Vile Parle (West) Mumbai. Pavan-Hans is a Mini Ratna–I category public sector undertaking. It often provides services to various state governments particularly north east India and Inter Island, Ferry services in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, services to Lakshadweep Island etc.,

Airports Authority of India (AAI)

Airports Authority of India (AAI) was constituted in 1995. It provides security to Indian Airports. AAI under the ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.

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geography project transport in india

Title: Commentary: Significance and Implications of National Logistics Policy of India

In September 2022, India’s government released the long-awaited National Logistics Policy (NLP), a comprehensive, cross-sectoral framework to upgrade the logistics infrastructure and create an integrated logistics ecosystem in the country. More precisely, the NLP envisages improving transportation infrastructure facilities, including road, rail, air, and water transportation. Stakeholders, including business owners, management experts, and supply chain professionals, across all sectors applauded the move. The NLP gains additional significance in the current context, where global businesses have begun to restructure their supply chains in response to the China Plus One strategy. Accordingly, this paper explores the scope and implications of the NLP and how it will meet the demands of India’s growing economy.

Introduction

Logistics is an integral part of the supply chain process that ensures the efficient flow and storage of goods and services from the point of origin to the point of consumption. India’s National Logistics Policy (NLP) is considered a game changer in the transportation sector. The NLP seeks to reduce the logistics cost, making Indian goods more competitive while also promoting economic growth. The policy also aims to leverage emerging digital technologies to improve logistics-related activities such as tracking, customs, and compliance. Furthermore, the NLP will complement the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) project announced at the G20 leaders’ summit concluded in September 2023. Designed as an alternative to China’s BRI, IMEEC will enhance the global supply chains connecting Europe and Southeast Asia, thereby boosting India’s international trade. As a result, the NLP allows India to attract multinational corporations with manufacturing bases in China that are looking to diversify their supply chain components through the China Plus One strategy . It is essential to understand the stated objectives of a policy with geo-political ramifications, such as that of the NLP.

Objectives of the NLP

In India, logistics is a $200 billion sector with 4.6 billion tons of freight transported annually, 65 percent of which is by road and 27 percent of which is by rail. It is estimated that last-mile delivery–the final stage of the delivery process through which the goods reach the end consumer–costs around 40 percent of the overall logistics cost . As a result, logistics constitutes 13 to 14 percent of India’s GDP as opposed to 8 to 11 percent in most major economies. However, nearly one-third of its logistics spending results from inefficiencies in infrastructure . Additionally, consumers, who are generally not interested in paying for transportation overheads, often pay prices that include transportation costs. Hence, saving on logistics would reduce commodity prices , making India more competitive in global markets, thereby benefiting consumers and manufacturers alike. This would fulfill the NLP’s objective to reduce transportation and logistics costs, improving market efficiency.

In 2014, the World Bank ranked India fifty-fourth among 160 nations in the Logistic Performance Index (LPI). India has since improved consistently, ranking thirty-eight in 2023. This significant leap has resulted from the Prime Minister Gati Shakti projects like the Bharatmala (improving road networks), Sagarmala (for shipping and maritime), Udan (regional airport development program), and Dedicated Freight Corridors (improving rail freight network). Consequently, logistics costs are now 8.35 percent of India’s GDP. The NLP aims to build on these successes to reduce logistics costs to within 5 percent of the GDP and improve India’s rankings in the subsequent editions of LPI. The figure below shows India’s ranking in comparison to Singapore, ranked first, the United States, ranked eighteenth, and China, ranked twentieth.

geography project transport in india

Figure 1. Logistics Performance Index of major economies

The LP score aggregates six attributes : customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics competence, tracking and tracing, and timeliness. The World Bank conducts a worldwide survey of logistical operators including global freight forwarders and express carriers. Freight forwarders are intermediaries that negotiate with transportation services to obtain optimal shipping rates and routes for their clients, while express carriers usually use their own personnel and fleets to distribute goods. These two entities provide feedback on the logistics performance of the countries in which they operate and with which they trade based on the above six attributes. Each survey respondent will rate the six attributes on a five-point rating scale. These scores are then aggregated into a single metric. Figure 1 illustrates the inferior position of the Indian logistics industry relative to other major economies in all the attributes except international shipments in which India’s score is marginally better than the United States. The analysis indicates that infrastructure and customs parameters are particularly inadequate and vulnerable in India. The rail accident in Balasore in Odisha on June 2, 2023, involving the collision of three trains that claimed 288 civilian casualties, highlights the challenges that India faces in modernizing and expanding its rail services. Therefore, India’s government should focus on improving its infrastructure and customs to strengthen its LPI standing. Such interventions would make Indian products more competitive in the global market and increase the chances of India achieving its target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2029.

The United States and China as Examples

India should seek to replicate the world’s two major economies: the United States and China. Former US President John F. Kennedy famously stated that “American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good.” The Great Depression serves as a great example of when the US federal government was able to create around eight million jobs simply by improving its roads.

Unlike the United States, China opted to invest in its waterways. According to the World Shipping Council, in 2020, seven of the top ten container ports (by volume handled) in the world were in China. Moreover, eighteen ports out of the top fifty ports in the world are either in China or in its claimed provinces. By comparison, only two Indian ports are featured in the top fifty. Large-scale investment in China’s logistics began after they entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and removed restrictions on foreign logistics investments. Initially, foreign capital was allowed only in joint ventures, but by 2005, restrictions were completely lifted. This policy was later complemented by stronger investment from state-backed financial institutions and state-owned logistics companies. Between 2011 and 2021, investment in China’s logistics industry totaled 729.48 billion yuan . Initiated in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is now poised to connect 149 countries on a transcontinental scale. It is estimated that BRI transport projects, upon completion, could reduce travel times along economic corridors by 12 percent, increase trade between 2.7 percent and 9.7 percent, increase income by up to 3.4 percent, and lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty. Evidently, China has  invested greatly in logistics, making it  increasingly competitive  in the world market, thereby contributing to a larger share of the global GDP .

The NLP’s Prescriptions

From a regulatory perspective, the NLP pursues an inter-ministerial alliance. Major ministries such as Railways; Road Transport & Highways; Ports, Shipping, and Waterways; and Petroleum & Natural Gas are directed to coordinate to design and implement logistics-related projects. Ensuring cooperation among these ministries should mitigate possible conflicts and streamline the implementation.

The NLP further seeks to leverage modern digital technologies to reform India’s logistical landscape. The technologies that are already in operation include the FASTag, an electronic toll collection system; the GST e-way bill, a tool to track the movement of goods and check tax evasion; the e-sanchit, a paperless platform to automate the export-import trade process; and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an open e-commerce and faceless assessment platform for the customs. Furthermore, the Prime Minister Gati Shakti project has begun to employ the Digital Master Planning tools developed by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics) to create logistics project plans. These planning tools employ a dynamic Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The additional projects being developed as part of the NLP include three major entities. First, the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) provides a unified portal that integrates digital services related to logistics such as container tracking, monthly performance analytics, and benchmarking services to help exporters manage their consignments. Second, the Ease-of-Logistics Services (E-Logs) portal facilitates reporting and resolving grievances to governments. Third, the Integration of Digital System (IDS) facilitates coordinating efforts across various ministries. These interventions will ensure system transparency.

A strong infrastructure for logistics is essential for the manufacturing industry to prosper. Indeed, the manufacturing sector views logistics as being analogous to the nervous system in the human body. With the NLP, India can become the next manufacturing hub of the world through its “MAKE IN INDIA” campaign. Launched in 2014, the Make in India initiative strives to inspire confidence in India’s capabilities amongst potential partners abroad. Fundamentally, this scheme updates information about business opportunities and provides a framework for a vast amount of technical information on twenty-five industry sectors. In addition to supporting the Make in India campaign, the NLP would strengthen the Indian agricultural sector, which currently experiences a process loss between production and consumption. In developed countries, the post-harvest loss is between 10 and 15 percent . Farmers in India incur post-harvest losses amounting to around INR 92,6510 million annually due to poor storage and logistics facilities. Having a robust logistics network will reduce the time needed for agricultural products to reach consumers, limiting overall wastage. Both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, which are direct beneficiaries of the NLP, are also highly codependent on service sectors such as banking, insurance, information technology (IT), and consultancy, among others. Hence, any improvements in manufacturing and agriculture are likely to bolster the service sectors. As a result, coordination improvements will boost sector speed, value creation, and entrepreneurship across sectors of the economy.

Structural reforms in the logistics sector, particularly in infrastructure and customs, were long overdue in India. In this direction, the NLP facilitates rapid technology adoption and creates synergies among government ministries in developing and implementing logistics projects. The methodology proposed to achieve a balanced modal mix by harmonizing roadways, railways, airways, and waterways is promising and should yield strong results. The proposed regime promises quick last-mile delivery, ends transport-related issues, and drives efficiency for manufacturers and farmers. Indian state governments should honor the policy and align their goals with the NLP to ensure its success. Furthermore, the policymakers should seek to match the strategies employed by the United States and China in the logistics sector. To emulate China’s infrastructure policies during the early 2000s, India’s government must continue to encourage private participation in infrastructure development and manage the operations of logistics terminals. If not acted on promptly, logistics may remain a bottleneck in the path of development, constraining the progress in both the primary and secondary sectors of India’s economy.

Vishnu C. Rajan, PhD

Dr. Vishnu is a faculty member in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institution of Technology Tirupati, where he teaches courses related to supply chain management and analytics. His current research interests include supply chain risk management, operations research, reliability engineering, manufacturing systems management, and data analytics.

L. R. K. Krishnan, PhD

Prof. Krishnan is a faculty member at the VIT Business School, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, where he teaches courses related to Human Resources Management and Public Policy. His current research interests are Organization Behaviour, Industrial Relations, and Labour Laws.

Image Credit: DesiBoy101 ,  CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Asia & Oceania ,
  • Infrastructure ,
  • Supply Chains

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Development of Road Rail Water and Air routes in India Upsc

Table of Contents

Development of road rail water and air routes

The transport system is considered the lifeline of the country and the development of transport in India is the primary goal of both the state and centre.

There are three major means of transport

  • Land (Roadways, Pipelines, Railways),
  • Water (Inland, Waterways, Ocean Routes),
  • Air (Domestic, International).

This article discusses transport in India, and the development of roads, rail, water, and air routes.

Development of transport in India

India has good transport Infrastructure such as roads, railways, airways, and waterways.

Road Infrastructure in India

An important mode of transport for goods and passengers for short, medium, and long distances. The road is easy, and cheap to construct build and maintain.

Asia’s largest tunnel is Patnitop Tunnel, It is also India’s  longest road tunnel  with a length of 9.28 km (5.8 mi), and the country’s first  tunnel  with a fully integrated  tunnel  control system.

India has the second-longest road network with a total length of 56,03,293 Km as of 2016. About 85% of passengers and 70% of freight traffic are carried out every year.

geography project transport in india

The road network in India is classified based on the purpose of construction, maintenance, etc. into National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), District Roads, Rural Roads (Village Roads), Border Roads, and International Highways.

1. National Highways (NH)

  • These highways connect the capital of states, major ports, rail junctions, and industrial and tourist centres.
  • The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India is responsible for the development and maintenance of the National Highways in India. The total length is 1,01,011 km which is 1.8% of the total road network in 2016.
  • The longest National Highway is NH-7, which runs from Varanasi in UP to Kanniyakumari in TN covering a distance of 2369 km.
  • The shortest National Highway in India is NH-47A which runs from Ernakulum to Kochi Port (Willington Island) covering a distance of 6km. The total number of national highways in India is 200.

2. State Highways (SH)

  • SH are roads that connect important cities, towns, and district headquarters within the state and connect them with the National highways or Highways of neighbouring states.
  • These roads are financed and administered by the State government. State Highway runs to the length of 1,76,166 km as of 2016.

3. District Road

  • District roads connect the district and taluk headquarters with the state highway and national highways.
  • District roads are constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department of states and Zila Parishad. The total length of the district road is 5,61,940 km (16.81%) in 2016.

4. Rural Road

  • This connects different villages with neighbouring towns. Maintained by Village Panchayats. The total length is 39,35,337 Km as of 2016.
  • Rural roads consist of Panchayat roads ( Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat); roads of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), and those constructed by the state PWDs.

5. Border Roads

  • These roads are of strategic importance and are constructed and maintained by Border Road Organization (BRO).
  • BRO was established in 1960, for the development of roads of strategic importance in Northern and Northeastern Borders areas.
  • BRO has constructed the world’s highest road joining Chandigarh and Leh in Ladakh. Border road runs at an average altitude of 4270 meters.

6. Expressways

  • Expressways are multi-lane good quality highways for high-speed traffic.
  • Important expressways are Mumbai-Pune Road, Kolkata-Dumdum Airport Road, Durgapur-Kolkata Road, and Yamuna Expressway between Delhi and Agra.

7. International Highway

  • It links India with neighbouring countries for the promotion of harmonious relationships with them.
  • These highways are constructed with aid from the World Bank under an agreement with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) .
  • These highways connect India with Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
  • In India, the densest road network is found in the northern plains where it is relatively easy to construct the road. In the mountainous areas, it is difficult to construct roads. Road density is highest in Kerala and lowest in Jammu & Kashmir.
  • The total number of national highways in India is 6, they run from Moreh in Manipur, India, to Maesot in Thailand via Myanmar’s Tamu, Mandalay, and Myawaddy. 
  • Shershah suri built the shahi (Royal) road, from the Indus Valley to Sonar Valley in Bengal. This road from Kolkata to Peshawar was renamed as Grand Trunk(GT) road during the British era. At present, it extends from Amritsar to Kolkata and it is bifurcated into two segments: NH-1 from Delhi to Amritsar and NH-2 from Delhi to Kolkata.
National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), established in 1995. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Surface Transport Tamil State board books

Golden Quadrilateral: Also referred to as the golden highway of India that extends about 5,846 km long road of 4/6 lanes connecting, India’s four metropolitan cities: Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai-Delhi was launched in 1999.

North-South and East-West Corridors: North-South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi-Salem Spur) with a 4,076 km long road.

The East-West corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640km of road length. The two corridors intersect at Jhansi.

Railway Infrastructure in India (Railway infrastructure upsc)

Railways are considered the backbone of the surface transportation system of India. Indian railways network is the largest in Asia and the second-largest in the world.

Length is 67,368 km with 7349 railway stations as of 2017. The history of rail transport in India started 160 years ago, the first passenger train ran between Bori Bunder (Bombay) and Thane, a distance of 34 km.

The highest-speed train in India is Gatimaan Express.

The light rail system in India is a type of city train public transportation that generally has a lower seating capacity and lower speed than heavy  rail . It is called MRTS or Metro Trains in India or Urban Rail transit in India . An example is Chennai Metro, Chennai MRTS, etc.

Importance of rail transport in India

It is considered the cheapest and fastest means of Public Transport for the general public and it is a lifeline for a country like India, where the Land is huge, with tough terrains.

Generally, rail transport is considered the safest means of transport.

The development of rail transport in India is done by the Indian Railways. For ease of operation and management, the Indian Railways is organized into 16 zones ( railway zones in India UPSC ).

  • Northern Railway – Delhi,
  • North-Western Railway – Jaipur,
  • North-Central Railway- Allahabad,
  • North-Eastern Railway – Gorakhpur,
  • North-East Frontier Railway – Guwahati,
  • Eastern Railway – Kolkatta,
  • East Coast Railway – Bhubaneswar,
  • East-Central Railway – Hazipur
  • West-Central Railway – Jabalpur
  • Central Railway – Mumbai (VT)
  • Western Railway-Mumbai (Churchgate)
  • Southern Railway – Chennai
  • South-Central Railway – Secunderabad
  • South-Eastern Railway – Kolkatta
  • South-Western Railway – Hubball
  • South East Central Railway – Bilaspur

The Northern Railway accounts for the longest route length followed by the Western Railway.

On the basis of the track, the Indian railway’s categories are Broad Gauge with a width of 1.676 meters, Meter Gauge with a width of 1 meter, Narrow gauge with a width of 0.762 meters, and light gauge with 0.610 meters.

The arrival of Konkan Railways Corporation (KRC), Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), Metro, and Sub-Urban railways give easy means of transport.

a) Konkan Railway

The construction of Konkan Railways was completed in 1998. It connects Roha in Maharashtra to Mangaluru in Karnataka on a length of 760km.

On its routes railway crosses 146 rivers, and streams, nearly 2000 bridges, and 73 tunnels. Asia’s longest tunnel is nearly 6.44 km long on this route.

The states of Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka are partners in this undertaking The rail link between Banihal in the Jammu region and Qazigund in Kashmir valley was opened in 2013, this rail passes under the Pir Panjal Range through an 11.2 km long tunnel.

b) Metro Railway in India

  • 8 cities with Metro rail in India.
  • Kolkatta, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Kochi.
  • Kolkatta is the first city in India to have metro rail, it is also called as Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS).
  • As of September 2018, India has 507 km of operational metro lines and 381 stations.

“ The state of Meghalaya has no railway network “

“ The first train in India is from Mumbai to Thane in 1853 covering a distance of 34 km. In 1951, the railway was nationalized as one unit “

“The Indian Railways headquartered at New Delhi.”

“the first suburban railway started in 1925 in Mumbai.”

“Chennai becomes the 6th Indian city with the metro railway.”

“Gatiman express is the fastest operational train in India, that connects New Delhi and Agra and touches 160 km/h. This train takes a travel time of 105 minutes to cover a 200 km journey.”

Pipeline Transport in India

The pipeline is a convenient mode of transport to oil and natural gas fields, refineries, and to markets. Also used to transport water.

The initial cost of laying the pipeline is high but the maintenance cost is less. Its advantages are a steady supply of goods and reduced transhipment losses and delays.

Important networks of pipeline transportation in India are:

Oil field in upper Assam to Kanpur, From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab, and Gas pipeline from the Hazira in Gujarat to Jagadispur in Uttar Pradesh

Water Transport System in India

It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport. The oldest and cheapest mode of transport.

Two types of waterways are Inland Waterways and Ocean Waterways (see routes)

History of water transport in India

Although India is using water transport for thousands of years, officially Inland Waterways  Authority of  India  (IWAI) came into existence on 27 October 1986 to improve and develop Inland water transport.

Inland Waterways in India

India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, lakes, and backwaters.

The total navigable length in India is 14,500 km, out of which 5200km lengths of rivers and 4000 km length of canals are used by mechanized crafts.

The total cargo carried by inland waterways is just about 0.1% of the total inland traffic in India. The Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986.

The Major national waterways are :

National Waterway 1: Between Haldia and Allahabad measures 1620 km and includes stretches of the Ganga-Bhagirathi- Hooghly river system. It is the longest national waterway in India.

National Waterway 2: a stretch of the Brahmaputra river between Dhubri and Sadiya a distance of 891 km.

National Waterway 3: extends between Kollam and Kottapuram in Kerala, it is the first national waterway in the country with 24-hour navigation facilities along its entire stretch of 205 km.

Oceanic Routes

About 95% of India’s foreign trade by volume and 70% by value moves by ocean routes. There are 13 major and 200 minor or intermediate ports in India.

The major ports are administered by the central government and minor ports are managed by various state governments.

The major ports on the east coast are Kolkata (including Haldia Dock), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore, and Tuticorin.

The major ports on the west coast are Kandla, Mumbai, Nhava Seva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port), New Mangalore, Marmagao, and Kochi.

India has four major shipyards, the Hindustan Shipyard in Vishakhapatnam, the Garden Reach workshop in Kolkatta, Mazagaon Dock in Mumbai, and Kochi Shipyard in Kochi.

India is the second-largest ship-owning country in Asia and 16th in the world.

Air Transport in India

Air transport in India started on 18th February 1918, when Henry Piquet carried mail from Allahabad to Naini. In 1953, eight different airlines operating in India were nationalized.

Domestic airways fly within the country and international airways connect major cities of the world. Indian Air Lines and Air India are the two airline services run by the Indian Government.

Indian Air Lines provides domestic air services and Air India provides international air services. At present, there are 19 designated international airports.

These airports are managed by the Airport Authority of India,

Examples Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, Chennai International Airport, Chennai, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, etc

There are 80 domestic airports and 25 civil enclaves at defence airfields.

Pavan-Hans Helicopter Ltd

Pavan-Hans Helicopter Ltd provides Helicopter support to the petroleum sector, such as ONGC and Oil India Ltd.

It is a public sector company based in New Delhi. Its operation is based at the Juhu Aerodrome in Vile Parle (West) Mumbai.

Pavan-Hans is a Mini Ratna-I category public sector undertaking. It also provides services to state governments in India particularly North East India, Inter-Island, Ferry Services in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, services to Lakshadweep Island, etc.

Airport Authority of India (AAI)

Constituted in 1995

It provides security to Indian Airports.

AAI under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.

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Geography Project On Transportation Of India For Class 10th CBSE

Table of Contents

Acknowledgment

This project has been a journey of exploration and understanding, delving into the intricate tapestry of India’s transportation system. It is with gratitude and appreciation that I extend my thanks to those who have contributed to the fruition of this endeavor.

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to [Your Mentor’s Name], whose guidance and support have been instrumental in shaping the direction of this project. Their insightful feedback and wealth of knowledge have been invaluable throughout the research process.

I extend my appreciation to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and other organizations that have played a pivotal role in developing and maintaining the extensive road network, railways, airways, and waterways. The insights shared by professionals in the field have added depth and authenticity to the project.

Special thanks are due to the authors and researchers whose work has been referenced in this project. Their contributions have been instrumental in providing a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities within India’s transportation landscape.

I am also grateful to the Delhi Metro and the Golden Quadrilateral project for serving as insightful case studies. Their experiences have offered valuable perspectives and enriched the project’s narrative.

Last but not least, I extend my gratitude to my friends and family for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout this undertaking. Their belief in the importance of this project has been a driving force behind its completion.

This project stands as a collective effort, and each acknowledgment is a tribute to the collaborative spirit that has fueled its success.

Introduction

In the intricate mosaic of India’s geographical expanse, the efficient connectivity of diverse regions plays a pivotal role in fostering economic development and societal progress. This project embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted transportation system in India, shedding light on the significance of its individual components and their collective impact on shaping the nation’s trajectory.

As India stands at the crossroads of rapid urbanization, population growth, and technological evolution, the demand for an integrated and robust transportation infrastructure has never been more pronounced. This endeavor seeks to unravel the layers of roadways, railways, airways, and waterways, each weaving its narrative into the intricate fabric of the country’s journey towards modernity.

From the expansive network of highways spearheaded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to the evolution of the Indian Railways, deeply rooted in history and adapting to contemporary needs, this project aims to provide a holistic understanding of the dynamics at play. The burgeoning aviation industry and the crucial role of waterways, facilitated by major rivers and coastal ports, contribute significantly to the complex web of transportation.

Beyond the concrete and steel, this exploration delves into the challenges and opportunities that shape the future of India’s transportation landscape. The infusion of technology, the push for sustainability through electric vehicles and renewable energy, and the profound impact of case studies like the Delhi Metro and the Golden Quadrilateral project all contribute to the narrative of progress.

As we navigate through the arteries of India’s transportation network, this project aspires to be a guide, unraveling the layers of challenges and opportunities that pave the way for a more interconnected, efficient, and environmentally conscious future.

geography project transport in india

Modes of Transportation

  • Roadways: India proudly flaunts one of the globe’s most extensive road networks, intricately threading through bustling cities and far-flung villages alike. At the forefront of this colossal endeavor is the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), overseeing the development and upkeep of a vast network that encompasses pivotal arteries like National Highways, State Highways, and iconic expressways such as the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
  • Railways: Tracing its roots back to the era of British influence, the Indian Railways has evolved into a cornerstone of mass transportation. This exploration delves into the historical journey and contemporary relevance of this lifeline, accentuating the advent of high-speed rail projects, including the audacious Bullet Train initiative.
  • Airways: India’s aviation sector has witnessed remarkable growth, evident in the mushrooming of airports and the expansive reach of domestic and international airlines. This undertaking accentuates the pivotal role of air connectivity in nurturing economic development and its profound impact across diverse sectors.
  • Waterways: The extensive network of inland waterways, including the majestic Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Godavari rivers, assumes a central role in India’s transportation tapestry. Additionally, coastal shipping, facilitated by major seaports like Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, significantly contributes to the seamless movement of goods and passengers.

geography project transport in india

Challenges and Opportunities

  • Challenges: Urban landscapes grapple with the pervasive issue of traffic congestion, necessitating strategic solutions and innovative decongestion measures. Moreover, an evident infrastructure deficit underscores the urgency for investments in modernizing roadways and railways, aligning them with the burgeoning demands of a rapidly growing population and economy.
  • Opportunities: The exploration of opportunities within this project extends into the realm of technological advancements. A significant emphasis is placed on the implementation of intelligent transportation systems, offering real-time monitoring and management capabilities. The integration of sustainable practices, notably the advocacy for electric vehicles and the infusion of renewable energy into transportation, emerges as a promising avenue for future development.

Case Studies

  • Delhi Metro: A detailed examination of the Delhi Metro serves as an illuminating case study, unraveling its pivotal role in mitigating urban congestion and underscoring the environmental benefits inherent in a well-structured metro system.
  • Golden Quadrilateral: The Golden Quadrilateral project, weaving a network of highways to connect major cities, stands as another compelling case study. It showcases the profound impact on economic development and enhanced connectivity brought about by this ambitious infrastructure initiative.

In traversing the expansive landscape of India’s transportation system, this project has unveiled a tapestry woven with complexities, challenges, and boundless opportunities. From the intricate network of roadways overseen by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to the storied evolution of the Indian Railways, each mode of transportation plays a vital role in shaping the nation’s narrative.

The aviation industry, with its remarkable growth, and the significant role of inland waterways, navigated by rivers like the Ganga and Brahmaputra, all contribute to the dynamic symphony of connectivity. Amidst the concrete and steel, this exploration has ventured into the heart of challenges faced by urban areas, emphasizing the need for strategic solutions and investment in modernization.

However, the journey does not conclude with challenges alone; it extends into a realm of boundless opportunities. Technological advancements beckon, paving the way for smart transportation systems and real-time monitoring. The promotion of sustainable practices, notably the integration of electric vehicles and renewable energy, emerges as a promising avenue for future development.

Case studies, such as the Delhi Metro and the Golden Quadrilateral project, have illuminated the transformative power of well-executed transportation initiatives. They serve as beacons, guiding the way towards enhanced economic development and improved connectivity.

In conclusion, India’s transportation landscape stands as a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the collective will to propel the nation forward. By embracing technological innovation, committing to sustainability, and learning from successful case studies, India is poised to overcome existing challenges and chart a course toward a future characterized by efficiency, connectivity, and environmental consciousness. As we bid farewell to this exploration, the horizon beckons with the promise of an ever-evolving transportation paradigm for India.

Bibliography

  • National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). (2023). NHAI Official Website .
  • Smith, J. (Year). Title of Book . [Publisher](Book URL).
  • Johnson, A. (Year). “Title of Article.” Journal Name , Volume(Issue), [Page Range](Article URL).
  • Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. (2023). Delhi Metro Official Website .
  • Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. (2023). Golden Quadrilateral Project .
  • International Air Transport Association (IATA). (Year). IATA Official Website .
  • Central Water Commission, India. (2023). Central Water Commission .
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (Year). “Title of Report.” EPA Website .
  • Kumar, S. (Year). Title of Research Paper. [Repository or Journal URL].
  • World Bank. (Year). “Infrastructure Development for Economic Growth.” World Bank Report .

Certificate of Completion

This is to certify that I, [Student’s Name], a [Class/Grade Level] student, have successfully completed the “Geography Project On TRANSPORTATION OF INDIA For Class 10th cbse.” The project explores the fundamental principles and key aspects of the chosen topic, providing a comprehensive understanding of its significance and implications.

In this project, I delved into in-depth research and analysis, investigating various facets and relevant theories related to the chosen topic. I demonstrated dedication, diligence, and a high level of sincerity throughout the project’s completion.

Key Achievements:

Thoroughly researched and analyzed Geography Project On TRANSPORTATION OF INDIA For Class 10th cbse. Examined the historical background and evolution of the subject matter. Explored the contributions of notable figures in the field. Investigated the key theories and principles associated with the topic. Discussed practical applications and real-world implications. Considered critical viewpoints and alternative theories, fostering a well-rounded understanding. This project has significantly enhanced my knowledge and critical thinking skills in the chosen field of study. It reflects my commitment to academic excellence and the pursuit of knowledge.

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Geography (Projects & Notes) for ICSE Class 10

June 6, 2018 by studymumbai Leave a Comment

ICSE class 10 project

Geography (Projects & Notes) for ICSE Class 10. Find list of geography projects and notes.

Transport in India

Grade: 10, WORD LIMIT -1400-1500 words TOPIC: “Transport in India” AIM: This project aims to develop a student‟s understanding of how Transport is important to the development of a country in terms of the plans undertaken by the governmentt to develop the different modes of transportation.

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Index Introduction (meaning and importance of transport) Different modes i) Roadways (National Highways, Express Highways, State Highways, Border roads) ii) Railways (Railway zones, Track system) iii) Waterways (National waterways, Major ports in India) iv) Airways (Factors responsible for its progress, National and International Airports) Problems faced by each mode of transport Their merits (advantages) Environmental issues /impact Progress made by the transport sector. World bank support- as an investor in transport Conclusion Bibliography The project should contain adequate illustrations in the form of maps and pictures,

Question: Development of transport in India with reference to rail, road, water ,air routes, golden quadrilateral project and north south and east west corridors.

Popular Topics for Geography Projects (Class 10 ICSE)

  • Tourism, Tourism in India, Development of tourism in India
  • Transport, Transportation
  • Wildlife, Wildlife conservation efforts in India
  • Environment Conservation
  • Soils in India
  • Comparison of wheat cultivation in India and USA
  • Rubber cultivation in Malaysia
  • Resources of India
  • Climate of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal
  • Physical features of South Asia(focus on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal)
  • Non-Renewable Sources of Energy
  • Renewable Sources of Energy
  • Sariska Tiger Reserve
  • Natural Disasters
  • Mount Everest
  • Land Forms Of The Earth
  • Cotton cultivation in Egypt
  • Water treatment plant
  • Agriculture in India
  • IDENTIFICATION OF DIRECTIONS.

Tourism in India

Sub Headings: Acknowledgement Index Meaning of Tourism Brief History of Tourism in India Famous tourist destinations in India (i) Heritage tourism: (eg.Taj Mahal. Qutb Minar etc..) (ii)Eco Tourism (backwaters of Kerala etc.) (iii)Adventure Tourism (Trekking the Himalayas) (iv)Cultural Tourism (visiting the tribal lands in Odisha. Jharkhand etc Steps taken by the Government of India and various gate governments to promote an develop tourism In India (like the theme of Incredible India). Challenges to the Tourism Industries Conclusion Bibliography Note: To be Written in Project file with pictures pasted on the left side and written matter of the right side. You can take help from the Internet.

Total Pages- 25

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Transport System in India: Road, Rail, Air and Water

geography project transport in india

Transport System in India! Learn about the Road, Rail, Air and Water Transport System in India.

Transport System in India: Growth, Development, Projects, Importance and Problems

Transport system is an important component of an infrastructure system in the economy. An efficient system of the transport is a pre-requisite condition for other infrastructure development of a country. It is playing very important role in generation of national in­come and employment. Transport sector facilitates the entire movement of production and consumption system of modern economy.

Goods produced are of no economic value unless they are taken to consumption centres. An efficient, speedy and economical trans­port system helps the economy in adding value to its produced goods. It also expanded the geographical coverage of the markets for goods and thereby acts to their effective avail­ability. Supply of raw materials and other inputs also facilitates efficient and uninter­rupted production activity. Thus, it helps in development of input-output relationship between different production activities.

Transport System in India: Road Transport

Roads are the dominant mode of transportation in India today. They carry almost 85 per cent of the country’s passenger traffic and more than 60 per cent of its freight. The density of India’s highway network — at 0.66 km of roads per square kilometer of land – is similar to that of the United States (0.65) and much greater than China’s (0.16) or Brazil’s (0.20). However, most roads in India are narrow and congested with poor surface quality and 33 per cent of India’s villages do not have access to all-weather roads.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Road is one of the important means of transport. In the last six decades road had gone in prominence as a mechanism for moving goods and people in the country. This has partly reflected the greater innate flexibility road transportation. India has an extensive road network of more than 3.3 million km. making it one of the largest in the world. The road network comprises of national highways, state highways, district roads, rural roads and special purpose roads.

National Highways are premier arterial routes span about 58,112 km. throughout the country and cater to about 45 per cent of the total road transport demand. The road transport is highly suitable for an agrarian economy like ours. How­ever, our road transport system still suffers from some basic drawbacks including the following- (i) Lack of proper planning, (ii) Multiple authorities, (iii) Resource Cost.

Road Network :

India, having one of the largest road network of 3.314 million km, consists of National Highways, Expressways, State Highways, Major District Roads, Other District Roads and Village Roads with following length distribution- National Highways/Expressways 70,548 km, State Highways 1,28,000 km, Major and other District Roads 4,70,000 km, Village Roads 26,50,000 km. About 60 per cent of freight and 87.4 per cent passenger traffic is carried by the roads.

Although National Highways constitute only about 2 per cent of the road network, it carries 40 per cent of the total road traffic. The number of vehicles has been growing at an average pace of around 10 per cent per annum (2001-02 to 2005-06). The share of road traffic in total traffic has grown from 13.8 per cent of freight traffic and 15.4 per cent of passenger traffic in 1950-51 to an estimated 60 per cent of freight traffic and 87.4 per cent of passenger traffic by the end of 2005-06. The rapid expansion and strengthening of the road network, therefore, is imperative, to provide for both present and future traffic and for improved accessibility to the hinterland. In addition, road trans­port needs to be regulated for better energy efficiency, less pollution and enhanced road safety.

National Highways Development Project :

In order to take up the improvement and development of National Highways, National Highways Development Project (NHDP), the largest highway project ever undertaken in the country, was initiated in a phased manner. Implementing agency for NHDP programme is National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

NHDP programme began with Phase I and Phase II having following components:

NHDP Phase I & II envisage 4/6 laning of about 14,000 km of National Highways, at an estimated cost of about Rs.65,000 crore at 2004 prices. These two phases comprise Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), North-South & East-West corridor (NSEW), Port Connectivity and Other Projects. The GQ consisting of 5846 km connects four major cities, viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

The NSEW corridors comprising a length of 7142 km connects Srinagar in the North to Kanyakumari in the South including a spur from Salem to Kochi and Silchar in the East to Porbandar in the West, respectively. The NHDP also includes Port Connectivity Project comprising a length of 380 km for improvement of roads connecting 12 major ports in the country and Other Projects involving a length of 962 km.

The Government has also envisaged a massive programme for development of National Highways under NHDP to be completed during the period of 2005-15 with an invest­ment of Rs.2,35,690 crore in a phased manner. This programme includes completion of National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase I and II, NHDP Phase-III for up-gradation of 12,109 km of National Highways on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, NHDP Phase-IV for widening of 20,000 km of National Highways to two lanes with paved shoulders, NHDP Phase-V for six-laning of 6500 km length of selected National Highways, NHDP Phase-VI for development of 1000 km of Expressways, NHDP Phase- VII for construction of 700 km of ring roads in major towns and bypasses and construc­tion of other stand-alone structures such as flyovers, elevated roads, tunnels, under­passes, grade separated interchanges etc. on National Highways.

Public Private Participation :

Historically, investments in the infrastructure sector, particularly in the highways, were being made by the Government mainly because of the large volume of resources required, long gestation period, uncertain returns and various associated externalities. The galloping resource requirements and the concern for managerial efficiency and con­sumer responsiveness have led in recent time to an active involvement of private sector.

To encourage participation of private sector, the government has also announced seve­ral incentives such as tax exemptions and duty free import of road building equipments and machinery etc. It has been decided that all the sub projects in NHDP Phase-Ill to Phase-VII would be taken up mainly on Public Private Participation (PPP) route follow­ing either Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) toll mode or BOT (Annuity) mode.

Growing Importance of Urban Transport :

India is experiencing rapid urbanization with the present urbanization levels at 30% trans­lating to a population of roughly 340 million living in urban areas. The number of million plus cities is presently at 42 and the urban economy accounted for roughly 60% of the GDP. Motorization rates in India are in double digits as in most developing economies. Only about 20 cities out of 87 cities with a population in excess of 500,000 and state capitals have any kind of organized transport and only 3-4 cities could lay claim to a mass rapid transit system. The share of public transport in cities with population sizes over 4 million has declined from 69% to 38% between 1994 to 2007. Accident and fatality rates are one of the highest in the world affecting’ primarily the poor and vulnerable without their own means of transport.

Major Strategies for Road Development :

The Government of India has initiated following strategies for road development:

(i) India’s Eleventh Five Year Plan identifies various deficits in transport sector which include inadequate roads/highways, old technology, saturated routes and slow speed on railways, inadequate berths and rail/road connectivity at ports and inade­quate runways, aircraft handling capacity, parking space and terminal building at airports.

(ii) Increasing public funding for transportation in its Five Year Plans. Government aims to modernize, expand, and integrate the country’s transport services. It also seeks to mobilize resources for this purpose and to gradually shift the role of gov­ernment from that of a producer to an enabler. In recent years, the Government has made substantial efforts to tackle the sector’s shortcomings and to reform its transport institutions.

(iii) Launching the ambitious National Highway Development Programme which has seven phases and is expected to be completed by 2012. It includes improved con­nectivity between Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, popularly called the Golden Quadrilateral, in the first phase, North-South and East-West corridors in phase two, four laning of more than 12,000 km in phase three, two laning of 20,000 km and six laning of 6,500 km respectively in phase four and five, development of 1,000 km of expressway in phase six and other important highway projects in phase seven. Total expected investment is INR 2.2 trillion.

(iv) Operationalising the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to act as an infrastructure procurer and not just provider. Accelerate Road Development Pro­gram for the North East Region to provide road connectivity to all State capitals and district headquarters in the North East region.

(v) Financing the development and maintenance of roads by creating a Central Road Fund (CRF) through an earmarked tax on diesel and petrol.

(vi) Improving rural access by launching the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Programme).

(vii) Reducing the congestion on rail corridors along the highly trafficked Golden Quad­rilateral and improving port connectivity by launching the National Rail Vikas Yojana (National Railway Development Program).

(viii) The development of two Dedicated Freight Corridors from Mumbai to Delhi and Ludhiana to Dankuni.

(ix) Improving urban transport under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mis­sion (JNNURM).

(x) Upgrading infrastructure and connectivity in the country’s twelve major ports by initiating the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP).

(xi) Privatization and expansion of the Mumbai and New Delhi Airports and develop­ment of new international airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore.

(xii) Enhancing sector capacity and improving efficiencies through clear policy direc­tive for greater private sector participation. Large parts of the NHDP and NMDP are to be executed through public private partnerships (PPP).

World Bank Support for Road Development Programme :

The World Bank has been a major investor in the transport sector in India. At present, it has ten projects in transport portfolio which include seven state road projects and one each for national highway, rural road and urban transport with total loan commitments for the transport sector in India as in June 2011 is US $5.9 billion spread over 14 projects.

The main activities include:

(i) National Highway Development Project:

The World Bank is financing highway construction on the Lucknow-Muzaffarpur corridors. The bank is also financing a technical assistance loan to improve the operational processes and systems of National Highway Authority of India including developing a comprehensive ERP system. Through these engagements, comprehensive improvements in road safety management and work zone safety practices have also been undertaken.

(ii) Rural Roads Program:

The program provides for the provision of all-weather roads to villages in seven States – Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh. Over the next five years, the two rural road operations would finance construction and up-gradation of 24,200 km of new all-weather rural roads connecting about 8,200 habitations.

The second rural road project uses a unique design and provides broad-based support for PMGSY. The project has adopted a result based methodology and focus on getting those results rather than individual transactions leading to those results. Bank funds will be disbursed against achievements of agreed results formulated as a series of disbursement link indicators.

(iii) State Road Projects:

State Highways are being upgraded in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Karnataka. Besides improving the capacity of the core road network in the project states, these projects aim to improve the overall capacity of the transport sector agencies including preparation of long term financing and asset management strategies and the road safety management capabilities.

(iv) Mumbai Urban Transport Project 2A:

The project aims to improve transportation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region by building upon the progress made under the first Mumbai Urban Transport Project and further increase the capacity of the suburban rail system within the Mumbai Metropolitan area on the existing infra­structure network.

(v) Sustainable Urban Transport Project:

The project supports improving the usage of environment friendly transport modes through piloting of demonstration projects in select cities with a focus on priority to public transport and non-motorized trans­port. The project also supports capacity building for developing and implementing sustainable urban transport systems.

(vi) Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project:

The World Bank is financing, in the first phase, the 343 km Khurja to Kanpur section of total 1,800 km Eastern Dedi­cated Freight Corridor (Ludhiana-Delhi-Mughal Sarai). The World Bank may finance a total of around 1,100 km of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in three phases. It will also help in developing the institutional capacity of the Dedi­cated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) to build and maintain the DFC’s infrastructure network.

(vii) Public Private Partnership:

The Bank is actively contributing to strengthening the PPP policy framework in the transport sector through its ongoing dialogue with and knowledge management support to GOI, various states and urban local bod­ies. Bank is also supporting transaction advisory services for structuring highway PPP program in Tamil Nadu, AP and Orissa and financing part of the Karnataka highway PPP program including providing direct construction cash support for the modified annuity contracts.

(viii) Indian Road Construction Industry Study:

Given the large development programs being launched to support the rapidly growing economy, the supply side constraints in terms of the construction industry capacity are a serious cause of concern. The study reviews these limitations and suggests mitigation measures.

Rural Roads during Twelfth Plan (2012-17) :

Rural Roads:

As an effective poverty alleviation strategy, “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana” (PMGSY) was launched in the year 2000, as a centrally sponsored programme and a one-time special intervention. The primary objective of the programme was to provide connectivity by way of all-weather roads to unconnected habitations with popu­lation 1000 and above by 2003 and those with population 500 and above by 2007 in rural areas. In respect of hilly/tribal areas, the objective is to link habitations with population 250 and above.

Up-gradation of selected rural roads to provide full farm to market con­nectivity is also an objective of the scheme, though not central. The programme has since been implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. The basic time frame for completion of the programme was perceived to be 2007; how­ever, because of constraints of capacity of implementation in the States and availability of funds, the targets of the programme have not been achieved so far. On the whole this scheme is considered to be a successful scheme. The investment in this scheme in the Eleventh Plan is expected to be 59,751 crore. The projected investment by the working group for the twelfth Plan is Rs.2 lakh crore. Since the opportunity of attracting PPP in this sector is not high, the working group has projected the entire demand from the budgetary support.

Central Roads:

In the Eleventh Plan, around 9,044 kms of road would be constructed under various phases of the NHDP programme. Besides this, 1,012 km in the North-East package and 1,051 km under the road building under the Left Wing Extremism affected area would be completed. At present, out of 71,772 km of National Highways about 24 per cent length is of 4-lane and above standard, 52 per cent length is of Two-Lane stan­dard and 24 per cent length of single and intermediate standard.

Out of the projected investment of Rs.1.9 lakh crore expected in the Eleventh Plan, the actual investment is likely to be Rs.1.52 lakh crore which reflects a shortfall of 25 per cent. The share of private investment is expected to be Rs.60,630 crore or 41 per cent. This shows that the PPP programme in the road sector has stabilized and progressing well.

The working group on central roads for the Twelfth Plan has projected an investment requirement of Rs.4.83 lakh crore of which the private sector component is Rs.1.75 lakh crore or 37 per cent, the rest expected to come from budgetary and extra-budgetary sources, including Cess on petrol and diesel.

More than 30,000 kms of national highways as well as 7000 km of roads under the North East and nearly 13,000 km of roads under the LWE areas would also be targeted to be completed during the Twelfth Plan. There is a Plan to invest in expressways also, although these may not be very cost effective.

Major problems of road transport are as follows:

(i) The road length is inadequate considering the size of the country.

(ii) A number of areas, particularly interior areas and hilly tracts remain to be linked with roads.

(iii) Large tracts of rural roads are mud roads which cannot be used for plying heavy traffic.

(iv) A number of urban roads are also poorly maintained. This is due to constraints of financial resources, organizational inadequacies, procedural delays, shortage of essential materials etc.

(v) Most of the State Road Transport Corporations are running on heavy losses. This is because of rising cost of operations, inefficiency in operations and corruption.

Transport System in India: Rail Transport

Indian Railways is one of the largest railways under the single management. It carried some 19.8 million passengers and 2.4 million tonnes of freight a day in year 2009 and is one of the world’s largest employers. The railways play a leading role in carrying passen­gers and cargo across India’s vast territory. However, most of its major corridors have capacity constraint requiring capacity enhancement plans.

Railways provide an efficient and low cost means of transport provided the system itself is made operational with timely investment in technological advanced rolling, stock sig­nalling equipments and the like. The Indian railway is one of the largest railway systems in the world. It has an extensive network which is spread over about 69400 route kilometer comprising broad-gauge (69,146 RKM) and Narrow Gauge (254 RKM).

Approxi­mately, 25% of the network is electrified. The Indian Railway has historically played an important role in the social and economic development of the country. Railways have an innate advantage as a mode of surface transport, being less energy intensive and more environmental friendly. There is need for strategic shift in Railways approach to give optimal benefits of these advantages to the economy.

For this purpose, the thrust to be on augmentation of capacity in the high density corridors sufficient reorientation among commercial lines and necessary tariff rationalization while continuing to play the desired social and developmental roles. Indian railways being a public utility service has been undertaking certain uneconomical operations in the larger social and national in­terest so as to provide affordable transport facility to the common man and to carry certain essential commodities meant for mass-consumption at very low freight rates.

Performance of Indian Railways :

During 2009-10 there was an excess of Rs.0.75 crore, which was appropriated to Deve­lopment Fund. The originating revenue loading was 887.79 million tonnes in 2008-09. The transport output in terms of revenue net tonne kms. (NT Kms) was 600.55 billion in 2009-10 compared to 551.45 billion in 2008-09. Earnings from freight traffic (excluding miscellaneous goods earnings) was Rs.56,911.51 crore – up by Rs.5,162.17 crore (9.98%) from 2008-09. During 2009-10, the number of passengers carried was 7,246 million com­pared to 6,920 million in 2008-09 thus registering an increase of 4.71%.

Passenger kms which is the product of the number of passengers carried and average distance tra­versed was 903 billion, up by 7.76% from 838 billion in the previous year. Passenger earn­ings increased by Rs.1,547.96 crore (7.1%) compared to 2008-09. All the country’s high- density rail corridors face severe capacity constraints. Also, freight transportation costs by rail are much higher than in most countries as freight tariffs in India have been kept high to subsidize passenger traffic.

Railways during Twelfth Plan (2012-17) :

Railways were expected to generate investment of Rs.2.33 lakh crore in the Twelfth Plan against which the actual investment is likely to be Rs.2.03 lakh crore i.e. a shortfall of nearly 13 per cent. The financing pattern of the Railways has progressively shifted to­wards greater reliance on support from general exchequer and market borrowings dur­ing the course of the Eleventh Plan.

The Twelfth Plan for Railways is being formulated in the perspective of Vision 2020. Some key issues that have to be considered are urgent need to modernize, problem of saturated routes, low average speed and payload to fare ratio; safety; an extremely large still being sanctioned; huge committed financial liabilities on assured off-take models, equity requirements and counterpart funding for DFC, ROBs/RUBs, feeder route strengthening, debt servicing of IRFC; setting up of North Eastern Region Railways Development Fund; growth of earnings not commensurate with increase in expenditure with rising pension liabilities.

There is a growing realization that investment will have to be hiked for the railways to address the capacity constraints in the sector. In the coming Plan period, the two dedicated freight corridors are likely to be completed. There are Plans for the feasibility of another three or four more desiccated freight corridor – Delhi – Chennai, Howrah – Mumbai, Mumbai – Chennai and Chennai – Kolkata – to be taken up during the Twelfth Plan. There is a need for taking up a high speed rail corridor also.

The capacity of passenger segment needs augmentation by adding coaches and increasing speeds as does the freight segment by addition of wagons and enhancing speeds. The projection of invest by the working Grouping of the Railways for the Twelfth Plan is Rs.7.19 lakh crore of which more than 50 per cent is expected from the budgetary support and less than 10 per cent from the private sector.

Among the transport sectors railways have to be given priority in view of the energy, land and environmental consid­erations. Despite this thrust, Railways may have to work out a strategy for attracting a higher share of the planned investment from the private sector including PPP given the likely difficulties in generating such a high level of budgetary support.

Problems of Indian Railways :

Major problems are as follows:

(i) The existing technology of both electric and diesel locomotive is very old.

(ii) The railway network is smaller and inadequate vis-a-vis the requirements of the economy.

(iii) The railways are facing the problem of financial crunch. The conventional meth­ods of increasing the net revenue, like rising of tariffs and expenditure control are inadequate for generating the levels of investment required.

(iv) Because of social responsibilities, railways are forced to operate a number of un- remunerative lines and suffer heavy losses. Often, essential goods like food-grains, fruits and vegetables have to be carried at a loss.

(v) Railways also suffer from overcrowding and poor passenger services.

Transport System in India: Air Transport

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. The Civil Aviation sec­tor has made significant strikes in coping with the growth of international and domestic traffic. It is now increasingly recognised that aviation far from being a mere mode of transportation for small elite group, makes an important contribution to the national economy and its crucial for sustainable development for trade and tourism.

With the liberalization of the Indian aviation sector, the industry had witnessed a transformation with the entry of the privately owned full service airlines and low cost carriers. As of May 2009, private carriers accounted for around 75% shares of the domestic aviation market. The sector has also seen a significant increase in number of domestic air travel passen­gers.

Aviation as an Emerging Sector :

Following reasons are responsible for emerging growth profile of the aviation sector:

(i) Growing middle class and its purchasing power for air travel.

(ii) Low airfare offered by low cost carriers.

(iii) Dynamic growth of the tourism in the country.

(iv) Modernization programme of non-metro airports.

(v) Increasing out bound travel from India.

(vi) Improvement in overall growth of the country.

(vii) Continuous fleet expansion by airlines.

(viii) Development of repair and overhaul (MRO) industry in the country.

(ix) Opening of new international routes by the government.

(x) Establishment of new airports.

(xi) Renovation and restructuring airports.

India has 128 airports, including 15 international airports. Indian airports handled 142 million passengers in 2010-11 and 1.6 million tonnes of cargo in year 2009-10. The CAGR for the domestic passenger and freight growth over the last decade has been 14.2% and 7.8% respectively. The dramatic increase in air traffic for both passengers and cargo in recent years has placed a heavy strain on the country’s major airports. Passenger traffic is projected to grow more than 15% annually over 2011-13 and it is estimated that the aviation industry, currently 9th largest in the world, will require 30 billion USD invest­ments in the next 15 years to keep pace with the growing demand.

India is among the countries with the fastest growing passenger traffic. Some of the factors that have resulted in higher demand for air transport in India include the grow­ing middle class and its purchasing power, low airfares offered by low cost carriers, the growth of the tourism industry in India, increasing outbound travel from India, and the overall economic growth of India.

The first round of consolidation happened in the mid-1990s when airlines such as Damania Airways, East-West Airlines and Modiluft which has opened shop after the ‘open skies’ policy of 1991 either shut down or sold out, due to lack of management bandwidth or financial constraints. It was an era of high fares which made air travel a luxury restricted to business executives and moneyed individuals. This scenario continued till the early part of the last decade.

Emergence of Low Cost Carrier (LCC) :

The low cost carrier (LCC) model introduced by Air Deccan in 2004 proved a game changer. By offering seats at rock bottom fares unheard of before, it democratized air travel in the country and catalyzed rapid growth in passenger traffic. The full service carriers- Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Sahara Airlines who till then were operating in an oligopolistic market with high fares and plum profits found themselves at the receiv­ing end and saw market share erode.

The advent of the LCC also set into motion some key structural changes in the sector, perceiving a burgeoning opportunity in Indian aviation, three more LCCs (Spice Jet, GoAir and IndiGo) and a couple of full service carriers – Kingfisher Airlines and Paramount Airways opened shop during 2006 and 2007.

However, with as many as 10 carriers operating, the market soon became too crowded for comfort, and several players started feeling the heat. Due to growing completion some high-profile mergers and acquisitions were took place in 2007-08. Jet Airways took over Sahara Airlines (renamed JetLite) after false starts and a continuing spat; Air India and Indian Airlines merged to form NACIL- a move which has generated more pain than synergies; Kingfisher Airlines took over the original low cost warrior AirDeccan (renamed Kingfisher Red) which had high leverage and found the going unsustainable.

Finally, the growing market share of LCCs and the economic slowdown in 2008 and 2009 meant that the pure full service model have lost its relevance. Full service carriers em­braced the low fare model in good measure to ride out the downturn.

While Air India had its low cost arm, Air India Express, Jet and Kingfisher shifted a majority of their seats to the low fare category. Meanwhile, Paramount Airlines which was showing promise in South India was grounded in 2010 with some of its planes seized on reports of non-payment of lease dues. At present, the aviation market in India com­prises three LCCs- Spice-Jet, IndiGo and GoAir and three full service carriers- NACIL, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines which also offer low fare seats.

In the meantime Kingfisher’s plans to do away with its low fare offering (Kingfisher Red) and focus only on the high yield segment of the market. The company claims that reconfiguration of planes towards this exercise led to some flight cancellation.

Poor Financial Performance :

Not only did LCCs chip away at market share, they also dented the financials of full service carriers by lowering yields across the board. This even as they themselves suf­fered start-up pangs. Full service carriers were also badly impacted by the high debt they had taken to expand fleet capacities and at the time of acquisition of other airlines.

However, amidst the LCC churn, the financials of most airlines inspired little confidence. The last time Indian Airlines (now NACIL) posted operating profits was in 2006. Among private Airlines, only Jet Airways managed to make an operating profit in 2006, while Paramount alone made minor operating profits in 2007.

The situation was no better in 2008 and 2009 with slowdown induced demand contrac­tion and fleet oversupply conditions causing most players to report operating losses. Paramount and IndiGo were the only exceptions posting minor profits in 2009. The pic­ture however improved in 2010 with the revival in the economy, curtailed seats and relatively benign crude oil prices. Except Kingfisher, all private airlines posted operating profits, though the net level, only the low cost carriers managed to remain in the green.

Again, it was debt which dragged down the full service carriers. The situation was simi­lar in 2011 when buoyant demand conditions and reasonable crude oil prices for most part of the year led to a good operating performance by many Airlines.

However, only the LCCs have managed to post profits at the next level. In essence, for most of its history a chunk of the Indian aviation sector has been in the red.

The 2012 sadly is turning out to be a nightmare for the sector. Oil prices have shot up sharply beyond $100 a barrel levels. However, though demand is growing at a healthy clip, Airlines are not able to hike prices to the extent needed, thanks to alleged predatory pricing by NACIL in a bid to recoup its lost market share.

The present scenario continues a washout for most Airlines, including LCCs, even at the operating level. However, given their low levels of leverage (at least till now) LCCs will happen again seem better positioned to tackle the current turbulence. They, in fact seem to be optimistic about the prospects of the sector and have place large fleet order.

Cost-Effectiveness of LCCs :

Besides having low leverage, LCCs are true to their moniker exercise for effective con­trol over cost. Latest data from DGCA for 2010 suggests that the cost per revenue pas­senger kilometer (a key metric of cost measurement in Airlines) was as low as Rs.2.9 for IndiGo, Rs.3.16 for SpiceJet and Rs.3.8 for GoAir. Comparable numbers for Kingfisher (Rs.5.59), NACIL (Rs.5.7), Jet Airways (Rs.4.5) and JetLite (Rs.4.2) were much higher.

Among the factors which help LCCs keep costs low is the limited type of aircraft in their fleet. This reduces maintenance cost. Also, the average age of their fleet is quite low which aids in curtailing costs. Besides, LCCs sweat their aircraft better by reducing turn­around time and making optimum use of aircraft space.

Growing Debt Burden of Full Services Carriers :

All of India’s full service carriers are laden with heavy debt in excess of Rs.47,000 crore for NACIL, more than Rs.14,000 crore in the case of Jet Airways and round Rs.7,500 crore for Kingfisher. The high interest burden on these loans prevents the airlines from reporting profits even when times are good. Adding to NACIL’s pain is the botched merger between Air India and Indian Airlines which is reflected in continued human resources integration issues.

Civil Aviation during Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) :

During the last five years, India has become the ninth largest civil aviation market in the world with the passenger handling capacity having risen three-folders from 72 million

2005-2006 to over 220 million 2010-2011 and cargo handling capacity having risen from 0.5 million MT (2005-2006) to 3.3 million MT (2010-2011). The projected investment in the Eleventh Plan in the civil aviation sector is Rs.50,000 crore from GBS and extra-budget­ary sources and Rs.30,000 crore of private investment in the airports.

In the Twelfth Plan, the working group has projected an investment requirement of Rs.75,000 crore for airports of which 75 per cent is expected from the private sector and another Rs.55,000 crore for other aspects of civil aviation investment such as Air India which is expected to be funded from the budgetary and extra-budgetary sources.

Problems and Prospects :

Indian aviation sector is largely affected by high costs (turbine fuels) and inability to revise fares due to severe competition from LCC so full airlines are incoming huge losses.

The aviation sector is a crucial cog in the country’s infrastructure wheel. To ease its troubles, the government could consider reducing the high taxes on aviation turbine fuel. Also, allowing investment by foreign airlines in the aviation sector (reportedly being considered by the government now) would be welcome.

It is also critical for the sector players to revert to rational fares, as soon as possible. In this regard, continued shielding of NACIL by the government needs to be stopped. Also, there is little case for bailout of private airlines.

Transport System in India: Water Transport

Water transport includes inland waterways, shipping and ports services. It provides a cheap and efficient mode of transporting bulky cargo over long distances. It can be of great help in both coastal trade and international movements. However, the fleet of ships flying Indian flag compares poorly with those of other countries. It accounts for only about 1% of world’s shipping tonnage. India has a very long coastline. It has 11 major ports and 148 minor operable ports along the coastline. With a long coast line and a strategic geographical location, India has a vast potential of adding to its shipping fleet and ports. By doing so it cannot only add to its foreign exchange earnings, but can also reduce its dependence upon foreign carriers. The major port of India handles around 90% (about 252 million tonnes) of the total cargo.

It is reported that over the past few years’ labour and equipment productivity of Indian ports has increased but it still continues to be quite low compared with the major ports of several Asian countries. The main reason for this low productivity is not on account of underutilization of port capacity. The development of minor ports is the responsibility of the state governments, through the centre is always ready to help.

The Maritime States Development Council has been cre­ated to provide an integrated approach towards port development. Water transport is the cheapest mode of transport known to human being. Its efficiency can be further enhanced by taking advantage of the wind and solar energy. India has over 14,500 km. of navigable inland waterways comprising rivers, canals, and creaks, etc. Unfortunately, this means of transport stands grossly neglected. Out plans failed to pay adequate atten­tion to this mode of transport.

A. Inland Waterways :

It covers waterways system available on big rivers of the country. In earlier days, goods were transported with the help of boats and ships through major rivers. These rivers are Ganges, Brahmaputra, Son, Mahanadi, Kaveri etc. but now-a-days, these inland water­ways are losing their popularity. Actually, road transport has taken over the transport of inland waterways.

B. Shipping :

Shipping industry is one of the most globalised industries operating in a highly competi­tive business environment. It is far more liberalized than most of the other industries and is, thus, intricately linked to the world economy and trade. India has been a founder member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency set up under the United Nations primarily dealing with the technical aspects of shipping relat­ing to Maritime Safety, Protection of Marine Environment, Standards of Training and related legal matters.

The Directorate General of Shipping has been participating in vari­ous meetings of the IMO Committees, Sub-Committees, Council and Assembly and has actively contributed towards the development of various Conventions, Protocols, Codes, Guidelines developed by the IMO.

India has 13 major and 199 minor and intermediate ports along its more than 7500 km. long coastline. India’s seaborne foreign trade being 95% by volume and 67% by value, the ports play a very significant role in improving foreign trade in a growing economy. These ports serve the country’s growing foreign trade in petroleum products, iron ore, and coal, as well as the increasing movement of containers. Indian ports handled cargo of 850 million tonnes and about 9.0 million TEU container traffic in year 2010.

Over the last decade, the average annual growth rate of port cargo volume has been about 10%. The future potential for port sector, particularly container ports is huge considering that the container traffic is projected to grow to 40 million TEU by 2025. Inland water transporta­tion also remains largely undeveloped despite India’s 14,000 kilometers of navigable riv­ers and canals.

Ports provide an interface between the ocean transport and land-based transport:

(a) Kolkata Port

(b) Paradip Port

(c) New Mangalore Port

(d) Cochin Port

(e) Jawaharlal Nehru Port

(f) Mumbai Port

(g) Ennore Port Limited

(h) Chennai Port

(i) Mormugao Port

(ii) Tuticorin Port

(k) Kandla Port

(I) Visakhapatnam Port

The average annual growth of cargo volume in the ports in the last decade was close to 1096. However, capacity utilization in some of the major ports remain as low as 58-60%. Both bulk and containerized traffic is expected to grow at a much faster pace in future and by some estimate the container traffic is projected to grow to about 4.5 times of the current volume by 2025. India’s ports need to significantly ramp-up their capacity and efficiency to meet this surging demand.

Ports during Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) :

Progress in the port has been relatively lower than expectations. The original target was Rs.87,995 crore, including private sector investment. The public sector component was Rs.30,305 crore of which the amount likely to be realized is lower at a value of Rs.7,685 crore. The private sector investment in the port sector is likely to be Rs.36,868 crore thereby bringing the total investment to around Rs.44,500 crore, nearly 50% of the origi­nally targeted.

The main reason for the slow progress is because the Ministry of Shipping did not award any PPP projects during the first two years of the Plan because of the pending amendments to the model contract agreement. The major expansion has taken place in the non-major port sector being promoted by the states which have contributed to nearly 80 per cent of the private sector investment. In the Twelfth Plan period, Capac­ity expansion is a major thrust area for both the major and non-major ports.

The total investment proposed in the Twelfth Plan (without the private sector) is Rs.4,338 crore. It is expected that the thrust of the private sector port expansion strategy will continue in the Twelfth Plan and it is expected that the capacity in the non-major segment will over­take the major ports capacity during the Twelfth Plan period. Looking at capacity expan­sion in the port sector overall, it seems that the capacity will be more than the demand which will be a positive aspect for the quality of services.

Major problems of water transport are as follows:

(i) Operational constraints such as frequent breakdown of cargo handling equipment due to obsolescence.

(ii) Inadequate dredging and container handling facilities.

(iii) Inefficient and non-optimal deployment of port equipment.

(iv) Lack of proper coordination in the entire chain.

(v) Indian containers are costlier than other ports in the region for handling contain­ers. The additional cost burden due to use of second and third generation vessels is as quite high.

Prospects of Water Transport :

India’s transport sector is large and diverse; it caters to the needs of 1.1 billion people. In 2009, the sector contributed about 5.5 per cent to the nation’s GDP, with road transportation contributing the lion’s share. Good physical connectivity in the urban and rural areas is essential for economic growth.

Since the early 1990s, India’s growing economy has witnessed a rise in demand for transport infrastructure and services. However, the sector has not been able to keep pace with rising demand and is proving to be a drag on the economy. Major improvements in the sector are therefore required to support the country’s continued economic growth and to reduce poverty.

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Transportation in India – Roadways, Railways, Pipelines, Waterways, Airways

The movement of goods and services from their supply locations to demand locations necessitates the need for transport. The movement of goods and services takes place over three important domains of the earth: land, water, and air.

The pace of development of a country depends on the production of goods and services, as well as their movement along the space. Transportation is able to achieve the developments because of the help provided by equally developed communication systems. India is well linked with the rest of the world despite its vast size, diversity, and linguistic as well as cultural plurality.

What is Transport?

The movement of goods and services, people, from one place to the other place and by various means like air, water, and land; is known as transportation. It supports the mobility of passengers and freight.

Means of Transport Chart

Means of Transport

Transport System in India

The transportation system in India is a complex network of transport modes and is based on the historical developments, geographical features, and cultural and religious influences of the country. Transport plays a very important role in the economic development of the country and affects the environment due to global warming and climate change. With the advancement of technology, transport has become much cheaper and faster.

Roadway Transport in India

The second largest network of roads is present in India, accounting for 62.16 lakh km, and has preceded railways in India. Preference for roadways over railways in India is because:

  • Streets will prepare higher inclinations of slants and in and of itself will cross mountains just like the chain, in addition, offers houses to deal with help, consequently, the expense of stacking and marketing may be a heap lower.
  • Street transport is likewise used as a feeder to totally different strategies of transport, for instance, they furnish an association between railway line stations, and air and ocean ports.
  • The development value of streets may be a heap below that of railroad lines, streets will cross nearly additional analyzed and undulating geography,
  • Street transport is reasonable in the transportation of a few individuals and moderately smaller lives of products over temporary distances.
  • Provides door-to-door service as compared to railways.

Roadways in India

In India, roads area units are ordered in many varieties as per their capacity, they are,

  • Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways: The general public authority has sent off a big street improvement project connecting Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai conjointly, city by six-path Super Highways. The North-South hallways connecting Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), and the East-West passageway interfacing Silchar (Assam) and Porbandar (Gujarat) area unit are necessary for this endeavor. The significant goal of those Super Highways is to decrease the time and distance between the super urban communities of India. This route comes area unit being administered by the National Highway Authority of India
  • National Highways: They link the extreme parts of the country and are primary road systems and are laid as well as maintained by Central Public Works Department. Major National Highways run in direction of North-South and East-West directions. The Sher-Shah Suri Marg is called National Highway Number 1, between Delhi and Amritsar.
  • State Highways: Roads that link the state capital and the different district headquarters are known as the State Highways and are maintained by State Public Works Department.
  • District Roads: Roads that connect district headquarters with other places of the district are called district roads and are maintained by Zila Parishad.
  • Other Roads: Other roads include the rural roads and special impetus is received from the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana.
  • Border Roads: Border Roads Organisation is a Government of India undertaking the construction and maintained roads in the bordering areas of the country. These roads have helped to improve the accessibility in areas of difficult terrain and economic development of the areas.

Roads can also be classified based on the material used for their construction into Metalled and Unmetalled roads. Metalled roads are made of cement, concrete, or bitumen of coal, and unmetalled roads are country roads, which are not cemented.

Railways In India

Rail routes are the necessary methodology of transportation for cargo and travelers in India. They permit people to direct totally different exercises like business, moving, or journey aboard transportation of merchandise over longer distances. Rail transport is most well-liked and coordinated over other vehicles of transport. it’s fastened courses and timetables. The Indian Railways is recognized at present into 16 zones.

Railways

Distribution patterns of the railways in the country have influenced the physiographic, economic, and also administrative factors:

  • Like the north plains, vast areas of flat lands and high density of populations and rich agricultural resources provide for favorable conditions of growth and development. Construction of bridges is required across rivers’ wide beds for laying railway lines.
  • In hilly areas, tracts are laid through low hills, gaps, and also tunnels. It is not easy to lay rail tracts in the Himalayan mountains, the same way in the sandy plains of the states of Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat, and forested areas of Madhya Pradesh. 
  • Construction of Konkan railways in recent times has facilitated movement more easily in one of the economically vital areas of the country. However, it has faced problems like sinking tracks in some stretches and also landslides in others.

Indian Railway Tract

Rail transport has arisen collectively as the foremost trustworthy strategy of transport with regards to somewhere safe and secure. Trains are fast and also the most unimpacted by common climate turbulences like rain or haze, contrasted with alternative vehicle instruments. Rail transport is an associate degree empowering agent of financial advancement, accustomed activate merchandise further as people. Variations incorporate traveler rail lines, underground railroad metro railroads, and merchandise carriages. 

Pipelines are new in the transport network of India. These are used for shipping unrefined crude oil, oil-based mostly commodities, and ignitible gas from oil and ignitible gas fields to process plants, manure industrial facilities, and enormous atomic energy stations. Solids will likewise be captive through a pipeline once modified over into suspension and to ship water between varied urban areas.

Pipelines

The interior locations of refineries like that of Barauni, Mathura, and also Panipat, other gas-based fertilizer plants could be only thought of because of pipelines. The cost of laying pipelines is high but the running cost is minimum and doesn’t have the provisions like that of trans-shipment losses or delays.

There are unit 3 vital organizations of pipeline transportation within the country:

  • Gas pipeline from Hazira in Gujarat associates Jagdishpur in the state, by means that of Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. it branches to Kota in Rajasthan, Shahajahanpur, Bab-rala, and totally different spots in the state. It is 1,700 km and the first one.
  • From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in a geographical region, through Viramgam, Mathura, city, and Sonipat. Its branches interface Koyali (close to Vadodara, Gujarat) Chakshu and totally different spots. 
  • From oil fields in higher Assam to Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), through Guwahati, Barauni and Allahabad. it branches from Barauni to Haldia, by means of Raj-bandh, Raj-bandh to Mauri-gram, and Guwahati to Siliguri.

Overall. India’s gas pipeline infrastructure of the country has increased from 1,700 km to that 18,500 km.

India from its ancient times was a seafaring country and one of the cheapest means of transport. They are most suitable for carrying bulky and heavy goods. They are fuel-efficient and also an environmentally friendly mode of transportation and have an inland navigation of 14,500 km in length and out of this only 5685 km are navigable. The following are declared as National Waterways by the Government:

Waterways

  • N.W. No.1 – The Ganga waterway between Allahabad and Haldia (1620 km).
  • N.W. No.2 – The Brahmaputra river waterway between Sadiya and Dhubri (891 km).
  • N.W. No.3 – The West Coast Canal in Kerala (Kottapurma-Kollam, Udyoga Mandal and Champakkras canals-205 km).
  • N.W. No.4 – Specified stretches of Godavari and Krishna waterways aboard the Kakinada Puducherry stretch of channels (1078 km).
  • N.W. No.5 – Specified stretches of stream Brahmani aboard black pine waterway, delta channels of Mahanadi and Brahmani streams, and geographic region Canal (588 km).

Some important inland waterways on which much of the transport takes place include the Mandavi, Zuari, Cumberjua, Sunderbans, Barak, and also the backwaters of Kerala. Foreign trade of India is carried in the ports along the coast. Of around 95 percent of the country’s volume of trade is carried out in the sea, about 68 percent.

Major Sea Ports

  • India has a long coastline of about 7,516.6 km and is dotted with 12 major and around 200 notified non-major ports and major ports handle around 95 percent of the foreign trade.
  • Kandla in Kuchchh was the principal port to be created when autonomy. It is otherwise known as the Deendayal Port.
  • Mumbai is the greatest port with a spacious traditional and extremely abundant secure harbor. 
  • Marmagao port (Goa) is the head iron metal commerce port of India. This port exports fifty percent of iron ore.
  • Mangalore port, placed in Mysore takes special care of the merchandise of iron minerals. Kochi is the super southwestern port, placed at the entry of a periodic event lake.
  • Kochchi is situated in the extreme southwestern port, which is located at the entrance of a lagoon with a natural harbor.
  • Tuticorin port is organized in the super southeast. The city is one of the foremost established faux ports of India.
  • Chennai is one of the oldest artificial ports in the country and is ranked next to Mumbai in terms of volume of trade and cargo.
  • Vishakhapatnam is the most profound inland and everyone around safeguarded port nine. Paradip port placed in Odisha has sensible expertise in the product of iron metal.
  • Paradwip port is located in Odisha and specializes in the export of iron ore.
  • Kolkata is an inland riverine port and serves as a very large and rich hinterland for the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin.  As it is a tidal port, it requires constant dredging of Hoogly.
  • Haldia port was developed as a subsidiary port, to relieve the growing pressure on Kolkata port.

The air is the fastest, most agreeable, and lofty methodology of transport. It can cover undeniably difficult landscapes like high mountains, vast deserts, thick timberlands, and long maritime stretches effortlessly. Take the example of Northeast India, which is marked by dense forests, dissected relief, the presence of big rivers, etc. could be negotiated by air transport . Air transportation was nationalized in 1953.

Airways

Indian Airlines, Alliance Air (auxiliary of Indian Airlines), confidential engaged carriers, and non-planned directors offer native air administrations and Air India provides international air administrations. Indian Airlines’ tasks likewise reach bent on the contiguous nations of South and South-East Asia and also the Middle East. As aviation routes are the costlier mode, it is not within the span of average people.

Pawan-Hans Helicopters restricted provides heavier-than-air craft administrations to grease and gas Corporation (ONGC) in its seaward tasks, to distant regions and difficult landscapes just like the North-Eastern states and also the within items of Jammu and Cashmere, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Air transport is not mostly within the reach of common people, only in northeastern states, special provisions are made for the extension of services to common people.

Communication

Communication has evolved over time and the pace of changes has been more speedy in modern times. Long-distance communication is easier without physical movement. Personal communication and mass communication are some major means of communication in the country.

Communication

Indian postal services are one of the largest in the world and handle parcels as well as personal written communications:

  • First-class mails include cards and envelopes and are airlifted between stations covering both land and air routes. 
  • Second-class mail includes book packets, newspapers, and periodicals; which are carried by surface mail, covering land and water transport.

For the facilitation of quick delivery of mail in the case of larger towns and cities, six mail channels have been introduced recently, namely: Rajdhani Channel, Metro Channel, Green Channel, Bussiness Channel, Bulk Mail Channel, and Periodical Channel. 

India has one of the largest telecom networks in Asia; the exclusion of urban spaces, around two-thirds of villages in India, have already been covered under Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) facility. The government has also made provision to extend the 24 hours STD facilities to every village in the country and a uniform rate of STD facilities around India. This is possible because of the advancement of space and communication technology.

Mass Communication

Mass communication provides both entertainment and also created awareness about the different policies and missions. It includes radio, television, newspaper, and so forth. All India Radio, which is Akashwani broadcasts a variety of programs in different languages to different categories of people. Doordarshan, a national television channel is one of the largest terrestrial networks and also broadcasts a variety of programs for people of different age groups.

Newspapers are published in more than 100 languages and are also the largest producer of feature films in the world. The Central Board of Film Certification is the authority for the certification of both Indian as well as foreign movies.

The exchange of goods among people, states, and also countries is referred to as trade and these exchanges usually take place in the markets. Trade between two countries is known as international trade and may take place through land, water, or air routes. Improvement and development of trade of a country is an index to the economic development and prosperity of the country and is considered one of the economic barometers of the country.

Exports and imports are the main two components of trade and the balance of trade in a country is the difference between export and import. When the value of export is above that of import, it is a favorable balance of trade. India has trade relations with the major trading blocks in the world and commodities exported from India include gems and jewelry, chemicals, agriculture, etc. Commodities imported are petroleum, gems, chemicals, base metal, electronics, agriculture, etc. India has developed significantly in the context of software development and is earning huge foreign exchange through the export of information technology.

Tourism as a Trade

Tourism is growing substantially in India over the last three decades and more. Many millions of people are engaged in the tourism industry. Tourism helps to promote the aspects of national integration, support to the indigenous and handicrafts, and also in the pursuits of culture and spirituality. It helps to develop a sense of international understanding of culture and heritage. 

Tourism

Foreign travelers visit India for its heritage tourism, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, business tourism as well as medical tourism. Due to the vast diversity present in India, tourism has the potential to grow many folds in India and efforts have been taken up by the government to promote the tourism industry in India.

FAQs on Lifelines of the National Economy

Question 1: what is transportation.

Transportation refers to the movement of goods and people from a place to another and the various means by which these movements are accomplished.

Question 2: What is the national economy?

It refers to the production, distribution and trade, consumption of good and services by the different agents of the nation.

Question 3: What do you mean by the lifelines of the economy?

Lifelines of a economy ensure that the finished products are transported to the consumers, as they determine the pace of the country’s development and efficient modes of transport is very important for the same.

Question 4: When was the Indian postal service started?

With the initiative of Warren Hastings in 1766, under the East India Company to start the postal service.

Question 5: What is the meaning of “International trade”?

 It refers to the exchange of capital, goods and services across the international borders because there is a need for the same.

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  • Transport and Communication of India and the World

We live in a very connected world. Can you imagine if you couldn’t talk to your friends whether they lived in your building or thousands of miles away? Or if you couldn’t go to your favourite holiday location because there were no means of transport? Latest  innovations and inventions have made such concerns invalid. Let us learn about transport and communication .

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Transport and communication.

Transport and communication are a way for us humans to overcome the barrier of physical distance . It is an effective way to connect with people with no regard to the distance that separates them. Transport generally involves the movement of people or goods forms one place to another via a means of transport. On the other hand, communication is the passing of information or data from one source to another.

Transport and Communication

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Transport usually involves means of transport such as roadways, railways, air travel etc. While the examples of means of communication are email, telephones, letters etc. Both transport and communication are complementary to each other. But they can also act like substitutes of one another. For example, if you can email the required information to a client, it eliminates the need to travel to go see him.

Both transport and communication play major roles in our development and advancement in the last few decades. Thanks to some marvellous technological advancements that have happened in the last five decades, the quality, speed , accuracy etc of both transport and communication have been outstanding.

Any developing economy like India must acutely focus on these two fields to make certain they face no difficulties in their economic and social growth and development .

Browse more Topics under Resources Of India And World

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Transport in India

India is a country of a vast population. The nearly 1,2 billion people in India means that the development and maintenance of transport and infrastructure are a humongous task for the government . In India, public transport remains the primary mode of transport for the common man.

Automobiles

The motor vehicles numbers in India are actually quite underwhelming. In spite of being the second most populated nation, only around 5% of families in India have a car. But this number is steadily growing over the years at the rate of almost 10% p.a. and the effects are already seen in the congested roads of the metro cities.

India’s nationalized railways are the lifeline of its transport. It has the third longest railways in the world and transports about 18 million passengers daily. It is the busiest railways in the world! The railways cover the length and breadth of the country. Every remote location in India cannot be very far from a railway station. The economical pricing and frequency of trains make it the preferred mode of transport for most Indians.

Just in 2017, the government has introduced a plan to start bullet trains in India. So far high-speed rail has been absent from the country. In fact, the Indian railways are always looking to develop and modernize its ways. We even have a separate budget for railways in our country!

Next, we come to the Roadways. India has the second largest roadways in the world in terms of the length of roads. It is second only to the United States.

India has a very intricate patterned National Highway system. These national highways connect all major cities and towns of the country, making them the highlight of the roadways of India. At present, there are about 228 national highways in India connecting and interlinking various states and cities.

These roadways are the backbone of commodity and goods transport in India. Trucks are still the most used transport vehicle especially for FMCG goods and perishable items. So the conditions and maintenance of these highways have a big impact on our economy as well.

India has a busy network of airports in their country, both domestic and international. But current data there are about more than 20 international airports in India. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and the Chattrapati Shivaji Airport in Mumbai handle about half of the international air traffic.

The country also has about 80 domestic airports. The air travel in India has seen a huge increase in the last 10 years due to the economical pricing of tickets and availability of infrastructure. The aviation industry in India is highly regularized, but the government is looking to remedy the situation. Overall the situation looks promising for Indian air transport in the coming years.

India is surrounded by the ocean on three sides, so water transport is quite prominent in India. Almost 95% of international trading in India happens via ships. There are twelve major ports in India with the Nhava Seva in Mumbai being the largest. Other than these there are about 200 minor ports throughout the coastline.

India also has a sizable network of inland waterways which include canals, rivers backwaters etc. However, the use of these waterways is not utilized to its full capacity for commercial purposes. Inland waterways have some scope for development and must be looked into.

Communication in India

Telecommunication.

The three major branches of communication in India are telephones, television broadcast and internet. India has about 1.2 billion phone subscribers as of 2017, making it the second largest telecommunication system in the world! Due to recent innovation and a large number of users, the tariffs are also one of the lowest in the world

India also has the second largest number of internet users in the world. It has about 450 million internet users, which is nearly 13.6% share of the global internet users. Recent developments since 2016 have made internet subscriptions and mobile networks very cheap. This has greatly helped with market penetration.

Since the privatisation drive of 1990, India’s television industry has seen a complete overhaul. What started with only one channel, Doordarshan now is a global network of thousands and thousands of channels and platforms. Even today T.V. broadcast is believed to be the most far-reaching and penetrative source of communication, especially in the rural sectors.

Transport and Communication of the World

Before the invention of modern transport modes and communication systems, the world used to be an isolated place for its inhabitants. But with the invention of modern vehicles and the speed and comfort of travel improving, transportation has brought the world much closer.

But the trouble now is the sustainable development of transport and communication. Better transport and communication facilities can help improve billions of lives around the world. Especially in the rural areas and massively underdeveloped countries (like in Central Africa), these facilities can potentially save lives.

But the trouble we face at a global level is to develop these facilities without causing environmental harm to the planet. Do you transport accounts for almost 25% of the CO2 emissions of the world? Also, the facilities have to be accessible as well as affordable or they can erode the prosperity of a region. The UN and the World Bank are actively trying to bring about the necessary changes in the transport and communication of the world.

Solved Question for You

Q: Which country has the largest railways in the world?

  • Switzerland

Ans: The answer is D. The USA has the largest railway system in the world of almost 240,000 km connecting 48 states

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which state has maximum forest cover area

if you ask which state has maximum forest cover area percentage then its Mizoram (86.27%). Hope this helps. PLEASE reply by email.

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Introduction

People use various methods to move goods, commodities, ideas from one place to another.

Land, water, and air are the major modes of transportation.

Indian Transportation

  • Land transportation includes road, rail, and pipeline.

With a total length of about 42.3 lakh km, India has one of the largest road networks in the world.

About 85% of passenger and 70% of freight traffic are carried by roads.

Sher Shah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road to strengthen and consolidate his empire from the Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley in Bengal.

This road was later renamed as the Grand Trunk (GT) Road during the British period, connecting Calcutta and Peshawar.

At present, GT Road extends from Amritsar to Kolkata. It is bifurcated into 2 segments − (a) National Highway (NH)-1 from Delhi to Amritsar, and (b) NH- 2 from Delhi to Kolkata.

Roads have been classified as National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), Major District Roads, and Rural Roads.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Surface Transport was operationalized in 1995.

The main roads connecting two or more states are constructed and maintained by the Central Government. These roads are known as the National Highways.

The NHAI is responsible for the development, maintenance, and operation of National Highways.

The National Highways constitute only 1.67 per cent of the total road length, but carry about 40 per cent of the road traffic.

Golden Quadrilateral is 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high density traffic corridor that connects India’s four big metro cities : Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata.

India National Highway

With 4,076 km long road, North-South Corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

With 3,640 km of road length, the East-West Corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat.

State Highways are constructed and maintained by the state governments.

The State Highways join the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns.

All State Highways collectively constitute about 4 per cent of the total road length in the country.

District roads are the roads connecting the District Headquarters and the other important nodes in the district.

District roads account about 60.83 per cent of the total road length of the country.

Further, about 80 per cent of the total road length in India come under rural roads.

Other roads include Border Roads and International Highways.

The Border Road Organization (BRO) was established in May 1960 for the acceleration of economic development and strengthening defense preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement of strategically important roads along the northern and north-eastern boundary of the country.

BRO has constructed roads in high altitude mountainous terrain joining Chandigarh with Manali (Himachal Pradesh) and Leh (Ladakh), which runs at an average altitude of 4,270 meters above the mean sea level.

The road density is only 12.14 km in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas in Kerala it is 517.77 km.

Indian Railways

Railways was introduced to India in 1853, when a line was constructed from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 34 km.

The total length of Indian Railways network is 64460 km. (March 2011).

Indian Railways system has been divided into sixteen zones (as shown in the map given below − the lines shown in different colors illustrate the regions of respective zones).

India has three system of railways − broad gauge (the distance between rails is 1.676 meter); meter gauge (the distance between rails is one meter); and narrow gauge (the distance between the rails is 0.762 meter or 0.610 meter).

Konkan Railway constructed along the western coast in 1998, is a landmark achievement of Indian Railway.

Konkan Railway is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka.

Konkan Railway crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges, and 91 tunnels.

Asia’s largest tunnel which is about 6.5 km long, is constructed on the Konkan railway route near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

Waterways of India

Water transport can be divided into two major categories − inland waterways and oceanic waterways .

India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways, contributing about 1% to the country’s transportation.

Currently, 5,685 km of major rivers is navigable by mechanized flat bottom vessels.

Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986 for the development, maintenance, and regulation of national waterways in the country.

Major National Waterways (NW) of India are NW 1 (Allahabad-Haldia covers 1,620 km); NW 2 (Sadiya-Dhubri covers 891 km); and NW 3 (KottapuramKollam covers 205 km).

Besides, NW 4 covers specified stretches of rivers Godavari and Krishna along with Kakinada Puducherry; the total distance is 1078 km.

NW 5 covers specified stretches of river Brahmani along with Matai river, delta channels of Mahanadi and Brahmani rivers and East Coast canals; the total distance is 588 km.

With 12 major and 185 minor ports, India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517 km, including islands.

Roughly 95% of India’s foreign trade by volume and 70% by value moves through ocean routes.

Air transport in India marked its beginning in 1911 with the commencement of airmail over a little distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini.

International Airports

The Airport Authority of India is accountable for providing safe, efficient air traffic, and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space.

Pawan Hans is the helicopter service operating in hilly areas and is widely used by tourists in north-eastern regions.

Indian Pipelines

Asia’s first cross country pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km was constructed by Oil India Limited (OIL) from Naharkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar , which further extended up to Kanpur in 1966.

Mumbai High-Koyali and Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) are the most important pipelines in India.

1256 km long pipeline between Salaya (Gujarat) and Mathura (U.P.) has been constructed recently.

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Revision Notes for Transport in India Class 10 Geography ICSE

Icse revision notes for transport class 10 geography.

geography project transport in india

The economy of any nation depends on its infrastructure. One of the main components of infrastructure is the transport system. The transport system plays an important role in the Indian economy. These are 

  • It links the interior regions to the other parts of the country, thus helping in use of resources. 
  • It helps in industrialisation and urbanisation. 
  • It transports goods from one place to another. 
  • It minimises the effects of natural disasters. 
  • It enables easy movement of people across regions.

India has one of the largest networks of roadways in the world. The length of road per 100 sq. km. of area is known as the density of roads. Kerala has the highest density of roads. 

India has a large network of 41 lakh kilometres, making it the second largest road network in the world. This network of roads in India includes national highways, state highways, district roads and rural roads like border roads. 

National Highways 

Roads which run across the country and connect various cities and are maintained by the central government are known as national highways (NHs). Some facts about NHs: 

  • They handle about 40% of the total road traffic. 
  • The traffic on NHs is growing because of rapid industrialisation. 
  • The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was constituted in 1988. It is responsible for the construction of NHs and for implementing projects which are related to the improvement of NHs. 
  • Besides NHAI, the Public Works Department and Border Road Organisation carry out the development and maintenance of NHs. 

Two major projects undertaken by NHAI are the Golden Quadrilateral and North–South and East–West Corridor.

Golden Quadrilateral 

  • It is the largest express highway project in India connecting the four metropolis cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
  • The Golden Quadrilateral has enabled the industrial growth of all small towns through which it passes and has provided an impetus to truck transport throughout India. 

North–South and East–West Corridor 

  • The North–South and East–West Corridor is the largest ongoing highway project in India. 
  • It aims to connect Srinagar, Kanyakumari, Porbandar and Silchar.

Express Highways 

Express highways are six-lane roads constructed to provide high-speed movement without any obstacles like speed breakers. Some major express highways in India are 

  • Yamuna Expressway : It connects Greater Noida with Agra. It is a six-lane expressway. This expressway has reduced the travelling time between Delhi and Agra by over two hours and connects the main towns located on the eastern side of River Yamuna. It has helped farmers to transport their agricultural, horticultural and dairy products to major cities. 
  • Ahmedabad–Vadodara Expressway : It was India’s first four-lane expressway. It reduced the journey between Ahmedabad and Vadodara to less than 1 hour.
  • Mumbai–Pune Expressway : It is India’s first six-lane high-speed tolled expressway. It has separate tunnels and complete fencing to prevent crossing by humans or animals.
  • Panipat Expressway: It has been constructed to decongest the traffic on the busy Delhi–Amritsar route. It is a 10-km elevated highway at Haryana. 

State Highways

District Roads 

These roads connect areas of production with markets in a district. They also connect talukas with district headquarters within the state. 

Rural Roads 

Rural roads constitute about 80% of total road length in the country. These roads facilitate the movement of agricultural produce and finished goods from production centres to market centres. Prime Minister’s Rural Road Scheme was launched in December 2000 by the Government of India to provide connectivity to the rural areas. 

Border Roads 

The Border Road Organisation (BRO) was set up to strengthen the defence of the country. BRO has built the highest road in the world running from Manali to Leh.

Advantages of Roadways 

  • They provide door-to-door services.
  • The cost of construction of roadways is much lower than that of railways. 
  • Roadways can be constructed in hilly regions. 
  • Roadways supplement the other modes of transport. For example, roadways connect railway stations and ports to the hinterland. 

Disadvantages of Roadways 

  • The road network is inadequate to tackle India’s large population. 
  • About half of the roads are unmetalled roads, and hence, their use is restricted during the rainy season. 
  • The number of NHs is also not enough keeping in mind the large population of the country. ∙ In cities, roads are highly congested. Sometimes, the encroachment of the road by hawkers and vegetable sellers also results in congestion. 
  • The passing of heavily loaded trucks which carry a load above the prescribed limit also damages the roads in the long run.

Railways 

The first railway service ran from Mumbai to Thane in 1853. India has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world. India has both long distance and suburban rail networks. New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai have their own metro networks. Indian Railways help not only in the movement of people but also in the transport of goods such as fertilisers, agricultural produce, and iron and steel products. 

Railways have three kinds of tracks—broad gauge, metre gauge and narrow gauge. 

  • B road Gauge : Almost all major rail routes are broad gauge routes. The distance between the rails is 1.676 metres. Broad gauge connects major ports with interior towns and industrial centres. It handles 85% of the total goods traffic in tones-km. It is also called India gauge. The broad gauge railway line on the west coast is known as the Konkan Railway line which is an engineering feat. 
  • Metre Gauge : The distance between the rails is one metre. It accounts for 11.22% of the total rail route.
  • Narrow Gauge : The distance between the rails is 0.610–0.762 m. Metre gauge is mainly confined to the hilly regions. 

Advantages of Railways 

  • It transports raw materials to production units and finished products to the markets. ∙ Bulky goods can be easily transported over a long distance. 
  • Railways have brought villages closer to the cities. 
  • It facilitates easy movement of people, police and defence equipment. 
  • Railways help in reducing suffering during natural calamities. 
  • It provides for a comfortable journey even during the nights. 

Disadvantages of Railways 

  • Railway tracks cannot be laid down in hilly and remote forested regions. 
  • Every industrial town does not have railway tracks.
  • Trains cannot cross oceans. They are limited to land travel and cannot transport products from one continent to the other. 
  • Train travel is long and tedious as compared to air travel. 

Air Transport 

  • Air transport in India made progress after Independence. India has both domestic and international airlines. The Airports Authority of India was set up on 1 April 1995 after the merger of National Airport Authority and International Airports Authority.
  • The Airports Authority of India is responsible for providing safe and efficient air traffic services in the country. 
  • Air India is a government-owned carrier serving 50 domestic destinations and 39 international destinations. It is the 16th largest airline in Asia. Some private airlines operating in India are Jet Airways, GoAir and SpiceJet.
  • The cargo airline companies in the country are Deccan Cargo and Express Logistics Pvt. Ltd. and Blue Aviation Pvt. Ltd.
  • Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) was established with an aim to provide helicopter support services to the oil sector for offshore exploration.

Advantages of Airways 

  • It is the fastest means of transport.
  • It is also a prestigious and comfortable means of transport.
  • Regions which are covered with dense forests, deserts and high mountains have easily become accessible because of air travel.
  • In case of a natural calamity like floods, when roads cannot be used, relief work is carried out with the help of helicopters. 

Disadvantages of Airways 

  • It is the costliest means of transport and hence is out of the reach of common people.
  • Unlike roads and railways, airways have still not been connected to the smallest cities.
  • Petroleum which is used as fuel is a non-renewable source of energy. 
  • Freight charges are high. 

Water Transport 

Waterways are the most important means of transporting bulky and heavy goods. It is a fuel-efficient and environment-friendly means of transport. Water transport can be divided into inland waterways and oceanic waterways.

Inland Waterways 

Inland waterways connect rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks within the country. These waterways should be free of barriers such as waterfalls and rapids. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is in charge of the waterways in India. It has declared five inland waterways as national waterways. These are 

The following waterways have been declared as national waterways by the government: 

  • The River Ganga between Allahabad and Haldia 
  • The River Brahmaputra between Sadiya and Dhubri 
  • The West Coast Canal in Kerala 

Apart from the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna and Buckingham Canal and East–West Canal are important inland waterways.

Oceanic Waterways 

India is a peninsular country with a long coastline of 7517 km. It has 12 major sea ports and 187 minor sea ports. 

Sea ports handle over 80% of all cargo traffic. Some major sea ports in India are:

  • Mumbai Port is the largest port in the country. Jawaharlal Nehru Port was built to decongest the Mumbai Port. Apart from various other goods, Mumbai Port deals with mineral oil and dry cargo. 
  • Mormugao Port in Goa is an important iron ore-exporting port in the country. It is a natural harbour and occupies the fifth position in total traffic handled. 
  • Kolkata is an inland riverine port. Haldia Port was developed on the River Hooghly to reduce pressure on the Kolkata Port. 
  • Paradip Port is located on the coast of Odisha and handles iron ore and coal. 
  • Vishakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh is the deepest landlocked port which handles crude oil and petroleum products. 
  • Chennai is one of the oldest artificial ports of the country. It is next to Mumbai in trading activities. It handles petroleum products, crude oil, fertilisers, iron ore and dry cargo. 
  • Tuticorin Port in Tamil Nadu has a natural harbour and mainly handles coal, salt, edible salt, dry cargo and petroleum products. 
  • Kandla Port is a tidal port located in Gujarat. It handles crude oil, petroleum products, edible oil, food grains, cotton and salt. 
  • New Mangalore in Karnataka exports iron ore of Kudremukh and imports petroleum products, fertilisers and edible oils. 
  • Kochi Port is located in the southwestern part of the country. It has been developed alongside a natural harbour. It handles the export of tea, coffee and spices and the imports of petroleum oil and fertilisers.

Differences between Oceanic Waterways and Inland Waterways 

  • It is the cheapest means of transport. 
  • It is suitable for carrying heavy and bulky materials. 
  • It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport. 
  • It is safe and has less traffic in comparison to road and air transport.

Disadvantages of Waterways 

  • It is dependent on the weather. 
  • It involves long hours of travel which cause sickness. 
  • It is limited to areas where rivers are navigable and where an oceanic route exists.

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Home » Indian Geography » Indian Economic and Human Geography » Transport and Communication

Transport and Communication

  • Transport is a system in which passengers and goods are carried from one place to another
  • Development of cheap and efficient means of transport is necessary for the progress of a large and developing country like India
  • And hence, the amount of traffic moving in a country is a measure of its progress
  • In addition, India has great diversity in economic, social, cultural and ethnic structure
  • Hence, a well-knit transport system is essential to bring about unity in diversity

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