Infrastructure: Engine of India’s Development Class 7 Notes Social Science Chapter 7

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Class 7 Infrastructure: Engine of India’s Development Notes

Infrastructure: Engine of India’s Development Notes Class 7

Class 7 SST Chapter 7 Infrastructure: Engine of India’s Development Notes

Introduction

• Physical infrastructure is defined as a vast network of tangible structures built to ensure cities, towns and villages function properly.

• This network includes transportation systems (roads, metros, railways, bridges), utilities (electricity and water pipelines), communication networks (internet and telephone lines), and energy infrastructure (solar parks, windmills and oil pipelines).
• Without physical infrastructure, basic services like transportation, communication, and access to water and electricity would stop.

Why is physical infrastructure important?

• Physical infrastructure serves as the foundation of the nation, making daily life easier for people, communities, and businesses, and enabling smooth government functioning.

• Transportation systems link places of production with nearby markets.
• Modern infrastructure enhances trade both domestically and internationally, promotes tourism, links remote areas, assists during emergencies like floods or earthquakes, and strengthens national security by providing better access for defence forces across challenging terrain.
• The narrative of a farmer illustrates that agriculture produce relies on interconnected infrastructure, including canals and electric water pumps for irrigation, good roads for transport, cold storage for freshness, and the internet for market information.

Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation infrastructure enables the movement of people and goods.

(a) Road and highway network

• India holds the second-largest road network globally, second only after the United States of America (2024).

• Roads vary from local roads, used by children to reach school and by farmers to carry produce to markets to state highways connecting towns and districts within a state and are built and maintained by state public works departments.
• National highways and expressways are high-speed roads maintained by the central government and connect with other infrastructure like railway stations, airports and ports.
• Bridges and tunnels facilitate access in difficult terrain; for instance, the second longest bridge in India at 9.15 km, the Dhola Sadiya Bridge (or Bhupen Hazarika Setu), connects Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, reduces travel time by four hours, and provides year-round access for farmers and emergency services.
• The living root bridges of Meghalaya are natural structures nurtured over generations by the Khasi and Jaintia tribes using the roots of the Indian rubber tree (Ficus elastica), reflecting indigenous knowledge as well as cultural significance.
• As of 2025, India’s national highways spanned about 150,000 km. NH44, from Srinagar to Kanyakumari, is the longest at 4,112 km, and the Golden Quadrilateral links Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.

(b) Indian railway network

• Railways were introduced in India by the British in 1853 to transport raw materials like tea and cotton to ports for export and to move British goods across India, helping them maintain tighter control over the territory.

• Today, Indian Railway is considered a “lifeline,” carrying over 20 million passengers daily and
  offering one of the cheapest train services worldwide.
• Cargo trains transport items such as coal, textiles, and grains, using 75-90 per cent less energy than road transport.
• Indian railways has grown and improved a lot since 1853.
• Indian Railways is the fourth-largest railway system globally and India’s largest employer, with about 1.21 million employees in 2024.
• India aims to have 100 per cent of its trains running on electricity by 2025 to reduce pollution.

(c) Metro train systems

• Metro trains run in 23 Indian cities, covering over 1,000 km. The network expansion is projected to make India the third-largest metro-system globally, after China and the USA.

• Metros help reduce road traffic, shorten travel time, and lower pollution by running on cleaner energy like electricity; some, such as the Delhi Metro, also use solar power.

(d) Air transport

• Air transport is the fastest way to connect people and places globally. It includes passenger flights and cargo flights, which transport high-value or perishable goods such as chemicals, vaccines or seafood.

• Air transport is especially helpful during disasters like floods or earthquakes for delivering aid to difficult terrains like mountains, deserts, forests. India has 159 airports in 2025.
• Some of the major national and international airports in India include Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj), Delhi (Indira Gandhi), Bengaluru (Kempegowda), Chennai, Kolkata (Netaji Subash Chandra Bose), Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi) etc.
• India ranks third in the world for domestic air traffic, after the USA and China.
• In 2024-25, the country handled around 376 million passengers.
• Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, Karnataka, is designed on the idea of a ‘garden city’.
• The airport features bamboo structures, lush plants, and green open spaces.
• It combines natural beauty with modern, advanced infrastructure to give passengers a smooth travel experience.

(e) Shipping and ports

• India’s 11,100 km coastline connects it to West Asia, Africa, and Europe for trade.

• Ships are a cheap way to move heavy goods like cars, coal, cement and other goods over long distances.
• India has 12 major ports and 217 minor ports, and the volume of cargo handled has grown by 50 per cent over the past decade.

Communication Infrastructure

• Communication infrastructure involves cables, wireless devices, satellites, towers, and data centres, enabling the transmission of messages, images, and videos via devices like phones and computers.

• The simple act of sending a voice note involves electricity powering towers, messages travelling through fibre-optic cables, transmission via satellites, and processing through large servers.
• Advancements in this infrastructure allow students in remote areas to access online classes and digital libraries.
• It promotes ease of living by aiding emergency responses through mobile alerts, enabling global e-commerce for businesses, and supporting e-governance services like online payments and document applications.

J.C. Bose- The Pioneer who Developed the Early Wireless Communication System

• J.C. Bose pioneered wireless transmission using millimetre-wave microwaves and demonstrated in 1895 that signals could pass through walls using a bell and a remote-control gun.

• He invented key early wireless components, including a new type of coherer and the galena crystal detector, but rarely patented his work, which limited global recognition.
• Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian scientist, patented a similar device, invented by J.C. Bose in 1901 and sent the first radio signal across the Atlantic that same year. He later received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work.
• In 1917, he founded the Bose Institute, which became an important centre for research in physics, biology, and environmental sciences.

Collective Responsibility Towards Infrastructure

• Although India has developed major physical infrastructure, public property is often harmed by littering, defacement, and stains on buildings, which damage public infrastructure, reduce convenience, and create a burden for citizens.

• Collective responsibility is necessary for maintenance.
• Improvements are required in administrative and municipal services for sewer systems, waste management, traffic regulation, clean water supply, and pedestrian-friendly footpaths.
• Infrastructure should be safe and sustainable, using cleaner energy (like solar panels) and using environmentally friendly materials to reduce pollution and protect biodiversity.
• Infrastructure design should specifically consider the needs of disabled persons, the children, and the elderly.
• Government can impose penalties to prevent misuse.
• Citizens must use infrastructure responsibly and report damage (e.g., broken streetlights or potholes).

Infrastructure in the Arthashastra

• Kautilya’s Arthashastra indicates that the state, grama, and sabhas were involved in the development and maintenance waterways and roads.

• The text provided detailed road construction regulations, specifying different widths based on traffic: royal highways and roads connecting villages or countries were to be 16 m wide, city and forest roads 8m, and chariot roads 2.5 m.
• The Arthashastra also mandated punishments and fines for those who damaged infrastructure, including severe penalties for breaking a reservoir dams or obstructing paths to forests or waterworks.

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