Lifelines of National Economy: 10 Geography

Question: State any three merits of roadways.

Answer: The growing importance of road transport is rooted in the following reasons:

• Construction cost of roads is much lower than that of railway lines,
• Roads can traverse dissected and undulating topography and
• Roads can negotiate higher gradients of slopes. and as such can traverse mountains such as the Himalayas.

Question: Where and why is rail transport the most convenient means of transportation?

Answer: Railways make it possible to conduct different activities like business, sightseeing, and pilgrimage along with transportation of goods over longer distances. Apart from an important means of transport the Indian Railways have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years. Railways in India bind the economic life of the country as well as accelerate the development of the industry and agriculture.

Question:What is the significance of the border roads?

Answer: The Roads Organisation, (a Government of India undertaking) constructs and maintains roads in the bordering areas of the country. This organisation was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and north-eastern border areas. These roads have improved accessibility in areas of difficult terrain and have helped in the economic development of these areas.

Question: What is meant by trade? What is the difference between international and local trade?

Answer: The exchange of goods among people, states and countries is referred to as trade. The market is the place where such exchanges take place. Trade between two countries is called international trade. It may take place across the sea, air or land. While local trade is carried on in cities, towns and villages, state level trade is carried between two or more states.

Question: Why are the means of transportation and communication called the lifelines of a nation and its economy?

Answer: Today, we are living in the age of communication, using telephone, television, films and Internet. Even books, magazines and newspapers are important means of communication. Various means of transport and communication have reduced distances, bringing the world closer. Modern life is so complex that one has to depend on others. The same is true of the countries as well. No country today can prosper without the co-operation and assistance of others. This requires movement of goods and materials between countries. Trade provides us with our necessities and also adds to the amenities and comfort of our life. We may also notice that they are rightly called the lifelines of our national economy.

Question: Write a note on the changing nature of the international trade in the last fifteen years.

Answer: India has trade relations with all the major trading blocks and all geographical regions of the world. Among the commodities of export, whose share has been increasing over the last few years till 2004-05 are, agriculture and allied products (2.53 per cent), ores and minerals (9.12 per cent), gems and jewellery (26.75 percent), chemical and allied products (24.45 per cent), engineering goods( 35.63 per cent) and petroleum products (86.12 per cent) The commodities imported to India include petroleum, petroleum products (41.87 per cent), pearls, precious stones (29.26 per cent), inorganic chemicals (29.39 per cent), coal, coke, briquettes (94.17 per cent), machinery (12.56 per cent). Bulk imports as a group, registered a growth accounting for 39.09 per cent of total imports. This group includes fertilizers (67.01 per cent), cereals (25.23 per cent), edible oils (7.94 per cent) and newsprint (5.51 per cent). International trade has undergone a sea change in the last fifteen years. Exchange of commodities and goods have been superseded by the exchange of information and knowledge. India has emerged as a software giant at the international level.It is earning large foreign exchange through the export of information technology.