Class XII – Infrastructure in India – PYQs

Ans. Infrastructure refers to the supporting services in the main areas of industrial and agricultural production, domestic and foreign trade and commerce. These services include roads, railways, ports, airports, dams, power stations, oil and gas pipelines, telecommunication, schools and colleges, hospitals, sanitary system and also the monetary system including banks, insurance and other financial institutions. Infrastructure provides support system to economic and social development.

Ans. State of infrastructure in rural India can be understood from the following points

(i) Inspite of the technological progress, women of rural India are still using bio-fuels to meet their daily energy requirements. About 90% of the rural households use bio-fuels for cooking.

(ii) The Census 2001 shows that in rural India, only 56% households have an electricity connection and 43% still use kerosene.

(iii) Tap water availability is limited to only 24% rural households. About 76% of the population drinks water from open resources such as wells, ponds, etc. Women go long distances to fetch water for their basic needs.

(iv) Access to improved sanitation in rural areas was only 20%.

Ans. Yes, infrastructure acts as a support system for production activity in the economy and thereby, contributes to economic development.

The following points will further explain the role of infrastructure in the economic development of a country

(i) Infrastructure Increases Productivity: Social and economic infrastructure facilitates production. The availability of quality infrastructure guarantees increase in production and productivity. Infrastructure ensures easy movement of goods and raw materials, thereby, reducing inefficiencies and lead to efficient utilisation of scarce resources and eliminate wastages.

(ii) Infrastructure Encourages Investment: Infrastructure provides an environment conducive to investment. Lack of facilities discourage investment. For example, an investor will not invest in absence of basic infrastructure such as transport and communication.

(iii) Infrastructure generates Linkages in Production: Infrastructure promotes economic development by way of various forward and backward linkages. In other words, infrastructure provides scope for expansion of one industry due to the expansion of the other by way of forward and backward linkages. The process of economic growth becomes a dynamic process in the presence of sufficient infrastructure facilities. This can be explained with the help of a forward linkage. For example, if irrigation facilities boost agricultural production, then the related industries that depend on agriculture for the supply of raw materials simultaneously experience increased production.

(iv) Infrastructure enhances Size of the Market: Infrastructure widens the size of the market. The fast and cost effective movement of raw materials and finished goods in bulk enables a producer to offer its products across the country and even across international boundaries.

Ans. The science and practice of protecting and improving the health of a community, as by preventive medicine, health education, control of communicable diseases, application of sanitary measures and monitoring of environmental hazards, is called public health. In the recent years, government has built up a vast health infrastructure equipped with trained manpower at different levels.

The following measures have been initiated by the state in recent years to promote public health

(i) Establishing health care institutions.

(ii) Expanding the health facilities.

(iii) Expanding the facilities for medical education.

(iv) Promoting preventive medicine.

All these measures have helped to control diseases like smallpox, malaria, TB, etc.

Ans. We can increase the effectiveness of healthcare programmes in the following manner

(i) The wide gap between rural and urban areas, poor and rich in utilising health care facilities must be addressed through more investment in health facilities in rural and backward areas by the government as private investment is not forthcoming in these areas.

(ii) Women’s health across the country should be taken into greater focus as a healthy mother gives birth to a healthy off spring and health status of population can be improved.

(iii) Regulated private sector health services, NGOs and community participation can improve the effectiveness of health care facilities and play an important role in spreading health awareness.

(iv) Indian system of medicine including ayurveda and naturopathy should be explored and used to support public health as they are based on natural healing and are of preventive nature.

Ans. The six systems of Indian medicine can be differentiated from the points below

(i) Ayurveda Atharvaveda, the last of the four great bodies of knowledge known as Vedas, contains 114 hymns related to formulations for the treatment of different diseases. The Ayurvedic practitioners recommend diet and lifestyle changes along with drug therapy. The methods of Ayurveda such as applying herbs and massage can simultaneously be used along with other systems.

(ii) Yoga It is being practised in India from thousands of years. It has references in Upanishads and Puranas composed by Aryans in the Vedic period. The main credit for systematising Yoga goes to Patanjali who wrote ‘Yoga Sutra’ which is the most important and basic text on Yoga. Yoga is defined as an art of righteous living or an integrated system for the benefit of the body, mind and inner spirit.

(iii) Unani This also means ‘Greek medicine’, and is a form of traditional medicine widely practised in South Asia. Unani medicine is based on the concept of the four humours, Phlegm, Blood, Yellow bile and Black bile. Unani medicine first arrived in India with establishment of Delhi Sultanate (1206–1527 CE) and muslim rule over North India and subsequently flourished under Mughal empire.

(iv) Siddha It comes from the word Siddhi which means an object to attain perfection or heaven. Siddhi is attained through meditation which cures mental illness and promotes mental, emotional and physical well-being.

(v) Naturopathy It heals with the power of nature as it assumes that all healing powers are within our body. It uses the inbuilt immune system of the human body for curing. Naturopathy regards that we fall ill only when we go against nature. An ailing body can purify and recover itself with thorough rest and fasting or having natural diet which helps in healing.

(vi) Homeopathy It consists of two words ‘homeo’ meaning similar and ‘pathos’ meaning suffering. In this system, a drug and a disease that produces similar symptoms are believed to be having a neutralising effect on each other. Thus, the homeopathic treatment is based on symptoms the body is showing and medication is given accordingly. It is popular among the people due to its remarkable healing capacity. Also, its remedies are free from side effects.