Class XII – Transport and Communication – PYQs

Ans. Three characteristics of State Highways of India are

● These are the highways which are constructed and maintained by the State Governments. They constitute about 4% of total roads in the country.

● They are meant to connect the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns.

● These roads are further connected to National Highways, so they can connect these areas to other states.

Ans. Border Roads and International Highways are included under the category of ‘other roads’ in India.

Border Roads are strategically important roads along the Northern and North- Eastern boundary of the country. Features of border roads are

(i) The total length of border roads is 46,870 km, these are constructed by Border Road Organisation (BRO).

(ii) These roads are important to accelerate economic development and strengthening defence preparedness.

International Highways are the roads which connect India to neighbouring countries. Feature of International Highways are

(i) They aim to promote harmonious relationship with neighbouring countries.

(ii) They provide an effective connectivity to neighbouring countries.

Ans. The distribution of roads in India is not uniform due to the following reasons

● Roads can be easily constructed at a low cost in plain areas, whereas it is difficult and costly in hilly, mountainous and plateau areas. Therefore, most of the Northern states and Southern states have dense network of roads as compared to Himalayan and North-Eastern states.

● Level of economic development plays an important role in deciding the network of roads in an area. Therefore, areas having low economic development like, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have less dense network of roads.

● Inaccessible areas also have less density of roads in India, e.g. forested, rainy and high altitude areas have less density of roads.

Ans. Indian Railway System has been divided into sixteen zones to reduce the pressure of large size Indian railway on Centralised Railway System. India has one of the longest railway networks in the world and it is the largest government undertaking in India. Indian Railway Network was 66,030 km long as on 31st March, 2015.

Another reason for dividing it into different zone is to provide services throughout the country. Zoning help in increasing efficiency of railways.

The Headquarters of Eastern Railway is Kolkata, Western Railway is Mumbai (Church gate), Northern Railway is New Delhi and Southern Railway is Chennai.

Ans. The different railway gauges on the basis of the width of the track of Indian Railways are

(i) Broad Gauge: In broad guage, the distance between rails is 1.676 metre. The total length of broad gauge lines was 60,510 km in March 2016.

(ii) Metre Gauge: In metre gauge, the distance between the rails in 1 metre. The total length of metre gauge was 3,880 km in March, 2016.

(iii) Narrow Gauge: In narrow gauge, the distance between the rails is 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre. The total length of narrow gauge line is 2,297 km in March 2016, This category of railway lines was mostly found in the hilly area.

Ans. The role of Inland Waterways Authority of India is

● The Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986. It is entrusted with the responsibility of the development, maintenance and regulation of national waterways in the country.

● It does the function of surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also the administration of waterways.

● It advises the Central Government on matters related to Inland Waterways.

Ans. Advantages of pipelines as means of transport in India are

(i) It is most convenient and efficient means of transporting liquids and gases over long distances.

(ii) Pipelines can also transport solids after converting them into slurry.

(iii) Its initial setup cost is high, but once it is recovered, pipelines transport liquids and gases very cheaply. Pipelines are mainly used for transporting crude oil and natural gas for various industries in India.

Ans. Advantages of satellite communication in India

(i) Satellites provide a continuous and overall view of larger area which is very vital for the country due to the economic and strategic reasons.

(ii) Telecommunication, meteorological observation and other data and programmes for India can be obtained through satellite system. Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) is a multipurpose satellite system used for this purpose.

(iii) The Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS) is very useful in the management of natural resources, monitoring of natural calamities, surveillance of border, etc. in India.

Ans. The most effective and advanced personal communication system in India is internet. The characteristics of internet are

(i) With the help of internet, users can directly communicate through e-mail and can get access to the world of knowledge and information.

(ii) Use of internet is increasing for e-commerce and carrying out money transactions.

(iii) The internet is like a huge central warehouse of data, with detailed information on various items.

(iv) It enables us with the basic facilities of direct communication. This mode of communication is efficient and cost effective.

Ans. Characteristics of road transport in India are

(i) With a total length of 56 lakhs km (2017-18) of roads, India has placed itself among the countries which have a large road network.

(ii) Road transport carries about 85% of passenger and 70% of freight traffic every year. It is preferred for short distance travel as it provides door to door service.

(iii) Roads are mainly concentrated and around urban areas, rural and remote areas are least connected by the roads.

(iv) Distribution of roads is not even throughout the country. Road density is highest in Kerala and lowest in Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the Northern and Southern states have highly dense network of roads as compared to North-East and Himalayan region.

(v) In India, roads are classified on the basis of purpose of construction and maintenance in National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), major district roads and rural roads.

Ans. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is apex body in India responsible for building, upgrading and maintaining most of the National Highways network. It operates under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The significance of National Highways is

● National Highways form the lifeline of road transport system in India as they constitute 2% of the road length but carry 40% of traffic in India.

● These roads are meant for inter-state transport and strategic defence movement.

● These also connect the state capitals, major cities, important ports, railway junctions, etc.

● These roads are lifeline of the country. Goods and passengers are transported from one place to another in a short period of time.

● They connect remote areas with developed areas.

● Manufactured product and raw material is transported through it in very efficient manner.

Ans. Road density is defined as the length of roads per 100 sq km of surface area. It is a method to compare road network of an area to another area.

The two determinants of road density in India are

(i) Level of Economic Development: The density of roads is directly proportional to the level of economic development in a region. In Northern plains, the density of roads is high mainly due to development of agricultural sector and urbanisation. States of Haryana, Punjab and UP have high density of roads. Industrialisation also decides the density of roads. In the industrialised area, there is high density due development activities. In the backward areas the level of economic development is low thus the density of roads is also law.

(ii) Nature of Terrain: It directly affects road density. Plains are most suitable for construction of road infrastructure whereas mountains, hills and forested areas are not suitable for construction of roads. Gangetic plains have high density of roads whereas Himalayan states like Uttarakhand and North-Eastern states have low density of roads. Plateau regions have less dense roads. For example, Chotanagpur plateau region, central highlands region.

Ans. Indian railways is one of the longest networks in the world and it has contributed to the growth of national economy in following ways

● Indian Railways form the lifeline of India catering to its needs for large scale movement of traffic, both freight and passenger, thereby contributing to economic growth.

● Railways has also helped in promoting national integration. It connects areas having important mineral resources to regions where there are industries.

● It also helps in transporting raw materials and finished products.

● Apart from the passengers and traffic, the freight also increased tremendously. Development in industrial and agricultural sectors has generated high demand for railway transport.

● Major commodities transported by railways include coal, iron and steel ores, petroleum products and essential commodities such as food grains, fertilizers, cement, sugar, salt, edible oils, etc.

● Indian railways also contribute in tourism sector by connecting hill stations, religious places and other important tourist places.

● It is the largest government undertaking which provides employment to millions of people in India.

Ans. Indian Railways brought people of diverse cultures together in the following ways

● As India is a land of diverse cultures, railways connect people of different regions through its services. For example, people from the Northern regions can travel to Southern regions people from the Eastern regions can travel to Western regions.

● People from different languages with different customs and cultures connect with each other using the services of Indian railways. For example, migrant labour travels from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar to Delhi, Maharashtra. Students travel to various parts and meet people of other cultures having different traditions.

● Railways was the main means of transport that brought people of diverse cultures together during the freedom struggle.

● Each state of India has a distinct culture and customs. When people travel from one state to another, they mostly use railways as a means of transport and thus mix with different people having different cultural background.

● People also come in contact with foreigners who belong to other countries, having varying colours of different customs and practices and share their culture and customs with each other.

Thus, railways help in bringing people of different cultures together.

Ans. Waterways are important mode of transport for both passengers and cargo traffic in India in the following ways

● Waterways provide cheapest and most suitable transportation for heavy and bulky material for long distances from one region to another.

● It is a fuel efficient and eco-friendly means of transport as it does not require maintenance and construction of routes, which involves high cost.

● India has 14,500 km of Inland waterways which accounts for 1% of country’s transportation.

● At present, over 5685 km of rivers are navigable by mechanised vessels in India which are used to transport both passenger and freight.

● Backwaters (Kayal) of Kerala have special significance as they provide cheap means of transport as well as tourism activities.

● It reduces congestion and accidents on roads highways as freight can be moved easily with waterways.

● It can be used for transporting both domestic as well as international cargo. India has many major and minor parts, which are facilitating trade within the country as well as internationally.

● Waterways have potential for cruise, tourism and passenger traffic that can contribute to the development of the country.

Ans. Air transport facilitates the fastest movement of goods and passengers from one place to another place. It has reduced distances and converted the world into one unit. Air transport has a great importance for a vast country like India where distances are large and the terrain and the climatic conditions are uneven throughout the country.

It is also important for our links with other countries. India occupies a central location between Western Europe and Africa on the one hand and South -East and East Asia on the other hand.

Characteristics of air transport system of India are

(i) To provide safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in Indian space, there is regulatory body known as Airport Authority of India.

(ii) There are two corporations, Air India and Indian Airlines, which provide air services in India. Air India handles international traffic passengers and cargo whereas Indian Airlines is the major domestic air carrier of the country.

(iii) In addition to Air India and Indian Airlines, there are two private scheduled airlines operating on the domestic network. 38 companies hold non-scheduled air taxi operators permit. The share of the private sector airways has increased very rapidly after liberalisation.

(iv) Union Government has launched open sky policy in 1982. Under this policy, foreign airlines or association of exporters can bring any freighters to the country. Its objectives is to help exporters, so that their exports become more competitive in the world.