Kerala Plus One Economics Chapter Wise Previous Questions Chapter 8 Infrastructure
Question 1.
Give two examples of Social infrastructure. (March 2009)
Answer:
Social infrastructure
- Education
- Housing
- Health
Question 2.
Infrastructure is an important base for the economic development of the nation. Do you agree? Justify your answer. (March 2009)
Answer:
Yes. I agree.
Infrastructure contributes to economic growth and development in the following ways.
- It increases productivity
- It attracts investment and facilitates growth.
- It raises the quality of life of people.
Question 3.
Complete the chart given below. (Say 2009)
Answer:
Question 4.
If proper attention is not paid to the development of infrastructure, it is likely to act as a severe constraint on economic development. Do you agree? Comment. (March 2011)
Answer:
Yes, I agree.
Proper attention is to be paid to the development of infrastructure, to achieve economic development. Infrastructure is the support system on which depends the efficient working of a modern industrial economy. Modern agriculture also largely depends on it for speedy and large-scale transport of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and products by making use of modern roadways, railways, and shipping facilities.
Infrastructure contributes to the economic development of a country both by increasing the productivity of the factors of production and improving the quality of life of its people. Inadequate infrastructure can have multiple adverse effects on health.
Question 5.
The development of villages in India was stressed by Mahatma Gandhi. Give reasons. (Say 2012)
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi stressed the need for rural development in India. Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic wellbeing of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.
The need for rural development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentives for agricultural or resource-based businesses.
Education, entrepreneurship, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure all play an important role in developing rural regions. Rural development is also characterized by its emphasis on locally produced economic development strategies. In contrast to urban regions, which have many similarities, rural areas are highly distinctive from one another. For this reason, there are a large variety of rural development approaches used in India.
Question 6.
You are selected as an official to assess the health status of the Gambia, an African country by the WHO. Point out the indicators which you use for such assessment. (March 2013)
Answer:
- Infant mortality rate
- Life expectancy
- Government expenditure on the health sector
Question 7.
It is noted that the development of rural areas is for India’s overall development. Prepare a seminar paper on rural development and the major issues associated with it. (March 2014)
Answer:
Rural Development
Rural development is quite a comprehensive term but it essentially means a plan of action for the development of areas that are lagging behind in socio-economic development. It essentially focuses on action for the development of areas that are lagging behind in the overall development of the village economy. Some of the areas which are challenging and need fresh initiatives for development in India include:
Development of human resources including literacy, more specifically, female literacy, education and skill development- health, addressing both sanitation and public health
Land reforms
Development of the productive resources of each locality
Infrastructure development like electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing, transport facilities including construction of village roads and feeder roads to nearby highways, facilities for agriculture research and extension, and information dissemination.
Special measures for alleviation of poverty and bringing about significant improvement in the living conditions of the weaker sections of the population emphasizing access to productive employment opportunities.
All this means that farming communities have to be provided with various means that help them increase the productivity of grains, cereals, vegetables, and fruits. They also need to be given opportunities to diversify into various non-farm productive activities such as food processing.
Issues of Rural development
Poverty is largely a rural problem.
More than 75 percent of the worlds poor live in rural areas and a majority of the poor will continue to live in rural areas well into the 21st century. The rural poor suffer deeper levels of poverty than their urban counterparts and have much more limited access to basic social services such as sanitation, safe water, health services and primary education; thus they suffer disproportionately from hunger, ill health and illiteracy.
Agriculture is the key to alleviating rural poverty.
Agriculture employs more than half of the total labour force in developing countries and almost three quarters in lower-income developing countries. Most of the world’s extreme poor depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Agriculture has strong backward and forward linkages to the rural non-farm sector, purchasing inputs such as seeds and implements, supplying raw materials for agro-based industries and generating demand for local goods and services such as housing, furniture and clothing. Hence, agricultural growth can increase the income of the rural poor both directly, through increased production and additional demand for farm labour, and indirectly, through linkages with non-farm productive activities in the rural areas.
Sustainable agricultural growth and rural development can be achieved.
The key ingredients to this end include:
- access or entitlement to assets (e.g. land, water, farm animals, and technology)
- access to fair and competitive markets both domestic and international for farm products; and
- the necessary information and physical infrastructure to reaching these markets.
The international agricultural trading environment.
The current international trading context for agriculture affects rural development in developing countries in various ways, in particular through market distortions arising most often from subsidized competition from developed countries and from market access barriers to the agricultural exports of the developing countries.
Question 8.
Prepare a seminar paper on the major challenges that India faces in the health sector. (Say 2014)
(Areas to be covered – State of health infrastructure, the role of the private sector, urban-rural comparison, women health, etc.)
Answer:
Health: Health is not only the absence of disease but also the ability to realize one’s potential. It is a yardstick of one’s wellbeing. Health is the holistic process related to the overall growth and development of the nation. Generally, scholars assess people’s health by taking into account indicators like infant mortality and maternal mortality rates, life expectancy and nutrition levels, along with the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM): Natural systems of medicine have to be explored and used to support public health. There is a great scope for the advancement of medical tourism in India. It includes six systems: Ayurveda, Yo§a, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy, and Homeopathy (AYUSH). At present, there are 3,004 ISM hospitals, 23,028 dispensaries and as many as 6,11,431 registered practitioners in India. But little has been done to set up a framework to standardize education or to promote research. ISM has huge potential and can solve a large part of our health care problems because they are effective, safe and inexpensive.
Indicators of Health and Health Infrastructure – A Critical Appraisal: As pointed out earlier, the health status of a country can be assessed through indicators such as infant mortality and maternal mortality rates, life expectancy and nutrition levels, along with the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases. One study points out that India has about 17 percent of the world’s population but it bears a frightening 20 percent of the global burden of diseases (GBD). GBD is an indicator used by experts to gauge the number of people dying prematurely due to a particular disease as well as the number of years spent by them in a state of ‘disability’ owing to the disease.
In India, more than half of GBD is accounted for by communicable diseases such as diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis. Every year around five lakh children die of water-borne diseases. The danger Of AIDS is also looming large. Malnutrition and inadequate supply of vaccines lead to the death of 2.2 million children every year. At present, less than 20 percent of the population utilizes public health facilities. One study has pointed out that only 38 percent of the PHCs have the required number of doctors and only 30 percent of the PHCs have sufficient stock of medicines.
Question 9.
You are invited to present a paper on the various sources of energy in India with special reference to the current challenges in the power sector. Prepare it. (Say 2014)
Answer:
Energy: Energy is very vital for rapid economic growth. There is a big gap between consumer demand and the supply of electricity in India. Energy is a critical aspect of the development process of a nation. It is, of course, essential for industries. Now it is used on a large scale in agriculture and related areas like the production and transportation of fertilizers, pesticides, and farm equipment. It is required in houses for cooking, household lighting, and heating.
Sources of Energy: There are commercial and non-commercial sources of energy. Commercial sources are coal, petroleum, and electricity as they are bought and sold. Non-commercial sources of energy are firewood, agricultural waste, and dried dung. These are non-commercial as they are found in nature/forests. While commercial sources of energy are generally exhaustible, noncommercial sources are generally renewable.
Non-conventional Sources of Energy: Both commercial and noncommercial sources of energy are known as conventional sources of energy. There are three other sources of energy which are commonly termed as non-conventional sources—solar energy, wind energy, and tidal power.
Power/Electricity: The most visible form of energy, which is often identified with progress in modern civilization, is power, commonly called electricity; it is one of the most critical components of infrastructure that determines the economic development of a country.
Challenges
India’s power sector faces some challenges today. Some of the challenges that India’s power sector faces today are:
i) India’s installed capacity to generate electricity is not sufficient to feed an annual economic growth of 7 percent. In order to meet the growing demand for electricity, between 2000 and 2012, India needs to add 1,00,000 MW of new capacity, whereas, at present, India is able to add only 20,000 MW a year. Even the installed capacity is underutilized because plants are not run properly.
ii) State Electricity Boards (SEBs), which distribute electricity, incur losses that exceed Rs. 500billion. This is due to transmission and distribution losses, wrong pricing of electricity and other inefficiencies. Some scholars also say that the distribution of electricity to farmers is the main reason for the Icfsses; electricity is also stolen in different areas which also adds to the woes of SEBs
iii) Private sector power generators are yet to play their role in a major way; the same is the case with foreign investors.
iv) there is general public unrest due to high power tariffs and prolonged power cuts in different parts of the country.
v) Thermal power plants which are the mainstay of India’s power sector are facing a shortage of raw material and coal supplies.
Question 10.
Development of infrastructure and economic development go hand in hand. Can you prepare a report on ‘the relevance of infrastructure for the economic development of the nation’? (March 2015)
(Areas to be covered: Economic and social infrastructure, energy sources, Power sector, and health sector.)
Answer:
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is a network of physical facilities and public services and with this social infrastructure is equally important to support it. It is an important base for the economic development of the country. Infrastructure provides support 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 facilities, the country’s educational system including schools and colleges, health system including hospitals, the sanitary system including clean drinking water facilities and the monetary system including banks, insurance and Other financial institutions. Some divide infrastructure into two categories namely, Economic and Social.
Infrastructure associated with energy, transportation and communication are included in the former category whereas those related to education, health and housing are included in the latter.
Relevance of Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the support system on which depends the efficient working of a modern industrial economy. Modern agriculture also largely depends on it for speedy and large-scale transport of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and products by making use of modern roadways, railways and shipping facilities. Modern agriculture also has to depend on insurance and banking facilities because of its need to operate on a very large scale. Infrastructure contributes to the economic development of a country both by increasing the productivity of the factors of production and improving the quality of life of its people.
Inadequate infrastructure can have multiple adverse effects on health. Improvements in water supply and sanitation have a large impact by reducing morbidity from major waterborne diseases and reducing the severity of disease when it occurs. In addition to the obvious linkage between water and sanitation and health, the quality of transport and communication infrastructure can affect access to health care. Air pollution and safety hazards connected to transportation also affect morbidity, particularly in densely populated areas.
Question 11.
Prepare an article on the major challenges that India faces in the health sector. (March 2015)
(Areas to be covered: State of health infrastructure, role of Private sector, Urban-rural comparison, women health, etc.)
Answer:
The State of Infrastructure in India
Traditionally, the government has been solely responsible for developing the country’s infrastructure. But it was found that the government’s investment in infrastructure was inadequate.
1) Energy
Energy is very vital for rapid economic growth. There is a big gap between consumer demand and supply of electricity in India. Energy is a critical aspect of the development process of a nation. It is, of course, essential for industries. Now it is used on a large scale in agriculture and related areas like the production and transportation of fertilizers, pesticides and farm equipment. It is required in houses for cooking, household lighting and heating.
Sources of Energy: There are commercial and non-commercial sources of energy. Commercial sources are coal, petroleum and electricity as they are bought and sold. Non-commercial sources of energy are firewood, agricultural waste and dried dung. These are non-commercial as they are found in nature/forests. While commercial sources of energies are generally exhaustible, noncommercial sources are generally renewable.
Non-conventional Sources of Energy: Both commercial and noncommercial sources of energy are known as conventional sources of energy. There are three other sources of energy which are commonly termed as non-conventional sources — solar energy, wind energy and tidal power.
Power/Electricity: The most visible form of energy, which is often identified with progress in modern civilization, is power, commonly called electricity; it is one of the most critical components of infrastructure that determines the economic development of a country.
2) Health
Health is not only absence of disease but also the ability to realize one’s potential. It is a yardstick of one’s wellbeing. Health is the holistic process related to the overall growth and development of the nation. Generally scholars assess people’s health by taking into account indicators like infant mortality and maternal mortality rates, life expectancy and nutrition levels, along with the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM): Natural systems of medicine have to be explored and used to support public health. There is a great scope of advancement of medical tourism in India. It includes six systems: Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy and Homeopathy (AYUSH). At present there are 3,004 ISM hospitals, 23,028 dispensaries and as many as 6,11,431 registered practitioners in India. But little has been done to set up a framework to standardize education or to promote research. ISM has huge potential and can solve a large part of our health care problems because they are effective, safe and inexpensive.
Indicators of Health and Health Infrastructure – A Critical Appraisal: As pointed out earlier, the health status of a country can be assessed through indicators such as infant mortality and maternal mortality rates, life expectancy and nutrition levels, along with the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases. One study points out that India has about 17 per cent of the world’s population but it bears a frightening 20 per cent of the global burden of diseases (GBD). GBD is an indicator used by experts to gauge the number of people dying prematurely due to a particular disease as well as the number of years spent by them in a state of ‘disability’ owing to the disease.
In India, more than half of GBD is accounted for by communicable diseases such as diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis. Every year around five lakh children die of water-borne diseases. The danger of AIDS is also looming large. Malnutrition and inadequate supply of vaccines lead to the death of 2.2 million children every year. At present, less than 20 per cent of the population utilizes public health facilities. One study has pointed out that only 38 percent of the PHCs have the required number of doctors and only 30 per cent of the PHCs have sufficient stock of medicines.
Question 12.
List any two Indian systems of medicine. (March 2016)
Answer:
- Ayush
- Ayurveda
- Unani
- Sidha
- Homeopathy
Question 13.
Do India faces challenges in the power sector? Elucidate. (March 2017)
Answer:
Yes. Some of the challenges that India’s power sector faces today are given below:
- India’s installed capacity to generate electricity is not only very low but also it is underutilized.
- This is due to transmission and distribution losses.
- High power tariffs and prolonged power cats in the country are strong challenges.
- India’s power plants are facing a shortage of raw materials and coal supplies.
- The current production capacity is inadequate to meet the demand for the energy requirements of the growing population and economic development.