Rail Transport

• one of the longest in the world.
• facilitates the movement of both freight and passengers and contributes to the growth of economy.
• Mahatma Gandhi said, the Indian railways “brought people of diverse cultures together to contribute to India’s freedom struggle.” 
• Indian Railway was introduced in 1853, when a line was constructed from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 34 km.
• length of Indian Railways network is 63,221 km. Its very large size puts lots of pressure on a centralized railway management system.
• Thus, in India, the railway system has been divided into sixteen zone.

On the basis of width of the track of Indian Railways, three categories have been made:

1. Broad gauge: The distance between rails in broad gauge is 1.676 metre. The total length of broad gauge lines is 46,807 km which accounts for 74.14 per cent of the total length of rail routes in the country.
2. Metre gauge: The distance between rails is one metre. It runs over 13,290 km covering 21.02 per cent of the total route length.
3. Narrow gauge: The distance between the rails in this case is 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre. Nearly 4.94 per cent of the total length of the Indian Railways is narrow gauge, which accounts for 3,124 km of route length. It is generally confined to hilly areas

Water Transport

• an important mode of transport for both passenger and cargo traffic in India. 
• cheapest means of transport and is most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky material. It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport.
• The water transport is of two types–

(a) inland waterways, and

(b) oceanic waterways.

Inland Waterways

• chief mode of transport before the advent of railways.
• faced tough competition from road and railway transport. Moreover, diversion of river water for irrigation purposes made them non navigable in large parts of their courses.
• India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways, contributing about 1% to the country‟s transportation.
• It comprises rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.
• For the development, maintenance and regulation of national waterways in the country, the Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986.
• The authority has declared three inland waterways as National Waterways
• The backwaters (Kadal) of Kerala has special significance in Inland Waterway. Apart from providing cheap means of transport, they are also attracting large number of tourists in Kerala. The famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race (VALLAMKALI) is also held in the backwaters.

Oceanic Routes

• India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517 km, including islands. 
• Twelve major and 185 minor ports provide infrastructural support to these routes.
• Oceanic routes play an important role in the transport sector of India‟s economy. 
• Approximately 95 per cent of India‟s foreign trade by volume and 70 per cent by value moves through ocean routes. 
• Apart from international trade, these are also used for the purpose of transportation between the islands and the rest of the country.

Air Transportation

• Air transport is the fastest means of movement from one place to the other. 
• It has reduced distances by minimising the travel time. It is very essential for a vast country like India, where distances are large and the terrain and climatic conditions are diverse.
• Air transport in India made a beginning in 1911 when airmail operation commenced over a little distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini.
• The Airport Authority of India is responsible for providing safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space.
• The authority manages 126 airports including 11 international, 86 domestic and 29 civil enclaves at defence air fields.
• The air transport in India is managed by two corporations, Air India and Indian Airlines after nationalisation.

Air India

• Air India provides International Air Services for both passengers and cargo traffic.
• It connects all the continents of the world through its services. 
• About 52 per cent of the total air traffic was handled only at Mumbai and Delhi airports.
• Pawan Hans is the helicopter service operating in hilly areas and is widely used by tourists in north-easter n sector.
• Pawan Hans Limited mainly provides helicopter services to petroleum sector and for tourism.

Open Sky Policy 

• To help the Indian exporters and make their export more competitive, the government had introduced an Open Sky Policy for cargo in April 1992.
• Under this policy, foreign airlines or association of exporters can bring any freighters to the country.

Oil and Gas Pipelines

• Pipelines are the most convenient and efficient mode of transporting liquids and gases over long distances.
• Even solids can also be transported by pipelines after converting them into slurry.
• Oil India Limited (OIL) under the administrative set up of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is engaged in the exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. It was incorporated in 1959 as a company.
• Asia‟s first cross country pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km was constructed by OIL from Naharkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar. It was further extended up to Kanpur in 1966.
• Another extensive network of pipelines has been constructed in the western region of India of which Ankleshwar -Koyali, Mumbai High- Koyali and Hazira-VijaipurJagdishpur (HVJ) are most important.
• Recently, a 1256 km long pipeline connecting Salaya (Gujarat) with Mathura (U.P.) has been constructed. It supplies crude oil from Gujarat to Punjab (Jalandhar) via Mathura. OIL is in the process of constructing of 660 km long pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri.

Communication Networks

• Invention of post- office, telegraph, printing press, telephone, satellite, etc has made the communication much faster and easier. Development in the field of science and technology has significantly contributed in bringing about revolution in the field of communication.

Personal Communication System

• Among all the personal communication system internet is the most effective and advanced one.
• It is widely used in urban areas. It enables the user to establish direct contact through e-mail to get access to the world of knowledge and information.
• It is increasingly used for e-commerce and carrying out money transactions.
• The internet is like a huge central warehouse of data, with detailed information on various items.
• The network through internet and e-mail provides an efficient access to information at a comparatively low cost. It enables us with the basic facilities of direct communication. You might have noticed the proliferation of cyber cafes in urban areas.

Mass Communication System

1. Radio

• Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 by the Radio Club of Bombay.
• Since then, it gained immense popularity and changed the socio- cultural life of people. Within no time, it made a place in every household of the country.
• Government took this opportunity and brought this popular mode of communication under its control in 1930 under the Indian Broadcasting System. It was changed to All India Radio in 1936 and to Akashwani in 1957.
• All India Radio broadcasts a variety of programmes related to information, education and entertainment. Special news bulletins are also broadcast at specific occasions like session of parliament and state legislatures.

2. Television (T.V.) 

• Television broadcasting has emerged as the most effective audio-visual medium for disseminating information and educating masses.
• Initially, the T.V. services were limited only to the National Capital where it began in 1959.
• After 1972, several other centres became operational.
• In 1976, TV was delinked from All India Radio (AIR) and got a separate identity as Doordarshan (DD).
• After INSAT-IA (National Television-DD1) became operational, Common National Programmes (CNP) was started for the entire network and its services were extended to the backward and remote rural areas.

3. Satellite Communication 

• Satellites are mode of communication in themselves as well as they regulate the use of other means of communication.
• However, use of satellite in getting a continuous and synoptic view of larger area has made satellite communication very vital for the country due to the economic and strategic reasons. 
• Satellite images can be used for the weather forecast, monitoring of natural calamities, surveillance of border areas, etc.
• On the basis of configuration and purposes, satellite system in India can be grouped into two:

1. Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) and

2. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS).

• The INSAT, which was established in 1983,is a multi- purpose satellite system for telecommunication, meteorological observation and for various other data and programmes. 
• The IRS satellite system became operational with the launching of IRS-IA in March 1988 from Vaikanour in Russia.
• These satellites collect data in several spectral bands and transmit them to the ground stations for various uses.
• The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) at Hyderabad provides facilities for acquisition of data and its processing. These are very useful in the management of natural resources.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

• International Trade is mutually beneficial as no country is self-sufficient.
• India’s International trade has undergone a sea change in recent years in terms of volume, composition as well as direction. 
• Although India’s contribution in the world trade is as low as one per cent of the total volume, yet it plays a significant role in the world economy 
• the value of import continued to be higher than that of exports in india. Changing Patterns of the Composition of India’s Import
• India faced serious food shortage during 1950s and 1960s. The major item of import at that time was foodgrain, capital goods, machinery and equipments.
• The U.S.A. is India‟s largest trading partner and the most important destination of India‟s export.
• Other countries in order of significance include the U.K., Belgium, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the U.A.E., China, Singapore and Malaysia.

Sea Ports as Gate ways of International Trade

• India is surrounded by sea from three sides and is bestowed with a long coastline. Water provides a smooth surface for very cheap transport provided there is no turbulence.
• India has a long tradition of sea faring and developed many ports with place name suffixed with pattan meaning port.
• An interesting fact about ports in India is that its west coast has more seaports than its east coast (y?)
• At present, India has 12 major ports and 185 minor or intermediate ports. In case of the major ports, central government decides the policy and plays regulatory functions. The minor ports are there whose policy and functions are regulated by state governments.

1. Kandla Port

• situated at the head of Gulf of Kuchchh has been developed as a major port to cater to the needs of western and north western parts of the country and also to reduce the pressure at Mumbai port.
• The port is specially designed to receive large quantities of petroleum and petroleum products and fertiliser.
• The offshore terminal at Vadinar has been developed to reduce the pressure at Kandla port.

2. Mumbai

• is a natural harbour and the biggest port of the country.
• The port is situated closer to the general routes from the countries of Middle East, Mediterranean countries, North Africa, North America and Europe where the major share of country‟s overseas trade is carried out.
• The port is 20 km long and 6-10 km wide with 54 berths and has the country‟s largest oil terminal.
• M.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P. and parts of Rajasthan constitute the main hinterlands of Mumbai ports.

3. Jawaharlal Nehru Port

• at Nhava Sheva was developed as a satellite port to relieve the pressure at the Mumbai port.
• It is the largest container port in India.

4. Marmagao Port, 

• situated at the entrance of the Zuari estuary, is a natural harbour in Goa.
• It gained significance after its remodelling in 1961 to handle iron-ore exports to Japan. Construction of Konkan railway has considerably extended the hinterland of this port.
• Karnataka, Goa, Southern Maharashtra constitute its hinterland.

5. New Mangalore Port 

• is located in the state of Karnataka and caters to the needs of the export of ironore and iron-concentrates.
• It also handles fertilisers, petroleum products, edible oils, coffee, tea, wood pulp, yarn, granite stone, molasses, etc. Karnataka is the major hinterland for this port.

6. Kochchi Port 

• situated at the head of Vembanad Kayal, popularly known as the “Queen of the Arabian Sea,” is also a natural harbour.
• This port has an advantageous location being close to the Suez-Colombo route. It caters to the needs of Kerala, southern- Karnataka and south western Tamil Nadu.

7. Kolkata Port

• is located on the Hugli river, 128 km inland from the Bay of Bengal.
• Like the Mumbai port, this port was also developed by the British. Kolkata had the initial advantage of being the capital of British India.
• Kolkata port is also confronted with the problem of silt accumulation in the Hugli river which provides a link to the sea.
• Its hinterland covers U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and the north-eastern states. Apart from this, it also extends ports facilities to our neighbouring land-locked countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.

8. Haldia Port

• is located 105 km downstream from Kolkata.
• It has been constructed to reduce the congestion at Kolkata port.
• It handles bulk cargo like iron ore, coal, petroleum, petroleum products and fertilisers, jute, jute products, cotton and cotton yarn, etc.

9. Paradwip Port

• is situated in the Mahanadi delta, about 100 km from Cuttack. It has the deepest harbour specially suited to handle very large vessels. It has been developed mainly to handle large-scale export of iron-ore.
• Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are the parts of its hinterland.

10. Visakhapatnam Port

• in Andhra Pradesh is a land-locked harbour, connected to the sea by a channel cut through solid rock and sand.

11. Chennai Port

• is one of the oldest ports on the eastern coast.
• It is an artificial harbour built in 1859. It is not much suitable for large ships because of the shallow waters near the coast.
• Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry are its hinterland.

12. Ennore Port,

• a newly developed port in Tamil Nadu, has been constructed 25 km north of Chennai to relieve the pressure at Chennai port.

13. Tuticorin Port

• was also developed to relieve the pressure of Chennai port. It deals with a variety of cargo including coal, salt, food grains, edible oils, sugar, chemicals and petroleum products.