TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
We use different materials and services in our daily life. Some of these are available in our immediate surroundings, while other requirements are met by bringing things from other places. Goods and services do not move from supply locales to demand locales on their own. The movement of these goods and services from their supply locations to demand locations necessitates the need for transport. Some people are engaged in facilitating these movements. These are known to be traders who make the products come to the consumers by transportation. Thus, the pace of development of a country depends upon the production of goods and services as well as their movement over space. Therefore, efficient means of transport are prerequisites for fast development.
Movement of these goods and services can be over three important domains of our earth i.e. land, water, and air. Based on these, transport can also be classified into the land, water, and air transport.
Figure 7.1:
For a long time, trade and transport were restricted to limited space. With the development in science and technology, the area of influence of trade and transport expanded far and wide. Today, the world has been converted into a large village with the help of efficient and fast-moving transport. Transport has been able to achieve this with the help of an equally developed communication system. Therefore, transport, communication and trade are complementary to each other.
Today, India is well-linked with the rest of the world despite its vast size, diversity and linguistic and socio-cultural plurality. Railways, airways, waterways, newspapers, radio, television, cinema and internet, etc. have been contributing to its socio-economic progress in many ways. The trades from local to international levels have added to the vitality of its economy. It has enriched our life and added substantially to growing amenities and facilities for the comforts of life.
In this chapter, you will see how modern means of transport and communication serve as lifelines of our nation and its modern economy. It is thus, evident that a dense and efficient network of transport and communication is a prerequisite for the local, national, and global trade of today.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK