Indian Economic Development Chapter 8 Infrastructure

Infrastructure may be defined as those elements of economic and social changes which serve as a support system to all production activities in the economy.

Because these states have better infrastructures in the areas they excel than other states of India.

Because they provide world class facilities.

Infrastructures are devided into two categories : (1) Economic and (2) Social

Social infrastructure may be defined as those elements of social change (like schools,colleges, hospitals etc.) which serve as a support system for the process of social development of a country.

Because energy is the life-line of entire production activity. Industrial production is not possible if energy is not available. Even agriculture needs energy to operate tubewells, tractors etc.

Health care is a component of infrastructure because health care ensures a country of healthy manpower for the production of goods and services.

Medical tourism means flocking of foreigners to India for surgeries,liver transplants,dental and even cosmetic care.

Primary health care centres are hospitals set up in villages and small towns. They are generally managed by a single doctor. They have limited quantity of medicines.

Secondary health care centres are hospitals which are mostly located in district headquarters and in big cities. They function as primary health care provider and also provide better health-care facilities.

Infrastructure provides the services of energy, transport, communication, education and health.

Structures directly contributing to the economic growth of the country are called economic infrastructure.

Energy, transport and communication are the types of economic infrastructure.

Coal, petroleum, natural gas, electricity, bio-energy, solar energy, wind energy, development of atomic energy, utilisation of urban waste, improved chulhas are the sources of energy.

Good infrastructure raises productivity and lowers production cost. There is a direct and proportional relationship between infrastructure and production.

Electricity can be produced from these sources:

(i) Hydro-electricity, (ii) Thermal Electricity, (iii) Nuclear Electricity.

The main coal users in the country are electricity enterprises, steel plants, cement plants, railways, fertilizer plants, brick kilns and coalieries.

Lignite is a brown coal with energy lesser than the black coal. This coal is consumed by thermal power plants.

Liquied Petrolieum Gas It is a cooking gas used as fuel. Its supply falls short of the demand, so we have to import it.

Energy generated by dung, agricultural wastes and other biological materials is known as bio-energy.

Bio-gas plants are fed dung and generate gas for cooking, lighting and heating.

It is the production of solid fuel by conversion of agricultural waste in pillets and briqullets. It is also concerned with production of fuel wood and gasifier engines for lifting water for irrigation and drinking purpose.

Energy generated by captivating solar power is called solar energy.

Under this programme, solar energy is directly collected for water heating distillation, timber seasoning etc.

Under this programme, photovoltaic cells are used for conversion of solar light into electricity for lighting and other purposes.

Energy generated by controlling wind power is known as wind energy. We use wind power under this programme to generate energy.

1. Atomic Energy Power Plant at Tarapur.

2. Atomic Energy Power Plant at Rana Pratap Sagar Dam near Kota.

3. Atomic Energy Power Plant in Kalapakkam near Chennai.

4. Atomic Energy Power Plant at Narora.

Health means a state of complete physical, mental and social soundness. It helps indirectly the economic development by supplying active, energetic and healthy working force, which activates the entire production process.

The communicable diseases are smallpox, malaria, filaria, tuberculosis, AIDS etc.

In order to create adequate health care system in villages primary health centres, sub-centres, community health centres have been established.

Primary health care centres have been set up in rural areas to provide health services in rural areas.

A community health centre caters to one lakh people and has 30 beds and provides specialised medical services.

It ensures a country healthy manpower for production of goods and services. Mere presence of health infrastructure is not sufficient to have healthy people. It should be accessible to all the people. No individual should fail to secure medical care, curative or preventive because of the inability to pay for it.

Auxiliary Nursing Midwifes are the first persons who provides primary health care in rural areas.

Private sector is playing an important role in medical education and training, medical technology and diagnostics, manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals, hospital construction and the provision of medical services.

Private sector in India grows independently without any major regulation. They are not regulated properly and some private practioners are not even registered doctors.

Six system of Indian Medicine are:

1. Ayurveda, 2. Yoga, 3. Unani, 4. Siddha, 5. Naturopathy and 6. Homeopathy.

PHCs located in rural areas do not after even X-ray or blood testing faculities which constitute basic enfrastructure for a city dweller.

Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are relatively lagging behind in health care facilities.

(i) Economic Infrastructure (Energy, transportation and communication)

(ii) Social Infrastructure (Education, heatlh and housing).

Morbidity in the propensity to fall ill. It is caused by acute respiratory and diarrhoea in India.

Continued economic development and population growth are driving the demand for energy faster than what India is producing currently.

More public investment, better research and development efforts, exploration, technological innovation and use of renewable energy sources can ensure additional supply of electricity.

Infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, nutrition level, incidence of communicable diseases are the indications of health and health infrastructure.

Global burden of disease is an indicator used by experts to guage 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.

India has about 20 percent Global burden of diseases.

Communicable diseases such as diarrhorea, malaria and tuberculosis cause more than half of GBD in India.

Around five lakh children die of water borne diseases.

When poor fall sick, many of them have to sell their land or pledge their children to afford treatment.

In Delhi, transmission and distribution losses of electricity are close to the tune of 50% electricity produced.

Our backward technology and pilferage through convience of the official staff cause transmission and distribution losses in India.

It is due to mounting transmission and distribution losses that most of states are opting for privatisation of the distribution network.

Solar energy, wind energy, Biomass energy and Bio-gas energy are the non-conventional sources of energy.

The primary health care institutions provide the first level of contact between the population and health care providers.

Commercialisation of infrastructure means treating infrastructure as private goods and restrict their use to those persons who are able and willing to pay for them.

Coal is the largest source of energy generation in India.

Energy generated by controlling wind power is known as wind energy. The maintenance cost of wind energy is comparatively lowest.

Health infrastructure includes, hospitals, doctors, nurses and other para-medical professionals, beds, equipments required in hospitals and a well-developed pharmaceutical industry.

Health infrastructure and access of health infrastructure to all the people are essentials for having healthy people.

Three-tier system of health infrastructure in India means that health-care in India is made up of primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Morbidity is defined as a relative incidence of a disease and is shown by the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that year. It is expressed per thousand per year.

India invests only 5 percent of its GDP on infrastructure.

More than 60% of Indian households depend on traditional sources of energy for meeting their regular and heating needs.

Energy through tides is known as tidal energy which is considered inexhaustible source.

Energy generated by controlling solar power is called solar energy. It has great prospects. It is being used for water heating, lighting and for agricultural and industrial operations.

About 1,50,000 foreigners.

Medical tourism means flocking of foreigners to a particular country for surgeries, liver transplants, dental and even cosmetic care.

Because of our qualified professionals, latest medical treatment and cheaper medical treatment for visitors.

Experts predict that by 2012, India is expected to earn more than 100 billion rupees through medical tourism.

One of the important aspects of a good health care system is community participation.

(i) SEWA in Ahmedabad.

(ii) ACCORD in Nilgiris.

The basic idea behind community and non-profit organisations in health care is to train people and involve them in primary health care system.

Shahid Hospital was built in 1983.

No, I do not think that most people in India can get access to super-speciality hospitals because these hospitals are very expensive and common Indians cannot afford them.

Several adverse implications of using wood, dung cake or other biomass are deforestation, reduction in green cover, wastage of cattle dung and air pollution.

PLF means Plant Load Factor which measures the operational efficiency of a thermal plant.

Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) is a new and advanced lighting technology which is more efficient alternative to domestic energy consumption

Mini-hydel plants are small hydel plants which use steams to move small turbines which generate electricity. They are environment friendly and generate enough power to meet local demands.

India has about 15000 species of plants which have medical properties.

ISM i.e. Indian System of Medicine includes six systems — Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy and Homeopathy.

They are more than 165.

More than 12000.

About one fifth of 12000 doctors leave the country for better monetary prospectus.

Abortions.

Agriculture depends on the adequate expansion and development of irrigation facilities and its industrial progress depends on the development of power and electricity generation. These facilities are more in Punjab and Haryana, so these states are more advanced in agriculture.

Bangalore is different from other cities because this city has better infrastructure than other cities. It has better transportation facilities, raw material, technical know-how. The city provides world class communication facilities.

The infrastructure can be divided into two categories : economic infrastructure and social infrastructure.Economic infrastructure includes energy, transportation, communication etc. Social infrastructure includes education, health and housing.

Infrastructure consists of services like transport, communication, banking, irrigation, power etc. which are essential for production of goods.

(i) Commercial sources of energy : coal, lignite and petroleum.

(ii) Non-commercial sources of energy : Animal waste, wood and agricultural residue.

(iii) Non-conventional resources of energy : wind energy, tidal energy, energy from biomass and solar energy.

(i) Primary Sources of Energy : They can be directly used to provide energy to manufacturing process as well as can be used in production of electric power.

(ii) Final Sources of Energy : Sources of final commercial energy are coal, lignite, petroleum and energy based on sunshine, wind, tidal energy and bio-mass.

Energy is an important input for most of the production processes and consumption activities. Modern economic growth in all the countries of the world is associated with a massive use of energy. In the last fifty years, we have had more than four-fold increase in the total energy. In view of the limited potential of primary resources we have to conserve energy wherever and as much as possible. Plan expenditure on developmnet of energy sector has been rising from plan to plan. Present technology uses electricity extensively in production of goods and services. Agriculture has become heavily dependent on electricity for many of its operations. Our total installed capacity of generating power has increased from less than 1500 megawatt to over one lakh megawatt during the last 50 years.

Energy is a critical aspect of the development process of a nation. It is essential for industries. Now it is used on a large scale in agriculture and related areas like production and transportation of fertilizers, pesticides and farm equipments. It is required in houses for cooking, household lighting and heating. Today it is impossible to produce goods without the use of electricity.

According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) CFLs consume 80 percent less power compared to ordinary bulbs. Replacement of one million 100 watt bulbs with 20 watts CFL can save 80 megawatt in power generation.This amounts to saving 400 crores at the rate of institution cost of Rs. 5 crores per megawatt.

Economic development and population growth are driving the demand for energy faster than what India is producing currently. More investment, better research and development efforts, exploration, technical innovations and use of renewable energy sources can ensure the additional supply of electricity. Private sector has made some progress. It is also necessary to tap this sector to come forward to produce power on a large scale. For example, India is already the world's fifth largest producer of wind energy with more than 95% investment coming the private sector.

The solar energy, wind energy and tidal energy are the non-conventional energies. India being a tropical country, has almost unlimited potential for producing all three types of energy using cost effective technology. Cheaper electricity can be produced by solar, wind, tidal, firewood and cow dung.

There are two sources of energy-commercial and non-commercial. Noncommercial sources of energy are fire-wood, agricultural waste and dried dung. These are non-commercial as they are found in nature. Non-commercial sources of energy like grass, hay, twigs and small branches of tree, sun-dried cowdung cakes are generally renewable. More than 60 percent Indian households depend on these traditional sources of energy for meeting regular cooking and heating needs. The energy crises can be overcome with the use of renewable source of energy.

Electricity is one of the most critical infrastructure that determines economic development of a country. The growth rate of demand for power is generally higher than GDP growth rate. In order to have 8 percent GDP growth rate per annum, the power supply needs to grow around 12 percent annually. This show that the rates of consumption of energy and economic growth are corrected.

The electricity generated by the various power stations is not consumed entirely by ultimate consumers. A part of it is consumed by power stations and auxiliaries. While transmitting power, a portion is lost in transmission. It is a great loss to the nation. Efforts should be made to recover losses by using new technology.

People are entitled health care facilities. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the right to healthy living. Health infrastructure includes hospitals, doctors, nurses and other paramedical professionals, beds, equipments etc. These should be provided by the government. No individual should fail to secure medical care, curative and preventive because of the inability to pay for it.

Primary health care includes education concering prevailing health problems and methods of identifying preventing and controlling them, promotion of food supply and proper nutrition and adequate water supply and basic sanitation, maternal and child health care, immunization against major infectious diseases and injuries, promotion of mental health and provision of essential drugs.

After independence, there has been a significant expansion in the physical provision of health services. During 1951-2000, the number of hospitals and dispensaries increased from 9300 to 43300 and hospital beds from 1.2 to 7.2 million. During 1951-99, nursing personnel increased from 0.18 to 8.7 lakh and allopathic doctors from 0.62 to 5.00 lakhs.

Public Health Infrastructure in India 1951-2000

Women constitute about half of the total population in India. They suffer many disadvantages as compared to men in the areas of education, participation in economic activities and health care. There is a deterioration of the child sex ratio in the country from 945 in 1991 to 927 according to the census 2001. It points out to the growing incidence of female foeticide in the country. More than 50 percent of married women, between the age group of 15 and 49 have anaemia and nutritional anaemia caused by iron deficiency, which contributes to 19% of maternal death.

The main causes of premature deaths in India are :

(i) Non0availability of medical care facilities.

(ii) Because of pasticular diseases which are not very popular in medical sciences.

(iii) Expensive medical facilities which cannot be availed by poor or middle class people.

India has 17 percent of the global burden of diseases. It is an indicator used by experts to gauge the number of people dying prematurely due to particular diseases as well as the number of years spent by them in a state of disabilty owing to the diseases. In India, half of the global burden of diseases is accounted for by communicable diseases- such as diarrohea, malaria and tuberculosis. Every year around five lakh children die of water-borne diseases in our country. The danger of AIDS is increasing. Malnutrition and inadequate supply of vaccines lead to death.

Majority of our people live in rural areas. Despite so much technological progress in the country rural women are still using bio-fuels such as crop residues, dung and fuel-wood to meet their energy requirement. The census 2001 shows that in rural India only 56% households have an electricity connection and 43% still use kerosene. About 90% of the rural households use bio-fuels for cooking. Tap water availability is limited to only 24% rural households. About 76% of the population drink water from open sources such as wells, tanks, ponds, lakes, rivers, canals etc. As per study conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation, by 1996, access to improved sanitation in rural areas was only 6%.

Energy is a critical aspect of the development process of a nation. It is essential for industries as it is used on a large scale in agriculture and related areas like production and transportation of fertilisers, pesticides and farm equipments. It is required in houses for cooking, household lighting and heating transport and communcations. If proper attention is not paid to the development of infrastructure, it is likely to act as severe constraint on economic development.

Since independence, power management in the capital has changed hands four times. In 1951, the Delhi State Electricity Board was set up. In 1958, Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking was set up. In 1997, Delhi Vidyut Board came into existence. Now it has been privatized. Reliance Energy Ltd- owned BSES manages power distribution in two-thirds of Delhi, through BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited. The Tata Power- owned NDPL distributes power to the North and the North-West of the capital.

Indian system of medicine (ISM) : It includes six systems-Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy and Homeopathy (AYUSH). At present there are 3,004 ISM hospitals 23,028 dispensaries andas many as 6,11,431 registered practitioners in India. There are 439 colleges of ISM in the country out of which 96 colleges have post graduate departments ISM has huge potential and can solve a large part of our health care problem because it is safe and inexpensive.

Transmission and Distribution Losses : They refer to electricity produced but not paid for. The current level of Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses is very high. In Delhi, T & D losses of electricity are close to the tune of 50% of electricity production. In most of the states of the country, it is more than 20%. It is owing to the mounting T&D losses that most states are now opting for privatisation of the distribution network.

Main reasons for high T&D losses in India :

1. Long transmission and distribution lines.

2. Improper load management.

3. Unmetered supply.

4. Inappropriate size of conductors.

5. Backward technology.

6. Pilferage through convience of the official staff.

Difference between conventional and non-conventioanl sources of energy:

Outline of measures to cope with challenges facing the power sector:

1. Plant load factor should be improved. With the improvement in plant load factor, plant capacity will be utilised fully.

2. Transmission and distribution losses should be reduced.

3. Private sector participation should be encouraged.

4. The use of CFLs be promoted to conserve energy.

5. Government should encourage the use of hydel and wind energy.

6. Solar energy should be given highest priority.

7. Foreign direct investment in power generation should be encouraged.

8. Raw materials and coal should be sufficiently made available to the thermal power plants.

Private Sector Health Infrastructure in India : In recent time private sector has been playing a dominant role in health structures as it is clear from the following points:

1. More than 70 percent of the hospitals in India are run by the private sector.

2. They control nearly two fifth of beds available in the hospitals.

3. Nearly 60 percent of dispensaries are run by private sector.

4. Private sector provides healthcare for 80 percent of out-patients and 46 percent of in-patients.

5. It has been playing a dominant role in medical education and training, medical technology and diagnostics, manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals, hospital construction and the provision of medical services.

Medical Tourism : Medical tourism means flocking of foreigners to a country (like India) for surgeries, liver transplants, dental and even cosmetic care. They flock due to following reasons:

1. The country is having latest medical technologies.

2. The country is having qualified professionals.

3. Medical treatment in that country is cheaper for foreigners as compared to costs of similar healthcare service in their own country.

It may be pointed out here that India has become a country for medical tourism.

There are three main sources of power generation in our country:

(i) Thermal Power : It is generated in India at various power stations with the help of coal and oil. It has been our major source of electric power. Its share in the total power generation was 51 percent in 1950-51 which has increased to 81 percent in 2001. Bulk of the thermal power is derived from coal and only a small fraction comes from oil.

(ii) Hydro Electric Power : Hydroelectric power plays a major role in the field of power development in the country. It is produced on a large scale through multipurpose river valley projects by constructing big dams. In India, the contribution of hydro-electric power is 20 percent of the total electricity generation.

(iii) Nuclear Power : India has set up Nuclear Power Projects at Tarapur (Maharashtra), Kota (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (U.P.). India is in favour of using nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

There are some renewable sources of energy. A brief account of these sources are given below:

(i) Bio-energy : It is obtained from organism or organic matter. It is of two types : (a) Bio-gas, (b) Bio-mass.

Bio-Gas : It is that type of energy which is obtained from gobar gas plants.

Bio-Mass : It is a source of energy through plants and trees. The purpose of bio-mass programme is to encourage afforestation for energy so that fuel for the generation of energy based on gas technique and fodder for the cattle could be obtained.

Solar Energy : It is produced through the light of the sun. There are two methods to obtain such energy.

(i) Solar thermal, (ii) Solar photovoltaic method.

Some of the challenges India's power sector faces today are:

(a) India's installed capacity to generate electricity is not sufficient to feed an annual economic growth by 7%. In order to meet growing demand for electricity between 2000 and 2012, India needs 10000 MW of new capacity. At present India is able to add only 20000 MW a year. Even the installed capacity is under-utilized because the plants are not running properly.

(b) State Electricity Boards which distribute electricity incur losses which exceed Rs. 500 billion. It is due to transmission and distribution losses, wrong pricing of electricity and other inefficiencies. Free distribution of electricity to the farmers is the main reason for the losses. Electricity is also stolen in different areas.

(c) Private sector power generators are yet to play their role.

(d) There is general public unrest due to power tariffs and power cuts in different parts of the country.

(e) Thermal power plants which are the mainstay of Indian power sector are facing shortage of raw material and coal supplies.

At present commercial energy consumption makes up about 65 percent of the total energy consumed in India. This includes coal, with the largest share of 55 percent followed by 31 percent by oil, 11 percent by natural gas and 3 percent by hydro-energy. Non-commercial energy sources consisting of firewood, cow dung and agricultural wastes account for 30 percent of the total energy consumption.

The transport sector was the largest consumer of commercial energy consumption in 1953-54. The share of industrial sector is increasing and the share of transport sector is falling. The share of oil and gas is highest among all commercial energy consumption.

Trends in sectoral share of

commercial energy consumption

Following are the characteristics of the health of the people of the country:

1. India has about 17 percent of the world's population but it bears a frightening 20 percent of the global burden of diseases. Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) is an indicator to guage the number of people dying pre-maturely due to particular diseases.

2. Every year about five lakh children die of water-borne diseases in our country. The danger of AIDS is increasing very fast.

3. At present less than 20 percent of the population utilizes public health facilities.

4. Only 38 percent of primary health centres have the doctors and medicines. These centres do not have even x-ray or blood testing facilities.

5. Villagers have no access to any specialised medical care like pediatrics, gynaecology, anesthesia and obstetrics.

6. It is estimated that there are more than 120 lakh blind persons in India. The total 80 percent are blind due to contract.

7. Tuberculosis (TB) is a widespread disease in India. It is estimated that 14 million people are suffering from tuberculosis in India.

8. It is estimated that nearly 20 percent of the country's population lives in endemic diseases area.

Health care as an emerging challange : Following observations highlight the drawbacks or deficiencies (or emerging challange) of our social infrastructure in term of health facilities:

1. Unequal distribution of health care services : Distribution of health care services is extremely unequal across rural and urban sectors of the country. It is clear from the following facts :

(i) While 70 percent of the country's population lives in rural areas, 80% of the hospitals are located in urban areas i.e. only one fifth (20%) of total hospitals are located in rural areas.

(ii) The PHCs (Primary Health Centres) in rural areas do not offer even X-ray or blood-testing facilities.

(iii) Out of 7 lakh beds, roughly 11% are available in rural areas.

(iv) There are only 0.36 percent hospitals for every one lakh people in rural areas while urban areas have 3.6 hospitals for the same number of people.

(v) Villagers have no access to any specialised medical care like pediatrics, gynaecology, anaesthesia and obsletrics.

(vi) There are shortage of doctors in rural areas.

2. Poor-rich divide : There is also poor-rich divide in health care infrastructure. It is clear from the following facts:

1. The poorest-20 percent of Indians living in both urban and rural areas spend 12% of their income on health care while the rich spend only 2 percent.

2. Many poor people have to sell their land or even pledge their children to afford medical treatment.

3. Gender Bias (Poor health of women) :

Women constitute about half of the total population. They suffer from a serious neglect in the areas of health care. More than 50% of women in India in the age group of 15-49 suffer from nutritional deficiency. Female foeticide is a common practice causing a decline in sex ratio.

4. High GBD : Global burden of diseases is an indicator used by experts to gauge the numbers of people dying prematurely due to a particular disease and the number of years spent by them in a state of disability owing to disease. As for India is concerned, it bears 20% of the global burden of disease. In India, more than half of GBD is accounted for communicable diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and T.B.

5. Poor sanitation level : Sanitation level is extremely poor both in the rural and urban areas in India. It is found that nearly 30 percent of the houses have no toilet facilities in the urban areas. In the urban slums, sanitation is absolutely poor and the slum-dwellers are living in a hell-like polluted atmosphere. Rural sanitation is still worse.

6. Other problems related to health facilities : Communicable diseases is rising their ugly heads and posing a serious threat to the society. The government is gradually moving towards privatisation of health care services. Consequently health care is becoming increasingly expensive. Moreover health personnel are grossly inadequate particularly in the rural areas.

Health is a holistic process related to the overall growth and development of the nation. Health is not only the absence of disease but also the ability to realize one's potential. It is a yardstick of one's well being.

Development of health infrastructure ensures a country healthy manpower for the production of goods and services. In recent times, the government is making efforts to provide the basic health care facilities. Health infrastructure includes hospitals, doctors, nurses, beds, and equipments required for hospitals.

The government has the constitutional obligation to guide, regulate all the health-related issues such as medical education, adulteration of food, drugs and poisons. Central Council of Health and Family Welfare collects information and renders financial and technical assistance to state governments. India has a large number of hospitals run by voluntary agencies and private sector. The government has provided primary health care facilities in rural areas. Primary Health and Community Health Centres have been established. The big hospitals have better facilities such as surgery X-ray, electrocardiogram etc. These hospitals have advanced level equipments and medicines and undertake all the complicated health problems. There are some premier institutions like All India Medical Institute, New Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Research, Pondicherry etc. With the help of the following table, we can study the health care facilities in India.

Infrastructure facilities boost production in the following manner:

1. Infrastructure provides supporting services in the main areas of industrial and agricultural production, domestic and foreign trade and commerce.

2. Infrastructure facilities include roads, railways, ports, airports, dams, powerstations, oil and gas pipelines, telecommunication facilities, educational system, health system, monetary system etc. It is the support system on which depends the efficient working of a modern industrial economy.

3. Modern agriculture largely depends on infrastructure for speedy and large scale transport of seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and the produce by making use of modern roadways, railways and shipping facilities.

4. 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.

Infrastructural development is essential for the development of a country. As a support system, it directly influences all economic activities by increasing the productivity of the factors of production and improving the quality of life. India has made considerable progress in building infrastructure, though, its distribution is uneven. Development of infrastructure and economic development go hand in hand. Agriculture depends to a great extent on the adequate expansion and development of irrigation facilities. Industrial progress depends on the development of power and electricity.

Health is the holistic process related to overall growth and development of nation. Development of health infrastructure ensures a country of healthy manpower for production of goods and services. The government has the constitutional obligation to guide and regulate all health related issues such as medical education, adulteration of food, drugs and poisons, etc. The Union Government has developed broad policies and plans through the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare. Through following programmes we can increase the effectiveness of health care programmes:

1. Public health facilities should be decentralised.

2. People should be educated about the nature, causes and remedies of general diseases.

3. People should be made aware about sanitation facilities, cleanliness, immunisation, etc.

4. Efforts should be taken to develop health infrastructure.

5. Through telecom and I.T. sector, messages can be spread regarding small family, vaccination, better quality of life etc. especially in rural areas.

6. Primary health care facilities should be strengthened.

7. Private public partnership indeveloping primary, secondary and tertiary health care system can be taken.

Since 1990, owing to liberalisation measures many non-resident Indians and industrial and pharmaceutical companies have set up state-of-the-art super-speciality hospitals to attract the India's rich and medical tourists. The foreigners come to India for surgeries, liver transplants, dental and even cosmetic care. Our health services combine latest medical technologies with qualified professionals and its cost is very less for foreigners as compared to costs of similar health care or medical treatment in their countries. They come to India for treatment and tourism purposes or both. The cost of treatment in foreign countries is very high. Many foreigners come for Ayurvedic treatment. Their number is increasing 15 percent each year. Experts predict that by 2012 A.D. India could earn more than 100 billion rupees through such medical tourism. The health infrastructure can be upgraded to lure more foreigners to India.

Tertiary health care institutions are those hospitals which have advanced level equipment and medicines and undertake all the complicated health problems which could not be managed by primary and secondary health care centres.

Following are premier institutes:

1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

2. Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh.

3. National Institute of Medical Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru.

4. Jawahar Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry.

5. All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata.

Functions:

1. They impart quality medical education.

2. They conduct research.

3. They provide specialised health care.

Substantial progress made by India in health care : India has made a substantial progress in health care. It can be justified by the following points:

1. Decline in death rate : There has been decline in death reath during 55 years. It was reduced from 27.4 per thousand in 1951 to 7.4 per thousand in 2006-2007.

2. Reductiion in infant mortality : Infant mortality rate has significantly reduced from 146 per thousand in 1951 to 55 per thousand in 2007.

3. Rise in expectancy of life: Life expectancy was 50 years in 1951. It rose to 63.5 in 2006-07.

4. Control over deadly diseases: India has controlled the deadly diseases like malaria, T.B, cholera, small pox to a great extent.

5. Significant expansion in the physical provision of health services : During 1951-2000, the number of hospitals and dispensaries increased from 93,000 to 143,000.

Primary health care centres have been set up in villages and small towns. They are generally managed by a single doctor and a nurse. They have limited medicines. On the other hand, secondary health care centres are mostly located in district headquarters and big towns. They have better facilities for surgery, x-ray, ECG etc. They function both as primary health care provider and also provide better health care-facilities.

Principal indicators of health-care are as follows:

(a) Infant mortality rate. (b) Maternal mortality rate (c) Life-expectancy. (d) Nutrition level, (e) Prevention and cure of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Difference between economic and social infrastructure:

Rural-urban and the poor-rich divide : In India health infrastructure is significantly biased in favour of rich and in favour of the urban areas. Though 70 percent of India's population lives in rural area, only one fifth (20%) of the hospitals are located in rural areas. Rural

India has only about half the number of dispensaries. Out of about 7 lakh beds, roughly 11% are available in rural areas. Thus people living in rural areas do not have sufficient medical infrastructure. This has led to differences in health status of people. The PHCs located in rural areas do not offer even X-ray or blood-testing facilities.

Another bitter truth is that while the rich are to spend only 2% of their income on health care, the poor are to spend as much 12% of their income. When the poor fall sick, many have to sell their land or even pledge their children to afford treatment. The government run hospitals do not provide sufficient facilities, the poor are driven to private hospitals which make them indebted or else they opt to die.

Difference between primary sources of energy and final sources of enery:

Significance of health care : Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. It does not mean absence of disease. Rather it means a sound physical and mental state of the individual. It is a yard-stick of one's well-being. There is always a sound mind lies in a sound body. Health is the essential requirement for making efficient, active and competent working force.

Health helps indirectly to the economic development by supplying active, energetic and healthy working force which activates the entire production process. Human element is the essential factor of production. All machines, equipments and tools require men to operate them. Without energetic force and healthy man-force, they are insignificant. A healthy man is an asset whereas a sick man is a liability.

Three-tier system of health infrastructure in India means health care of primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

A.

Solar energy

C.

Natural gas

B.

Three-tier system

A.

1951

B.

Two

B.

Education is a social infrastructure