Economics · Ch 17 — Infrastructure

Summary

Infrastructure is a network of physical facilities and public services; social infrastructure is equally important in supporting it. It is a key base for the economic development of the country.
Infrastructure needs to be upgraded from time to time to maintain a high growth rate; better infrastructure has recently attracted more foreign investment and tourists to India.
It is important to develop rural infrastructural facilities, and public-private partnership is needed to bring in the huge funds required.
Energy is vital for rapid economic growth, but there is a big gap between consumer demand and the supply of electricity in India; non-conventional sources can greatly help meet the shortage.
The power sector faces problems at the generation, transmission and distribution levels.
Health is a yardstick of human well-being, physical as well as mental. Since independence there has been significant expansion in the physical provision of health services and improvement in health indicators, but public health facilities remain insufficient for the bulk of the population.
There is a wide gap between rural and urban areas, and between poor and rich, in the use of health-care facilities; women's health is a matter of great concern, with rising cases of female foeticide and maternal mortality. …