Introduction

This chapter of the NCERT Class 11 Indian Economic Development course looks at infrastructure — the network of support structures on which a modern economy runs. After studying it, a learner should be able to:

• understand the main challenges India faces in the areas of social and economic infrastructure;
• know the role of infrastructure in economic development;
• understand the role of energy as a critical component of infrastructure;
• understand the problems and prospects of the energy and health sectors; and
• understand the health infrastructure of India.

The chapter first explains what infrastructure is and why it matters, then looks closely at two kinds of infrastructure in India — energy and health — before concluding with the road ahead. Throughout, it uses real data to show how far India has come and how far it still has to go.