Here we are providing Online Education for Class 12 Economics Important Extra Questions and Answers Chapter 8 Infrastructure. Economics Class 12 Important Questions are the best resource for students which helps in class 12 board exams.
Online Education for Class 12 Economics Chapter 8 Important Extra Questions Infrastructure
Infrastructure Important Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type
Question 1.
What is social infrastructure?
Answer:
Social infrastructure consists of facilities and systems that are necessary to ensure safe, healthy and productive life to the people in the community.
Question 2.
Give examples of social infrastructure.
Answer:
Social infrastructure includes:
(i) Education
(ii) Health
(iii) Housing
Question 3.
What constitutes economic infrastructure?
Answer:
Economic infrastructure consists of energy, transportation and communication.
Question 4.
What type of fuels do rural women use to meet their energy requirements?
Answer:
Rural women use bio-fuels such as crop residues, dung and fuel wood to meet their energy requirement.
Question 5.
What percentage of rural population has access to improved sanitation?
Answer:
Only 20 percent of rural population has access to improved sanitation.
Question 6.
What are the commercial sources of energy? Give examples.
Answer:
Commercial sources of energy are those sources which are exchanged for money. Coal and petroleum are commercial sources of energy.
Question 7.
What is the share of nuclear sources in the world’s total energy generation?
Answer:
The share of nuclear sources in the world’s total energy, generation is 13 percent.
Question 8.
Is CFL better than ordinary bulbs? Why?
Answer:
CFLs are better than 100-watt bulbs as the former consumes 80 percent less power as compared to the latter.
Question 9.
Name the two leading private sector companies that distribute electricity in Delhi.
Answer:
The two leading private sector companies that distribute electricity in Delhi are:
(i) Reliance Energy Limited
(ii) Tata – Power Limited (NDPL)
Question 10.
Which organisation monitors the power tariff structure in Delhi?
Answer:
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) monitors the tariff structure and other regulatory issues in Delhi.
Question 11.
Name the organisation that formulates policies and plans related to health programmes in the country.
Answer:
The Central Council of Health and Family Welfare formulates policies and plans related to health programmes in the country.
Question 12.
State the share of private sector in the total number of hospitals and dispensaries in India.
Answer:
More than 70 percent of the hospitals and around 60 percent of dispensaries in India are run by the private sector.
Question 13.
Who is an ANM?
Answer:
An ANM (Auxiliary Nursing Midwife) is the first person who provides primary healthcare in rural areas.
Question 14.
How can Indian System of Medicine solve large part of our health problems?
Answer:
Indian System of Medicine can solve large part of our health problems as it is effective, safe and inexpensive.
Question 15.
List the indicators that assess the health status of a country.
Answer:
Indicators that assess the health status of a country are:
(i) Infant mortality rate
(ii) Maternal mortality rate
(iii) Life expectancy
(iv) Nutrftion levels
(v) Incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases
Infrastructure Important Extra Questions Short Answer Type
Question 1.
Explain the significance of social infrastructure.
Answer:
The significance of social infrastructure lies in the following:
(i) It helps in the healthy and robust growth of the young generation so that they become an efficient manpower tomorrow.
(ii) Social infrastructure helps in the growth of literacy, which in turn helps in the growth of the society.
(iii) Social infrastructure helps in the skill formation, which is an important parameter in the context of economic growth.
(iv) It helps in improving and providing a quality life to the people.
(v) Social infrastructure helps in the formation of human capital, which complements the physical capital to form an efficient system of growth and development
Question 2.
Why is it important to have strong infrastructure?
Answer:
Infrastructure is the support system of the economy. All the sectors of the economy – agriculture industry, trade and commerce – greatly depend on the social and economic infrastructure for rapid: and vast economic development. It is a network of public services, physical and social facilities that increases the efficiency of factors of production and improves the quality of people’s life. Thus, infrastructure plays a vital role in the economic development of a country.
Question 3.
Compare and contrast India with China and Pakistan on the basis of infrastructural development.
Answer:
The table below compares India’s position with its neighbouring countries on the basis of infrastructural development:
| Country | China | India | Pakistan |
| Investment in Infrastructure as a percentage of GDP – 2014 | 46 | 34 | 15 |
| Access to Improved Water Source (%) – 2015 | 96 | 94 | 91 |
| Access to Improved Sanitation (%) – 2015 | 77 | 40 | 64 |
| Users of Mobile Phones per hundred person – 2015 | 93 | 79 | 70 |
| Power Generation (billion kwh) – 2016 | 6015 | 1423 | 105 |
Source: World Development Indicators, 2017, data pertaining to 2014
In case of investment in infrastructure, as a percentage of GDP, China is far ahead of India and Pakistan. While China invests 46 per cent of its GDP in infrastructure, India and Pakistan invest only 34 and 15 per cent of their GDP respectively.
Access to drinking water is more or less the same for all the three nations, Power production is much better in China as compared to Pakistan and India. Modernisation process is faster in China compared to India and Pakistan. There 93 persons out of one hundred use mobile phones in China, In India 79 and in Pakistan only 70 out of one hundred persons were mobile users.
Thus, when we compare the development experience in terms of infrastructural development of these countries, we found that China is much ahead of India and Pakistan.
Question 4.
How is the national income of a country related to the level of infrastructural development? Explain.
Answer:
The composition of infrastructure requirements changes significantly with the increase in country’s national income. Basic infrastructure facilities such as irrigation, transport and power are more important for low-income countries.
However, as economies grow and they are able to satisfy their basic consumption demand, the share of agriculture in the economy shrinks and more service related infrastructure become important. Thus, the share of power and telecommunication infrastructure is greater in high-income countries.
Question 5.
Represent the relative share of different sources of energy generation in India with the help of a pie diagram?
Answer:
The table and bar graph show the relative share of different sources of energy generation in India n 2016:
Question 6.
Which sources of energy are encouraged by India’s energy policy? Why?
Answer:
India’s energy policy encourages hydel and wind energy as India has great potential in the use of a renewable source of energy. The use of renewable energy sources can ensure additional supply of power. Moreover, these sources do not rely on fossil fuel and hence, avoid carbon emissions. Greater reliance on renewable energy resources offers enormous economic, social and environmental benefits.
Question 7.
What problems are faced by State Electricity Boards?
Answer:
The following problems are faced by State Electricity Boards:
(i) SEBs suffer transmission and distribution fosses, thereby making the economics of power generation completely unbalanced.
(ii) The pattern of investments being made in power generation is inappropriate. It leads to sharp increase in the cost per unit of electricity.
(iii) The high cost of power imposed on the industry, which is the backbone of the SEBs, is hindering the grid in gaining control and hence, worsening the crisis of the SEBs.
Question 8.
Highlight the points that reflect development in the health services after independence in India.
Answer:
The following the points reflect development in the health services after independence in India:
(i) Decline in Death rates: Death rate has come down from as high as 27.4 per thousand in 1951 to 6.3 per thousand in 2015.
(ii) Reductions in Infant Mortality: Infants mortality rate has significantly reduced from 140 per thousand in 1951 to 32 per thousands in 2015.
(iii) Rise in Life Expectancy: Expectancy of life has risen from 50 years in 1951 to 68.3 years in 2015.
Question 9.
Mention some premier institutions that provide specialised health care in India.
Answer:
Some premier institutions that provide specialised health care in India are:
- All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi
- Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh
- Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry
- National institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore
- All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata.
Question 10.
Give an account of the contribution of community and non-profit organisations to health care in India.
Answer:
Community participation functions with the idea that the people can be trained and involved in primary healthcare system. Trade unions have built health care services to give low-cost health care to their members as well as to the people from nearby villages.
For instance, Shahid Hospital was built in 1983 and is sustained by the workers of Chhattisgarh Mines Shramik Sangh in Durg, Madhya Pradesh. SEW A in Ahmedabad and ACCORD in Nilgiris are examples of some non-profit organisations that contribute to health care in India.
Infrastructure Important Extra Questions Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Why is it important to conserve energy?
Answer:
It is important to conserve energy due to the following reasons:
(i) Resources are limited. India has only 1 percent of world’s energy resources but it accounts for 16 percent of world population.
(ii) Resources take long time for formation. Coal and petroleum are the most widely used sources of energy. They take thousands of years for formation.
(iii) Resources are non-renewable. Non-renewable resources are those which get exhausted with extraction and use. Non-renewable energy sources constitute 80 percent of the fuel use. If we continue to use such resources at present rate, these will be soon depleted.
(iv) Use of resources involves high cost. About 75 percent of our crude oil needs depend on imports, which cost about ₹ 1,50,000 crore a year. The cost is passed on to the consumers by means of higher prices of goods and services.
(v) Environment needs protection. Sources which rely on fossil fuel emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Energy production accounts to large proportion of air pollution and more than 83 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. According to a wise saying – “The earth, water and the air are not a gift to us from our parents but a loan from our children. Hence, we need to make energy conservation a habit.”
Question 2.
Solar energy, wind power and power produced from tides are going to be future sources of energy. What are their comparative merits and demerits?
Answer:
Merits of Solar Energy
(i) It is available free of cost.
(ii) It is a renewable source of energy.
(iii) It does not cause pollution.
(iv) Solar energy can be used in remote areas where it is too expensive to extend the electricity power grid.
(v) Everyday items such as calculators and other low power consuming devices can be powered by solar energy effectively.
Demerits of Solar Energy
(i) Solar energy can be harnessed only during daytime.
(ii) It cannot be obtained during rainy days.
(iii) Solar collectors, panels and cells are relatively expensive.
(iv) Large areas of land are required to capture the sun’s energy.
Merits of Wind Power
(i) Wind power is an inexhaustible source of energy and is virtually a limitless resource.
(ii) Energy is generated without polluting environment.
(iii) It has tremendous potential to generate energy on large scale.
(iv) Wind power can be used directly as mechanical energy.
Demerits of Wind Power
(i) Wind power requires expensive storage during peak production time.
(ii) It requires large open areas for setting up wind farms.
(iii) It is an unreliable source as winds are uncertain and unpredictable.
(iv) The problem of noise pollution is usually associated with wind mills.
Merits Tidal Power
(i) Tidal energy is completely renewable.
(ii) It is a relatively reliable source of energy.
(iii) A tidal barrage has a very long life of around 100 years.
(iv) It is free from pollution.
(v) Its costs are extremely low.
Demerits of Tidal Power
(i) It requires massive investment to construct a tidal barrage or dam.
(ii) It has adverse effect on marine life.
(iii) It is difficult to transmit electricity generated from tides.
Question 3.
Discuss the state of health infrastructure in rural areas of India.
Answer :
The following points highlight the state of health infrastructure in rural areas of India:
(i) People living in rural areas do not have sufficient medical infrastructure as
- only one-fifth of the country’s hospitals and only about half the number of dispensaries are located in rural areas; and
- out of 6.3 lakh beds in the entire country, only 30 percent are available in rural areas.
(ii) There are only 0.36 hospitals for every one lakh people in rural areas.
(iii) The PHCs located in rural areas do not provide basic facilities such as X-ray or blood testing.
(iv) In rural areas, the percentage of people who have no access to proper care has increased over the last few years.
(v) Rural population has no access to any specialised medical care such as paediatrics, gynaecology, anaesthesia and obstetrics
Question 4.
Explain the three-tier system of health infrastructure and health care in India.
Answer :
The three-tier system of health infrastructure and health care in India is as below:
(i) Primary Health Care: It includes education related to existing health problems and methods to identify, prevent and control them. It also constitutes promotion of food supply and proper nutrition; adequate water supply and sanitation; maternal and child health care; etc. In order to provide primary health care, Primary Health Centres (PHC), Community Health Centres (CHC) and sub-centres have been set up in villages and small towns.
(ii) Secondary Health Care: When PHCs are unable to manage the condition of a patient, they are referred to secondary hospitals. Secondary health care institutions include hospitals which have better facilities for surgery’, X-ray and Electro Cardio Gram (ECG). They are mostly located in district headquarters and big towns.
(iii) Tertiary Health Care: Hospitals under the tertiary sector have advanced level equipment and medicines. They undertake all the complicated health problems, which could not be managed by primary or secondary hospitals. This sector also includes many premier institutes, which provide specialised health care not along with imparting quality medical education and conducting research
Infrastructure Important Extra Questions HOTS
Question 1.
Why is India’s dependence import of crude and petroleum products increasing rapidly?
Answer:
Although India is sufficiently rich in fossil fuels reserves, its dependence on imported fossil fuels has increased to 38 percent in 2012. With rapid modernisation and urbanisation, the country’s reliance has shifted from traditional biomass and waste to other energy sources, including fossil fuels.
Since coal and petroleum production are unable to keep pace with demand, India meets more of its coal and petroleum needs with imports. Net coal import dependency has increased from almost zero in 1990s to about 23 percent in 2012. Similarly, net oil import dependency has increased from 43 percent in 1990 to an around 71 percent in 2012.