The essence of this chapter for last-minute revision: definitions, the key tables (roads, railway zones, gauges, national waterways), and the timelines for pipelines, radio, television and satellites. The full notes, with the complete explanation, are available separately.
1 Six definitions to learn
Transport is the physical means of moving people, goods and materials from one place to another. Communication is the exchange of ideas, views and messages between people, across distance.
National Highways are the main roads constructed and maintained by the Central Government for inter-state transport and defence movement, connecting state capitals, major cities, ports and railway junctions.
The gauge of a railway is the distance between its two rails. India has three: broad (1.676 m), metre (1 m) and narrow (0.762 m or 0.610 m, mostly hilly areas).
A National Waterway (NW) is a stretch of river, canal or backwater declared fit for inland water transport development under the National Waterways Act, 2016 (111 NWs declared, including 5 earlier ones).
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, jump-starts regional aviation by making flying affordable on regional/remote routes through policies and incentives.
India’s satellites fall into two systems: INSAT (multipurpose: telecommunication, meteorology, other data) and IRS (Indian Remote Sensing, collects and transmits spectral-band data to ground stations).
2 Roads: network, classification and NHAI projects
| Road category | Length in 2020 (km) |
|---|---|
| National Highways | 1,36,440 |
| State Highways | 1,76,818 |
| Other Roads | 59,02,539 |
| Total | 62,15,797 |
Roads carry ~85% of passenger and ~70% of freight traffic. National Highways are only ~2% of road length but carry 40% of road traffic. Rural roads are ~80% of total road length.
| NHAI project | Length / route |
|---|---|
| Golden Quadrilateral | 5,846 km, Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata |
| North-South Corridor | 4,076 km, Srinagar-Kanniyakumari (+ Cochin-Salem Spur) |
| East-West Corridor | 3,640 km, Silchar-Porbandar |
| Bharatmala Pariyojana | ~26,000 km of Economic Corridors |
- NHAI operationalised 1995, under Ministry of Surface Transport
- Sher Shah Suri’s Shahi Road → Grand Trunk (GT) Road (Calcutta-Peshawar, now Amritsar-Kolkata)
- BRO established May 1960; built Chandigarh-Manali-Leh road (avg. 4,270 m MSL)
- Atal Tunnel: 9.02 km, world’s longest highway tunnel, Pir Panjal range, altitude 3,000 m, connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley year-round
- Nagpur Plan (1943, failed); twenty-year road plan (1961)
3 Railways: zones and gauges
| Railway zone | Headquarters |
|---|---|
| Central | Mumbai CST |
| Eastern | Kolkata |
| East Central | Hajipur |
| East Coast | Bhubaneswar |
| Northern | New Delhi |
| North Central | Prayagraj |
| North Eastern | Gorakhpur |
| North East Frontier | Maligaon (Guwahati) |
| North Western | Jaipur |
| Southern | Chennai |
| South Central | Secunderabad |
| South Eastern | Kolkata |
| South East Central | Bilaspur |
| South Western | Hubli |
| Western | Mumbai (Church Gate) |
| West Central | Jabalpur |
| Metro Railway | Kolkata |
760 km, Roha (Maharashtra) to Mangaluru (Karnataka); 146 rivers, ~2,000 bridges, 91 tunnels (incl. Asia’s largest, ~6.5 km); partner states Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka.
4 Water and air transport
| Waterway | Stretch (km) |
|---|---|
| NW 1 | Prayagraj-Haldia (1,620) |
| NW 2 | Sadiya-Dhubri (891) |
| NW 3 | Kottapuram-Kollam (205) |
| NW 4 | Godavari-Krishna/Puducherry (1,078) |
| NW 5 | River Brahmani stretches (588) |
- India: 14,500 km navigable inland waterways (~1% of transportation); Inland Waterways Authority set up 1986
- Coastline ~7,517 km incl. islands; 12 major + 200 minor ports; 95% foreign trade by volume, 70% by value, via ocean routes
- Kerala backwaters = Kayal; Nehru Trophy Boat Race = Vallamkali
- Air transport began 1911, Prayagraj-Naini airmail (~10 km); AAI runs air traffic control; Pawan Hans = helicopter service (hilly/NE areas, petroleum sector, tourism)
5 Pipelines and communication timelines
Do not swap “Personal” and “Mass” communication: internet is Personal (one-to-one, e.g. e-mail); radio and television are Mass (one-to-many). Satellites regulate other means of communication as well as being a means themselves.
- Road network: 62.16 lakh km (2nd largest); NH 1,36,440 km, SH 1,76,818 km, Other Roads 59,02,539 km, Total 62,15,797 km (Table 7.1, 2020)
- Railways: 1853 (34 km, Bombay-Thane); 67,956 km network; 17 zones; broad/metre/narrow gauge 63,950/2,402/1,604 km
- Water: 14,500 km inland waterways; 111 National Waterways (2016 Act); coastline 7,517 km; 12 major + 200 minor ports
- Air: began 1911 (Prayagraj-Naini); AAI; UDAN/RCS; Pawan Hans
- Pipelines: OIL 1959 (Naharkatiya-Barauni, 1,157 km, extended to Kanpur 1966); GAIL 1984 (HVJ, 1,700 km → 18,500 km)
- Communication: Radio 1923/1930/1936/1957; TV 1959/1976 (Doordarshan); INSAT 1983; IRS-1A March 1988; NRSC at Hyderabad