2.a.

Sector Wise Plan

Dr. Mona N. Shah
Ph.D., MBA., DHL.

Energy
The most important single factor which can act as a constraint on
economic growth of a country is the availability of energy. There is
direct correlation between the degree of economic growth, the size of
per capita income and per capita consumption of energy. Since energy
is an essential input of all productive economic activity, the process of
economic development inevitably demands increasingly higher levels of
energy consumption.

Sources of commercial energy in India

1. Coal and Iignite
2. Oil and Gas
3. Electric Power
4. Agricultural waste
5. Biogas
6. Solar energy
7. Wind energy
8. Tidal energy
Exercise: Discuss how the lack of adequate energy has
affected the Gross Domestic Product of India
particularly in the 2004-2014 decade.

Energy Crisis in India:

The demand supply imbalance is widening rapidly in all

commercial fuels, basically because demand for commercial
fuels has been increasing tremendously. While demand for all
fuels is rising, the supply of all commercial fuels has been rising
but not adequately.
At the same time the coal industry which was expected to meet
the growing energy crisis in India by stepping up coal production
substantially has been faring badly in recent years.
The demand supply gap for electricity to has been widening
rather than being closed. In the wake of industrialisation and
agricultural growth, power-demand has been growing rapidly,
but not the supply side
Oil shortage affects adversely the transport sector which
accounts for 56% of the total oil consumption in India
Coal shortage affects adversely generation of electricity and
therefore, economic development in general.

Measures to tackle the

energy problem.
1.Increase in Oil production
2.Control over the consumption of
Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants
3.Substitution of oil by coal
4.Expansion of electric Power
5.Conservation of Energy
6.Renewable of Energy Sources
7.Bio-gas

POWER
Three mains sources of generation of electric power
1. Hydel Power: Hydel power is a renewable natural
resource. It is the most economical source of power.
There is no problem of pollution of atmosphere or
disposal of waste in generation of hydel power
2. Thermal Power: Thermal power which is generated
by coal and oil has always been the major source of
electric power in India
3. Nuclear Power: Nuclear power is of recent origin.

Transport
Significance of Transport:
If agriculture and industry are regarded as the body and the
bones of the India economy, transport and communications
constitute its nerves which help the circulation of men and
material. The transport system helps to broaden the market for
goods and by doing so, it makes possible large scale production
through division of labour. It is also essential for the movement of
raw materials, fuel, machinery etc to places of production.
The more extensive and continuous the production in any branch
of activity, the greater will be the need for transport facilities.
Transport development helps to open up remote regions and
resources for production. Regions may have abundant
agricultural, forest and mineral resources but they cannot be
developed if they continue to be remote and inaccessible. By
linking the backward regions with the relatively more advanced,
transport development helps in the better and fuller utilization of
resources.

Problems of Transport Development in India:

a. Transport bottlenecks: The capacity of the entire
transportation system including the road network continues to
fall short of demand for transportation. For instance, capacity
constraints in railways have led to the movement of bulk
commodities like coal, over long distances, by road, at high
cost to the economy. The acute shortage of wagons had
affected almost all industries in the country. The scarcity of
coal experienced throughout the country with enough coal at
the
pit-heads,
the
piling
up
of
stocks
of
cement with manufacturers but with the scarcity of cement
everywhere, scarcity of fertilisers and foodgrains, and so on,
were often due to shortage of railway facilities.
b. The inefficiencies, the delays and the corruption prevalent in
the railway staff had driven manufacturers to make use of the
services of road transporters for the movement of their
products. The railway bottle-necks have largely been now
removed.

Poor planning of transport system:

In the formulation of transport plans, sufficient attention was not given to
spatial and economic features which influence the pattern of transport
demand in the country. For instance, population and economic activities
tend to concentrate in major cities and towns.
Massive volumes of traffic are concentrated in certain regions of the
country and hence there is tremendous pressure on rail and road
transport systems in the cities and certain regions. Alternative routes
should be developed or there should be balanced development of regions.
Another aspect of poor transport planning is that in the urban areas, lack
of adequate mass transport, complete absence of demand management
and policy distortions in the areas of fuel pricing and bank finance
have resulted in an explosion of personalised transport comprising mainly
of scooters and cars.
This has contributed to high levels of pollution and alarming rates of
accidents. On the other side, a large number of villages lack a reliable allweather transport connection with nearby markets and towns. Yet another
aspect of poor transport planning in India is that North East and Jammu &
Kashmir have not been linked with the rest of the country and as a result,
they have remained physically and emotionally isolated.

Rail-road coordination: Rail and road transport are the dominant

modes
of
transport
in
the country and they would continue to be so in the future too. However,
the modal mix of transport has been continually shifting against the
railways. For instance, in 1950-51, the road transport accounted for 11
per cent of the freight traffic and 26 per cent of the
passenger traffic; but now, its share had increased to 60 and 80 per
cent respectively. This continuing shift in favour of the road transport
system is undesirable from economic as well as environment angles. A
continuously mounting energy import bill is one of the direct
consequences.
Overaged and obsolete assets:
The transport infrastructure in India suffers from overaged and obsolete
assets. This is true of all modes of transport. For instance, in the case
of Indian railways, about 25 per cent of the total route length,
80 per cent of the equipment in railway workshops and a
large portion of the rolling stock have to be renewed and
replaced.
Nearly 80 per cent of the buses operated by the SRTUs, nearly half of the
shipping tonnage and one-third of the aircraft of our airline
corporations would come up for replacement. This problem of

Technology Upgradation:
Transport technology has a great influence on the
productivity and safety of the transport sector.
Modernisation of the transport system and the use of
emerging technologies are essential elements of
transport planning these, however, should be based on
the local needs and not imitation of those used in
developed countries. Even though, every five year plan
has talked about technology upgradation as a thrust
area,
the actual progress has been painfully slow: engine
design, multi-axle vehicles, construction of
roads, cargo handling equipment at the ports,
navigational
and
communication
facilities at the airports, modernisation of rolling
stock and signalling system in the railways - all

Importance of Road Transport for the Indian

Economy
As compared to the railways, the road transport system has definite
advantages:
(i) Motor transport as well as road construction have contributed
significantly to the growth of the gross national product all over the
world, but India has remained significantly backward in this regard.
Besides, there is tremendous scope for creating employment through
road construction and maintenance. Further, India needs increased road
mileage, specially to open up the vast areas which cannot be reached
except through roads.
(ii) Road transport is quicker, more convenient and more flexible. It
is particularly good for short distance travel as well as for movement of
goods. Motor vehicles can easily collect passengers and goods from
anywhere and take them to wherever they want to be dropped. Door-todoor collection and delivery are possible in the case of road transport.
But in the case of railways, the lines are fixed and the railways do not
have the flexibility of the road ways. Passengers and goods will have to
be taken to the railway station.
(iii) Roads are a necessary complement to railways. India is a country
of villages and it is only roads which can connect villages; Railways can
connect towns.

(iv) Road transport is of particular advantage to the farmers. Good

roads help the farmers to move their produce, particularly the perishable
products, like vegetables, quickly to the mandis and towns. Only by
developing the road system, the farmer can be assured of
a steady market for his products.
This assumes great importance in the context of the green revolution.
Besides, good roads reduce the strain on the draught animals.
During the monsoon season, it may be impossible for the villagers to
move out of their villages unless there are good roads. In this
connection,
it
is
important
to
recognise
that
it is the road system which brings the villagers into contact with the
towns and the new ideas and the new system which emanate from the
towns.
(v) Roads are highly significant for the defence of the country. We
have explained earlier that in a vast country like India, it is necessary
that the troops should be moved quickly from one place to another in
times of emergency. The railways are useful here. But more
important than the railways is the road transport. Now-a-days the army
has to move its troops, its tank and armoured cars, its field guns, and so
on. For the movement of these, roads are essential. The great
importance given to the construction Of border roads to facilitate the
movement of troops for the protection of the northern borders against
the Chinese aggression is an example of the great importance of roads in

According to 12th five year plan, a master plan for 18,637 kilometres
of expressways, with new alignments for both passenger and freight
movements in high traffic density corridors based on access control
toll needs to be taken up.
These roads will be either four or six lane. The proposed National
Expressway Authority of India is expected to take the initiatives for
both land acquisition and to get the work executed under BOT mode.

Railways
Railways are very important part of any transport network
especially for freight movement. They are much more energy
efficient then road transport, with a much smaller carbon
footprint. Indian Railways are one of the largest railways
network in the world carrying 22 million passengers every
day and carrying 923 million tonnes of freight a year.
However, the quality of service provided leaves scope for
substantial improvement in many areas. The average speed of
trains is much lower than in other comparable countries. Railway
safety is also an issue. The entire system is in urgent need of
modernisation and this should have top priority in the Twelfth
Plan.
Indian Railways is the fourth largest railway network in
the world in terms of route kilometers.
As on 31 March 2011, it has a total route length of 64,460 km
of which 21,034 km is electrified.
The total track length is 1,13,994 km of which 1,02,680 km
is broad gauge, 8,561 km is meter gauge and 2,753 km is
narrow gauge.

Urbanisation and Future Growth

Scenario
Urbanisation:
Empirical projections of urban growth in India, based on a declining
population growth rate and regular decadal increase in migration from
rural to urban areas are available.
The one billion population of 2001 is estimated to grow to 1.5 billion by
2031. This estimate is considered conservative. Simultaneously pace of
urbanization has accelerated.
The decadal percentage increase of urban population that was 2.26 in
2001 is expected to rise to 4 by 2031. By then, the urban population is
estimated to double to about 600 million. Very few new settlements,
however, are being added.
Existing settlements are getting larger, some as urban agglomerations.
Cities with population of 1 to 10 million totalled 32 in 2001 and this
number is estimated to increase to 85 by 2051. Cities with
population in excess of 10 million will increase from 3 to 15 and in

The Challenge: The biggest challenge that cities will face in the coming
decades is urbanization on account of massive migration from rural to
urban areas and from small cities to big cities. This, in a way is welcome,
as growth in economic activity will require manpower. It will, however,
require urban services to be scaled up substantially including facilities and
infrastructure for urban mobility. The challenge is made doubly difficult
because there is an existing deficit in urban services, housing and urban
transport facilities both in quality and quantity. This deficit has to be first
wiped out before augmentation and upgrade of facilities to keep pace with
growing demand becomes possible. Additionally there is a need to protect
the environment which in itself is becoming a serious reason asking for
change. Another glaring problem pertaining to urban transport is the fact
that persistently the cost of imported fuels the main engine for
personalized vehicles is at a level which has continued to bite the Indian
economy necessitating faster movement to less fuel consuming modes of
public transport. Mckinsey Global Institute (MGI) has estimated a capital
outlay of USD 1182 billion (About Rs 53 lac Crores) for the next 20 years
to build up services in cities to enable them to play their role in the
desired economic growth of the country. Urban transport and roads
together require a major share of the projected investment half the
estimated capex i.e. USD 591 billion (About Rs 26 lac Crores).
The recent report (March 2011) of the High powered expert committee
commissioned by Ministry of Urban Development Government of India
estimates a total expenditure of Rs 39 lac Crores on Indian urban
infrastructure and services by 2031. The expenditure on urban transport

Growth Scenario:
The BAU scenario projected from 2007 to 2030 reads as follows:
The per capita trip rate for all modes including NMT is estimated to
increase from 0.8-1.5 to 1-2 for cities of various sizes;
The future Public Transport share will decrease from 5-46% to 2-26%;
Expected average journey speeds on major corridors in future for various
city categories will fall from 26-17 kmph to 8-6 kmph;
The daily trips in the 87 urban centers are anticipated to double from
2286 to 4819 lacs.
The vision for 2030 is that commuting in cities, urban agglomerations as
well as suburbs and satellite towns, is safe, seamless, user friendly,
reliable and provides good ambience with well behaved drivers and
conductors. It should provide access to all citizens to jobs, education and
recreation at affordable costs and within reasonable time and minimize
overall consumption of fossil fuels, production of green house gases and
pollution. The present modal share of public transport and NMT should
not be allowed to decline in the 12th plan. The cities must be compact
instead of present sprawl.

End