NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science Chapter 19 Infrastructure: Engine of India’s Development (PDF) – 2027

Physical infrastructure is the vast network of tangible structures built to keep our cities and villages functioning — transport (roads, bridges, railways), utilities (electricity, water pipelines), communication networks (internet, telephone lines, towers) and energy infrastructure (windmills, solar parks, pipelines).

How it has transformed: India now has the world’s second-largest road network, the fourth-largest railway system (97% electrified in 2024), metros in 23 cities, 159 airports and busy ports. Communication has moved from couriers and the telegraph to mobile phones, the internet and 5G.

Infrastructure has made everyday life faster, safer, cheaper and more connected — what the chapter calls “ease of living”.

• People and goods travel quickly (Rishabh’s journey; Satish’s tomatoes reach the city fresh).
• People reach hospitals faster, even during floods (Dhola Sadiya Bridge).
• New jobs — Indian Railways alone employs about 1.21 million people, besides vendors and taxi drivers.
• Online classes, e-commerce and e-governance reach even remote areas.
• Metros and electric trains mean cleaner air.

Infrastructure is the backbone of all other economic activities in a country. It:

• connects farms and factories to markets, and boosts trade within and outside India;
• creates jobs — directly (engineers, staff) and indirectly (vendors, taxis);
• connects remote areas and supports tourism;
• helps during emergencies like floods and earthquakes;
• strengthens national security by giving the defence forces access to all kinds of terrain.

That is why it is called the engine of India’s development.

Reaching school would be very hard. With no roads and no buses, I could only walk or cycle over rough ground, and only if the school were near. With no mobile signal I could not tell anyone I was late, and my family could not check that I was safe. Even at school there would be no lights or fans. It shows how much we depend on physical infrastructure.

They would hardly reach us at all. Almost everything in a shop travels by truck on roads, by goods train or by ship before it reaches the market. Without roads and transport, shops could sell only what is grown or made within walking distance, and perishable goods like milk, vegetables and fruit would spoil on the way.

Only with great difficulty. Electricity is produced far away — at dams, wind farms and solar parks — and reaches us through power lines; water reaches our taps through pipelines. Without these networks there would be no lights, fans or pumps, and we would have to fetch water by hand from a well, handpump, pond or river, and boil or filter it before drinking.

Satish’s hard work could be wasted.

• No canals or electric pumps → no irrigation; the crop depends on rain alone.
• No good roads → trucks cannot carry the tomatoes to the city in time, so they rot.
• No cold storage → the tomatoes do not stay fresh, so he must sell at once, at any price.
• No internet → he cannot learn about the best inputs or market prices, so he may get a poor price.

A new highway brings the village closer to towns and markets.

• Farmers can send crops and milk to bigger markets quickly, before they spoil.
• Hospitals, colleges and offices become easier to reach; ambulances can come.
• New jobs appear — dhabas, repair shops, petrol pumps, small shops.

But some farmland may be lost, and traffic, noise and pollution increase, so safe crossings and careful planning are needed.

Work and learning would become slow and limited. Students could not attend online classes or use digital libraries and educational videos, especially in remote areas. Businesses could not sell through e-commerce or take online payments. People would have to travel and queue for government services, and disaster warnings by SMS would not reach them. Every message would need a journey.

For nearby places we walk or cycle — I walk to school on our colony road, and my mother takes an autorickshaw to the market. My father goes to his office by bus, crossing a flyover. For far-off places, like my grandparents’ town 600 km away, we go by train. So my family uses footpaths, roads, flyovers and railways, and sometimes airports.

(Write about your own family’s journeys.)

Yes, we took a train to my aunt’s city. On the platform there were food stalls, a tea vendor, a bookstall and porters. Outside, autorickshaws and taxis waited beside fruit carts and tea stalls, and across the road were small hotels and shops. The metro station had cycle stands and cab pick-up points. Stations create many jobs such as catering, vending and taxi services.

Locate where you live on the map (the book’s Fig. 7.18 also shows state names) and pick the marked airport nearest to your town (numbers 1–11 are international airports, letters A–N are national airports).

Sample answer: I live in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The airport closest to my home is H — Maharana Pratap Airport, Udaipur, a national airport. The nearest international airport is 11 — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad.

Easy to see: the two phones (Rani’s and her cousin’s) and the mobile tower near her village, with the power lines going to it.

Completely invisible: the electricity flowing to the tower, the fibre cables buried under fields and roads, the satellites in space, and the giant servers in distant cities. These hidden parts do most of the work.

It became possible because:

• the number of users grew enormously (1,160 million wireless subscribers in 2025), so the cost of towers, cables and data centres is shared by far more people;
• communication infrastructure was built across the country;
• technology improved, so the same equipment carries far more calls and data;
• many companies competed for customers, which pushed rates down and ended charges for incoming calls.

These numbers show how widely communication infrastructure has spread in India. 1,160 million is 116 crore wireless telephone subscribers, and 900 million is 90 crore internet connections — about four internet connections for every five phone subscribers. So a very large number of people can now make calls and also go online for classes, payments and government services, at some of the world’s cheapest rates.

My grandmother sent inland letters; a letter to Chennai took about a week, and urgent news went by telegram. My father made calls from a PCO booth, and our first mobile phone (around 2001) was costly to use — even incoming calls were charged. Today I send a voice note in seconds. A message that once took a fortnight now takes a moment.

(Write what the people you ask actually tell you.)

Yes — schools, hospitals, police stations, parks and libraries around us are social infrastructure. It supports wellbeing and development because:

• schools, colleges and training centres give education and skills for better jobs;
• hospitals and health centres keep people healthy;
• police stations, fire stations and courts keep people and property safe and settle disputes fairly;
• parks, libraries and community centres give space to read, play and meet, building a sense of community.

Sample pact — OUR COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY PACT. We promise to:

1. use dustbins, and never litter or write on walls, buses, benches or monuments;
2. close taps and switch off lights and fans after use;
3. not damage streetlights, plants, desks or any public property;
4. report potholes, broken streetlights or leaking pipes to the Panchayat or municipal office;
5. ask our families and friends to do the same.

Signed by the students of Class VII.

Yes — by using cleaner energy and environment-friendly materials. Changes I would make in my school:

• solar panels on the roof, and LED lights;
• rainwater harvesting, and quick repair of leaking taps;
• separate bins for wet and dry waste, and a compost pit;
• more trees and a kitchen garden;
• a cycle stand and a shared school bus;
• ramps and handrails so that everyone can use the building.

Sample list — problem → solution:

1. Potholes near the bus stop → report them to the municipal or Panchayat office for repair.
2. Garbage lying outside bins → more bins with lids, regular collection, separating wet and dry waste.
3. Broken streetlights → report the pole numbers; install solar streetlights.
4. A leaking public tap → inform the water supply office; fit a self-closing tap.
5. Writing on bus-stand walls → a class cleaning drive and a painted mural.

Meaning: farming, industry, trade and services all depend on roads, railways, ports, power and communication — just as the body depends on its backbone.

• Better connectivity: roads, railways, metros, airports and ports link people, places and markets.
• Employment: Indian Railways alone employs about 1.21 million people, besides vendors and taxi drivers.
• Ease of living: faster travel, quicker access to hospitals, online classes and e-governance.

Growth: India has the world’s second-largest road network, the fourth-largest railway system (97% electrified), metros in 23 cities, 159 airports and 1,160 million wireless phone subscribers.

Duty: public infrastructure belongs to everyone and is repaired with public money. So citizens should use it responsibly, not litter or deface it, and report damage such as potholes or broken streetlights to the authorities.

In the last decade a concrete road with a covered drain and solar streetlights was built in our colony. It has helped my family: my mother now reaches the market in ten minutes, rainwater no longer collects at our gate, and the lane is safe after dark. If I could build something, it would be a community library and study room with electricity and internet, because many children have no quiet place to study.

(Name what has actually been built in your area.)

Ports, highways and airports create jobs in three ways:

• Building them — engineers, labourers, machine operators;
• Running them — dock workers, crane operators, toll staff, airport ground staff, security;
• Around them — dhabas, petrol pumps, repair shops, hotels, taxis, warehouses, vendors.

Indirect benefits: goods become cheaper and fresher, farmers and artisans reach distant markets, new markets and settlements grow, and relief reaches people faster in disasters.

It is important because roads and airports can destroy forests, farmland and animal homes and add to pollution — damage that lasts for decades.

Yes, they can go hand in hand, through:

• clean energy — solar panels (Cochin airport, Delhi Metro) and electric trains;
• less polluting transport — railways and metros instead of road vehicles;
• protecting wildlife — alarm systems where animals cross railway tracks;
• green design — like the living root bridges and the ‘garden city’ airport at Bengaluru.

Better infrastructure helps before, during and after a disaster:

• Warning: mobile SMS alerts, apps, radio and TV warn people in time.
• Rescue: roads and bridges let ambulances and rescue teams reach the area; aircraft reach mountains, forests and islands; phones let trapped people call for help.
• Relief: cargo flights, trains and trucks carry food, medicines and tents.

Example: the Dhola Sadiya Bridge lets people reach hospitals even during floods, when the ferries used to stop.

Observation: I have seen names scribbled on walls, broken streetlights and damaged benches at bus stops.

Consequences: places look dirty and neglected; dark roads cause accidents and feel unsafe; elderly people lose a place to sit; repairs waste public money that could build new facilities.

Solutions: enough dustbins and well-kept spaces, murals on blank walls, a class or residents’ group adopting a park or bus stop, reporting damage quickly, fast repairs, and fines for those who damage public property.

Sample poster ideas:

1. New factory: a strong road joined to a highway, a railway or port link, reliable electricity, water supply and treatment, internet and phone, warehouses, and transport, housing and a health centre for workers.
2. Future city: self-cleaning roads, underground highways, bullet trains, e-buses with charging points, rooftop solar, smart bins, free public Wi-Fi.
3. Upgrades for our terrain: coast — cyclone shelters, mangroves; mountains — tunnels, slope walls, earthquake-resistant buildings; plains — embankments, drains, bridges, flood alerts.
4. Dream station: ramps and lifts, clean toilets, drinking water, a play corner, murals, a solar roof, live train displays and a covered walkway to the bus stand.

Some innovations in infrastructure:

• electric trains (97% of India’s railway network is electrified) and EV charging stations;
• solar power on airports, metros and buildings; solar streetlights and pumps;
• metro rail on elevated and underground tracks;
• long bridges and tunnels, such as the Chenab Rail Bridge and Atal Setu;
• alarm systems where animals cross railway tracks;
• real-time transport apps and digital ticketing;
• DigiLocker and online payments.