National Highways
State Highways
Other PWD Roads
Rural Roads
Urban Roads
Project Roads
Total
How Indian Highways are numbered?
No. | Route |
NH 1 | Delhi-Ambala-Jalandhar-Amritsar |
NH 1A | Jalandhar-Madhopur-Jammu-Banihal-Srinagar-Baramula-Uri |
NH 1B | Batote-Doda-Kishtwar-Sinthan pass – Khanabal |
NH 1C | Domel to Katra |
NH 1D | Srinagar-Kargil-Leh |
NH 2 | Delhi-Mathura-Agra-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi-Mohania-Barhi Palsit-Baidyabati-Bara-Calcutta – 1490 km |
NH 2A | Sikandra to Bhognipur |
NH 2B | Burdwan – Bolpur road (via Talit, Guskara and Bhedia) |
NH 3 | Agra-Gwalior-Shivpuri-Indore-Dhule-Nasik-Thane-Mumbai |
NH 4 | Junction with National Highways No. 3 near Thane-Pune Belgaum-Hubli-Bangalore-Ranipet-Chennai |
No. | Route |
NH 4A | Belgaum-Anmod-Ponda-Panaji |
NH 4B | Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Km 109-Palaspe |
NH 5 | Junction with National Highways No. 6 near Baharagora-Cuttack Bhubaneshwar-Visakhapatnam -Vijayawada-Chennai |
NH 5A | Junction with National Highway No. 5 near Haridaspur-Paradip Port |
NH 6 | Hajira-Dhule-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur-Baharagora-Calcutta – 1932 km |
NH 7 | Varanasi-Mangawan-Rewa-Jabalpur-Lakhnadon-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Kurnool-Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Salem-Dindigul-Madurai-Cape-Kanyakumari- 2372 km |
NH 7A | Palayamkottai-Tuticorin Port |
NH 8 | Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Mumbai – 1428 km |
NH 8A | Ahmedabad-Limbdi-Morvi-Kandla-Mandvi-Vikhari-Kothra-Naliya Narayan Sarovar |
NH 8B | Bamanbore-Rajkot-Porbandar |
No. | Route |
NH 8B | Bamanbore-Rajkot-Porbandar |
NH 8C | Chiloda to Sarkhej |
NH 8D | Chiloda-Gandhinagar-Sarkhej |
NH 8E | Somnath to Bhavnagar |
NH 9 | Pune-Sholapur-Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Machilipatnam |
NH 10 | Delhi-Fazilka-Indo Pak Border |
NH 11 | Agra-Jaipur-Bikaner |
NH 11A | Manoharpur-Dausa-Lalsot-Kothum |
NH 12 | Jabalpur-Bhopal-Khilchipur-Aklera-Jhalawar-Kota-Bundi-Deoli Tonk-Jaipur |
No. | Route |
NH 18 | Junction with NH 7 near Kurnool and Nandyal to Cuddapah and Junction with NH 4 near Chittoor |
NH 19 | Ghazipur-Balia-Patna |
NH 20 | Pathankot -Mandi |
NH 21 | Junction with National Highway No. 22 near Chandigarh-Ropar-Bilaspur-Mandi-Kullu-Manali |
NH 22 | Ambala to Indo China Border near Shipkila |
NH 23 | Chas-Ranchi-Rourkela-Talcher- Junction with National Highway No. 42 |
NH 24 | Delhi- Bareilly-Lucknow |
NH 27 | Allahabad to Mangawan |
NH 29 | Gorakhpur to Varanasi |
No. | Route |
NH 30 | Junction with NH 2 near Mohania and Patna to Bakhtiyarpur |
NH 35 | Barasat to Petrapole on |
NH 39 | Numaligarh to Palel and |
NH 47 | Salem to Kanyakumari |
NH 47A | Junction with NH 47 at Kundanoor to Willington Island in Kochi |
NH 47C | Junction with NH 47 at Kalamassery to Vallarpadam ICTT in Kochi |
NH 55 | Siliguri to Darjeeling |
No. | Route |
NH 56 | Lucknow to Varanasi |
NH 58 | Delhi to Mana Pass |
NH 79 | Ajmer-Nasirabad-MP border |
NH 151 | Karimganj – Bangladesh Border |
NH 152 | Patacharkuchi-Bhutan border |
NH 153 | Ledo – Lekhapani – Indo / Myanmar – Border |
NH 233 | The highway starting from India/Nepal border (connecting to Lumbini) via Naugarh, Siddharthnagar, Bansi, Basti, Tanda, Azamgarh and terminating at Varans |
State Highways
District Roads
Village Roads
The project is composed of the following phases:
Phase I: The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ; 5,846 km) connecting the four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. This project connecting four metro cities, is 5,846 km (3,633 mi). Total cost of the project is Rs.300 billion (US$6.8 billion), funded largely by the government’s special petroleum product tax revenues and government borrowing. In January 2012, India announced the four-lane GQ highway network as complete.
Phase II: North-South and East-West corridors comprising national highways connecting four extreme points of the country. The North–South and East–West Corridor (NS-EW; 7,142 km) connecting Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, including spur from Salem to Kanyakumari (Via Coimbatore and Kochi) and Silchar in the east to Porbandar in the west. Total length of the network is 7,142 km (4,438 mi). As of 31 October 2016, 90.99% of the project had been completed, 5.47% of the project work is under Implementation and 3.52% of the total length is left. It also includes Port connectivity and other projects — 435 km (270 mi). The final completion date to 28 February 2009 at a cost of Rs.350 billion (US$8 billion), with funding similar to Phase I.
Phase III: The government on 12 April 2007 approved NHDP-III to upgrade 12,109 km (7,524 mi)of national highways on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, which takes into account high-density traffic, connectivity of state capitals via NHDP Phase I and II, and connectivity to centres of economic importance.
Phase IV: The government on 18 June 2008 approved widening 20,000 km (12,000 mi) of highway that were not part of Phase I, II, or III. Phase IV will convert existing single-lane highways into two lanes with paved shoulders.
Phase V: As road traffic increases over time, a number of four-lane highways will need to be upgraded/expanded to six lanes. On 5 October 2006 the government approved for upgrade of about 5,000 km (3,100 mi) of four-lane roads.
Phase VI: The government is working on constructing 1,000 km (620 mi) expressways that would connect major commercial and industrial townships. It has already identified 400 km (250 mi) of Vadodara (earlier Baroda)-Mumbai section that would connect to the existing Vadodara (earlier Baroda)-Ahmedabad section. The World Bank is studying this project. The project will be funded on BOT basis. The 334 km (208 mi) Expressway between Chennai—Bangalore and 277 km (172 mi) Expressway between Kolkata—Dhanbad has been identified and feasibility study and DPR contract has been awarded by NHAI.
Phase VII: This phase calls for improvements to city road networks by adding ring roads to enable easier connectivity with national highways to important cities. In addition, improvements will be made to stretches of national highways that require additional flyovers and bypasses given population and housing growth along the highways and increasing traffic. The government has planned to invest Rs. 16,680 Cr for this phase. The 19 km (12 mi) long Chennai Port—Maduravoyal Elevated Expressway is being executed under this phase.
Bharatmala Pariyojana (Project) is a centrally-sponsored and funded Road and Highways project of the Government of India. The total investment for 83,677 km (51,994 mi) committed new highways is estimated at ₹5.35 lakh crore (US$75 billion), making it the single largest outlay for a government road construction scheme (as of December 2017). The project will build highways from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and then cover the entire string of Himalayan states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand – and then portions of borders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alongside Terai, and move to West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and right up to the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur and Mizoram. Special emphasis will be given on providing connectivity to far-flung border and rural areas including the tribal and backward areas. Bharatmala Project will interconnect 550 District Headquarters (from current 300) through a minimum 4-lane highway by raising the number of corridors to 50 (from current 6) and move 80% freight traffic (40% currently) to National Highways by interconnecting 24 logistics parks, 66 inter-corridors (IC) of total 8,000 km (5,000 mi), 116 feeder routes (FR) of total 7,500 km (4,700 mi) and 7 north east Multi-Modal waterway ports.
This programme rests around 4 pillars:
Freight aggregation
Freight distribution
Multimodal freight movement
Storage and warehousing Value-added services such as custom clearances.
Through addressing these, the programme aims to enhance freight transportation in India through improving cost, time by as much as 10% and tracking and transferability of consignments through infrastructure, procedural and Information Technology (IT) interventions.
Under the first phase of LEEP, USD 5 billion have been allocated for development of multi modal logistics parks and 15 locations have been identified for this purpose. These parks will ensure that shifting from one mode of transport to another does not result in excessive time loss and wastage in handling.
The Ashgabat agreement is a multimodal transport agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, India and Oman for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The agreement came into force in April 2016. Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is the depository state for the agreement.
The agreement was originally signed by Iran, Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on April 25, 2011. Qatar subsequently withdrew from the agreement in 2013, the same year Kazakhstan applied for membership, which was eventually approved in 2015. Pakistan has also joined the Agreement from November 2016. India formally joined in February 2018.
Country-wide rail services in India, are provided by the state-run Indian Railways under the supervision of the Ministry of Railways. IR is divided into eighteen zones including the Kolkata Metro Railway. The IR are further sub-divided into sixty seven divisions, each having a divisional headquarters.
The railway network travels through the length and breadth of the country, covering more than 7,000 stations over a total route length of more than 65,000 km (40,000 mi) and track length of about 115,000 km (71,000 mi).
About 22,224 km or 34% of the route-kilometre was electrified as on 31 March 2012.
IR provides an important mode of transport in India, transporting over 18 million passengers and more than 2 million tons of freight daily across one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world.
IR is the world’s largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.4 million employees. As to rolling stock, IR owns over 200,000 (freight) wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locomotives. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities. It operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a network of broad gauge.
Ridership | 9.116 billion (2018) |
Freight | 1.106 billion tonnes (2017) |
System length | |
Total |
|
Electrified |
|
Longest tunnel | Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, 11.215 km (6.969 mi) |
Track gauge | Length |
1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | 61,680 km |
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in) | Not available |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3/8 in) | 3,479 km |
Two narrow gauges, 762 mm | 2,208 km |
At present India has the second largest railway network in Asia and the fourth largest in the world after the USA (2, 27,736 km), Russia (2, 22,293 km), and China (87,157 km). But India tops world’s leading countries with regard to passenger/ kilometre earned.
It is the largest public sector undertaking of the country comprising a vast network of 6,906 stations spread over a route length of 63,122 km with a fleet of 7,681 locomotives, 39,852 passenger service vehicles, 4,904 other coaching vehicles and 2,14,760 wagons as on 31 March 2003. The growth of Indian Railways has been phenomenal indeed.
The first railway line in India was opened for public traffic on 16 April, 1853 between Mumbai and Thane over a distance of 34 km. This line was extended to Kalyan on 1 May, 1854 and to Khopoli on 12 May, 1856. The Khandala-Pune section was opened to traffic on 14 June, 1858.
Meanwhile, the construction of the railway lines was going on in eastern part of the country and the first section of the East Indian Railway, from Haora to Hugli, a distance of 37 km was inaugurated on 15 August, 1854. The Haora-Hugli section was extended to Pundooah on 1 Sept, 1854 and to Raniganj Coal Mines on 3 Feb, 1855.
The line from Kanpur to Allahabad was opened in 1859 and the Haora-Khana-Rajmahal section was completed in 1860. Mughal Sarai also appeared on the railway’ map of India in 1862. In 1860, the Kanpur-Etawah section was opened to traffic and between 1862 and 1866 all the gaps between Howrah and Delhi were filled.
The southern part of the country did not lag behind and got its first 105 km long railway line from Royapuram to Arcot in 1856. This line was extended to Kadalundi (near Calicut) on the west coast in 1861. The Jolar Pettai-Bangalore Cantonment section was opened in 1864.
In 1870, the all-rail route between Kolkata and Mumbai started functioning and the main line from Mughal Sarai to Lahore (now in Pakistan) was completed. In 1871, the Mumbai-Chennai route was also opened. Thus within a short span of 18 years from 1853 to 1871, most of the important cities of India were connected by rail.
The total route kilometreage in 1870 was 7,680 km which rose to 39,834 km by the turn of 19th century and to 66,234 by 31 March, 1940. As on 15 August 1947, Indian Railways consisted of 65,217 km out of which 10,523 km went to Pakistan, leaving India with 54,694 km.
1. Geographical factors:
The North Indian plain with its level land, high density of population and rich agriculture presents the most favourable conditions for the development of railways. However, the presence of large number of rivers makes it necessary to construct bridges which involve heavy expenditure.
There are practically no railways in the flood plains of many rivers in Bihar and Assam. The plateau region of south India is not as much suitable for railways as the North Plain area. The Himalayan region in the north is almost entirely devoid of railways due to its rugged topography.
Some railway terminals such as Jammu Tawi, Kotdwar, Dehra Dun, Kathgodam, etc. are found on the foothills. Some narrow gauge railway tracks are found in the Himalayan region. A railway link between Jammu and Kashmir valley is being planned at a very high cost. The sandy areas of Rajasthan are also not much favourable for railways.
There was no railway line between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer till 1966. Similarly, forested areas of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, deltaic swamps of West Bengal, marshy areas of Rann of Kachchh and hilly tract of Sahyadri are also unfavourable for the development of railways.
Sahyadri can only be crossed through gaps like Thalghat, Bhorghat and Palghat to reach coastal trail heads like Mumbai, Vasco-de-Gama, Mangalore and Kochi. Obviously, the railways tend to follow the path of least resistance.
2. Economic factors:
Railways develop more in the economically advanced areas where the need for railway network is felt more. Conversely, railways bring economic prosperity to the areas through which they pass. This is because of the economic linkages that we find the highest density of railways near big urban and industrial centres and in areas which are rich in mineral and agricultural resources.
3. Political and Administrative factors:
The present railway system in India is the legacy of the British rule. The British administration planned the direction and pattern of the railway lines in such a way that they could exploit the valuable raw materials of India for the benefit of their industries and flood the Indian markets with the finished goods from Britain.
Besides, the Britishers wanted to maintain their military supremacy, for which quick movement of troops and arms was necessary and construction of railways became unavoidable. Thus, top priority was given to the big ports of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. These ports were connected with their hinterlands by railway lines to facilitate imports and exports. It is from the ports that the railway network spread to the other parts of the country.
1. The North Indian Plain:
This region has a dense network of railways from Amritsar to Haora. This is a plain area which is very much suitable for the construction of railways. This densely populated region has highly developed agriculture and industry. Large scale urbanisation has also helped in the development of the railways. The density of railway network is closely related to the agricultural and industrial development.
There are a few focal points such as Delhi, Kanpur, Mughal Sarai, Lucknow, Agra and Patna. However, Delhi is the main point from where railway lines radiate in all directions. For political, administrative and economic reasons, Delhi is connected with major ports like Mumbai, Kolkata, Haora and Chennai through superfast trains.
2. The Peninsular Plateau:
The whole of peninsular plateau has hilly and plateau terrain which hinders the development of railways. The population density is also moderate. For such reasons, excepting, Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu, a relatively open and more loose network has developed here.
However, some trunk routes cross the peninsula and provide efficient rail service between Mumbai- Chennai,’ Chennai-Kochi, Chennai-Delhi, Mumbai-Kolkata, Chennai-Hyderabad and Mumbai- Thiruvananthapuram.
3. The Himalayan Region:
Railways are conspicuous by their absence in the Himalayan region. The rugged terrain, hill and valley topography, backward economy and sparse population are the factors responsible for the sparse rail network in this region. There are only three narrow gauge railway lines in the Himalayan region. These are Kalka-Shimla, Pathankot-Kangra and Siliguri-Darjeeling.
The Kalka-Shimla Railway built in 1903 winds itself through picturesque country from Kalka to Shimfa over a distance of 96.6 km. It has 103 tunnels, totalling 8 km in length; the longest tunnel is 1,144 – metre. The railway track from Kalka to Shimla passes over 869 bridges.
The Siliguri-Darjeeling Railway is 82 km long and was constructed in 1878. There is practically no railway line in the northeastern states of Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.
These areas have rough terrain covered with thick forests. The population is sparse and the economy is in a backward state. Construction of railways under these conditions is a difficult and costly affair. However, plans are afoot to provide rail links to Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, although at a very heavy cost.
The recently constructed 55 km long Jammu Tawi-Udhampur railway line is the first segment of an ambitious and most challenging programme of connecting Baramula with Jammu, thereby providing rail services to areas of rough mountainous terrain of Jammu and Kashmir. Although the work on Jammu Tawi-Udhampur railway line was started in 1984, it took 21 years to construct 55 km long railway line and the first railway service on this line started on 13 April 2005 only.
This rail line runs through a difficult hilly terrain and unstable geological formation. It has 21 tunnels, the largest being 2.4 km across the Shiwalik Range. The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramula rail line will have 80 tunnels measuring 90 km in length. The highest and the longest tunnel will pass through Pir Panjal range and would be of 14.5 km length. Another tunnel of 1 km will pass through Patnitop.
4. The Coastal Plains:
There is a distinct contrast in the rail network between eastern coastal plains and western coastal plains. The eastern coastal plain is quite wide and permits the construction of railways, as a result of which, there is a long trunk route along the east coast from Kolkata to Chennai.
But such a route has been eluding the western coastal plain since long. This is due to the structure and relief of the area. The outcrops of the Western Ghats are very close to the coast, especially near Goa and make the construction of railway lines a difficult task.
However, the completion of Konkan Railway Line from Roha to Mangalore is a dream comes true. It passes through several tunnels and over numerous bridges. This line has the longest tunnel in the country 6.5 km long, about 23 km south of Ratnagiri.
It has become the life line of the western coastal plain. The total saving in travel distance is Mangalore-Mumbai (1,050 km), Mangalore-Ahmedabad (1,218 km), Mangalore-Delhi (707 km) and Kochi-Mumbai (437 km).
The above description leads us to the conclusion that railway services are unevenly distributed in India. The maximum concentration of railway network is found in the Indo-Gangetic plain followed by the peninsular plateau. The railways are practically absent from the Himalayan region. Such a lopsided railway development has kept many areas away from the railway routes.
Zonal Railways | Headquarters |
Central Railway | Mumbai CST |
Eastern Railway | Kolkata |
Northern Railway | New Delhi |
North Eastern Railway | Gorakhpur |
NE Frontier Railway | Maligaqn (Guwahati) |
Zonal Railways | Headquarters |
Southern Railway | Chennai |
South Central Railway | Secunderabad |
South Eastern Railway | Kolkata |
Western Railway | Church Gate, Mumbai |
East Central Railway | Hajipur |
East Coast Railway | Bhubaneshwar |
Zonal Railways | Headquarters |
East Coast Railway | Bhubaneshwar |
North Central Railway | Allahabad |
North Western Railway | Jaipur |
South East Central Railway | Bilaspur |
South Western Railway | Hubli |
West Central Railway | Jabalpur |
Metro Rails (Functioning)
Kolkata (First mass rapid transit system in India)
Delhi
Bangalore (Wifi Enabled)
Mumbai (Public Private Partnership)
Jaipur
Chennai
Gurgaon (India’s first fully privately financed metro + India’s first fully privately financed metro stations)
Rail links between India and neighbouring countries are not well-developed. Two trains operate to Pakistan—the Samjhauta Express between Delhi and Lahore, and the Thar Express between Jodhpur and Karachi. Bangladesh is connected by a biweekly train, the Maitree Express that runs from Kolkata to Dhaka and a weekly train, the Bandhan Express that runs from Kolkata to Khulna. Two rail links to Nepal exist—passenger services between Jainagar and Bijalpura, and freight services between Raxaul and Birganj.
No rail link exists with Myanmar but a railway line is to be built through from Jiribam (in Manipur) to Tamu through Imphal and Moreh.The construction of this missing link, as per the feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs through RITES Ltd, is estimated to cost ₹29.41 billion (US$410 million). An 18 km railway link with Bhutan is being constructed from Hashimara in West Bengal to Toribari in Bhutan. No rail link exists with either China or Sri Lanka.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor will have a high speed train, with financial assistance from the Japanese Government. The Shinkansen high speed technology will be used in this train. “National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited”, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been formed for the implementation of this project. Indian railways will hold 50% of the equity in the SPV. The project cost is estimated at 1.10 Lakh Crore. Financial assistance has been provided by the Japanese government in the form of a loan upto 81% of the project cost to be repaid in 50 years with a 15 year moratorium at a nominal interest rate of 0.1%. The foundation stone for India’s first high speed rail project was laid by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Sabarmati Station Ground, located in Ahmedabad. The Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project will cover a distance of 508 kms and is expected to be completed by 2022 (earlier scheduled to be completed by 2023).
The project fulfills the twin complimentary objectives of “Make In India” and employment generation. It is expected to give a stimulus to manufacture of advanced components and create about 15 lakh jobs in India.
Shinkansen Technology
Shinkansen means “new trunk lines” in literal terms, which refers to the high speed rail network in Japan. The train attains a high speed without having to compromise on comfort and safety, through the use of this technology. Unlike conventional rail lines, Shinkansen routes are strictly off-limits to any other kind of traffic. This network makes use of viaducts and tunnels to go through the obstacles, rather than going around them, thereby saving time spent on covering the distance. Due to the lighter vehicles used, chances of damage to the tracks is minimal. These trains offer fast acceleration & deceleration and are electric multiple units.
It involves laying of semi high-speed trains between the two corners of the state of Kerala.
It is 532- km long. The corridor will be built away from the existing line between Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur.
It aims to connect major districts and towns with semi high-speed trains that will run on their own tracks.
The Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), a joint venture between the Ministry of Railways and the Kerala government to execute projects on a cost-sharing basis, will be the nodal agency.
High speed rails project connecting Delhi – Mumbai – Kolkata – Chennai
Freight Corridor Projects | ||
Amritsar-Kolakata | Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand & WB | Wholly by GOI, funded by WB |
Mumbai Bengaluru | MH, Karnataka | Britain |
Chennai-Bengaluru | Karnataka, TN, Andhra (Rayalaseema region) | JICA (Japan International cooperation Agency) |
Delhi Mumbai (launched & Biggest) | UP, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. |
Air Transport is the fastest means of movement from one place to the other. It has reduced distances by minimizing the travel time. It is very essential for a vast country like India, where distances are large and the terrain and climatic conditions are diverse.
Air transport in India made a beginning in 1911 when airmail operation commenced over a little distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini. But its real development took place in post-Independent period. The Airport Authority of India is responsible for providing safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space. The authority manages 126 airports including 11 international, 86 domes- tic and 29 civil enclaves at defence air fields.
The air transport in India is managed by two corporations. Air India and Indian .Airlines after, nationalization. Now many private companies have also started passenger services.
History of Indian Airlines
1911 – Air transport in India was launched between Allahabad and Naini.
1947 – Air transport was provided by four major companies namely Indian National Airways. Tata Sons Limited, Air Services of India and Deccan Airways.
1951 – Four more companies joined the services, . Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation Limited, Airways India and Kalinga Airlines.
1953 – Air transport was nationalized and two Corporations. Air India International and Indian Airlines were formed. Now Indian Airlines is known as ‘Indian’.
Air India: Air India provides International Air Services for both passengers and cargo traffic. It connects all the continents of the world through its services. In 2005, it carried 12.2 million passengers and 4.8 lakh metric tons of cargo. About 52 per cent of the total air traffic was handled only at Mumbai and Delhi airports. In 2005, domestic movement involved 24.3 million passengers and 20 lakh metric tonnes of cargo. Pawan Hans is the helicopter service operating in hilly areas and is widely used by tourists in north-eastern sector.
Heliports
As of 2013, there are 45 heliports in IndiaIndia also has the world’s highest helipad at the Siachen Glacier at a height of 6400 m (21,000 ft) above mean sea level.
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited is a public sector company that provides helicopter services to ONGC to its off-shore locations, and also to various State Governments in India, particularly in North-east India.
Shipping plays an important role in the transport sector of India’s economy. Approximately 95% of the Country’s trade volume (68% in terms of value) is moved by sea.
As on March 31, 2014, India had a fleet strength of 1213 ships with gross tonnage (GT) of 10.49 miffion, with the public-sector Shipping Corporation of India having the largest share of 31.30 per cent.
Of this, 367 ships with 9.31 million GT cater to India’s overseas trade and the rest to coastal trade.
Despite having one of the largest merchant shipping fleets among developing countries, among the 35 flags of registration with the largest registered dead weight tonnage (DWT), India ranks 18th with a share of only 0.9 per cent in total world DWT as on Januay 1, 2014 according to the ISL Shipping Statistics and Market Review.
During 2013-14, major and non- major ports in India handled a total cargo throughput of 980.49 MT.
The traffic grew by 5.02% over the previous year 2012—13.
The 13 Major Ports handled traffic of 555.50 MT during 2013—14, representing an increase of about 1.78% over the previous year 2012—13. The capacity of the country’s 12 major ports— Kandia, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V.0. Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata stood at about 700 MT as on March 31, 2014.
Twelve major ports under the Centre handle about 61 per cent of the country’s total cargo traffic.
Coastal Shipping
Coastal shipping is an energy efficient environmental friendly, and economical made of transport network and a crucial component for the development of domestic industry and trade.
India with 7517 km coastline with 3,80,000 km hinterland covers 9 maritime states, (five states on the western coast and 4 on the eastern coast) a port of Puducherry, Lakshadweep in Arabian sea and the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal These Islands are dependent on coastal shipping for transportation of Cargo and passengers to the mainland as well as for Island movement.
At present there are 13 big and 200 small ports in India’s
Mumbai, Mahashava (Maharashtra) Kandla (Gujarat) Mudgaon (Goa), Kocchi (Karela) and New Manglore at Western Coast While Haldia-Kolkata, (West Bengal) Paradeep (Odisha), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Chennai, Tuticorin Ennore (Tamil nadu) are on Eastern Coast.
On the West Coast
1. Cochin Port, Kerala: It is major natural port. It deals in fertilizers, petroleum and general cargo.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Maharashtra: Major port in Mumbai. It is ranked among world’s top 30 ports. Earlier it was called as Nhava Sheva.
3. Kandla Port, Gujarat: It is a tidal port and a free trade zone has been set up here. Important traffic handles are crude oil, petraleum products, edible oil, foodgrains, salt, cotton etc. It is located in Runn of Kachchh.
4. Marmugao Port, Goa: One of the oldest natural harbour on west coast. It was declared a major port. In 1963. It occupies the fifth position in terms of total quantum of traffic handled.
5. New Mangalore Port, Karnataka: It is an all-weather port. Iron ore of Kudremukh is being exported now here. Other items are petroleum products, fertilizers, molasses, etc. It is an Artificial Lagoon port.
6. Port of Mumbai, Maharashtra: Port of Mumbai has long been the principal gateway of India. Mumbai handles the maximum traffic. It is a natural harbour with wet dock. It handles over one fifth of the total traffic of ports, mostly petroleum products and dry cargo.
On the East Coast
7. Kolkata Port, West Bengal: Kolkata is the oldest major port in the country Kolkata Port is India’s only riverine port. It has the most sophisticated port facilities with extensive storage facility for diverse cargo.
8. Paradip Port, Odisha: One of India’s major ports, located in Paradip. Government of India declared Paradip as the Eighth Major Port of India on 18 April 1966 making it the first major port in the east coast commissioned in Independent India. It handles iron ore and some quantities of coal and dry cargo. It is a wet dock.
9. Port of Chennai, Tamil Nadu: It is the second largest port in the volume of traffic handled. Important items are petroleum products, crude oil, fertilizers, iron ore and dry cargo and oldest artificial port of India. It has artificial harbour and a wet dock.
10. Port of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: It is described as the Brightest Jewel of all Indian major ports for its outstanding performance and productivity. It is the deepest port. An outer harbour has been developed for exporting iron ore and a berth for crude oil is located here. It has both artificial and natural harbour.
11. Tuticorin Port, Tamil Nadu: Tuticorin Port is an artificial deep-sea harbour. It is an all-weather port. It handles mainly coal, salt, edible oil, dry cargo and petroleum products.
12. Kamarajor Port Ltd. Tamil Nadu It is the 12th major port and first corporatised major port in India; a Government of India undertaking. It handles coal, iron ore, LNG, chemical & other liquids, & crude since 2001. Artificial harbour is found here.
Ennore Port, officially renamed Kamarajar Port limited, is located on the coromandel coast.
13. Portblair—Andaman Nicobar: It is the latest addition to the major port on June 2010, the thirteen port in the country.
Minor and Intermediate Ports
There are 140 such ports which include Rediport (Maharashtra), Icakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and Calicut (Kerala).
Other ports proposed to be developed as minor ports are Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry These ports can relieve the overloaded major ports and can be used as bases for deep-sea fishing.
These ports mainly serve coastal trade and support passenger traffic where there is no proper nil or road link.
The Sagarmala Programme is an initiative by the government of India to enhance the performance of the country’s logistics sector. The programme envisages unlocking the potential of waterways and the coastline to minimize infrastructural investments required to meet these targets.[1][2] It entails investing ₹8.5 trillion (2018) to set up new mega ports, modernizing India’s existing ports, developing of 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) and Coastal Employment Units, enhancing port connectivity via road, rail, multi-modal logistics parks, pipelines & waterways and promoting coastal community development, with the aim of boosting merchandise exports by US$110 billion and generating around 10,000,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Sagarmala Programme is the flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping to promote port-led development in the country by exploiting India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and its strategic location on key international maritime trade routes. Sagarmala aims to modernize India’s Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute to India’s growth. It also aims at “transforming the existing Ports into modern world-class Ports and integrate the development of the Ports, the Industrial clusters and hinterland and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland and coastal waterways resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity in coastal areas.”
India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi), out of which about 5,200 km (3,231 mi) of river and 485 km (301 mi) of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight transport by waterways is highly underutilised in India compared to other large countries. The total cargo moved by inland waterways is just 0.15% of the total inland traffic in India, compared to the corresponding figures of 20% for Germany and 32% for Bangladesh.
Cargo that is transported in an organised manner is confined to a few waterways in Goa, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It does the function of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also administration and regulation. The following waterways have been declared as National Waterways:
• National Waterway 1: Allahabad–Haldia stretch of the Ganga – Bhagirathi – Hooghly River system with a total length of 1,620 kilometres (1,010 mi) in 27 October 1986.
• National Waterway 2: Saidiya–Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra river system with a total length of 891 kilometres (554 mi) in 26 Oct 1988.
• National Waterway 3: Kollam–Kottapuram stretch of the West Coast Canal along with Champakara and Udyogmandal canals, with a total length of 205 kilometres (127 mi) in 1 Feb 1991.
• National Waterway 4: Bhadrachalam–Rajahmundry and Wazirabad–Vijaywada stretch of the Krishna–Godavari river system along with the Kakinada–Pondicherry canal network, with a total length of 1,095 km (680 mi) in 24 Nov 2008.
• National Waterway 5: Mangalgadi–Paradeep and Talcher–Dhamara stretch of the Mahanadi–Brahmani river system along with the East Coast Canal, with a total length of 623 km (387 mi) in 24 Nov 2008.
Oil and gas industry in India imports 82% of its oil needs and aims to bring that down to 67% by 2022 by replacing it with local exploration, renewable energy and indigenous ethanol fuel (c. Jan 2018).
Length of pipelines for crude oil is 20,000 km (12,427 mi).
Length of Petroleum products pipeline is 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi).
• Noonmati-Siliguri: Pipeline to transport petroleum products from Noonmati to Siliguri. Lakwa- Rudrasagar-Barauni Pipeline, completed in 1968 to transport crude-oil from Lakwa and Rudrasagar (Sibsagar District, Assam) to Barauni Oil Refinery (Bihar).
• Barauni-Haldia Pipeline: This pipeline was laid down in 1966 to carry refined petroleum products to Haldia port and bring back imported crude-oil to Barauni refinery.
• Barauni-Kanpur Pipeline: This pipeline was completed in 1966 to transport refined petro-leum products to Kanpur city.
• Noonmati-Bongaigaon Pipeline: This pipeline was constructed to transport crude-oil to Bongaigaon petro-chemical complex.
• Haldia-Maurigram-Rajbandh Pipeline: This pipeline was completed in 1998.
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] The National Highway from Amritsar to Calcutta via Delhi is numbered:[1995] (a)1 (b)2 (c)4 (d)8
Ans.(b)National Highway from Amritsar to Calcutta via Delhi is called National highway No. 2. It was called Grand Trunk road and was constructed by Sher Shah. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] What is the correct sequence of the following Indian states in descending order of their length of surface roads per 100 km2 of their areas?[1998]
1.Haryana 2.Maharashtra 3.Punjab 4.Tamil Nadu
Select the correct answer using the codes given below: Codes: (a)4, 3, 2, 1 (b)4, 3,1, 2 (c)3, 4, 1, 2 (d)3, 4, 2, 1
Ans 38.(a)Arrangement of descending order of the surface roads per 100 sq. km of their area. Tamil Nadu has 158.78 km, Punjab has 127.78 km, Maharashtra has 117.61 km, Haryana has 63.70 km. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] The four railway junctions shown by numerals 1, 2, 3, 4 on the rough outline map of Gujarat are respectively: [1998] (a)Palanpur, Mahesana, Ahmedabad and Vadodara (b)Mahesana, Surendranagar, Rajkot and Junagarh (c)Palanpur, Kanda, Bhuj and Okla (d)Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Broach.
Ans.(b) [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Which one of the following sets of states benefits the most from the Konkan Railway?[1998] (a)Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala (b)Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala (c)Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra (d)Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu
Ans.(a)Konkan Railway route connects Roha in Maharashtra with Mangalore in Karnataka. Konkan Railway established with partnership of three states Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The state of Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala benefit most from Konkan railway. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Which one of the following pairs of cities has recently been connected through a 6-lane express way?[1998] (a)Ahmedabad:Vadodara (b)Dhaka:Chittagong (c)Islamabad:Lahore (d)Mumbai:Pune
Ans.(d) [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Match the different ports of Union Territory of Pondicherry labelled as A, B, C and D in the given map with their respective names and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists of ports:[2000]
1.Karaikal 2.Mahe 3.Pondicherry 4.Yanam Codes: (a)A-2; B-1; C-3; D-4 (b)A-1; B-2; C-3; D-4 (c)A-2; B-1; C-4; D-3 (d)A-1; B-2; C-4; D-3
Ans.(a)A – Mahe B – Karaikal C – Podicherry D – Yanam [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Mekong Ganga Co-operation Project is :[2001] (a)an irrigation project involving India and Myanmar (b)a joint tourism initiative of some Asian countries (c)a hydroelectric power project involving India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (d)a defence and security agreement of India with its eastern neighbours
Ans.(b)Mekong – Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane in the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six Member countries namely, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] With reference to Indian transport systems, consider the following statements:[2002] 1.Indian railway system is the largest in the world 2.National Highways cater to 45 percent of the total and transport demand 3.Among the states, Kerala has the highest density of surface road 4.National Highway No. 7 is the longest in the country Which of these statements are correct ? (a)1 and 2 (b)1 and 3 (c)2 and 3 (d)2 and 4
Ans.(d)Indian railway is the fourth largest railway in the world after USA, Russia and China. National Highways is nearly 2% (1.96%) of total roads, but it carries nearly 40 – 45% of road traffic of India. Maharashtra has the highest density of the surface roads, not Kerala, National Highway No. 7 is the longest in the country which joins Varanasi to Kanyakumari. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Which among the following National Highway routes is the longest?[2004] (a)Agra-Mumbai (b)Chennai-Thane (c)Kolkata-Hajira (d)Pune-Machilipatnam
Ans.(c)Length of Agra-Mumbai NH – 1161 km Length of Chennai-Thane NH – 1235 km Length of Kolkata-Hajira NH – 1946 km Length of Pune-Machilipatnam NH – 841 km. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Consider the following statements concerning the Indian Railways.[2006] 1.The Head Quarters of the North Western Railway are located at Jodhpur. 2.”Indrail Pass” –a travel as you please ticket has been created especially for freedom fighters and sportspersons who have represented India in any games/sport. 3.Fairy Queen is a train using the world’s oldest working engine and the Indian Railways conducts a journey of wildlife and heritage sites on it. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a)2 only (b)3 only (c)1 and 2 (d)None
Ans. (b) [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] The Stilwell Road, built in 1940s, which was recently in news, connects which of the following?[2007] (a)Agartala in India and Yangon in Myanmar via Bangladesh (b)Ledo in India and Kunming in China via Myanmar (c)Kalimpong in India and Lhasa in Tibet via Bhutan (d)Imphal in India and Bangkok in Thailand via Myanmar
Ans.(b)The Stilwell Road built in 1940s by Americans to connect Ledo in India and Kunming in China via Myanmar during Second World War. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Which one of the following National Highways passes through Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa? [2007] (a)NH 4 (b)NH 5 (c)NH 6 (d)NH 7
Ans.(c)National Highways passes through Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This road is 1,949 km long. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] In India, the ports are categorized as major and non-major ports. Which one of the following is a non-major port?[2009] (a)Kochi (Cochin) (b)Dahej (c)Paradip (d)New Mangalore
Ans.(b)Dahej is a not a major port of India. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Between India and East Asia, the navigation-time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following ?[2011 – I] 1. Deepening the Malacca straits between Malaysia and Indonesia. 2. Opening a new canal across the Kra Isthmus between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ? (a) 1 only(b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans.(b)Opening a new canal in Kra Isthums can reduce the navigation time and distance. The first statement in this question requires an explanation. Its worth note that the Malacca strait is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and links the India, China, Japan and South Korea. The issue of deepening of the Malacca strait is “linked” to its economic importance rather than “time of navigation and distance”. The issue is that most of the ships can not pass through it and the size of the biggest ships which can enter through it is called Malaccamax. Now the deepening of the strait would certainly help in “Increasing the volume of the business” because ships of larger sizes can pass through it, there is no significance of distance and navigation. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Consider the following pairs : [2014 – I] National HighwayCities connected 1. NH 4 Chennai and Hyderabad 2. NH 6 Mumbai and Kolkata 3. NH 15 Ahmedabad and Jodhpur Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched? (a)1 and 2 only (b)3 only (c)1, 2 and 3 (d)None
Ans.(d)NH 4 is a major National Highway in Western and Southern India. It connects Mumbai with Chennai. NH 6, runs through Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal state in India. It connects Surat with Kolkata. NH 15 is a major National Highway in Western and Northwestern India. NH 15 connects Samakhiali in Gujarat with Pathankot in Punjab. [/tippy]
.
Foreign tourist
Foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings
Year | Arrivals (millions) | % change |
1997 | 2.37 | 3.8 |
1998 | 2.36 | −0.7 |
1999 | 2.48 | 5.2 |
2000 | 2.65 | 6.7 |
2001 | 2.54 | −4.2 |
2002 | 2.38 | −6.0 |
2003 | 2.73 | 14.3 |
2004 | 3.46 | 26.8 |
2005 | 3.92 | 13.3 |
2006 | 4.45 | 13.5 |
2007 | 5.08 | 14.3 |
2008 | 5.28 | 4.0 |
2009 | 5.17 | −2.2 |
Year | Arrivals (millions) | % change |
2010 | 5.78 | 11.8 |
2011 | 6.31 | 9.2 |
2012 | 6.58 | 4.3 |
2013 | 6.97 | 5.9 |
2014 | 7.68 | 10.2 |
2015 | 8.03 | 4.5 |
2016 | 8.80 | 9.7 |
2017 | 10.04 | 14.0 |
Foreign tourist arrivals in India
(1997–2017)
Number of foreign tourist arrivals in India from 2008 to 2018, by month
Year | Earnings | % change | Earnings | % change |
1997 | 2,889 | 2 | 10,511 | 4.6 |
1998 | 2,948 | 2 | 12,150 | 15.6 |
1999 | 3,009 | 2.1 | 12,951 | 6.6 |
2000 | 3,460 | 15 | 15,626 | 20.7 |
2001 | 3,198 | −7.6 | 15,083 | −3.5 |
2002 | 3,103 | −3.0 | 15,064 | −0.1 |
2003 | 4,463 | 43.8 | 20,729 | 37.6 |
Foreign exchange earnings from tourism in India
Year | Earnings | % change | Earnings (₹ crores) | % change |
2004 | 6,170 | 38.2 | 27,944 | 34.8 |
2005 | 7,493 | 21.4 | 33,123 | 18.5 |
2006 | 8,634 | 15.2 | 39,025 | 17.8 |
2007 | 10,729 | 24.3 | 44,360 | 13.7 |
2008 | 11,832 | 10.3 | 51,294 | 15.6 |
2009 | 11,136 | −5.9 | 53,700 | 4.7 |
2010 | 14,193 | 27.5 | 64,889 | 20.8 |
2011 | 16,564 | 16.7 | 77,591 | 19.6 |
2012 | 17,737 | 7.1 | 94,487 | 21.8 |
2013 | 18,445 | 4 | 107,671 | 14 |
2014 | 20,236 | 9.7 | 123,320 | 14.5 |
2015 | 21,071 | 4.1 | 135,193 | 8.8 |
2016 | 22,923 | 9.1 | 154,146 | 14.3 |
2017 | 27,310 | 19.1 | 177,874 | 15.4 |
Foreign exchange earnings from tourism in India
Foreign tourist arrivals by source country
Rank | Country | Number | Share in % |
1 | Bangladesh | 2,156,557 | 21.49 |
2 | United States | 1,376,919 | 13.72 |
3 | United Kingdom | 986,296 | 9.83 |
4 | Canada | 335,439 | 3.34 |
5 | Australia | 324,243 | 3.23 |
6 | Malaysia | 322,126 | 3.21 |
7 | Sri Lanka | 303,590 | 3.03 |
8 | Russia | 278,904 | 2.78 |
9 | Germany | 269,380 | 2.68 |
10 | France | 249,620 | 2.49 |
Total of top 10 | 6,603,074 | 65.80 | |
Other countries | 3,432,729 | 34.20 | |
Grand total | 10,035,803 | 100 |
Source countries for foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2017
Foreign tourist
Domestic tourist
Foreign and domestic tourist visits by State
Rank | state | Number | Share in % |
1 | Tamil Nadu | 4,684,707 | 20.1 |
2 | Maharashtra | 4,408,916 | 18.9 |
3 | Uttar Pradesh | 3,104,062 | 13.3 |
4 | Delhi | 2,379,169 | 10.2 |
5 | Rajasthan | 1,489,500 | 6.4 |
6 | West Bengal | 1,475,311 | 6.3 |
7 | Kerala | 977,479 | 4.2 |
8 | Bihar | 923,737 | 4.0 |
9 | Karnataka | 636,502 | 2.7 |
10 | Goa | 541,480 | 2.3 |
All | 20,620,863 | 88.4 | |
Others | 2,705,300 | 11.6 | |
Total | 23,326,163 | 100 |
Share of top 10 states/UTs of India in number of foreign tourist visits in 2015
Share of top 10 states/UTs of India in number of domestic tourist visits in 2015
Rank | state | Number | % |
1 | Tamil Nadu | 333,459,047 | 23.3 |
2 | Uttar Pradesh | 204,888,457 | 14.3 |
3 | Andhra Pradesh | 121,591,054 | 8.5 |
4 | Karnataka | 119,863,942 | 8.4 |
5 | Maharashtra | 103,403,934 | 7.2 |
6 | Telangana | 94,516,316 | 6.6 |
7 | Madhya Pradesh | 77,975,738 | 5.4 |
8 | West Bengal | 70,193,450 | 4.9 |
9 | Gujarat | 36,288,463 | 2.5 |
10 | Rajasthan | 35,187,573 | 2.5 |
10 states | 1,197,367,974 | 83.6 | |
Others | 234,605,820 | 16.4 | |
Total | 1,431,973,794 | 100 |
World Heritage sites
There are 37 World Heritage sites in India that are recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of August 2017. These are places of importance of cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.
Cultural (29)
Cultural (29)
Natural (7)
Mixed (1)
Name of Beach | Location |
Colva Beach, Dona Paula, Miramar, Anjuna, Vagator Beach, Arambol Beach, Angoda Beach | Goa |
Porbandar Beach, Chorwad Beach, Beyt Dwarka, Somnath & Veraval Beach, Mandavi Beach, Gopnath Beach | Gujarat |
Devbagh Beach, Om Beach and the Kutle Beach, Parambur Beach, Ullal Beach, Murudeshwar, Malpe Beach, Maravanthe, Karwar Beach | Karnataka |
Lighthouse Beach, Rockholm Beach, Samudra Beach, Ashoka Beach, Kappad, Kovalam, Varkala, Thirumullavaram, Vypeen and Gundu Island, Cherai Beach, Alleppey Beach, Veli Beach, Bekal Beach, Shangumugham Beach, Kovalam Beach | Kerala |
Kavaratti, Minicoy, Kadamat, Bangaram | Lakshadweep |
Ganapatipule, Velneshwar, Marve, Manori & Gorai, Juhu, Chowpatty, Bassien, Alibag Murud Janjira, Dahanu, Mandwa, Kihim Beach, Shriwardhan, Harihareshwar, Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg, Vengurla, Malvan | Maharashtra |
Devka (or Dwarka beach), Jaypore Beach | Daman |
Jallandhar Beach, Chakratith Beach, Nagoa Beach | Diu |
West Coast Beaches
Name of Beach | Location |
Rishikonda Beach, Bheemunipatnam, Manginapudi Beach, Vodarevu Beach, Mypad Beach | Andhra Pradesh |
Puri, Chandipur, Gopalpur-on-sea, Gahirmatha Beach, Paradeep, Bolighai Beach, Konark Beach | Odisha |
Corbyn’s Cove, Beaches of Havelock Island, Beaches of Neil Island, Beaches of Chiriya Tapu, Wandoor | Andaman & Nicobar island |
Beaches of Puducherry | Puducherry |
Pulicat, Covelong, Marina Beach, Pichavaram, Kurusada Islands, Vattikotai, Sadurangapattinam Beach, Mandapam, Mahabalipuram | Tamil Nadu |
Digha Beach, Shankarpur Beach, Frazerganj, Ganga Sagar | West Bengal |
East Coast Beaches
Famous Hill Stations
Hill Station | State |
Dalhousie | Himachal Pradesh |
Kasauli | Himachal Pradesh |
Kullu valley | Himachal Pradesh |
Manali | Himachal Pradesh |
Pahalgam | Jammu and Kashmir |
Gulberga | Karnataka |
Kemangundi | Karnataka |
Khandala | Maharashtra |
Lonawala | Maharashtra |
Mahabaleshwar | Maharashtra |
Hill Station | State |
Coonoor | Tamil Nadu |
Kodiakanal | Tamil Nadu |
Almora | Uttarakhand |
Lansdowne | Uttarakhand |
Mussoorie | Uttarakhand |
Nainital | Uttarakhand |
Darjeeling | West Bengal |
Kalimpong | West Bengal |
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] “You might see a few curious Danes around, but that is because–used to be Danish outpost. This quaint town with its fort and a beautiful church, the New Jerusalem, empty streets and deserted beach front is a quaint gem.” The place referred to in this quotation lies on the:[1996] (a)Tamil Nadu coast (b)Kerala coast (c)Karnataka coast (d)Goa coast
Ans.(a)The New Jerusalem Church was bult by Royal Danish missionary Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg in a coastal town of Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu in 1718. [/tippy]
[tippy title=“UPSC_Pre_MCQ” height=“300” width=“650”] Consider the following sites /monuments :[2005] 1.Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park 2.Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Station, Mumbai 3.Mahallapuram 4.Sun Temple (Konark Temple) Which of the above are included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO? (a)1, 2 and 3 (b)1, 3 and 4 (c)2 and 4 (d)1, 2, 3 and 4
Ans All the monuments / sites are included in World Heritage list of UNESCO. Sun Temple of Orissa, group of monuments at Mahabalipuram were included in 1985. Champaner – Pavagadh Archeological Park of Gujrat and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus of Maharastra are included in year 2004 in UNESCO list. [/tippy]
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