Social Infrastructure - Questions & Answers

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following is/are components of social infrastructure?
(a) Health
(b) Education
(c) Housing
(d) All of these
Answer: (d) All of these

2. Which of the following statements is/are true?
I. Primary healthcare is provided through PHCs in urban areas.
II. Education in India is gender biased.
Alternatives:
(a) Only I
(b) Only II
(c) Both I and II
(d) None of these
Answer: (b) Only II

3. The education system at all levels remains job oriented.
(a) True
(b) False
(c) Can't say
(d) None of these
Answer: (b) False

4. In which year, Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed?
(a) 2002
(b) 2005
(c) 2007
(d) 2009
Answer: (d) 2009

5. There is a need to promote education for women in India because
(a) It improves economic independence of women
(b) It improves the social status of women
(c) It has favourable impact on healthcare of women and children
(d) All the above
Answer: (d) All the above

6. An indicator of good health in a country is increased in (c) expectancy of life.
(a) death rate
(b) infant mortality rate
(c) expectancy of life
(d) birth rate

7. People require (a) House to live peacefully.
(a) House
(b) Education
(c) Hospital
(d) None of these

8. India suffers from the shortage of proper housing facilities quantitatively and qualitatively.
(a) True
(b) False
(c) Can't say
(d) None of these
Answer: (a) True

9. Indira Aawas Yojana was started by the government to construct houses for
(a) the development of rural housing
(b) the development of urban housing
(c) the poorest belonging to scheduled Castes/Tribes
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c) the poorest belonging to scheduled Castes/Tribes

10. Identify the type of infrastructure represented by the visuals (School and Bank)
(a) A-component of economic infrastructure; B-component of social infrastructure
(b) A-component of social Infrastructure, B-Component of economic infrastructure
(c) Both A+B component of economic infrastructures
(d) Both A+B-Components of social infrastructures
Answer: (b) A-component of social Infrastructure, B-Component of economic infrastructure

ASSERTION – REASONING & MATCHING BASED QUESTIONS

1. Identify the correct sequence of alternatives given in Column II by matching them with respective terms in Column I:
Column I
(A) Component of Social infrastructure
(B) Advantage of Social infrastructure
(C) Advantage of education
(D) Education in India
Column II
(i) Produces skilled and trained manpower
(ii) Gender biased
(iii) Health
(iv) Human Development
Choose the correct alternative:
(a) A – (iii), (B) – (i), (C) – (ii), (D) – (iv)
(b) A – (iv), (B) – (iii), (C) – (ii), (D) – (i)
(c) A – (iii), (B) – (iv), (C) – (i), (D) – (ii)
(d) A – (ii), (B) – (iv), (C) – (iii), (D) – (ii)
Answer: (c) A – (iii), (B) – (iv), (C) – (i), (D) – (ii)

2. Read the following statements: Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Choose one of the correct alternatives:
Assertion (A): Education and literacy are the same thing.
Reason (R): All educated people are literates but all literate people are not necessarily educated.
Alternatives:
(a) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(b) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(c) Assertion (A) is true but Reason (R) is false.
(d) Assertion (A) is false but Reason (R) is true.
Answer: (d) Assertion (A) is false but Reason (R) is true.

3. Read the following statements: Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Choose one of the correct alternatives:
Assertion (A): Primary health care centres are small hospitals located in villages and small towns.
Reason (R): Social infrastructure raises labour productivity.
Alternatives:
(a) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(b) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(c) Assertion (A) is true but Reason (R) is false.
(d) Assertion (A) is false but Reason (R) is true.
Answer: (b) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. What is social infrastructure?
Answer: Social infrastructure refers to all those basic facilities which are necessary for human development. It consists of facilities and institutions like education, health, housing, and civic amenities which improve the quality of human resources.

2. Give two advantages of education.
Answer: (i) It acts as a source of Human Capital Development by building a skilled workforce required for economic progress. (ii) It empowers individuals, promotes social mobility, and improves the overall social outlook.

3. In what ways are health services important?
Answer: Health services are important because they increase the efficiency of workers, reduce production loss caused by illness, and permit the maximum use of natural and other resources for rapid economic growth.

4. What is family welfare?
Answer: Family welfare (or family planning) implies having children by choice rather than by chance. It involves limiting the size of the family and ensuring proper spacing of children to manage population growth and ensure proper care.

5. How is housing important?
Answer: Housing is a basic human need that protects us from vagaries of weather like heat, cold, and rain. It provides a place to rest, improves the physical quality of life, and helps raise labour productivity.

6. Mention any two impacts of inadequate social infrastructure on the Indian economy.
Answer: (i) It leads to a poor standard of living, keeping populations deprived of necessities like health and education. (ii) It results in a growing number of homeless people and severe lack of skilled human capital required to operate physical capital efficiently.

7. Mention two problems of family welfare programme of India.
Answer: (i) Poverty, as poor families view more children as additional earning hands. (ii) Widespread illiteracy, meaning illiterate people do not understand the benefits of family planning and unnecessarily expand their family size.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Bring out the importance of social infrastructure for economic growth.
Answer: Social infrastructure provides the supply of means of production, creating entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers. It is extremely helpful in absorbing new techniques because skilled workers are needed to operate modern machinery. It significantly increases labour efficiency by keeping workers healthy and skilled. It changes the backward social outlook in rural societies and improves the overall productive capacity of the economy. Finally, it raises the overall standard and quality of life for the people.

2. Describe the importance of education in socio-economic development.
Answer: Education is necessary for building a skilled workforce, which drives human capital development. This well-educated population actively contributes to economic growth by increasing national productivity, innovation, and competitiveness in the global market. Furthermore, education spurs social development by empowering individuals and promoting social mobility. The education sector itself also drives significant employment generation for teaching and administration staff.

3. What is family planning? Explain its importance.
Answer: Family planning means limiting the size of the family and ensuring proper spacing between children so that they are born by choice, not chance. It is highly important because it gives mothers the necessary time to regain their health after delivery. It ensures children get proper attention, love, and security. It reduces the overwhelming financial burden on fathers and eventually helps society lift millions out of poverty by stabilizing population resources.

4. What are the major housing schemes started by the Government of India? Explain them in brief.
Answer: In urban areas, the government has launched residential housing schemes for government employees, schemes for Economically Weaker Sections (like subsidized industrial housing), and programs to clear and improve urban slums. Institutions like HUDCO and NHB have been set up to provide low-interest housing finance. In rural areas, the government started the Village Housing Scheme and the Indira Aawas Yojana, which constructs free houses for the poorest populations, Scheduled Castes/Tribes, and freed bonded labourers.

5. Analyse the growth of public healthcare facilities in India since 1951.
Answer: Public health infrastructure in India has witnessed massive expansion since 1951. Government hospitals have increased drastically from 2,694 in 1951 to 23,582 in 2017. During the same period, government hospital beds rose from 1,17,000 to over 7,10,000, and dispensaries expanded from 6,000 to 27,698. The primary healthcare network also saw deep rural penetration, with Primary Health Centres (PHCs) increasing from a mere 725 in 1951 to 25,650 in 2017.

6. Explain how family welfare programme is beneficial to (a) mother, (b) father, and (c) children.
Answer: (a) Mother: It helps her regain her health after delivery and affords her adequate time to pay attention to and care for her husband and children. (b) Father: It highly reduces the overall financial burden and responsibility of supporting the family, letting him provide properly for his limited children. (c) Children: Healthy mothers produce healthy children. The children receive all the attention, security, nutrition, and love they deserve.

7. Enumerate some major problems of health, infrastructure in India.
Answer: India's health infrastructure suffers from major gaps, particularly in rural public facilities which lack adequate equipment and staffing. There is a massive shortage of human resources, including doctors and nurses, especially in villages. Furthermore, the quality of care remains a concern due to massive variations in standards across the public and private sectors. Lastly, ensuring accessibility and affordability for marginalized populations continues to be a profound challenge.

8. Give any four suggestions to popularise family welfare programme in India.
Answer: (i) Widespread expansion of educational opportunities, especially for females, to naturally delay marriage and reduce fertility. (ii) Providing a wide range of cheap and effective contraceptive methods to parents. (iii) Raising the economic and political status of women so they are no longer viewed merely as child-bearing machines. (iv) Using mass media (radio, television, and film) extensively for publicity to educate and persuade the public regarding family planning measures.

QUESTION BANK

1. What do you mean by social infrastructure. Give examples
Ans. Social infrastructure consists of all those facilities and institutions which improve the quality of human resources. Educational institutions, hospitals, sanitary conditions and housing facilities, etc. are examples of social infrastructure.

2. State two advantages of social infrastructure.
Ans. (i) It increases labour productivity.
(ii) It improves quality and life of people.

3. Who are called literates?
Ans. Those people above a fixed age who can more or less write and understand in any language are called literates.

4. How is literacy rate calculated in India?
Ans. Literacy Rate = (Total number of Literates / Total Population above 7 years of age) × 100

5. What is elementary education?
Ans. The education from class 1 to class VIII is called elementary education.

6. What is vocational education?
Ans. Education which aims at providing skills for particular occupation.

7. Mention two government organisations each that regulate the health and education sector.
Ans. (i) Ministry of Health and Department of Health.
(ii) Ministry of Education and Department of Education.

8. What is the desired level of public expenditure on education?
Ans. 6 per cent of GDP.

9. Give two advantages of education.
Ans. (i) Education produces good citizens.
(ii) Education facilitates the efficient use of resources.

10. Give two advantages of health.
Ans. (i) It increases the efficiency of workers.
(ii) It reduces production loss caused by worker's illness.

11. What is meant by sanitation?
Ans. By sanitation we mean the arrangements for removal of human excreta, drainage of rainwater and effluents, and collection and disposal of garbage, etc.

12. Define family planning.
Ans. Limiting the size of the family upto a limit according to small family norm is called family planning.

13. What are primary healthcare centres in India?
Ans. Primary healthcare centres are small hospitals managed by single doctor, a nurse and a limited quantity of medicines. They are located in villages and small towns.

14. What are secondary healthcare centres in India?
Ans. Secondary healthcare centres are better healthcare centres and provide facilities for surgery, ECG and X-rays. They are located in big towns and district headquarters.

15. What are tertiary heathcare institutions in India?
Ans. Tertiary healthcare insitutions are specialised medical centres and undertake complicated health problems.

16. Enumerate three major problems of health infrastructure in India.
Ans. (i) Low Public Expenditure : In India the health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is very low as compared to some of the major developing countries. It stood at around 4 per cent of the total GDP in the year in 2014.
(ii) Urbal Rural Divide : Rural people in India do not have sufficient medical facilities. Nearly 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas which have only 20 per cent of the total hospitals of the country.
(iii) Lack of Personnel : We not only lack hospitals or dispensaries but also doctors (known as medical personnel) and others assisting them in treatment (known as paramedical personnel).

17. Explain the importance of housing.
Ans. Home along with food and clothing is the basic requirement of human life. After day's work everyone wants a place to take rest and live with family. Home prepares us for next day's work.
Housing saves people from vagaries of weather such as heat, cold, rain, etc.
Constructon of houses provides employment opportunities to people.

18. Explain the importance of family welfare.
Ans. The importance of family welfare is stated below.
(i) It reduces the growth of population, which further reduces the number of dependents on the working family members.
(ii) Family planning has favourable effect on the health of the parents.
(iii) As a result of reduction in population growth due to family planning programme, there will be rise in the per capita income of the country.