Water transport can be divided into two categories-

a) Inland waterways and 

b) Oceanic waterways.

Inland waterways include rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks which are deep enough to allow the ships and boats to navigate safely. India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways out of which about 3700 km of river and 4300 km of canals are navigable by mechanised flat bottom vessels. Indian 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. 

India has a long coastline of 7,517 km forming one of the biggest peninsulas in the world. It has 12 Major ports and 187 notified Minor and Intermediate ports. Oceanic waterways constitute an important role in the transport sector of India's economy. Ocean routes handle 95 percent of India's foreign trade by volume and about 70 percent by value. Besides international trade, these routes are also used for transportation between the islands and the rest of the country.

Lifelines of a human being are his veins. They carry blood in all the parts the body and keep them hale and hearty.

Likewise means of transport and comunication bring all the regions of a country closer and develop them equally.

The means of transportation and communication are called the lifelines of a nation and its economy because they are the preconditions for progress and development.

A country 's economy depends not only on the production and sale of goods and services, but on their transport as well

A country makes tremendous progress because of its developed means of transport and communication. Without these all the developmental activities will come to an end and the country would meet its doom.

The following are the reasons why Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1920 felt the need to launch a broad-based movement:

1. In the year 1919, the Imperial Legislative Assembly passed the Rowlatt Act that granted immense power to the British Government. For instance, the police could detain any political leader for two years without any trail. The main aim of the act was to prevent political activities of Indian Nationalists. People throughout India opposed the law.

2. The Martial law of 1919, that took place in Jallianwalla Bagh at Amritsar, killed hundreds of inno-cent people. As the news spread throughout the country. Gandhi Ji felt the need to launch a widespread movement in India against the new laws of the British government.

Public sector:

1.It is controlled and managed by the government.
2.The main aim of the sector is public welfare.
3.The sector provides basic facilities like education, health, food and security to the people. For Example: Railways, Post office, BSNL.

Private sector:

1.It is controlled and managed by an individual or a group.
2.The main aim of the sector is to earn profits.
3.Private sector does not provide any service at a reasonable rate. For example: Tatas, Birlas, Reliance.

Advantages of term loans

• The loan is not repayable on demand and so available for the term of the loan - generally three to ten years - unless you breach the loan conditions.
• Loans can be tied to the lifetime of the equipment or other assets you're borrowing the money to pay for.
• At the beginning of the term of the loan you may be able to negotiate a repayment holiday, meaning that you only pay interest for a certain amount of time while repayments on the capital are frozen.
• While you must pay interest on your loan, you do not have to give the lender a percentage of your profits or a share in your company.
• Interest rates may be fixed for the term so you will know the level of repayments throughout the life of the loan.
• There may be an arrangement fee that is paid at the start of the loan but not throughout its life. If it is an on-demand loan, an annual renewal fee may be payable.

Disadvantages of loans

• Larger loans will have certain terms and conditions or covenants that you must adhere to, such as the provision of quarterly management information.
• Loans are not very flexible - you could be paying interest on funds you're not using.
• You could have trouble making monthly repayments if your customers don't pay you promptly, causing cashflow problems.
• In some cases, loans are secured against the assets of the business or your personal possessions, eg your home. The interest rates for secured loans may be lower than for unsecured ones, but your assets or home could be at risk if you cannot make the repayments.
• There may be a charge if you want to repay the loan before the end of the loan term, particularly if the interest rate on the loan is fixed.

• Every loan agreement specifies an interest rate which the borrower must pay to the lender along with repayment of the principal.
• In addition, lender may demand collateral, i.e., an asset that the borrower owns and uses this as a guarantee until the loan is repaid.
• If the borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender has the right to sell the collateral to obtain payment.
• Terms of credit comprise interest rate, collateral and documentation requirement, and the mode of repayment.
  *The terms of credit vary substantially from one credit arrangement to another. They may vary depending on the nature of the lender and the borrower.

1. Mahatma Gandhi believed in the ideology of Swedeshi ie, to use everything that is made in India. During the colonial period, the British had discouraged the Indian textile industries and promoted the British made goods especially the textiles. This lead to the closure of several Indian hand loom industries and many weavers were hit hard. Gandhi and other leaders in order to promote swedeshi goods encouraged the people to spin yarn and weave Khadi. This hit the British textile industries hard and provided work to many Indian artisans and weavers.

Modern currency is accepted as a medium of exchange:
1. Modern currency is accepted as a medium of exchange because it is authorized by the central government of a country.
2. In India, RBI issues the currency notes and it is illegal for any other organization or individual to issue the currency.
3. The rupee cannot be refused legally as a medium of payment in India.

• Political Fragmentation: Like Germany, Italy was also politically fragmented. During the middle of the 19th century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia- Piedmont was ruled by an Italian Prince.
• Role ofMazzini: Giuseppe Mazzini made efforts to unite Italian Republic. He had formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’ for achieving his goal.
• Role of Count Cavour: He was the chief minister who led the movement to unify Italy. He formed a tactful diplomatic alliance with France and defeated the Austrian forces.
• Role of Giuseppe Garibaldi: Garibaldi also formed armed volunteers. In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdoms of Two Sicilies and succeeded in driving out the Spanish rulers.
• In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed King of United Italy.

(i) Land reforms: collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari. 

(ii) Agricultural reforms: Green revolution and White revolution.

(iii) Land development programmes: Provision for crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, etc. 

(iv) Establishment of Grameen banks, Cooperative societies and banks for providing loans. 

(v) Issuing of Kisan Credit Card and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme, etc.

(vi) Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers on radio and TV.

Economic growth is the increase in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy over time. It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real GDP.

Growth is usually calculated in real terms - i.e., inflation-adjusted terms – to eliminate the distorting effect of inflation on the price of goods produced. Measurement of economic growth uses national income accounting. Since economic growth is measured as the annual percent change of gross domestic product (GDP), it has all the advantages and drawbacks of that measure. The economic growth rates of nations are commonly compared using the ratio of the GDP to population or per-capita income.
The "rate of economic growth" refers to the geometric annual rate of growth in GDP between the first and the last year over a period of time. This growth rate is the trend in the average level of GDP over the period, which ignores the fluctuations in the GDP around this trend.

Democracy, being based on the principle of equality is likely to promote greater social justice. Democratic laws work for the betterment of the people as a whole.
The ways in which democracies have been able to reduce inequality and poverty are
(i) Women have been given equal rights-like those of men in most of the democratic countries like India.
(ii) Special efforts have been made to uplift the weaker sections of the society (like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes), so that they could live with dignity and honour.
(iii) Democracies everywhere try to provide a fair share to every citizen in the natural resources of the country.
(iv) In almost all democratic countries of the world, poor people are given many concessions but richer classes are made to pay more income tax.