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there existed hardly any industries. Moreover, the special attention is paid to these areas—water,
private people (with a few exceptions like the
Tatas) did not have so much of resources as were
necessary for it. The government had these
resources, so it started to build infrastructure in
basic industries, roads, dams, railways and other
sectors. The infrastructure developed by the
public sector has helped the present state of
development. The private sector can smell profit
now after the basic infrastructure has been
developed, so it is making its presence felt in
different areas in increasing measure.
Info Bits
Info Bits
A country in which the private sector is
predominant is called the open economy.
Unfortunately, many industries in the public
sector are not being run well, and they are making
losses. Therefore, the economists are of the view
that these industries should be transferred to the
private sector. The government too has agreed to
transfer some of the loss-making industries to the
private sector, and the money raised from this
privatisation is being utilised for developing
infrastructure and other welfare measures for the
people.
METHOD OF OPERATION BY THE GOVERNMENT
Keeping in with the ideals and spirit of the
Directive Principles of the State Policy as set forth
in the Constitution of India, the government
adopts various measures for development. The
common methods adopted for development of
infrastructure were long term plans, as many
projects cannot be completed in a short time.
These long term plans were popularly called the
Five-Year Plans and they have helped in building
infrastructure and effecting development in
different fields of national life. So for, all Five-Year
Plans have been successfully completed.
AREAS OF OPERATIONS BY THE GOVERNMENT
The government has to look after all areas of
social, economic and national life when
considering projects for development. However,
Contemporary Social Science-8
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agriculture, education, industry, generation of
employment, infrastructure, health and science
and technology.
Water
The Constitution of India recognises the right to
water as being a part of the right to life under
Article 21. It means that it is the right of all the
persons, whether rich or poor, to have sufficient
amount of water to fullfil their needs at a price
that they can afford.
In urban areas, 85% population has access to
drinking water but only 20% drinking water meets
health and safety standards. It is estimated that by
the end of 2050, India will face acute water
problems, especially in urban areas.
Steps Taken for Water Supply
To provide safe drinking water to all is an
important function of the government not only in
India but also in all over the world. In India,
various steps have been taken to provide sufficient
and affordable water to the citizens for personal
and domestic use.
Sanitation
Besides safe drinking water, sanitation is also very
important for prevention of waterborn diseases. In
India the condition is not good. Official figures for
2001 show that whereas 68% of households in
India have access to drinking water only about
36% have access to sanitation (toilet facilities
within the premises of residence). Once again it is
the poor both in the rural and urban areas who
have no access to sanitation facility.
The Central Rural Sanitation Programme was
launched by the government in 1986, with the
aim of providing household and community
toilets in rural areas. The idea was to improve the
quality of life in villages and provide ‘dignity and
privacy’ to women and girls, who are the worst
affected by lack of toilets. This programme has
now been replaced by the Total Sanitation
Campaign , in which again, the government plays
the role of the facilitators and the community is
educated and encouraged to build sanitary and
pour-flush toilets to meet its need.