Border roads are strategically important as they improve accessibility to areas like the northern and north eastern border areas which have a difficult terrain.

Trade is the movement of goods and services between regions for economic gain. Trade between two or more countries is termed as international trade, while trade occurring in a region within the same country is called local trade.

The means of transportation and communication are called the lifelines of  a nation and its economy due to the reasons given below:
→ The means of transportation and communication help in the production and movement of goods and services.
→ Transport helps in the development of communication . Various means of communication help us in interacting with other in all the parts of the world It has brought the world closer. 
→ Transport like railways help us in conducting various activities like business, sight seeing, pilgrimage and transportation of goods over longer distances.
→ Pipelines are used for transporting crude oil and natural gas to refineries and factories.
→ Water provide the cheapest means of transport and is useful for international trade.
→ Air transport provides the fastest, most comfortable mode of transport.
Thus, it is clear that there are many advantages of transportation and communication. These means help in the development of the country. So they are called the lifelines of a nation and its economy.

The changing nature of the international trade for India, in the last fifteen years, has been impressive. Exchange of information and knowledge has surpassed exchange of goods and commodities. Through its advanced software knowledge and excellence in the field of information technology, India has emerged as a viable contender at the international level and is earning huge amounts of foreign exchange through the same. Tourism too has added to India's upgraded position in international trade. In 2004, there was a 23.5% increase in foreign tourist arrivals as against the number in 2003. Thus, international trade for India has undergone a cognisable change in the past fifteen years.

Quiz Drive

1. Northern terminal of the North-south corridor.
2. The name of National Highway No.2. 
3. The headquarter of the southern railway zone.
4. The rail gauge with a track width of 1.676 m. 
5. The southern terminal of the National Highway No.7. 
6.  A Riverine Port.
7.  Busiest railway junction in Northern India.
Answer

1.Srinagar
2. Grand Trunk Road
3. Chennai
4. Broad gauge
5. Kanyakumari
6. Kolkata Port Trust
7. Mughalsarai

1. Six Lane Highways are called
(i) National Highway (ii) International Highway (iii) State Highway (iv) Golden quadrilateral super highways

2. Golden quadrilateral super highways are maintained by
(i) Zila Parishad (ii) PWD (iii) CPWD iv) NHAI

3. Villages are connected to a major town through this scheme of roads
(i) MNREGA (ii) PMGSY (iii) SJGRY (iv) AAY

4. Border Roads are constructed by
(i) CRPF (ii) BSF iii Indian Army (iv) BRO

5. Provides door-to-door connectivity
(i) Airways (ii) Roadways (iii) Railways (iv) Waterways

6. Bulk carrier across nations
(i) Airways (ii) Roadways (iii) Railways (iv) Waterways

7. Bulk carrier within India
(i) Airways (ii) Roadways (iii) Railways (iv) Waterways

8. Principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India
(i) Airways (ii) Roadways
(iii) Railways (iv) Waterways

9. Width of two tracks of Broad Gauge is
(i) 1.676 m (ii) 1.000 m iii) 0.762 m(iv) 0.610 m

10. Natural harbour in India
(i) Hooghly (ii) Paradip (iii) Chennai (iv) Mumbai

11. Biggest natural port in India
(i) Chennai ii) Tuticorin (iii) Marmagao iv) Mumbai

12. Largest producer of feature film in the world
(i) Britain (ii) USA Iii France iv India

13. AIR stands for
(i) All India Radio (ii) Indian Airlines (iii) Indian Railways (iv) None of these

14. Terminal stations of East-West corridor
(i) Mumbai and Nagpur (ii) Nagpur and Siligudi
(iii) Mumbai and Kolkata iv) Silcher and Porbandar

15. Which mode of transportation reduces trans-shipment losses and delays?
(i) Railways (ii) Pipeline (iii) Roadways (iv) Waterways  

Answers key of MCQ :
 (1) d (2) d (3) b (4) d (5) b
 (6) d (7) c (8) c (9) a (10) d
 (11) d (12) d (13) a (14) d (15) b 

Trade between two countries is called international trade. It includes exchange of commodities, services,
information and knowledge.
Relation or difference between nation‘s exports and imports is called balance of trade. It is of two types:
 (i) Surplus trade: when the value of exported goods and services is more than the value of imported goods and
services. It is called favorable trade balance.
(ii) Trade Deficit: when the value of exported goods and services is less than the value of imported goods and
services. It is called unfavorable trade balance.

The importance of trade is:
1. No country can survive without international trade because resources are space bound.
2. Advancement of international trade of a country leads to its economic prosperity because such a trade provides
so many jobs to workers as well as business to traders.
3. It is through international trade that we earn much of our foreign exchange which is required for importing
many essential goods.
4. Foreign trade helps in transfer of technology.

Means of transport in India are:-
(i) Roadways, (ii) Waterways, (iii) Airways, (iv) Pipelines, (v) Railways.