The following points highlight the top nine roles of infrastructure in development in a country. The roles are: 1. Tapping Development Potential 2. Facilitates Functioning of Economy 3. Facilitates Smooth Flow 4. Raising Mobility of Manpower 5. Promotes Development 6. Reducing Poverty 7. Rational Use of Financial Resources 8. Promotes Marketing and Trade 9. Enhance Social Welfare.
Role # 1. Tapping Development Potential:
Infrastructural facilities help in tapping development potential available in remote and backward regions of a country. Infrastructure promotes development of backward regions by utilizing its development potentials.
Role # 2. Facilitates Functioning of Economy:
Functioning of an economy is very much determined by the availability of infrastructure facilities. Adequate infrastructural facilities open larger opportunities for undertaking productive activities in higher degree so as to invest more resources and produce more.
Role # 3. Facilitates Smooth Flow:
Infrastructural facilities facilitate smooth flow of material and commodities between different regions and thereby facilitates developmental activities.
Role # 4. Raising Mobility of Manpower:
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Development of infrastructure, especially transportation and communication facilities can play an important role in raising mobility of manpower resources of the country both within and outside the country.
Role # 5. Promotes Development:
Infrastructural development in the form of capital stock, power, irrigation, transportation and communication etc. can promote development at a progressive rate. Increase in the production of capital stock, i.e., steel, cement, machine and tools etc. can stimulates production in all different industries.
Infrastructure can also establish link between production points and input supply points. Economists like Rosenstein-Rodan, Hirschman and Rostow realised the importance of infrastructure in promoting development of a country. Myrdal in his work “Asian Drama” also regarded existence of infrastructural facilities as a necessary condition for development.
Role # 6. Reducing Poverty:
Infrastructure can open the path of inclusive development and can thereby reduce the poverty level. Rural poor can be uplifted through better infrastructure like roads, irrigation, extension services etc. by raising the farm productivity and non-farm rural employment.
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Similarly, urban poor can also be benefitted through infrastructural facilities by providing clean water, better sanitary conditions, road and drainage facilities etc.
Role # 7. Rational Use of Financial Resources:
Infrastructural facilities in the form of development of banking and insurance facilities can pave the way for rational use of financial resources in the country.
Role # 8. Promotes Marketing and Trade:
Development of infrastructure can promote marketing and trading facilities both within and outside the country by developing supply chain, marketing hubs and thereby helps agriculture and industry sector to sell their output at a remunerative prices.
Role # 9. Enhance Social Welfare:
Development of social overheads in the form of better education, health, sanitation, environment etc. can enhance the level of social welfare for the general people of a country. Thus infrastructural facilities are playing an important role in promoting economic development of a country.