Social infrastructure can be broadly defined as the construction and maintenance of facilities that support social services. For example – healthcare (hospitals), education (schools and universities), public facilities (community housing and prisons) and transportation (railways and roads). The first census in India was done in 1881, according to which India’s population was 25.4 crore. Therefore, the size of population of India was limited and its growth rate was low.

The literacy rate was also less than 16 per cent. Before 1921, India was in the first stage of demographic transition in which the birth rate and death rate both were high, and after 1921, India entered the second stage (death rate decreases and birth rate remains high). At that time, there was extreme lack of health care services, so people used to be affered by infections diseases. Life expectancy rate level was 32 years only. The problems of poverty and unemployment were acute, and the Britishers did not take steps for the resolution of these problems.