Why do Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh prosper in agriculture and horticulture? Why are Maharashtra and Gujarat industrially more advanced than others? How come Kerala, popularly known as ‘God’s own country’, has excelled in literacy, health care and sanitation and also attracts tourists in such large numbers? Why does Karnataka’s information technology industry attracts world attention? It is all because these states have better infrastructure in the areas they excel than other states of India. Some have better irrigation facilities. Others have better transportation facilities, or are located near ports which makes raw materials required for various manufacturing industries easily accessible. Cities like Bengaluru in Karnataka attract many multinational companies because they provide world-class communication facilities. All these support structures, which facilitate development of a country, constitute its infrastructure.

There are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark your answer as per the options given below.

Assertion: Infrastructure provides supporting services in the main areas of industrial and agricultural production, domestic and foreign trade and commerce.
Reasoning: All the infrastructural facilities have a direct impact on production of goods and services. 

Assertion (A) is true but Reasoning (R) is not correct.

The correct answer is Option 3: Assertion (A) is true but Reasoning (R) is not correct

Assertion (A) is true because infrastructure indeed provides supporting services that are essential for industrial and agricultural production, as well as for trade and commerce.

Reason (R) is false because not all infrastructural facilities have a direct impact on the production of goods and services. Some infrastructure, like social infrastructure (e.g., education and healthcare), may have an indirect impact on production by improving human capital or the overall business environment.