UPSC Geography Syllabus

Preliminary Examination of Civil Services Exam
Section-A
Physical Geography
i) Geomorphology
Origin of the earth; Geological Time Scale; Interior of the earth; Types and characteristics of rocks; Folding and Faulting; Volcanoes; Earthquakes; Weathering; Landforms caused by fluvial, aeolian and glacial actions.
ii) Climatology
Structure and composition of atmosphere; Temperature; Pressure belts and Wind systems; Clouds and rainfall types; Cyclones and anti-cyclones; Major climatic types.
iii) Oceanography
Ocean relief; Temperature; Salinity; Ocean deposits; Ocean currents, El Nino and La Nino; Waves and tides.
iv) Biogeography
Origin and types of soils; Major biomes of the world; Ecosystem and food chain; Environmental degradation and conservation.
Section-B
Human Geography
i) Man and Environment Relationship
Growth and development of Human Geography; Concepts of Determinism and Possibilism.
ii) Population
Races of mankind and tribes; growth and distribution of world population; migration; population problems of developed and developing countries.
iii) Economic Activities
Food gathering and hunting; pastoral herding; fishing and forestry; Types of agriculture-shifting, subsistence, commercial and plantation; Mining, Power; Manufacturing -locational factors of textile, iron and steel, sugar and fertilizer industries; Tertiary activities-trade, transport, communication and services.
iv) Settlements
Origin, types and patterns of rural settlements; Processes of urbanisation; morphology and functional classification of towns; million-cities and mega-cities.
Section-C
Geography of the World
i) Major Natural Regions : Characteristics, economic base and human adaptation.
ii) Regional Geography of Developed Countries : Canada, U.S.A., Western Europe, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
iii) Regional Geography of Developing Countries : S.E. Asia, S.W. Asia, China, Southern Africa and Brazil.
iv) Regional Geography of South Asia.
Section-D
Geography of India
i) Physical Setting
Landforms, drainage, climate, soils and natural vegetation.
ii) Economic Base
Minerals & energy resources, aquatic resources, forest resources; irrigation, agriculture and industries; trade and commerce.
iii) Population
Growth, distribution and density; demographic characteristics.
iv) Environmental problems, developmental issues and regional planning.
Section-E
Geographical Thought
i) Ancient Period : Contributions of Indians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs.
ii) Pre-Modern Period : Contribution of Verenius, Kant, Humboldt and Ritter.
iii) Modern Period : Dichotomy of determinism and possibilism; contributions of Ratzel, Semple, Huntington and La Blache.
iv) Recent Period : Quantitive Revolution; Radicalism, Behaviouralism and Humanism.
Section-F
Techniques of Geographical Analysis
i) Maps : Scale and types, uses.
ii) Diagrams : Types and uses
iii) Projections : Types, characteristics and uses.
iv) Remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) : Aerial photographs and imagery, GIS.
Main Examination of Civil Services Exam
Paper-I
Principles of Geography
Section-A
Physical Geography
i) Geomorphology : Factors controlling landform development; endogenetic and exogenetic forces; origin and evolution of the earth’s crust; physical conditions of the earth’s interior; geosynclines; continental drift; isostasy; sea-floor spreading; plate tectonics; mountain building; volcanicity; earthquakes; concepts of geomorphic cycles; landforms associated with fluvial, arid, glacial, coastal and karst cycle; groundwater; Applied Geomorphology.
ii) Climatology : Temperature and pressure belts of the world; heat budget of the earth; atmospheric circulation; planetary and local winds; monsoons and jet streams; air masses and fronts; temperate and tropical cyclones; types and distribution of precipitation; Koppen’s and Thornthwaite’s classification of world climate; hydrological cycle; climatic change.
iii) Oceanography : Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; temperature and salinity of the oceans; ocean deposits; ocean currents and tides; marine resources-biotic, mineral and energy resources; coral reefs; sea-level changes.
iv) Biogeography : Genesis of soils; classification and distribution of soils; soil profile; soil erosion and conservation; factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals; problems of deforestation and conservation measures; social forestry, agro-forestry.
v) Environmental Geography : Human ecological adaptations; transformation of nature by man; environmental degradation and conservawtin; ecosystems and their management; global ecological imbalances-problems of pollution, global warming, reduction in bio-diversity and depletion of forests.
Section-B
Human Geography
i) Perspectives in Human Geography : A real differentiation; regional synthesis; dichotomy and dualism; environmentalism; quantitative revolution and locational analysis; radical, behavioural, human and welfare approaches; cultural regions of the world human and welfare approaches; cultural regions of the world; human development indicators.
ii) Economic Geography : World economic develpment-measurement and problems; world resources and their distribution; energy crisis; the limits to growth; world agriculture-typology of agricultural regions; agricultural inputs and productivity; food and nutrition problems; famine-causes, effects and remedies; world industries-location patterns and problems; patterns of world trade.
iii) Population and Settlement Geography : Growth and distribution of world population; demographic atrributes; causes and consequencies of migration; concepts of over-, under- and optimum population; world population problems.
Types and patterns of rural settlements; hierarchy of urban settlements; concept of primate city and rank-size rule; functional classificatipn of towns; sphere of urban influence; rural-urban fringe; satellite town; problems of urbanisation.
iv) Regional Planning : Concept of a region; types of regions and methods of regionalisation; growth centres and growth poles; regional imbalances; environmental issues in regional planning; planning for sustainable development.
v) Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography : System analysis in Human Geography; Malthusian, Marxian and Demographic Transition models; Central Place theories of Christaller and Losch; Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location; Weber’s model of industrial location; Rostov’s model of stages of growth. Heart-land and Rimland theories; laws of international boundaries and frontiers.
Note : Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory map question pertinent to subjects covered by this paper.
Paper-II
Geography of India
Section-A
i) Physical Setting : Space relationship of India with neighbouring countries; structure and relief; drainage system and watersheds; physiographic regions; mechanism of Indian monsoons; tropical cyclones and western distrubances; floods and droughts; climatic regions; natural vegetation, soil types and their distributions.
ii) Resources : Land, surface and groundwater, energy, minerals, and biotic resources, their distribution, utilisation and conservation; energy crisis.
iii) Agriculture : Infrastructure-irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, power; institutional factors-land holdings, land tenure and land reforms; agricultural productivity, agricultural intensity, crop combination, land capability; agro-and social forestry; green revolution and its socio-economic and ecological implications; significance of dry farming; livestock resources and white revolution; blue revolution; agricultural regionalisation; agro-climatic zones.
iv) Industry : Evolution of industries; locational factors of cotton, jute, iron and steel, fertiliser, paper, drugs and pharmaceutical, automobile and cottage indusries; industrial complexes and industrial regionalisaiton; new industrial policy; multinationals and liberalisation.
v) Transport, Communication and Trade : Road, railway, waterway, airway and pipeline networks and their complementary roles in regional development; growing importance of ports on national and foreign trade, trade balance; free trade and export promotion zones; developments in communication technology and its impact on economy and society.
Section-B
i) Cultural Setting : Racial and ethnic diversities; major tribes, tribal areas and their problems; role of langague, religion and tradition in the formation of cultural regions; growth, distribution and density of population; demographic attributes-sex-ratio, age structure, literacy rate, work-force, dependency ratio and longevity; migration (inter-regional, intra-regional and international) and associated problems, population problems and policies.
ii) Settlements : Types, patterns and morphology of rural settlements; urban development; census definition of urban areas; morphology of Indian cities; functional classification of Indian cities; conurbations and metropolitan regions; urban sprawl; slums and associated problems; town planning; problems of urbanisaiton.
iii) Regional Development and Planning: Experience of regional planning in India; Five Year Plans; integrated rural development programmes; panchayati raj and decentralised planning; command area development; watershed management; planning for backward area, desert drought-prone, hill and tribal area development; multi-level planning; geography and regional planning.
iv) Political Aspects : Geographical basis of Indian federalism; state reorganisation; regional consciousness and national integration; international boundary of India and related issues; disputes on sharing of water resources; India and geopolitics of the Indian Ocean.
v) Contemporary Issues : Environmental hazards-landslides, earthquakes, floods and droughts, epidemics; issues related to environmental pollution; changes in patterns of land use; principles of environmental impact assessment and environmental management; population explosion and food security; environmental degradation; problems of agrarian and industrial unrest; regional disparities in economic development; concept of sustainable growth and development.

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