UPSC Geography Optional Notes
- Geography
- Geomorphology
- Climatology
- Oceanography
- Biogeography
- Environmental Geography
- Perspectives in Human Geography
- Economic Geography
- Population and Settlement Geography
- Regional Planning
- Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography
- Physical Setting
- Resources
- Agriculture
- Industry
- Transport, Communication, and Trade
- Cultural Setting
- Settlements
- Regional Development and Planning
- Political Aspects
- Contemporary Issues
- Political Science and International Relation
- Sociology
- Anthropology
- Public Administration
PAPER-I
Section A
Geomorphology
- Factors controlling landform development
- endogenetic and exogenetic forces
- Origin and evolution of the earth’s crusts
- Fundamentals of geomagnetism
- Physical conditions of the earth’s interior
- Geosynclines
- Continental drift
- Isostasy
- Plate tectonics
- Recent views on mountain building
- Volcanicity
- Earthquakes and Tsunamis
- Concepts of geomorphic cycles and Landscape development
- Denudation chronology
- Channel morphology
- Erosion surfaces
- Slope development
- Applied Geomorphology
- Geomorphology
- economic geology
- environment
Climatology
- Temperature and pressure belts of the world
- Heat budget of the earth
- Atmospheric circulation
- Atmospheric stability and instability
- Planetary and local winds
- Monsoons and jet streams
- Air masses and fronts
- Temperate and tropical cyclones
- Types and distribution of precipitation
- Weather and Climate
- Koppen’s Thornthwaite’s and Trewartha’s classification of world climate
- Hydrological cycle
- Global climatic change
- role and response of man in climatic changes Applied climatology and Urban climate
Oceanography
- Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans
- Temperature and salinity of the oceans
- Heat and salt budgets, Ocean deposits
- Waves, currents, and tides
- Marine resources
- biotic, mineral, and energy resources
- Coral reefs coral bleaching
- Sea-level changes
- Law of the sea and marine pollution.
Biogeography
Environmental Geography
- Principle of ecology
- Human ecological adaptations
- Influence of man on ecology and environment
- Global and regional ecological changes and imbalances
- Ecosystem their management and conservation
- Environmental degradation, management, and conservation; Biodiversity and sustainable development
- Environmental policy
- Environmental hazards and remedial measures
- Environmental education and legislation
Section B
Perspectives in Human Geography
Economic Geography
- World economic development: measurement and problems
- World resources and their distribution
- Energy crisis
- the limits to growth
- World agriculture: a typology of agricultural regions
- Agricultural inputs and productivity
- Food and nutrition problems
- Food security
- famine: causes, effects, and remedies
- World industries: location patterns and problems
- Patterns of world trade.
Population and Settlement Geography
- Patterns of world trade.
- Demographic attributes
- Causes and consequences of migration
- Concepts of the over-under-and optimum population
- Population theories, world population problems and policies, Social well-being and quality of life
- Population as social capital. Types and patterns of rural settlements
- Environmental issues in rural settlements
- Hierarchy of urban settlements
- Urban morphology
- Concept of primate city and rank-size rule
- Functional classification of towns
- Sphere of urban influence
- Rural-urban fringe
- Satellite towns
- Problems and remedies of urbanization
- Sustainable development of cities
Regional Planning
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
- Perroux and Boudeville
- Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location
- Weber’s model of industrial location
- Ostov’s model of stages of growth. Heartland and Rimland theories
- Laws of international boundaries and frontiers
PAPER-II
Section A
Physical Setting
Resources
Agriculture
- Infrastructure: irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, power
- Institutional factors
- land holdings, land tenure and land reforms
- Cropping pattern, 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
- Aquaculture
- Sericulture, Agriculture and poultry
- Agricultural regionalisation
- Agro-climatic zones
- Agroecological regions
Industry
- Agroecological regions
- Locational factors of cotton, jute, textile, iron and steel, aluminum, fertiliser, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical, automobile, cottage, and ago-based industries
- Industrial houses and complexes including public sector undertakings
- Industrial regionalisation
- New industrial policy
- Multinationals and liberalisation
- Special Economic Zones
- Tourism including ecotourism
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
- Trade Policy
- Export processing zones
- Developments in communication and information technology and their impacts on economy and society
- Indian space programme
Section B
Cultural Setting
- Historical Perspective of Indian Society
- Racial linguistic and ethnic diversities
- religious minorities
- Major tribes,tribal areas, and their problems
- Cultural regions
- Growth, distribution, and density of population
- Demographic attributes: sex-ratio, age structure, literacy rate, work-force, dependency ratio, longevity
- migration (inter-regional, intraregional and international) and associated problems
- Population problems and policies
- Health indicators
Settlements
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 tribal area development
- Multi-level planning
- Regional planning and development of island territories
Political Aspects
Contemporary Issues
- Ecological issues: Environmental hazards: landslides, earthquakes, Tsunamis, 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
- Deforestation, desertification, and soil erosion
- Deforestation, desertification, and soil erosion
- Regional disparities in economic development
- Concept of sustainable growth and development
- Environmental awareness
- Linkage of rivers
- Globalisation and Indian economy
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