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Syllabus of Geography Paper - I (PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHY)


Physical Geography

  1. 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, and environment.
  2. 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, and role and response of man in climatic changes Applied climatology and Urban climate.
  3. 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.
  4. Biogeography: Genesis of soils; Classification and distribution of soils; Soil profile; Soil erosion, Degradation, and conservation; Factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals; Problems of deforestation and conservation measures; Social forestry, agro-forestry; Wildlife; Major gene pool centers.
  5. 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.

Human Geography

  1. Perspectives in Human Geography: Areal differentiation; regional synthesis; Dichotomy and dualism; Environmentalism; Quantitative revolution and locational analysis; Radical, behavioral, human, and welfare approaches; Languages, religions, and secularisation; Cultural regions of the world; Human development index.
  2. 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.
  3. Population and Settlement Geography: Growth and distribution of world population; 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.
  4. Regional Planning: Concept of a region; Types of regions and methods of regionalization; Growth centers and growth poles; Regional imbalances; regional development strategies; environmental issues in regional planning; Planning for sustainable development. 
  5. 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.

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Syllabus of Geography Paper - II (GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA)

  1. Physical Setting: Space relationship of India with neighboring countries; Structure and relief; Drainage system and watersheds; Physiographic regions; Mechanism of Indian monsoons and rainfall patterns; Tropical cyclones and western disturbances; Floods and droughts; Climatic regions; Natural vegetation, Soil types and their distributions.
  2. Resources: Land, surface and ground water, energy, minerals, biotic and marine resources, Forest and wildlife resources and their conservation; Energy crisis.
  3. 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.
  4. Industry: Evolution of industries; 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Settlements: Types, patterns, and morphology of rural settlements; Urban developments; Morphology of Indian cities; Functional classification of Indian cities; Conurbations and metropolitan regions; Urban sprawl; Slums and associated problems; Town planning; Problems of urbanisation and remedies.
  8. 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.
  9. Political Aspects: Geographical basis of Indian federalism; State reorganization; Emergence of new states; Regional consciousness and inter-state issues; International boundary of India and related issues; Cross-border terrorism; India’s role in world affairs; Geopolitics of South Asia and Indian Ocean realm.
  10. 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; Problems of agrarian and industrial unrest; Regional disparities in economic development; Concept of sustainable growth and development; Environmental awareness; Linkage of rivers; Globalisation and Indian economy.

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Previous Year UPSC Questions

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
2020 2019 2018 2017
2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
2020 2019 2018 2017

Paper-1


SECTION ‘A’

  1. Answer the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
    (a) Explain the causes of glacial lake outburst flood.
    (b) What is solifluction? What are its impacts?
    (c) What geological and tectonic processes lead to the formation of nappes orogenic belts?
    (d) Explain the relationship between air masses and local winds.
    (e) What are the fundamental differences among ocean wave, ocean current and tide?
  2. (a) How does denudation chronology help in understanding the sequential development of landscapes and landforms? Elucidate. 20
    (b). What is deep-sea mining? What are the potential benefits and risks associated with it? 15
    (c). Man and wildlife conflicts are ever increasing. Discuss its causes, consequences and remedies. 15
  3. (a) Examine the formation of atmospheric tricellular circulation system. Describe with example its importance in making the Earth a living planet. 20
    (b) What is the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'? How does it balance ecological goals with emerging socio-economic needs like food security and development? 15
    (c) "The Himalaya is still rising." Expand this statement and describe the processes involved in it with suitable sketches and examples. 15
  4. (a) What are the ecological consequences of agricultural deforestation in the Amazon and Congo Basins, particularly concerning biodiversity and climate regulation? 20
    (b) Examine the distribution and balance of energy in the Earth's atmosphere system. 15
    (c) Describe the process of formation of barrier islands and explain their significance. 15

SECTION ‘B’

  1. Answer the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
    (a) Why did the Welfare Approach in Human Geography emerge as a significant perspective in 1970s?
    (b) What are the key environmental and economic challenges linked to the extraction and processing of critical minerals?
    (c) "Pull factors in internal migration are often based on perceptions rather than reality." Explain.
    (d) "Regional imbalances are the product of in situ and ex situ factors." Elucidate it with examples.
    (e) Why is systems analysis important in urban planning and what are its limitations?
  2. (a) How have dichotomy and dualism affected the methodological development of Geography? Describe. 20
    (b) Analyze the role of language and religion in delineating major cultural regions of the world. 15
    (c) Analyze the spatial patterns and regional specialization of plantation crops across tropical and subtropical regions. 15
  3. (a) Why is oil important for energy security? What is the role of oil in clean energy transition? 20
    (b) Critically evaluate the role of primate cities in dominating the urban spheres of influence in developing countries. 15
    (c) "The global demographic landscape is evolving with rapid population growth in some places and rapid ageing in others." Elucidate with examples. 15
  4. (a) Why has F. Perroux's theory of growth pole as a model of regional growth been criticised? Explain with examples. 20
    (b) Analyze the role of demographic transition theory in explaining variations in fertility and mortality rates globally. 15
    (c) How do regional components make the regional synthesis in spatial arrangement? Explain. 15

Paper-2


SECTION ‘A’

  1. (a) Write short notes on the following in about 150 words each: (a) On the outline map of India provided to you, mark the location of all of the following. Write in your QCA Booklet the significance of these locations, whether physical/commercial/economic/ecological/environmental/cultural, in not more than 30 words for each entry: 2×10=20
    1. Rushikulya River
    2. Datar Hill
    3. Kikruma
    4. Choritand Tillaya
    5. Byalalu
    6. Neyyar
    7. Uttarlai
    8. Sri Vijayapuram
    9. Dharwas
    10. Gitabitan
  2. map
    (b) Referring to the location and physical formation of karewas, highlight their economic significance. 10
    (c) How does Himalayan ecosystem regulate the cropping pattern and agricultural activities in Himalayan region of India? Discuss. 10
    (d) Write a critically argued essay on nautical tourism and its infrastructure in India. 10
  3. (a) Explain the factors which contribute to the growth of India's pharmaceutical industry with specific reference to its concentration in western region of India. 20
    (b) Why are coral reefs in India most important with respect to its dynamic ecosystem? Explore. 15
    (c) How does the agricultural sector of India confront with the contemporary physical and politico-economic changes in the different regions of the country? Elucidate. 15
  4. (a) Why is the pattern of population distribution of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes different in India? Compare their socio-economic problems with examples. 20
    (b) Highlight the characteristics of land utilisation in Eastern Ghats region of India. What are the recent threats to land utilisation method in the region? 15
    (c) What are the challenges of dairy sector in India? Describe the contribution of bovine population. 15
  5. (a) "Socio-political landscape in India is a result of regional consciousness creating inter-state disputes." Discuss with region specific examples. 20
    (b) Why cottage industries in India are an integral part of Indian socio-economic structure? Assess this with reference to different types of cottage industries in rural India. 15
    (c) "The rural settlements in India are highly diversified due to both physical and cultural factors." Justify the statement with examples. 15

SECTION ‘B’

  1. (a) How can rural-urban fringe be delineated? Explain with suitable examples from India. 10
    (b) "Spatial distribution of religious groups in India does not show any specific pattern." Illustrate with arguments. 10
    (c) "Watershed is the most appropriate spatial unit for planning." Comment. 10
    (d) Is North East India a geo-political or geo-cultural region? Justify your answer. 10
    (e) Discuss the necessary conditions for the cultivation of fox nuts and describe the areas of its production in India. 10
  2. (a) Describe the causes of the phenomenon of 'urban heat island'. What are the effective measures to deal with this phenomenon in India? 20
    (b) With reference to the transport and communication network of India, critically discuss the Sagarmala project. 15
    (c) What are the key features of sex-ratio of population in India? Evaluate the impacts of child sex-ratio on general sex-ratio in the country. 15
  3. (a) Explain the factors that contribute to droughts in India with specific reference food production, distribution and availability. Can Indian agricultural policies resolve the issue? 20
    (b) What are the causes and consequences of land degradation due to desertification in India? Examine with reference to various regional issues. 15
    (c) Examine the validity of Blue Economy initiatives of India. Elaborate the impacts of this economy on country's development. 15
  4. (a) While defining the green architecture, discuss its principles and challenges in response to climate change in India. 20
    (b) With reference to typical examples, assess why regional planning in India is important for island territories for their sustainable development. 15
    (c) With reference to international boundaries of India, discuss the related issues, giving suitable examples. 15

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