Geography Main Syllabus

Paper-I

Principles of Geography

Physical Geography

1. Geomorphology: Factors controlling landform development; endogenetic and exogenetic forces;Origin and evolution of the earth's crust; Fundamentals of geomagnetism; Physical conditions of theearth's interior; Geosynclines; Continental drift; Isostasy; Plate tectonics; Recent views on mountainbuilding; Vulcanicity; Earthquakes and Tsunamis; Concepts of geomorphic cycles and Landscapedevelopment ; Denudation chronology; Channel morphology; Erosion surfaces; Slope development ;Applied Geomorphology : Geohydrology, economic geology and environment.

2.Climatology: Temperature and pressure belts of the world; Heat budget of the earth; Atmosphericcirculation; atmospheric stability and instability. Planetary and local winds; Monsoons and jet streams;Air masses and fronto genesis, Temperate and tropical cyclones; Types and distribution of precipitation;Weather and Climate; Koppen's, Thornthwaite's and Trewartha's classification of world climates;Hydrological cycle; Global climatic change and role and response of man in climatic changes, Appliedclimatology and Urban climate.

3.Oceanography: Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; Temperature andsalinity of the oceans; Heat and salt budgets, Ocean deposits; Waves, currents and tides; Marineresources: biotic, mineral and energy resources; Coral reefs, coral bleaching; sea-level changes; law ofthe 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; Problemsof deforestation and conservation measures; Social forestry; agroforestry; Wild life; Major gene poolcentres.

5.Environmental Geography: Principle of ecology; Human ecological adaptations; Influence of manon ecology and environment; Global and regional ecological changes and imbalances; Ecosystem theirmanagement and conservation; Environmental degradation, management and conservation;Biodiversity and sustainable development; Environmental policy; Environmental hazards and remedialmeasures; Environmental education and legislation.

Human Geography

1. Perspectives in Human Geography: Areal differentiation; regional synthesis; Dichotomy anddualism; Environmentalism; Quantitative revolution and locational analysis; radical, behavioural,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 resourcesand their distribution; Energy crisis; the limits to growth; World agriculture: typology of agriculturalregions; agricultural inputs and productivity; Food and nutrition problems; Food security; famine:causes, effects and remedies; World industries: locational patterns and problems; patterns of worldtrade.

3.Population and Settlement Geography: Growth and distribution of world population; demographicattributes; Causes and consequences of migration; concepts of 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 ruralsettlements; Hierarchy of urban settlements; Urban morphology: Concepts of primate city and rank-sizerule; Functional classification of towns; Sphere of urban influence; Rural - urban fringe; Satellitetowns; Problems and remedies of urbanization; Sustainable development of cities.

4.Regional Planning: Concept of a region; Types of regions and methods of regionalisation; Growthcentres and growth poles; Regional imbalances; regional development strategies; environmental issuesin regional planning; Planning for sustainable development.

5.Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography: Systems analysis in Human geography;Malthusian, Marxian and demographic transition models; Central Place theories of Christaller andLosch;Perroux and Boudeville; Von Thunen's model of agricultural location; Weber's model ofindustrial location; Ostov's model of stages of growth. Heartland and Rimland theories; Laws ofinternational boundaries and frontiers.

PART 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 rainfallpatterns, Tropical cyclones and western disturbances; Floods and droughts; Climatic regions; Naturalvegetation; Soil types and their distributions.

2. Resources: Land, surface and ground water, energy, minerals, biotic and marine resources; Forestand wild life 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, cropcombination, land capability; Agro and social-forestry; Green revolution and its socio- economic andecological implications; Significance of dry farming; Livestock resources and white revolution; aqua -culture; sericulture, apiculture and poultry; agricultural regionalisation; agro-climatic zones;agroecological regions.

4. Industry: Evolution of industries; Locational factors of cotton, jute, textile, iron and steel,aluminium, fertilizer, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical, automobile, cottage and agro-basedindustries; Industrial houses and complexes including public sector undertakings; Industrial regionali-sation; New industrial policies; Multinationals and liberalization; Special Economic Zones; Tourismincluding eco - tourism.

5. Transport, Communication and Trade: Road, railway, waterway, airway and pipeline networksand their complementary roles in regional development; Growing importance of ports on national andforeign trade; Trade balance; Trade Policy; Export processing zones; Developments in communicationand 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, distributionand density of population; Demographic attributes: sex-ratio, age structure, literacy rate, work-force,dependency ratio, longevity; migration (inter-regional, intra- regional and international) and associatedproblems; 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 metropolitanregions; urban sprawl; Slums and associated problems; town planning; Problems of urbanization andremedies.

8. Regional Development and Planning: Experience of regional planning in India; Five Year Plans;Integrated rural development programmes; Panchayati Raj and decentralised planning; Command areadevelopment; Watershed management; Planning for backward area, desert, drought prone, hill, tribalarea development; multi-level planning; Regional planning and development of island territories.

9. Political Aspects: Geographical basis of Indian federalism; State reorganisation; Emergence of newstates; 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 relating to environmental pollution; Changes inpatterns of land use; Principles of environmental impact assessment and environmental management;Population explosion and food security; Environmental degradation; Deforestation, desertification andsoil 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.

NOTE: Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory map question pertinent to subjectscovered by this paper.

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