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 actio
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ns. 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
Positivism. 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 -vocational 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 urbanization;
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 positivism;
contributions of Pretzel, Simple, Huntington and La Bache. iv) Recent Period : Quantities 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 vocational 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 urbanization. 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; vocational 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. Note : Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory
map question pertinent to subjects covered by this paper.