Do you want to know what makes Geography Optional Complicated? Well, you can acknowledge and understand it by going through the syllabus of Geography and knowing the pros and cons of taking Geography Optional for the UPSC examination. So, let’s start!
Also Read: UPSC Geography Optional Paper 2021: Check Out the Paper and Get Prepared for UPSC CSE 2022!
Why is Geography Chosen by Candidates?
Well, you must be wondering what makes Geography optional complicated? Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of taking Geography optional for the UPSC exam.
Pros
#. The definite information on Geography makes it simple for the candidates and encourages them to travel for self-study for geography optional.
#. Geography is straightforward to know and a lot of scientific subjects, that’s why it’s most well-liked by several aspirants from science, medical and engineering backgrounds.
#. Only ideas ought to be understood, and you’re prepared for the examination.
#. There is no shortage of study material and many other books are obtainable for geography.
#. Geography optional information has tremendous overlap with General Studies each in prelims and also the mains.
With the dynamic queries, geography conjointly contains a ton of references to subjects like social science, environment, ecology, and environment.
#. Aspirants may also use what they learn in geography subjects in their essay papers on varied topics.
#. Even within the UPSC test, geography is helpful to clear the examination, because the board will raise queries on the native Geography of a candidate’s home city like soil, vegetation, minerals, etc.
#. Geography may be a most promising marking subject as a result in contrast to subjects like humanities, there’s not a lot of scope for interpretation. Over this, the diagrams, flowcharts, etc. will be accustomed to getting a lot of marks.
#. The map-based queries are marked and straightforward to answer.
Cons
#. The biggest negative purpose concerning geography is that it covers a large section of information.
#. The competition during this optional subject is large as compared to other optional subjects.
#. The subjects are too prolonged, and typically it becomes troublesome to learn tons of data at one go.
Also Read: What are Endogenic and Exogenic Forces? UPSC Geography Exam Notes for 2021-22
Geography Optional for UPSC
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 front; Temperate and tropical cyclones; Types and distribution of precipitation; Weather and Climate; Koppen’s Thornthwaite’s and Trewar Tha’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. 63 The Government strives to have a workforce that reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.
#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, agroforestry; Wildlife; Major gene pool centres.
#5. Environmental Geography: Principle 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.
#6. Human Geography: Perspectives in Human Geography: Areal differentiation; regional synthesis; Dichotomy and dualism; Environmentalism; Quantitative revolution and locational analysis; Radical, behavioural, human, and welfare approaches; Languages, religions, and secularisation; Cultural regions of the world; Human development index.
#7. 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.
#8. 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 urbanisation; Sustainable development of cities.
#9. Regional Planning: Concept of a region; Types of regions and methods of regionalization; Growth centres and growth poles; Regional imbalances; regional development strategies; environmental issues in regional planning; Planning for sustainable development.
#10. 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.
Also Read: Which Geography NCERT for UPSC? Here is the List of Books You Should Prefer for UPSC Preparation
Paper-II
# Geography of India
#1. Physical Setting: Space relationship of India with neighbouring 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 groundwater, energy, minerals, biotic and marine resources, Forest and wildlife resources and their conservation; Energy crisis. 64 The Government strives to have a workforce that reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.
#3. Agriculture : Infrastructure: irrigation, seeds, fertilisers, power; Institutional factors; landholdings, 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 regionalization; Agro-climatic zones; Agro-ecological regions.
#4. Industry: Evolution of industries; Locational factors of cotton, jute, textile, iron and steel, aluminium, fertiliser, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical, automobile, cottage, and agro-based industries; Industrial houses and complexes including public sector underlings; Industrial regionalization; 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 program.
#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, interregional 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 programs; Panchayati Raj and decentralised planning; Command area development; Watershed management; Planning for the 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; the 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.
Also Read: Best YouTube Channels for UPSC World Geography Preparation: Complete Syllabus Coverage
Conclusion
If you have fetched all the important information and details from this article, visit the UPSC Pathshala website for more knowledge regarding the UPSC exam.
