Geography for several years now has played an essential role not only in UPSC but also in other entrance examinations such as MPPSC exam, NEST exam, SCRA exam, AILET exam, AIEED exam SSC CGL and even for government recruitment tests. The prelims, Mains, and the optional papers of UPSC consist of a major part of Geography. Keep reading further to access our preparation guide for Geography for UPSC.
Geography is an important subject for students. Students start learning geography from 1st class. Geography helps the students to know about the world. Once students start developing their interest in this subject then this subject is not difficult. Geography is an optional subject chosen by the students of UPSC.
Books for Reference:
To be completely prepared and confident about your preparations, we have curated a list of the top-rated books to prepare from for UPSC Geography. Here is the list of books:
- Oxford Student Atlas for India – Third Edition
- Geography of India by Majid Hussain (McGraw Hill)
- India and World Geography by Majid Hussain (McGraw Hill)
- Magbook Indian & World Geography 2020 by Arihant Experts
- Certificate Physical and Human Geography; Indian Edition by Goh Cheng Leong
- Physical, Human and Economic Geography for Civil Services Examination
- Geography Question Bank (For Civil Services Preliminary Examination)
NCERT:
- NCERT Class X Contemporary India II
- NCERT Class XI India – Physical Environment
- NCERT Class XI Fundamentals of Physical Geography
- NCERT Class XII India – People and Economy
- NCERT Class XII Fundamentals of Human Geography
UPSC PRELIMS – GEOGRAPHY PREPARATION
Knowledge of Geographical features of the world and also the regions in India and the foundational understanding of the candidate is tested in the preliminary section of the UPSC exam (Geography part). Despite the fact that students writing UPSC are informed to study “India and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India & the World”, in order to ace the preliminary round of the UPSC examination, it is essential for the students to develop strong knowledge and overview of highlighted geography-related characteristics and details of the world. Given below are some of the most important topics a student must cover for the preliminary section of UPSC examination.
INDIAN GEOGRAPHY
Under Indian Geography, there are several topics such as physical features, river systems, agriculture, climate, vegetation, infrastructure that must be covered in order to crack the first section.
Basics of India: Location, Neighbours, States and Cities.
Physical Features: Mountains (The Himalayas), Plains (The Great North Indian Plains), Plateaus (Peninsular Plateau), etc
Human Geography: Race, Demography, Events and Current Issues
Economic Infrastructure: Transportation, Power and Energy Sector and Energy Conservation
Climate: Cyclones, Natural disasters, Earthquake and Landslide prone areas, Seasons and Monsoon
Agriculture: Animal husbandry, green revolution, land utilisation, etc
River Systems: Regional Development and Planning, Interlinking of rivers, hydroelectricity, etc
Fauna and Natural Vegetation: Biosphere reserves, Red-listed species, distribution of rainfall, etc.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Human Geography:
This section of physical geography covers topics such as Demography, Economic activities, Settlements, etc.
World Geography:
This section of physical geography covers topics such as Regional Geography of South Asia, Major Natural Regions, Regional Geography of Developing Countries, etc.
The four main aspects of physical geography are: Geomorphology, Oceanology, Climatology and Biogeography.
Geomorphology includes origin of the Earth, Landforms, Weathering, etc.
Oceanology includes waves and tides, ocean reliefs and ocean currents
Climatology includes major climate types, atmosphere, pressure belts, etc.
Biogeography includes food chain, soil, ecosystem, etc.
UPSC MAINS – GEOGRAPHY PREPARATIONS
The topics of focus in UPSC Mains are highly advanced and also test the in-depth understanding of the subject by the student. Compared to the preliminary section of the examination, the Mains are complex and highly demanding of efforts and time. Mains cover five major themes namely, World Geography, Human Geography, Geographical Features, Natural Resources Across Continents (India and South Asia) and Factors of Emergence of Industries. The subjects marked under each of these themes are given below:
World Geography:
Geographical Features of Developing and Developed Countries, South East Asian Geography, Regions, etc.
Human Geography:
Tribes, Migration, Demographics and Census, Population, settlements, etc.
Geographical Features:
Climatology, Ice caps, Earth and its formation, Location shifts, Flora, Fauna, Water bodies, Biogeography and Oceanography, etc.
Natural Resources Across Continents (India and South Asia):
Deserts, Plains, Distribution of Agriculture, climate, western ghats, the Himalayas. Soil, Indian desert, vegetation, etc.
Factors of Emergence of Industries:
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary in Specific Locations in India and Across the World, etc.
OPTIONAL SUBJECT AS GEOGRAPHY FOR UPSC MAINS
There are 48 optional subjects for the students to choose for their UPSC Mains examination. Geography is one among the 48 optional subjects. It is the choice of highest number of students. The Geography optional paper is further divided into two examinations namely optional paper – I and optional paper – II. Read below to know the divided syllabus of both the papers.
PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHY (Optional Paper – I)
Optional paper – I consists of principles of geography. The first paper mainly follows two themes: Human Geography and Physical Geography. The topics covered under these two themes are given below:
Human Geography:
1. Perspectives in Human Geography
2. Regional Planning
3. Population and Settlement Geography
4. Economic Geography
5. Models, Theories and Law in Human Geography
Physical Geography
1. Environmental Geography
2. Climatology
3. Geomorphology
4. Biogeography
5. Oceanology
GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA (Optional Paper – II)
The second optional paper is prepared based on Geography of India. Even thought this paper is more comprehensive, the difficulty level remains the same. This paper consists of 10 main themes, the themes are mentioned below with the subjects covered under them.
1. Political Aspects: International Borders, Cross-border terrorism, Geo-politics of South Asia, History of Reorganisation of States, Inter-state issues and Acts, etc.
2. Settlements: Urbanisation, Slums, Rural and urban planning, Town planning, etc.
3. Transport, Communication & Trade: Ports, Waterways, Contemporary roles in regional development, Indian space program, Export processing zones, roadways, railways, etc.
4. Agriculture: Agro-climatic zones, Industry, Land, Infrastructure, Green & white revolution, Cropping patterns, etc.
5. Physical Setting: Physiographic regions, Indian monsoons, Neighbouring countries, Climatic regions, Disaster: Floods, cyclones, etc.
6. Resources: Wildlife, Minerals, Conservation, Water, Land, Energy, etc.
7. Industry: Paper, Cotton, Fertilizer, Cottage, Iron, History of Industries, Special economic zones, Factors of occurrence of jute, Textile, Agricultural Industries, New industrial policy, etc.
8. Culture Setting: Population & Demography, Tribes and tribal areas, Indian society, Minorities, Cultural regions, Indian society, etc.
9. Regional Development & Planning: Five-year plans, Panchayati Raj, Decentralised Planning, History of planning, Rural development programmes, regional planning, etc.
10. Contemporary Issues: Globalisation & Indian economy, ecological issues, food security, Environmental impact & assessment, sustainable growth, etc.
With this article, we hope all your doubts regarding the geography section (optional paper included) of UPSC examination is cleared. We hope you create a well-planned strategy for your exam and prepare well. Thank you for reading. 😊
