UPSC Civil Services Examination Indian and World Geography Syllabus

Indian and World Geography syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Indian and World Geography in UPSC Civil Services Examination, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Physical Geography

   4 topics

   • Geomorphology
     • Interior of the earth and plate tectonics
     • Earthquakes, volcanoes and landforms
   • Climatology
     • Atmospheric circulation and pressure belts
     • Cyclones, jet streams and climate classification
   • Oceanography
     • Ocean currents, tides and salinity
     • Coral reefs and marine resources
   • Biogeography and Soils
2. 2

   Geography of India

   4 topics

   • Physiographic Divisions
     • Himalayas, Northern Plains, Peninsular Plateau
     • Coastal plains and islands
   • Drainage System
     • Himalayan and Peninsular rivers
     • River interlinking and water disputes
   • Indian Monsoon and Climate
   • Natural Vegetation and Soils of India
3. 3

   Human and Economic Geography

   4 topics

   • Population, Migration and Settlements
     • Census, density and demographic trends
     • Rural and urban settlement patterns
   • Agriculture
     • Cropping patterns and farming systems
     • Green Revolution and food security
   • Industries and Infrastructure
     • Industrial location factors
     • Transport and communication networks
   • Mineral and Energy Resources
4. 4

   Resource Distribution and Geophysical Phenomena

   3 topics

   • Distribution of Key Natural Resources Worldwide
     • Location of industries and raw materials
     • Resource geopolitics
   • Geophysical Phenomena
     • Tsunamis and volcanic activity
     • Changes in critical geographical features
   • Map-Based and Locational Geography

Indian and World Geography flashcards for UPSC Civil Services Examination

18 of 50 cards from the Indian and World Geography deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is isostasy in geomorphology?

   The state of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth's lithosphere and the asthenosphere, where lighter crustal blocks 'float' at higher elevations than denser ones, maintaining balance like blocks floating on a fluid.

2. Name the three major classes of rocks and how each is formed.

   Igneous (solidification of magma/lava), Sedimentary (deposition and compaction of sediments), and Metamorphic (transformation of existing rocks by heat and pressure).

3. What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

   Weathering is the in-situ (in-place) breakdown of rocks without transport; erosion is the removal and transport of weathered material by agents like water, wind, or ice.

4. What landforms are created by a river in its youthful, mature, and old stages?

   Youthful: V-shaped valleys, gorges, waterfalls, rapids. Mature: meanders, floodplains. Old: ox-bow lakes, deltas, levees, braided channels.

5. What is the Coriolis effect and how does it influence winds?

   The deflection of moving objects (including winds) due to Earth's rotation - to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. It is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles.

6. Define the normal lapse rate of temperature in the troposphere.

   Approximately 6.5°C decrease per 1,000 metres (or about 1°C per 165 m) of altitude increase.

7. What are the three forms of precipitation based on uplift mechanism?

   Convectional (heating-driven uplift), Orographic (relief/mountain-induced uplift causing rain shadow), and Cyclonic/Frontal (uplift along warm-cold air mass boundaries).

8. What are ocean salinity's average value and the main factors controlling it?

   Average ocean salinity is about 35 parts per thousand (35 ppt/35 g per kg). Controls: evaporation, precipitation, freshwater influx from rivers, and ice melting/formation.

9. What causes ocean tides and what are spring and neap tides?

   Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun plus centrifugal force. Spring tides (highest) occur at full/new moon when Sun-Moon-Earth align; neap tides (lowest) occur at quarter moons when they are at right angles.

10. What is a coral reef and what conditions does coral growth require?

    A calcareous structure built by coral polyps. Requirements: warm water (23-25°C), shallow clear sediment-free water (<60 m depth), normal salinity, and abundant plankton/sunlight.

11. What are the three types of coral reefs?

    Fringing reef (attached to shore), Barrier reef (separated from shore by a lagoon), and Atoll (circular reef enclosing a lagoon, often around a submerged island).

12. What is biogeography's biome and name the major terrestrial biomes by latitude.

    A biome is a large ecological community defined by climate and dominant vegetation. From equator to poles: Tropical rainforest, Savanna, Desert, Mediterranean, Temperate grassland, Temperate forest, Taiga (boreal), Tundra.

13. What are the major soil-forming factors (CLORPT)?

    Climate, Organisms (biota), Relief (topography), Parent material, and Time - the five factors that control soil formation as described by Jenny.

14. What is laterite soil and where does it form?

    A soil rich in iron and aluminium oxides, formed by intense leaching under high temperature and heavy rainfall in tropical/monsoon climates; it is acidic, low in fertility, and hardens on exposure.

15. List the major physiographic divisions of India.

    The Northern Himalayan Mountains, the Northern (Indo-Gangetic) Plains, the Peninsular Plateau, the Indian Desert (Thar), the Coastal Plains, and the Islands (Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep).

16. Name the three parallel ranges of the Himalayas from north to south.

    Greater Himalayas (Himadri), Lesser Himalayas (Himachal), and Outer Himalayas (Shiwaliks).

17. What is a Bhabar and a Terai in the northern plains?

    Bhabar is a narrow porous belt of pebbles/boulders at the Himalayan foothills where streams disappear; Terai is the marshy, re-emergent water zone south of the Bhabar with dense forests.

18. What is the difference between Bhangar and Khadar in the Gangetic plains?

    Bhangar is the older alluvium of higher floodplains (often contains calcareous kankar nodules); Khadar is the newer, more fertile alluvium of lower floodplains deposited by annual floods.

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