Paper – 1 : 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 the earth’s interior;
• Geosynclines;
• Continental drift;
• Isostasy;
• Plate tectonics;
• Recent views on mountain building;
• Vulcanicity;
• Earthquakes and Tsunamis;
• Concepts of geomorphic cycles and Landscape development ;
• 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;
• Atmospheric circulation; atmospheric stability and instability.
• Planetary and local winds;
• Monsoons and jet streams;
• Air masses and frontogenesis, 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, 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; sealevel changes;
• law of the 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;
• Problems of deforestation and conservation measures;
• Social forestry; agro-forestry;
• Wildlife; Major gene pool centres.

5. Environmental Geography: 

• ​​​​​​​Principle of 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.

Human Geography:

1. 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.

2. Economic Geography: 

• World economic development: 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;
• Food security;
• Famine:causes, effects and remedies;
• World industries: Location pattern and problems;
• patterns of world trade.

3. 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: Concepts of primate city and rank-size rule;
• Functional classification of towns;
• Sphere of urban influence;
• Rural urban fringe;
• Satellite towns;
• Problems and remedies of urbanization;
• Sustainable development of cities.

4. Regional Planning: 

• Concept of a region;
• Types of regions and methods of regionalisation;
• Growth centres and growth poles;
• Regional imbalances;
• regional development strategies;
• environmental issues in 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 and Losch;
• Perroux and Boudeville;
• Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location;
• Weber’s model of industrial location;
• Ostrov’s model of stages of growth. Heartland and Rimland theories;
• Laws of international boundaries and frontiers.