BPSC SYLLABUS

BPSC GEOGRAPHY OPTIONAL SYLLABUS

Section- I

Principles of Geography:-

Part- A. Physical Geography:

(i) Geomorphology –

Origin and evolution of the earth's crust: earth movements and plate tectonics; volcanism; cycle of erosion.- Davis and Penck; fluvial, glacial, arid and karst land-forms; rejuvenated and polycyclic land-

forms.

(ii) Climatology: -

The atomosphere, its structure and composition; air masses and fronts; cyclones and related

phenomena; climatic classification; koeppon and Thornthwait; groundwater and hydrological cycle.

(iii) Soils and vegetation-

Soil genesis, classification and distribution: ecological aspects of savanna and

monsoon forest biomes.

(iv) Oceanography: -

Ocean bottom relief. Relief of Indian Ocean floor. Salinity. currents and tides; ocean

deposits and coral reefs;

(v) Ecosystem. –

Ecosystem concept, Man's impact on the ecosystem, global ecological imbalances.

Part B. Human and Economic Geography.

(i) Devleopment of Geographical Thought: -

Contributions of European and British Geographers, determinism

and possiblilism; Dualism in Geography, quantitative and behavioural revolutions in geography.

(ii) Human Geography-

Emergence of man and races of mankind cultural evolution of man; major cultural relams of the world; international migrations, past and present; world population-distribution and growth;

demographic transtition and world population.

(iii) Settlements Geography: -

Concepts of rural and urban settlements, Organs of Urbançation; Rural settlement

patterns; city classifications; urban spheres of influence and the rural urban fringe, the internal structure of cities;

problems of urban growth in the world.

(iv) Political Geography:-

Concepts of nation and state; frontiers, boundaries, and buffer zones; concept of heartland and rimland;federalism.

(v) Economic Geography.-

World economic development-measurement and problems; concept of resources, world resources, their distribution and global problems; world energy crisis; and limits to growth; world

agriculture-typology and world agricultural regions; theory of agriculturaral location, world industry-theory of location of industries; world industrial patterns and problems; world trade and world trade pattern.

Section- II

GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA.

Physical Aspects: -

Geological history, Physiography and drainage systems; orign and mechanism of the Indian monsoon, soils and vegetation.

Human Aspects –

Tribal areas and their problems; population distribution, density and growth; population

problems and policies.

Resources –

Conservation and utilçation of land mineral water biotic and marine resources; ecological problems

and their management.

Agriculture –

Irrigation intensity of cropping, crop combinations, green revolution, agricultural land use policy,

Rural economy-Animal husbandry, social forestry and household industry.

Industry: -

History of industrial development; factors of location study of mineral based, agro-based and forest-

based industries, industrial complexed and industrial regionalisation.

Transport and Trade –

Study of the network of roadways railways, waterways, intra and inter-regional trade and the role of rural market centres.

Settlements-

Rural Settlement patterns; urban development in Indian and its problems, internal structure of

Indian cities; town planning, slums nad urban housing; national urbanisation policy.

Regional Development and planning:- Five-years plan; multilevel planning; state, district and block level planning

regional disparities in development in India.

Political Aspects.-

Political problem of India, state reorgançation; the international boundary of India and related

issues; India and geopolitics of the Indian Ocean area.

Geography of Bihar under the following heads: -

Physiographic divisions, soils, forests, climate, pattern of agriculture, problems of drought-prone and flood affected regions and their solution, chief mineral resources-iron ore, copper, bauxite mica and coal; principal industries-iron and steel, aluminium, cement, Sugar: principal industrial regions, problems of population in Bihar, problem of tribal population and their solution; pattern of urbanisation in Bihar.