BPSC Geography Optional Syllabus

In the Mains Examination of BPSC students have to give an optional paper. This optional paper has been made a qualifying paper in which candidates have to score a minimum marks only after which other papers will be checked. BPSC has given a list of almost 34 subjects from which candidates have to chose only one subject as his/her optional subject. Geography is one among them. In this post you will know about BPSC Geography Optional Syllabus. The Geography optional syllabus is divided into two sections- Section-1 and Section-2.

BPSC Geography Optional Section- 1

Principles of Geography:

Part- A Physical Geography

1. Geo-morphology – 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.
2. Climatology: – The atomosphere, its structure and composition; air masses and fronts; cyclones and related phenomena; climatic classification; koeppon and Thornthwait; groundwater and hydrological cycle.
3. Soils and vegetation- Soil genesis, classification and distribution: ecological aspects of savanna and monsoon forest biomes.
4. Oceanography: – Ocean bottom relief. Relief of Indian Ocean floor. Salinity. currents and tides; ocean deposits and coral reefs.
5. Ecosystem. – Ecosystem concept, Man’s impact on the ecosystem, global ecological imbalances.

Part B Human and Economic Geography

1. Development of Geographical Thought: – Contributions of European and British Geographers, determinism and possiblilism; Dualism in Geography, quantitative and behavioural revolutions in geography.
2. Human Geography- Emergence of man and races of mankind cultural evolution of man; major cultural realms of the world; international migrations, past and present; world population-distribution and growth; demographic transition and world population.
3. 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.
4. Political Geography:- Concepts of nation and state; frontiers, boundaries, and buffer zones; concept of heartland and rimland; federalism.
5. 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 agricultural location, world industry-theory of location of industries; world industrial patterns and problems; world trade and world trade patterns.

BPSC Geography Optional Section- 2

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 reorganisation; 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.

BPSC Geography Optional Syllabus FAQ