For the civil services mains examination, UPSC provides 41 optional subjects. Each aspirant should select one optional paper of their choice and appear in two papers (Paper-I and Paper-II). Among these options, for a long time, Geography has been one of the most popular optional subjects among civil services aspirants. Though the syllabus is vast, it is equally preferred by engineering, science, art, and humanities graduates.
The first step to prepare for the Geography Optional is thoroughly reading and understanding the NCERT Geography Books. Even before that understanding the contents of each of the 10 NCERT Geography Books. With that in mind, the key topics covered in each of these books are given below for a high-level understanding before you dive deep into the option.
CHAPTER 1 – THR EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Full moon; New moon; celestial bodies; stars; constellations; Pole Star; planets.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM - The Sun; Planets; Orbits; The Earth; Geoid; The Moon; asteroids; meteoroids; galaxy; Universe.
CHAPTER 2 - GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES
Globe; axis; equator; parallels of latitudes.
IMPORTANT PARALLELS OF LATITUDES - Tropic of Cancer; Tropic of Capricorn; Arctic Circle; Antarctic Circle.
HEAT ZONES OF THE EARTH - Torrid Zone; Temperate Zones; Frigid Zones.
WHAT ARE LONGITUDES? - Prime Meridian.
LONGITUDE AND TIME – WHY DO WE HAVE STANDARD TIME?
CHAPTER 3 - MOTIONS OF THE EARTH
Rotation; Revolution; orbital plane; Circle of illumination; revolution; leap year; elliptical orbit; Summer Solstice; Winter Solstice; equinox.
CHAPTER 4 – MAPS
Map
PHYSICAL MAPS - physical or relief maps.
POLITICAL MAPS
THEMATIC MAPS - Components of Maps
DISTANCE – Scale; small scale map; large scale map.
DIRECTION - cardinal points.
SYMBOLS - conventional symbols.
SKETCH – Plan
CHAPTER 5 - MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH
Lithosphere; Atmosphere; Hydrosphere; Biosphere.
LITHOSPHERE – continents; ocean basins; Continents; Asia; Europe; Africa; Nile; North America; South America; Australia; Antarctica; Maitri; Dakshin Gangotri.
HYDROSPHERE – Oceans.
ATMOSPHERE - BIOSPHERE – THE DOMAIN OF LIFE
CHAPTER 6 - MAJOR LANDFORMS OF THE EARTH
Internal process; external process; erosion; deposition; mountains; plateaus and plains.
MOUNTAINS – glaciers; range; Fold Mountains; Block Mountains and the Volcanic Mountains; Block Mountains; horsts; graben; volcanic activity; storehouse; glaciers; river valleys; terraces; flora; fauna.
PLATEAUS - table land.
PLAINS – LANDFORMS AND THE PEOPLE
CHAPTER 7 - OUR COUNTRY – INDIA
Himalayas; Arabian Sea; Bay of Bengal; Indian Ocean.
LOCATIONAL SETTING - Tropic of Cancer (23°30'N); 37°6'N latitudes; 97°25'E longitudes.
INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS - POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
PHYSICAL DIVISIONS - Great Himalaya; Himadri; Middle Himalaya; Himachal; Shiwalik; Northern Indian plains; Great Indian desert; Peninsular plateau; Vindhyas; Satpuras; Narmada; Tapi; Western Ghats; Sahyadris; Eastern Ghats; Coastal plains.; Mahanadi; Godavari; Krishna; Kaveri; Lakshadweep Islands; Andaman; Nicobar Islands.
CHAPTER 8 - INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Weather
COLD WEATHER SEASON OR WINTER
HOT WEATHER SEASON OR SUMMER – loo
SOUTH WEST MONSOON SEASON OR RAINY SEASON
SEASON OF RETREATING MONSOONS OR AUTUMN – climate; Monsoon; mausim; location; altitude; distance from the sea; relief.
NATURAL VEGETATION - WHY ARE FORESTS NECESSARY?
WILD LIFE - national animal; national bird.