Geography Optional: Think, Learn and Perform (Online), 2016

Dear Aspirants

Once again, we are extremely glad to announce the Think, Learn and Perform, online initiative for Geography optional. It is a 75 day plan to cover the entire optional syllabus in a comprehensive and innovative manner. It has been planned in a way that by investing 4-5 hours from the daily routine, one can maximize his/her output. The only thing required from your side is commitment towards this plan. If you religiously follow this initiative, we can assure you that the chances of increasing your scores would rise substantially.

About the initiative:

We have already given you the detailed study plans for various components of the syllabus in terms of syllabus, approach, imperatives, resources etc. The strategy would be updated regularly to cover all the remaining portions of the syllabus.

Kindly note that although we shall be providing strategies for individual components of the syllabus and in fact have already provided for most of them, the representative strategy for Physical Geography is Climatology. Therefore, through the strategy of Climatology first. But in no case avoid the detailed strategies of other portions.

The relevant portions of Paper I and II have been clubbed to ease your efforts. Geography optional can’t be understood without seamless integration of topics from different components of the syllabus. For example, you can’t understand desertification without having fair idea of climatic regions of the world. Similarly, you are expected to apply the concepts of Paper I into Paper II and vice versa. There are certain topics which are repeated e.g agro and social forestry, desertification, disasters etc. We have thus integrated such topics in the plan. It will definitely give you a better and comprehensive idea of the subject. Most importantly, this approach saves a lot of your time and effort.

Based on this strategy and your efforts, we shall be posting a total of 5 questions daily. These questions shall be in the following format.

Question 1. 5 map entries asking their location and a brief description

Question 2. Terminologies related to the chapter/topic mentioned in the 100 day plan

Question 3. Blue blooded Geography theory question to check your conceptual clarity

Question 4. Application based descriptive/ essay type question

Question 5. Reserved; may be of any type depending upon the requirement of topic

We don’t guarantee reviews from IASbaba as we are facing recourse crunch at this moment. Still, we will try our best to review the answers of regular and sincere candidates. Last year, the strength of the feedback system was the robust peer support that was formed by the followers of the programme themselves. This year also, you can form groups of maximum 5-6 candidates and connect with each other for mutual reviews and feedback.

Mini tests will be conducted every 15 days. This means that you shall have a minimum of 5 mini tests during this period.

After the completion of 75 days, full mock test for both the papers will be conducted.

Periodically IASbaba will come up with articles for important and tricky topics and also about improving the quality of answers.

Important

Map entries and terminologies are meant for your reference. By the end of 100 days, you will be having command over 500 map entries and terminologies. It will act as pillars to your preparation. We strongly recommend you to take them very seriously.

Like a proactive Public Information Officer, we are giving you a detailed check list of the requirements of an answer as expected from UPSC. Here at IAS Baba, your answers shall be reviewed by taking into account the following factors:

Interpretation and understanding of the question
Knowledge of the concept being asked
Presentation
Use of maps, flowcharts and diagrams
Use of examples and case studies to support the answer
Adherence to word limit

You can upload your answers by clicking a picture of your answer booklet. The picture quality should be clear and sharp. You can also type your answers in the comment box. In fact it would be appreciated.

Never hesitate in discussing among yourselves. But don’t waste your time beyond a point. Time is precious; value it.

Don’t have any doubts

This initiative is meant for 2016 aspirants. However, others can also participate.

Plan will start on Monday, 29^th

There won’t be any questions on Sundays

There is no fee. The initiative is free of cost and open to all.

It is mandatory to have a login id and user name to join this initiative.

Detailed 75 day plan of TLP Geography:

Day	Date	Syllabus from Paper I	Syllabus from Paper II
Day 1	29^th August	Growth and distribution of world population, Demographic attributes	Growth, distribution and density of population, Demographic attributes: sex-ratio, age structure, literacy rate, work-force, dependency ratio, longevity
Day 2	30^th August	Causes and consequences of migration, Concepts of over-under-and optimum population	Migration (inter-regional, intra- regional and international) and associated problems
Day 3	31^st August	Population theories, World population problems and policies	Health indicators, Population explosion and food security, Demographic Dividend
Day 4	1^st September	Social well-being and quality of life, Population as social capital	Census 2011, Socio Economic and Caste Census, National Population Register, Census of Religion etc
Day 5	2^nd September	Concept of a region, Types of regions and methods of regionalisation, Growth centres and growth poles	NA
Day 6	3^rd September	Regional imbalances, Regional development strategies, Environmental issues in regional planning, Planning for sustainable development.	NA
Day 7	5^th September	NA	Experience of regional planning in India, Five Year Plans, Integrated rural development programmes, Panchayati Raj and decentralized planning, Command area development
Day 8	6^th September	NA	Watershed management, Planning for backward area, desert, drought prone, hill, tribal area development; Multi-level planning, Regional planning and development of island territories
Day 9	7^th September	NA	Regional disparities in economic development, Concept of sustainable growth and development, Linkage of rivers, Special Category States, NITI Aayog
Day 10	8^th September	Temperature and pressure belts of the world, Heat budget of the earth, Atmospheric circulation, Atmospheric stability and instability	NA
Day 11	9^th September	Planetary and local winds, Monsoons and jet streams	Mechanism of Indian monsoons and rainfall patterns, Cloud burst, Uttarakhnad and J&K disasters
Day 12	10^th September	Air masses and frontogenesis, Temperate and tropical cyclones, Types and distribution of precipitation	Tropical cyclones and western disturbances, Recent tropical cyclones e.g. Hudhud, Neelam etc,
Day 13	12^th September	Weather and Climate; Koppen’s, Thornthwaite’s and Trewartha’s classification of world climates;	Monsoon prediction techniques, El Nino, its consequences and prediction, Cloud burst, Uttarakhnad and J&K disasters
Day 14	13^th September	Hydrological cycle, Global climatic change and role and response of man in climatic changes	NAPCC, Climate change negotiations at UNFCCC etc
Day 15	14^th September	Applied climatology and Urban climate	Floods and droughts, Climatic regions
Day 16	15^th September	Mini test on Population Geography, RP and Climatology	Mini test on Population Geography, RP and Climatology
Day 17	16^th September	Genesis of soils, Classification and distribution of soils, Soil profile	Soil types and their distribution
Day 18	17^th September	Soil erosion, degradation and conservation, Factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals	Soil erosion, Natural vegetation
Day 19	19^th September	Problems of deforestation and conservation measures, Social forestry, Agroforestry	Deforestation, Desertification, Agro and social forestry
Day 20	20^th September	Wild life, Major gene pool centres	Biotic, forest and wildlife resources and their conservation, Land capability
Day 21	21^st September	Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, Temperature and salinity of the oceans, Heat and salt budgets	NA
Day 22	22^nd September	Ocean deposits; Waves, currents and tides	NA
Day 23	23^rd September	Marine resources: biotic, mineral and energy resources	Marine resources
Day 24	24^th September	Coral reefs, coral bleaching, Sea-level changes, Law of the sea and marine pollution	Maritime border disputes of India
Day 25	26^th September	Principle of ecology, Human ecological adaptations	NA
Day 26	27^th September	Influence of man on ecology and environment, Global and regional ecological changes and imbalances	NA
Day 27	28^th September	Ecosystem their management and conservation, Environmental degradation, management and conservation	Environmental degradation
Day 28	29^th September	Biodiversity and sustainable development, Environmental policy, Environmental education and legislation.	Issues relating to environmental pollution, Landslides, Epidemics
Day 29	30^th September	Environmental hazards and remedial measures	Principles of environmental impact assessment and environmental management, Environmental awareness
Day 30	1^st October	Mini test on Biogeography, Oceanography and Environmental Geography	Mini test on Biogeography, Oceanography and Environmental Geography
Day 31	3^rd October	Types and patterns of rural settlements, Environmental issues in rural settlements	Types, patterns and morphology of rural settlements
Day 32	4^th October	Hierarchy of urban settlements, Central Place theories of Christaller and Losch	Urban developments
Day 33	5^th October	Urban morphology: Concepts of primate city and rank-size rule,	Morphology of Indian cities
Day 34	6^th October	Functional classification of towns, Sphere of urban influence, Rural – urban fringe, Satellite towns	Functional classification of Indian cities
Day 35	7^th October	Problems and remedies of urbanization	Conurbations and metropolitan regions; urban sprawl, Problems of urbanization and remedies
Day 36	8^th October	Sustainable development of cities	Slums and associated problems; town planning, Smart Cities, HRIDAY Scheme
Day 37	10^th October	Heartland and Rimland theories	Geographical basis of Indian federalism, State reorganisation, Emergence of new states
Day 38	11^th October	Laws of international boundaries and frontiers	Regional consciousness and inter state issues, International boundary of India and related issues
Day 39	12^th October	Systems analysis in Human geography	Cross border terrorism, India’s role in world affairs
Day 40	13^th October	Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location, Weber’s model of industrial location	Geopolitics of South Asia and Indian Ocean realm
Day 41	14^th October	World economic development: measurement and problems, Rostov’s model of stages of growth	Land, surface and groundwater resources
Day 42	15^th October	World resources and their distribution	Mineral resources
Day 43	17^th October	Energy crisis, The limits to growth	Energy resources, Energy crisis
Day 44	18^th October	World agriculture: Typology of agricultural regions, Agricultural inputs and productivity	NA
Day 45	19^th October	Food and nutrition problems, Food security; Famine: causes, effects and remedies	NA
Day 46	20^th October	World industries: Locational patterns and problems; Patterns of world trade	NA
Day 47	21^st October	Mini Test on Settlement Geography, Economic Geography, Political Aspects, Models and Theories (covered till date)	Mini Test on Settlement Geography, Economic Geography, Political Aspects, Models and Theories (covered till date)
Day 48	22^nd October	NA	Infrastructure: irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, power; Institutional factors: land holdings, land tenure and land reforms
Day 49	24^th October	NA	Cropping pattern, Agricultural productivity, Agricultural intensity, Crop combination, Green revolution and its socio- economic and ecological implications
Day 50	25^th October	NA	Significance of dry farming, Livestock resources and white revolution, Aqua – culture, Sericulture, Apiculture and Poultry
Day 51	26^th October	NA	Agricultural regionalisation, Agro-climatic zones, Agroecological regions
Day 52	27^th October	NA	Evolution of industries, Locational factors of cotton, jute, textile, iron and steel and aluminium industries
Day 53	28^th October	NA	Locational factors of fertilizer, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical, automobile, cottage and agro-based industries
Day 54	29^th October	NA	Industrial houses and complexes including public sector undertakings, Industrial regionalisation, New industrial policies
Day 55	31^st October	NA	Multinationals and liberalization, Special Economic Zones, Tourism including eco – tourism.
Day 56	1^st November	NA	Road, railway, waterway, airway and pipeline networks and their complementary roles in regional development
Day 57	2^nd November	NA	Growing importance of ports on national and foreign trade, Trade balance, Trade Policy, Export processing zones
Day 58	3^rd November	NA	Developments in communication and information technology and their impacts on economy and society, Indian space programme.
Day 59	4^th November	NA	Historical perspective of Indian society; Racial, linguistic and ethnic diversities; Religious minorities; major tribes, tribal areas and their problems
Day 60	5^th November	Mini Test on Agriculture; Industries; Transport, Communication and Trade and Cultural Settings	Mini Test on Agriculture; Industries; Transport, Communication and Trade and Cultural Settings
Day 61	7^th November	Factors controlling landform development, Endogenetic and exogenetic forces	NA
Day 62	8^th November	Origin and evolution of the earth’s crust, Fundamentals of geomagnetism	NA
Day 63	9^th November	Physical conditions of the earth’s interior, Geosynclines	NA
Day 64	10^th November	Continental drift, Isostasy, Plate tectonics	NA
Day 65	11^th November	Recent views on mountain building, Vulcanicity	NA
Day 66	12^th November	Earthquakes and Tsunamis	NA
Day 67	14^th November	Concepts of geomorphic cycles and Landscape development	NA
Day 68	15^th November	Denudation chronology; Channel morphology	NA
Day 69	16^th November	Erosion surfaces, Slope development	NA
Day 70	17^th November	Applied Geomorphology : Geohydrology, economic geology and environment	NA
Day 71	18^th November	Areal differentiation	Space relationship of India with neighboring countries
Day 72	19^th November	Regional synthesis	Structure and relief
Day 73	21^st November	Dichotomy and dualism	Drainage system and watersheds
Day 74	22^nd November	Environmentalism, Quantitative revolution and locational analysis, Cultural regions of the world	Physiographic regions
Day 75	23^rd November	Mini Test on Geomorphology, Perspectives and India: Physical Settings	Mini Test on Geomorphology, Perspectives and India: Physical Settings
Mock 1	27^th November	Full Syllabus	Full Syllabus
Mock 2	30^th November	Full Syllabus	Full Syllabus

Final words

We at IASbaba expect you to take full advantage of this initiative. Be regular, sincere and confident. We are with you in your journey.

The only request that we have from you is to spread the word to your fellow aspirants so that the fruits of our efforts are shared by those who need them the most. The more we share our knowledge and resources, better our chances to excel.

All the best

IAS Baba

Important

Detailed 75 day plan of TLP Geography:

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