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UPSC GS Mains Geography topic wise Questions – UPSC Mains 2013-19

Physical Geography

2019

  1. How can the mountain ecosystem be restored from the negative impact of development initiatives and tourism?

2016

  1. “The Himalayas are highly prone to landslides.” Discuss the causes and suggest suitable measures of mitigation.

2014

  1. Explain the formation of thousands of islands in Indonesian and Philippines archipelagos.
  2. Why are the world’s fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents? Bring out the association between the global distribution of Fold Mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes.

2013

  1. What do you understand by the theory of continental drift? Discuss the prominent evidence in its support.
  2. There is no formation of deltas by rivers of the Western Ghats. Why?
  3. Major hot deserts in the northern hemisphere are located between 20-30 degree north and on the western side of the continents. Why?
  4. Bring out the causes for more frequent landslides in the Himalayas than in Western Ghats.

Climate

2019

  1. Assess the impact of global warming on the coral life system with examples.

2017

  1. How does the cryosphere affect global climate?
  2. What characteristics can be assigned to the monsoon climate that succeeds in feeding more than 50 percent of the world population residing in Monsoon Asia?

2016

  1. Discuss the concept of air mass and explain its role in macro-climatic changes.

2015

  1. Explain the factors responsible for the origin of ocean currents. How do they influence regional climates, fishing and navigation?
  2. How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanizing landscapes? Discuss.

2014

  1. Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why?
  2. Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree?
  3. Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian subcontinent.

2013

  1. The recent cyclone on the east coast of India was called “Phailin”. How are the tropical cyclones named across the world?
  2. Bring out the causes for the formation of heat islands in the urban habitat of the world.
  3. What do you understand by the phenomenon of temperature inversion in meteorology? How does it affect the weather and the habitants of the place?

Resources

2019

  1. Discuss the causes of depletion of mangroves and explain their importance in maintaining coastal ecology.
  2. What is water stress? How and why does it differ regionally in India?
  3. How do ocean currents and water masses differ in their impacts on marine life and the coastal environment? Give suitable examples.

2018

  1. Why is India taking keen in resources of Arctic region?
  2. What are the consequences of spreading of “Dead Zones on Marine Ecosystem?
  3. Defining blue resources, explain the problems and strategies for pisciculture development in India.

2017

  1. Account for variations in oceanic salinity and discuss its multi-dimensional effects.
  2. In what way can floods be converted into a sustainable source of irrigation and all-weather inland navigation in India?
  3. “In spite of adverse environmental impact, coal mining is still inevitable for development”. Discuss. (150 words)

2016

  1. The effective management of land and water resources will drastically reduce the human miseries. Explain.
  2. South China Sea has assumed great geopolitical significance in the present context. Comment.
  3. Present an account of the Indus Water Treaty and examine its ecological, economic and political implications in the context of changing bilateral relations.
  4. Enumerate the problems and prospects of inland water transport in India.
  5. In what way micro-watershed Development projects help in water conservation in drought prone and semi-arid regions of India.

2015

  1. What are the economic significances of discovery of oil in Arctic Sea and its possible environmental consequences?
  2. India is well endowed with fresh water resources. Critically examine why it still suffers from water scarcity.
  3. The states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand arc reaching the limits of their ecological carrying capacity due to tourism. Critically evaluate.

2014

  1. Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in the world.
  2. How does India see its place in the economic space of rising natural resource rich Africa?

2013

  1. With growing scarcity of fossil fuels, the atomic energy is gaining more and more significance in India. Discuss the availability of raw material required for the generation of atomic energy in India and in the world.
  2. It is said the India has substantial reserves of shale oil and gas, which can feed the needs of country for quarter century. However, tapping of the resources doesn’t appear to be high on the agenda. Discuss critically the availability and issues involved.

Urbanization

2019

  1. How is efficient and affordable urban mess transport key to the rapid economic development of India?

2016

  1. With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme’.
  2. Major cities of India are becoming more vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss.

2015

  1. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three mega cities of the country but the air pollution is much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?
  2. Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration.

2013

  1. Discussion the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India.

Industrial Location

2019

  1. Can the strategy of regional resource-based manufacturing help in promoting employment in India?
  2. Discuss the factors for the localisation of agro-based food processing industries of North-West India.

2018

What is the significance of Industrial Corridors in India?Identifying the industrial corridors, explain their main characteristics.

2017

Petroleum refineries are not necessarily located nearer to crude oil producing areas, particularly in many of the developing countries. Explain its implications.

2014

  1. Whereas the British planters had developed tea gardens all along the Shivaliks and Lesser Himalayas from Assam to Himachal Pradesh, in effect they did not succeed beyond the Darjeeling area. Explain.
  2. Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world.
  3. Why did the Green Revolution in India virtually by-pass the eastern region despite fertile soil and good availability of water?

2013

  1. Do you agree that there is a growing trend of opening new sugar mills in the Southern states of India? Discuss with justification.
  2. Analyze the factors for highly decentralized cotton textile industry in India.

Building strong foundation: NCERT based written and MCQ based test series

Everyone know of importance of NCERT, but rarely students know of how to express in answers or interlink with current affairs and face Prelims and Mains. This is first in India, keeping in mind changing dynamics of UPSC prelims.

Officers who have gone successfully through all this process knows the dilemma students face- completing syllabus at one end and interlinking with current affairs at other end.

We having understood this, are bringing this program for a small group of aspirants. Small, so that each one can be given personal attention.

Time bound study with value added sessions of current Affairs with pole vault students into a very comfortable zone.

Social media is filled with faulty strategy for UPSC CSE Exam preparation, Like saying read NCERT first…watch why. How dangerous is coaching class strategy and how one should actually prepare, how to use handholding by officer, how to use test series, what NOT to read

See the schedule below, do think and wish you many wished for upcoming efforts.

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Does self study followed by mock Test series really help UPSC aspirants? Lets discuss..

I think, it helps, how? aaaaaaaaaaaa….lemme say

This question is really stunning. But do read, Look at what UPSC wants and what we actually do. Do attain a live interactive session on this topic on 22nd July, 2020 at 11am,

To register pl fill this google form

https://forms.gle/xwmDfwAUwE3t4Tab9

Why should you prepare for Government jobs?

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I remember, it was in final year of engineering, when we head for first time about UPSC MPSC Exams. Social media was not at all available at that time as mobile phones were a luxury with incoming call rate 4/ and outgoing call rate rs.7.

I shred that idea, with a conviction that, I jad spent a lot of money on my education. Was it not worth? IAS? With this I proceeded for my job in Pune.

The job was “job”,with a vehicle to pick and drop, which was also a luxury at that time. 6-7 months passed by when my team member, a lady, was impregnated and our management asked her to resign. She was a brilliant lady, with growing performance chart. In spite of our teams request that we would handle this, all efforts went in pain. The idea of Private job is a King soon shattered in our minds.

I soon found myself thinking seriously for Government jobs, and got a good post in next 2 years. In the meanwhile many of my erstwhile friends, who were resisting my idea, were sending lot of money back home. This lure could not distract me.

Today, both my friends are happily agreeing with my idea of a government job because of changed circumstances:

1) The US presidents tirade against Indian IT professionals.

2) The sudden death of more than 10 top performing private companies in India and abroad-

Retailers closed globally in 2017, 2018 & 2019 are given below

Some well known companies in India are NOKIA, Remington, Denim, Kingfisher, Kodak, Air deccan, Air asia, Reliance Communications and latest is Jet Airways.

No doubt talent has no death in market, but then whcich thought do you think must be convincing Kanish Katariya, who had spend lakhs of rupeed on his education, is this year’s IAS topper who did leave a monthly 10 lakh package in Korea and joined IAS? read his answers here:

सवाल: जॉब छोड़कर UPSC की तैयारी करने का विचार कैसे आया?
जवाब: मुझे प्लेसमेंट के बाद जॉब मिली थी. मेरा ये था कि मैं एक बार देश के बाद जाऊं. बाहर की लाइफ एक्सप्लोर करनी है. 1 साल मैंने साउथ कोरिया में जॉब करी. उसके बाद मैं इंडिया वापस आ गया. जॉब करते वक्त मुझे हमेशा ये लगता था कि मैं अपने लिए अच्छा पैसा कमा रहा हूं. लेकिन मैं लोगों से जुड़ना चाहता था और चाहता था कि मुझे उनकी मदद करने का मौका मिले. 

सवाल: साउथ कोरिया में आपका जॉब पैकेज कितना था?
जवाब: जब मैं साउथ कोरिया में था तब मैरा पैकेज 1 करोड़ के पास था, लेकिन जब मैं भारत आया तो मुझे पुराने पैकेज का एक तिहाई मिलने लगा था.

Dear friends, many have misconceptions, and keeping negative people around us, may make us bad decision, but after 10 years of wonderful service in government, I am convinced, that even 2 years spent in prepataion is worth than any private job. Even if not IAS, any class-1 job in government job will make you and your family proud.

Lets discuss some misconceptions in hindi:

() सेलेक्षन के चांसेज बहुत कम हैं: यदि आप सीधे-सीधे उपलब्ध आँकड़ों पर जाएंगे, तो आपका यह सोचना सौ फीसदी सही होगा कि आईएएस में चयन होने की संभावना काफी कम है। आमतौर पर औसतन लगभग चार लाख लड़के फार्म भरते हैं, जबकि विज्ञापित पदों की कुल संख्या औसतन 800 से 1000 के बीच होती है। यदि परीक्षा में बैठने वालों और उसमें सफल होने वालों का अनुपात निकालें, तो यह बहुत डरावना होगा। इसलिए बेहतर होगा कि हम यहाँ निकालते ही नहीं हैं।

पहली गलत धारणा, एक गलत भय, जो आपके दिमाग को घेरे हुए है, मैं उसे बहुत बड़ी भीड़ के आतंक से मुक्त करना चाहूंगा। कोई संदेह नहीं कि भीड़ है, लेकिन यह सच्ची भीड़ नहीं है, बशर्ते कि आप अपनी तैयारी में सच्चे हों।

Read my Marathi blog here- https://www.sankalpiasforum.com/learn-from-guru

() बहुत कठिन परीक्षा है

स्तर का ऊँचा और नीचा होना एक सापेक्षिक बात भी होती है। कहीं ऐसा तो नहीं कि मेरा अपना स्तर काफी नीचा है, इसलिए मुझे इस परीक्षा का स्तर बहुत ऊँचा लग रहा है? अन्यथा ऐसा कुछ है नहीं। उस विद्यार्थी को यह परीक्षा भी किसी अन्य परीक्षाओं की तरह ही लगेगी, जिसकी आदत अपने विषय को समझने की तथा समझकर अपनी तरफ से लिखने की रहीं है। आप भी ऐसा करने लगिए, आपको भी यह परीक्षा अपनी पकड़ के स्तर की लगने लगेगी।

अब एक सिद्धान्त की बात। प्रतियोगी परीक्षाएं पास और फेल होने के सिद्धान्त पर अपने रिजल्ट नहीं देती हैं। वहाँ चयन का सिद्धान्त काम करता है। उसे जितने लोग चाहिए, वह ऊपर से उतने लोगों को ले लेती है, फिर चाहे उनके प्राप्तांक कितने भी क्यों न हो। इसलिए याद रखिए कि यहाँ पेपर के सरल और कठिन होने का, या परीक्षा के स्तर के ऊँचा और नीचा होने का कोई अर्थ नहीं रह जाता, क्योंकि जो है, वह सबके लिए है, और जो चीज सबके लिए एक सी होती है, चूंकि उसका प्रभाव सभी पर एक सा पड़ता है, इसलिए परिणाम पर भी प्रभाव समान होता है। पेपर कठिन है, तो सेलेक्षन कम प्राप्तांको पर होगा, और यदि सरल है, तो सेलेक्षन अधिक प्राप्तांको पर होगा।

() खूब मेहनत चाहिए इसके लिए

यहाँ मैं एक बात और कहना चाहूँगा। ‘कड़ी और खूब’ का यह जुमला उन लोगों ने तैयार करके उछाला है, जो एक ही विषय पर कई-कई लेखकों की, लगभग सभी लेखकों की किताबें पढ़ते हैं। ये लोग एक दिन में चार-पाँच अखबार पढ़ते हैं, और उनमें भी सब कुछ। इन्हें लगता है कि ज्यादा से ज्यादा पत्रिकाएं भी पढ़ लेना चाहिए। यदि सोच यही है, जो कि बहुत अवैज्ञानिक है, तो इन सब झमेलों में समय तो लगेगा ही। जबकि इतना अधिक पढ़ने की जरूरत बिल्कुल नहीं होती। ऐसा करना न केवल अनुत्पादक ही है, बल्कि प्रति-उत्पादक (काउंटर प्रोडक्टिव) भी है,

(ड़) मेरा अपना फर्स्ट क्लास कैरियर नहीं है

तर्क यह है कि यदि यूपीएससी के लिए फर्स्ट डिविजन की इतनी बड़ी अहमियत होती, तो वह इसके लिए निर्धारित योग्यता ie eligibility में ही इस तथ्य को डाल देता, जैसा कि कुछ नौकरियों के लिए, खासकर कॉलेज के प्रोफेसर्स के लिए होता है। But instead they say, minimum passing percentage of the recognized University. That’s it. ठीक इसी प्रकार यदि आप फर्स्ट डिविजनर हैं, टॉपर हैं, डाक्टरेट हैं, तो भी इस मुगालते में बिल्कुल न रहें कि इसके कारण आपको कुछ फायदा मिल जाएगा। नॉट एट ऑल। वहाँ आपका प्रदर्शन ही सब कुछ होगा। इसलिए अपने अतीत को पूरी तरह भूलकर वर्तमान पर केन्द्रीत होकर अपना काम करें।

यूपीएससी इस मामले में बहुत उदार है।

() पारिवारिक पृष्ठभूमि

हाँ, यदि आपने अपना यही सन्देह सन् 1980 से पहले व्यक्त किया होता, तो मैं उतने दमखम के साथ इनका खण्डन करने की हिम्मत नहीं जुटा पाता, जितना कि आज कर पा रहा हूँ। आज तो हिम्मत जुटाने की जरूरत ही नहीं है, क्योंकि यही सच्चाई है। अंग्रेजी भाषा के जमाने में इसकी काफी कुछ भूमिका भी। लेकिन आज देश में जिस प्रकार का राजनैतिक स्वरूप है, जो कहीं न कहीं सामंत विरोधी बन चुका है, उसमें पारिवारिक पृष्ठभूमि के महत्व की बात बीते दिनों की घटना समझी जानी चाहिए।


आपको यह जानकर सुखद आश्चर्य होगा कि पिछले 20-25 सालों में आईएएस की परीक्षा में सफल होने वाले विद्यार्थियों में ग्रामीण पृष्ठभूमि के युवाओं की संख्या लगातार बढ़ती जा रही है। यदि आपको मेरी बात पर यकीन न हो, तो आप मेरे इस कथन को यूपीएससी की वेबसाइट पर जाकर वैरीफाई कर सकते है।

So friends, be assured preparation can give a class-1 post and one of the best career in government sector. I say so, because preparation in right direction and under right guidance with right spirit for minimum 2 years for one exams- UPSC CSE can fetch you success in more than 17 subordinate posts exams. So be ready, save yourself from getting trapped in subconscious mind.