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1. The Universe 2. Origin of the Universe roughly the same at any point of time. It did not have a beginning and did not have an end.Stages in Big Bang Theory Evidences in Support of Big Bang Theory 3. Galaxy 3.1. Our Own Galaxy: The Milky Way 4. Stars 4.1. Birth and Evolution of a Star 4.1.1. Formation of a Protostar 4.1.2. Formation of a Star from Protostar 4.1.3. Final Stages of a Star̛ s Life 4.1.4. Formation of Supernova Star and Neutron Star 5. Black Holes Dark matter1 6. The Solar System 6.1. Sun 6.2. Planets IAU new definition of planet Planets and dwarf planets of our solar system (Milky Way)6.3. Satellites (or Moons)Earth’s moon key points:Origin of Moon 6.4. Asteroids 6.5. Comets 6.6. Meteors 7. The Shape of the Earth 7.1. Evidence of the Earth’s Sphericity Goldilocks zone 7.2. The Earth’s Movement Origin of Life on Earth 7.2.2. The Earth’s Revolution 7.2.3. Varying Lengths of Day and Night 7.2.5. Seasonal Changes and their Effects on Temperature 7.2.6. Dawn and Twilight 7.2.7. Eclipse 7.2.7.2. Solar Eclipse 8. The Geographical Grid- Latitude and Longitude 8.1. Latitude 8.2. Longitude Latitude and Longitude 8.3. Longitude and Time 8.4. Standard Time and Time Zones 9. Geological Time Scale INTERIOR OF EARTH 1. Introduction 2. Sources of Information 2.1. Direct Sources 2.2. Indirect Sources 3.2. The Mantle 3.3. The Core CONTINENTAL DRIFT AND PLATE TECTONICS Table 1 – Supercontinents through geologic history Figure 1 - Supercontinents 2. Continental Drift 2.1. Continental Drift Theory of Alfred Wegener 3. Post-Drift Studies 3.1. Convection Current Theory 3.2. Mapping of Ocean Floor 3.3. Sea Floor Spreading 4. Plate Tectonics 4.1. Major and Minor Plates 4.2. Movement of Plates 4.3. Types of Boundaries 4.4. Forces for the Plate Movement 4.5. Objections to Plate Tectonics Theory 5. Endogenic and Exogenic Forces 5.1. Geomorphic Processes and Agents 5.2. Endogenic Processes 5.3. Exogenic Processes 1. Earthquakes Figure 1: Hypocentre and Epicentre 1.3. Depth of Earthquakes 1.4. Measurement of Earthquakes 2. Tsunami 2.1. Causes 2.2. Propagation 2.3. Consequences 2.4. Early Warning and Mitigation 3. Volcanoes 3.1. Vulcanicity 3.2. Components of a Volcano 3.3. Types of volcanoes 3.4. Volcanic Landforms 3.5. Distribution of Volcanoes 3.7. Geysers 3.8. Hot Springs 3.9. Fumaroles MOUNTAIN BUILDING ISLAND FORMATIONS AND HOTSPOTS 1. Mountains 1.1. Types of Mountains 2. Islands Fig. 7 Residual Mountains 2.2. Oceanic Islands 3. Hotspots2 ROCKS AND MINERALS 1. Introduction 2. Minerals 2.1. Some Major Minerals and Their Characteristics 3.1. Major Types of Rocks 4. Rock Cycle LANDFORMS AND THEIR EVOLUTION 1. Introduction 2. Landform and Landscape 3. Causes 4. Landforms and Scale: Crustal Orders of Relief 5. Evolution of Landform 6. Landform Classification1 7. Fluvial Landforms (Latin: Fluvius=River)7.1. Action of a River/Stream 7.2. River rejuvenation 7.4. Features of Overview 8.2. Coastal erosion 8.3. Erosional Features 8.6. Coastlines of submergence 8.7. Coastlines of Emergence 9. Glacial Landforms Emergent lowland coast Erosional work of glacier 9.2. The landforms created by glacial erosion 10.1. Mechanism of wind Action in deserts 10.2. Erosional Landforms-Wind 10.3. Depositional Landforms-wind 10.4. Fluvial Desert Landforms 11.1. Erosional landform 11.2. Depositional Landforms 12. Economic significance of karst regions INDIA: PHYSICAL FORMATION, PHYSIOGRAPHY, DRAINAGE, STRUCTURE AND RELIEF AND BASICS OF SOILS 1. India Location Figure 1 – India in the world Figure 2 – India: Extent and Standard Meridian 1.2. Size 1.3. India’s Administrative Division 1.4. India and the World 2. Physical Formation of India 2.1. The Peninsular Block 2.2. The Himalayas 3.2. The Northern Plains 3.3. The Peninsular Plateau 3.4. The Indian Desert 3.5. The Coastal Plains 3.6. The Islands 4. Drainage 4.1. Drainage Pattern 4.2. Drainage System of India 4.3. The Himalayan Drainage System 4.4. The Peninsular Drainage System 4.5. Comparison Between Himalayan and Peninsular Rivers 4.6. National River Linking Project 4.7. National Waterways 5. Soil 5.1. Soil Properties 5.2. Soil Horizons 5.4. Soil Classification 5.5. Soil Degradation 5.6. Soil Erosion 5.7. Soil Management COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE 1. Composition of the Atmosphere Table 1 – Average composition of dry air 1.3. Dust Particles 1.4. Changes in the Atmosphere 2. Structure of the Atmosphere 2.1. Troposphere 2.3. Mesosphere 2.4. Thermosphere 2.5. Exosphere INSOLATION, EARTH’S HEAT BALANCE, DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATIONS – GLOBAL WINDS, CYCLONES 1. Insolation 1.1. Factors Influencing Insolation 1.2. Heating and Cooling of the Atmosphere 2. Heat Budget Figure 4 – Heat Budget of the Earth Figure 5 – heat energy budget by latitudes 3. Temperature (a) – effect of altitude (b) – maritime influence Figure 6 – effect of altitude & distance from sea on temperature Figure 8 – isotherms in the month of January Figure 9 – isotherms in the month of July 3.3. Temperature Inversion 3.4. Temperature Ranges 4. Atmospheric Circulation 4.1. Atmospheric Pressure 4.2. Pressure Variations 4.4. Geostrophic Wind 4.5. Distribution of Pressure Belts 4.7. General Circulation of the Atmosphere 4.8. Local Winds 4.9. Upper Air Circulation 5. Air Mass Figure 25 – Airmasses 6. Fronts Table 3 – difference between frontogenesis and frontolysis Figure 26 – Fronts: (a) Warm front; (b) Cold front 6.3. Stationary Front 6.4. Occluded Front 7.1. Extra-Tropical Cyclones 7.2. Tropical Cyclones PRECIPITATION AND RELATED PHENOMENA 1. Introduction 2. Water vapour 2.1. Importance of Water Vapour 3. The Water Cycle 4. Humidity 4.1. Absolute Humidity 4.2. Specific Humidity 4.3. Relative Humidity 5. Evaporation 6. Condensation 6.1. Latent Heat 6.2. Saturated Air 6.3. Hygroscopic Nuclei 6.4. Dew point 7. Dew 8. Frost 9. Fog 9.1. Impact of Fog 10. Mist 11. Smog 14. Clouds 15. Types of Clouds 15.1. Cirrus (Curl of Hair) Clouds 15.2. Cumulus (Heap) Clouds 15.3. Stratus (Layer) Clouds 16. International Classification of Clouds 17. Precipitation 18. Necessary Conditions for RAINFALL 19. Types of Rainfall 19.1. Convectional Rainfall 19.2. Orographic Rain 19.3. Cyclonic or Frontal Rainfall 20. Distribution of Precipitation 20.1. Seasonal Distribution of Rainfall 21. Prelims Questions Clouds OCEAN BASICS AND OCEAN RESOURCES 1. Ocean Basics 1.1. Relief of the Ocean Floor 1.3. The Oceanic Deposits of the Ocean Floor 1.4. Temperature 2. Movements of Ocean Water 2.1. Waves 2.2. Tides 2.3. Ocean Currents 3. Ocean Resources 3.1. Fishing 3.2. Climate Buffer 3.3. Phytoplankton 3.4. Mining 4. UPSC Questions Related to Above Topics CORAL REEFS AND INDIAN OCEAN 1. Coral Reefs 1.1. Corals 1.2. Zooxanthellae 1.3. Coral Formation and Types 2.1. Location of Coral Reefs 2.3. Threats to Coral Reefs 2.4. Coral Reefs in India 3. Indian Ocean Figure 4. Geography of Indian Ocean 4. UPSC Questions Related to Above Topics 1. India Climate – Monsoon CLIMATE OF INDIA 1. Introduction 1.1. Salient Features of Indian Climate 2. Factors Determining the Climate of India 2.1. Factors Related to Location and Relief 2.2. Factors Related to Air Pressure and Wind 2.3. Weather Conditions in Water 2.4. Weather Conditions in the Summer Reason 3. Indian Monsoon 3.1. Thermal Concept 3.2. Recent Concept about the Origin of Indian Monsoon 3.3. Nature of Indian Monsoon 3.4. Onset and Advance of Monsoon 3.6. Break in the Monsoon 3.7. Retreat of Monsoon 3.9. Monsoons and the Economic Life in India 4. Seasons Table 1 – Different seasons of India with their characteristics Table 2 – Indian seasons Table 3 – Different rainfall regions of India Figure 14 – India: variability of annual rainfall Figure 15 – India: Climatic regions according to Koeppen scheme Agro climatic zones of India: (Planning commission 1989)9. UPSC Previous Years’ Prelims Questions on Climate CLIMATE AND DIFFERENT WORLD CLIMATE 1. Introduction 2. Climate & Weather 2.1. Comparison between Weather and Climate 2.3. Elements of Climate 2.4. Factors Affecting Climate 2.5. Classification of Climate 3. Global Climate Classification 3.1. The Hot, Wet Equatorial Climate 3.2. The Tropical Monsoon and Tropical Marine Climates 3.3. The Savannah or Sudan Climate 3.4. The Hot Desert and Mid-latitude Desert Climates 3.5. The Warm Temperate Western Margin (Mediterranean) Climate 3.6. The Temperate Continental (Steppe) Climate 3.7. The Warm Temperate Eastern Margin (China Type) Climate 3.8. The Cool Temperate Western Margin (British Type) Climate 3.9. The Cool Temperate Continental (Siberian) Climate 3.10. The Cool Temperate Eastern Margin (Laurentian) Climate 3.11. The Arctic or Polar Climate 4. Mains Questions 5. Prelims Questions Average Temperature: 12.80C MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS LIKE EL NINO, LA NINA, ENSO, URBAN CLIMATE, APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY, HEAT ISLAND ETC.1. El Niño Figure 1 – El Nino conditions: Warm water pool approaches the South American coast. The absence of cold upwelling increases warming.Figure 2 – Normal Pacific pattern: Equatorial winds gather warm water pool toward the west.Figure 3 – global precipitation pattern during El Nino Figure 4 – global precipitation pattern during La Nina 1.3. Walker Circulation 1.4. El Niño & La Niña Modoki 2. Urban Climate 2.1. Urban Heat Island 2.2. Atmospheric Pollution Over Cities 2.3. Urban Climate and Global Climate Change 3. Microclimate Forest regions Urban regions 4. Applied Climatology 4.1. Climate and Natural Vegetation 4.2. Climate and Agriculture 4.3. Climate and Animal Husbandry 4.4. Climate and Housing 4.5. Air Pollution and Health 4.6. Climate and Economy 4.7. Climatic Adaptation 5. UPSC Previous Years’ Mains Questions 6. UPSC Previous Years’ Prelim Questions DIFFERENT TYPES OF IRRIGATION AND IRRIGATION SYSTEMS 1. Irrigation and Benefits of Irrigation Benefits of irrigation 2. Classification of Irrigation Schemes 2.1. Based on Sources 2.2. Based on Magnitude 2.3. Based on Technique of Distribution of Water 2.4. Based on the Way the Water is Applied 2.5. On the Basis of Duration of the Applied 2.6. Choice of Irrigation Method 3. Efficiency 4. Irrigation and National Water Policy 5. Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM)6. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)7. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP)8. Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies Scheme 9. Virtual Water Figure 8: Virtual water flows by the region References:MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS LIKE EL NINO, LA NINA, ENSO, URBAN CLIMATE, APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY, HEAT ISLAND ETC.1. Land Resources and Agriculture 1.1. Land Use Categories 1.2. Land-use Changes in India 1.3. Agricultural Land Use in India 1.4. Salient Features of Indian Agriculture 1.5. Cropping Season in India 1.6. Type of Farming (On Basis of Moisture for crops)1.8. Cropping Pattern5 1.9. Food grains 1.10. Agricultural Development in India 1.11. Government Steps to Enhance Agricultural Inputs 1.12. Major Schemes/Programmes for the Agricultural Sector 1.13. Problems of Indian Agriculture 1.14. UPSC Questions Covered DISTRIBUTION OF KEY NATURAL RESOURCES ACROSS THE WORLD (INCLUDING SOUTH ASIA AND THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT 1. Introduction 1.1. Uneven Distribution of Resources 2. Classification of Resources Figure 1: Classification of Resources Figure 2: Global share of recoverable coal reserves Table 1 – Distribution of coal across continents Table 2: Estimations for different types of coal based on formation Table 3: Gondwana coalfields 3.2. Petroleum 3.3. Natural Gas 3.4. India – Petroleum – Petroleum and Natural Gas 3.5. Nuclear MINERAL RESOURCES & MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES 1. Mineral and Energy Resources 1.1. Types of Mineral Resources 1.2. Distribution of Minerals in India 1.3. Ferrous Minerals 1.4. Non-Ferrous Minerals 1.5. Non- Metallic Minerals 1.6. Atomic Minerals 2. Energy Resources 2.1. Conventional Energy Sources 2.2. Non Conventional Energy Sources 2.3. Conservation of Natural Resources 3. Manufacturing Industries 3.1. Types of Industries 3.2. Location of Industries 3.3. Major Industries 3.4. Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation (LPG) and Industrial Development in India 3.5. Industrial Regions 4. Sources TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE 1. Transport 1.1. Land Transport 1.2. Water Transport 1.3. Air Transport 1.4. Pipeline Transport 2. Communication 2.1. Personal Communication System 2.2. Mass Communication System 3. International Trade 3.3. Types of International Trade 3.4. International Pattern of Trade 3.5. Regional Trade Blocs and World Trade Organisation (WTO)3.7. Concerns Related to International Trade 3.8. Limitations of International Trade 3.9. India’s Foreign Trade 3.10. Challenges in International Trade for India 4. Sources LOCATION OF INDUSTRIES 1. Factors affecting Location of Industries 1.1. Access to Market 1.2. Access to Raw Material 1.3. Access to Labour Supply 1.4. Access to Sources of Energy 1.5. Access to Transportation and Communication Facilities 1.6. Government Policy 1.7. Access to Agglomeration Economies/Links Between Industries 1.8. Other Miscellaneous Factors 2.1. Hunting and Gathering 2.2. Pastoralism or Animal Rearing 2.4. Mining 3. Manufacturing Activities 3.1. Iron and Steel Industry 3.2. Chemical Industry with Special Reference to Petro-chemicals 3.3. Textile Industry 1. Human Development 1.1. Concept of Development and Indian aspects 1.2. Measuring Human Development 1.3. Other Multi-dimensional measures of Human Development 1.5. India Human Development Report 2011 1.6. Planning and Development AGRICULTURE MARKETING, TRANSPORATION AND TECHNOLOGY 1. Agricultural Marketing: Issues and Related Constraints 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Characteristics of Agricultural Product 1.3. Importance and Objectives of Agricultural Marketing 1.4. Facilities Needed for Farmer in Marketing 1.5. Methods of Sale and Marketing Agencies 1.6. Existing Systems of Agricultural Marketing in India 1.7. Ideal Marketing System 1.8. Principles of Scientific Marketing for Farmers 1.9. Impact of Globalization: Contract Marketing 1.10. Government Measures to Improve Agricultural Marketing 1.11. Problems in Agricultural Marketing 1.12. Suggestions to Improve Agricultural Marketing 1.13. Conclusion 2. Agricultural Transportation: Issues and Related Constraints 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Role of Intermediate Means of Transport in Agriculture 2.3. Effect of Markets and Storage Facilities on Agricultural Transportation 2.4. Transportation Cost of Agricultural Produce and Farmer's Income 2.5. Transportation Problems and Road Network 2.6. Problems of Road Transport in India 2.7. Special Problems in the Construction of Rural Roads 2.8. Measures Taken for Improving Rural Road Infrastructure by Government 2.9. Suggestions for Better Rural Road Network 2.10. Conclusion 3. e-Agriculture: e-Technology in The Aid of Farmers 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Information Technology and its Components 3.3. Role of IT in Agriculture 3.4. E-Agriculture Ecosystem 3.5. ICT Initiatives for Agricultural Development in India by Various Agencies 3.6. Case Studies 3.7. IT and Indian Agriculture in the Future 3.8. Constraints and Remedies for Effective Dissemination 3.9. Conclusion