Paper 2 · Geography · Code 80
UGC NET Paper 2 — Geography (80)
Geography (subject code 80) is the subject paper (Paper 2) for candidates in this subject. It carries 100 questions for 200 marks (+2 per correct answer, no negative marking), attempted together with Paper 1 in the single 180-minute combined session. The syllabus below is the verified official syllabus, organised unit-wise; chapters and practice questions appear as they are published, and nothing is marked complete before it exists.
100 questions
200 marks · +2 per correct · No negative marking · Paper 2 within the 180-min combined session
10 units · 50 topics
Full syllabus below, with topic summaries
40 practice questions · 50 premium chapters
Easy 10 · Medium 20 · Hard 10 — all original practice; verified PYQs live separately in the PYQ Library
Syllabus
Complete syllabus — all units and topics
Topic summaries are the unit study material already published on NETSaathi. Weightage badges are platform estimates from past-question frequency — they are not NTA guarantees.
Unit 1: Geomorphology
भू-आकृति विज्ञान · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Continental drift and plate tectonics — Continental drift, plate tectonics, endogenetic and exogenetic forces.High weightage
- Denudation, weathering and geomorphic cycle — Denudation and weathering, geomorphic cycle (Davis and Penck), theories and process of slope development.Medium
- Earth movements — Earth movements: seismicity, folding, faulting and vulcanicity.Medium
- Landforms and geomorphic hazards — Landform occurrence and causes of geomorphic hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and avalanches.Medium
Continental drift and plate tectonics → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Denudation, weathering and geomorphic cycle → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Earth movements → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Landforms and geomorphic hazards → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 2: Climatology
जलवायु विज्ञान · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters- Atmosphere and insolation — Composition and structure of atmosphere; insolation, heat budget of Earth, temperature, pressure and winds.Medium
- Atmospheric circulation and cyclones — Atmospheric circulation: air-masses, fronts and upper air circulation, cyclones and anticyclones (tropical and temperate).High weightage
- Climatic classification — Climatic classification of Koppen and Thornthwaite.High weightage
- ENSO events — ENSO events: El Nino, La Nina and Southern Oscillations.Medium
- Meteorological hazards and climate change — Meteorological hazards and disasters: cyclones, thunderstorms, tornadoes, hailstorms, heat and cold waves, drought and cloudburst, glacial lake outburst (GLOF); climate change: evidences and causes of climatic change in the past, human impact on global climate.Medium
Atmosphere and insolation → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Atmospheric circulation and cyclones → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Climatic classification → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
ENSO events → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Meteorological hazards and climate change → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 3: Oceanography
समुद्र विज्ञान · 4 bank questions · 3 premium chapters- Relief and composition of oceans — Relief of oceans, composition: temperature, density and salinity.Medium
- Ocean circulation, waves and tides — Circulation: warm and cold currents, waves, tides, sea level changes.High weightage
- Sea level changes and ocean hazards — Hazards: tsunami and cyclone.Medium
Relief and composition of oceans → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Ocean circulation, waves and tides → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Sea level changes and ocean hazards → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 4: Geography of Environment
पर्यावरण का भूगोल · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Ecosystem and its functions — Components: ecosystem (geographic classification) and human ecology; functions: trophic levels, energy flows, cycles (geo-chemical, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen), food chain, food web and ecological pyramid.High weightage
- Human interaction, impacts and ethics — Human interaction and impacts, environmental ethics and deep ecology.Medium
- Environmental hazards and disasters — Environmental hazards and disasters: global warming, urban heat island, atmospheric pollution, water pollution, land degradation.Medium
- National programmes, policies and treaties — National programmes and policies: legal framework, environmental policy, international treaties, international programmes and policies (Brundtland Commission, Kyoto Protocol, Agenda 21, Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement).Medium
Ecosystem and its functions → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Human interaction, impacts and ethics → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Environmental hazards and disasters → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
National programmes, policies and treaties → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 5: Population and Settlement Geography
जनसंख्या और अधिवास भूगोल · 4 bank questions · 8 premium chapters- Population data, distribution and growth — Population geography: sources of population data (census, sample surveys and vital statistics, data reliability and errors); world population distribution (measures, patterns and determinants); world population growth (prehistoric to modern period).High weightage
- Demographic transition and population theories — Demographic transition, theories of population growth (Malthus, Sadler, and Ricardo).High weightage
- Fertility, mortality and migration — Fertility and mortality analysis (indices, determinants and world patterns); migration: types, causes and consequences and models.Medium
- Population composition and policies — Population composition and characteristics (age, sex, rural-urban, occupational structure and educational levels); population policies in developed and developing countries.Medium
- Rural settlements — Settlement geography: rural settlements (types, patterns and distribution); contemporary problems of rural settlements (rural-urban migration, land use changes, land acquisition and transactions).Medium
- Urbanisation and theories of towns — Theories of origin of towns (Gordon Childe, Henri Pirenne, Lewis Mumford); characteristics and processes of urbanization in developed and developing countries (factors of urban growth, trends of urbanisation, size, structure and functions of urban areas).Medium
- Urban systems and land use models — Urban systems: the law of the primate city and rank size rule; central place theories (Christaller and Losch); internal structure of the city, models of urban land use (Burgess, Harris and Ullman, and Hoyt).High weightage
- Megacities, social segregation and urban poverty — Concepts of megacities, global cities and edge cities; changing urban forms (peri-urban areas, rural-urban fringe, suburban, ring and satellite towns); social segregation in the city, urban social area analysis, manifestation of poverty in the city (slums, informal sector growth, crime and social exclusion).Medium
Population data, distribution and growth → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Demographic transition and population theories → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Fertility, mortality and migration → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Population composition and policies → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Rural settlements → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Urbanisation and theories of towns → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Urban systems and land use models → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Megacities, social segregation and urban poverty → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 6: Geography of Economic Activities and Regional Development
आर्थिक क्रियाओं और क्षेत्रीय विकास का भूगोल · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters- Spatial organisation and natural resources — Economic geography: factors affecting spatial organisation of economic activities (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary); natural resources: classification, distribution and associated problems; natural resources management; world energy crises in developed and developing countries.Medium
- Agricultural geography — Land capability classification and land use planning, cropping pattern: methods of delineating crop combination regions (Weaver, Doi and Rafiullah), crop diversification, Von Thunen’s model of land use planning; measurement and determinants of agricultural productivity, regional variations in agricultural productivity, agricultural systems of the world.High weightage
- Industrial geography — Classification of industries, factors of industrial location, theories of industrial location (A. Weber, E. M. Hoover, August Losch, A. Pred and D. M. Smith); world industrial regions, impact of globalisation on manufacturing sector in less developed countries, tourism industry, world distribution and growth of ICT and knowledge production (education and R and D) industries.High weightage
- Geography of transport and trade — Theories and models of spatial interaction (Edward Ullman and M. E. Hurst); measures and indices of connectivity and accessibility; spatial flow models: gravity model and its variants; World Trade Organisation, globalisation and liberalisation and world trade patterns; problems and prospects of inter and intra regional cooperation and trade.Medium
- Regional development — Typology of regions, formal and functional regions, world regional disparities, theories of regional development (Albert O. Hirschman, Gunnar Myrdal, John Friedman, dependency theory of underdevelopment, global economic blocks, regional development and social movements in India.Medium
Spatial organisation and natural resources → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Agricultural geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Industrial geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Geography of transport and trade → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Regional development → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 7: Cultural, Social and Political Geography
सांस्कृतिक, सामाजिक और राजनीतिक भूगोल · 4 bank questions · 3 premium chapters- Cultural and social geography — Concept of culture, cultural complexes, areas and region, cultural heritage, cultural ecology, cultural convergence, social structure and processes, social well-being and quality of life, social exclusion, spatial distribution of social groups in India (tribe, caste, religion and language).High weightage
- Environment, health and disease ecology — Environment and human health, diseases ecology, nutritional status (etiological conditions, classification and spatial and seasonal distributional patterns with special reference to India), health care planning and policies in India, medical tourism in India.Medium
- Political geography — Boundaries and frontiers (with special reference to India), heartland and rimland theories, trends and developments in political geography, geography of federalism, electoral reforms in India, determinants of electoral behaviour, geopolitics of climate change, geopolitics of world resources, geopolitics of Indian Ocean, regional organisations of cooperation (SAARC, ASEAN, OPEC, EU), geopolitics of world natural resources.High weightage
Cultural and social geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Environment, health and disease ecology → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Political geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 8: Geographic Thought
भौगोलिक चिंतन · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Contributions of scholars — Contributions of Greek, Roman, Arab, Chinese and Indian scholars; contributions of geographers (Bernhardus Varenius, Immanuel Kant, Alexander von Humboldt, Carl Ritter, Schaefer and Hartshorne); impact of Darwinian theory on geographical thought.High weightage
- Traditions and dualisms in geography — Major geographic traditions (earth science, man-environment relationship, area studies and spatial analysis); dualisms in geographic studies (physical vs. human, regional vs. systematic, qualitative vs. quantitative, ideographic vs. nomothetic); paradigm shift.Medium
- Perspectives in geography — Perspectives in geography: positivism, behaviouralism, humanism, structuralism, feminism and postmodernism.Medium
- Contemporary trends in Indian geography — Contemporary trends in Indian geography: cartography, thematic and methodological contributions.Medium
Contributions of scholars → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Traditions and dualisms in geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Perspectives in geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Contemporary trends in Indian geography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 9: Geographical Techniques
भौगोलिक तकनीकें · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters- Geographic information and map making — Sources of geographic information and data (spatial and non-spatial), types of maps, techniques of map making (choropleth, isarithmic, dasymetric, chorochromatic, flow maps), data representation on maps (pie diagrams, bar diagrams and line graph).High weightage
- GIS and remote sensing — GIS database (raster and vector data formats and attribute data formats); functions of GIS (conversion, editing and analysis); digital elevation model (DEM); georeferencing (coordinate system, map projections and datum); GIS applications (thematic cartography, spatial decision support system); basics of remote sensing (electromagnetic spectrum, sensors and platforms, resolution and types, elements of air photo and satellite image interpretation and photogrammetry); types of aerial photographs; digital image processing; developments in remote sensing technology and big data sharing and its applications in natural resources management in India.High weightage
- GPS — GPS components (space, ground control and receiver segments) and applications.Medium
- Quantitative techniques — Applications of measures of central tendency, dispersion and inequalities, sampling, sampling procedure and hypothesis testing (chi square test, t test, ANOVA), time series analysis, correlation and regression analysis, measurement of indices, making indicators scale free, computation of composite index, principal component analysis and cluster analysis.Medium
- Morphometric analysis — Morphometric analysis: ordering of streams, bifurcation ratio, drainage density and drainage frequency, basin circularity ratio and form factor, profiles, slope analysis, clinographic curve, hypsographic curve and altimetric frequency graph.Medium
Geographic information and map making → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
GIS and remote sensing → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
GPS → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Quantitative techniques → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Morphometric analysis → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Unit 10: Geography of India
भारत का भूगोल · 4 bank questions · 9 premium chapters- Physiography and drainage — Major physiographic regions and their characteristics; drainage system (Himalayan and peninsular).High weightage
- Climate and monsoon — Climate: seasonal weather characteristics, climatic divisions, Indian monsoon (mechanism and characteristics), jet streams and Himalayan cryosphere.High weightage
- Natural resources — Types and distribution of natural resources: soil, vegetation, water, mineral and marine resources.Medium
- Population of India — Population characteristics (spatial patterns of distribution), growth and composition (rural-urban, age, sex, occupational, educational, ethnic and religious), determinants of population, population policies in India.High weightage
- Agriculture in India — Agriculture: production, productivity and yield of major food crops; major crop regions, regional variations in agricultural development; environmental, technological and institutional factors affecting Indian agriculture; agro-climatic zones, green revolution, food security and right to food.High weightage
- Industrial development in India — Industrial development since independence, industrial regions and their characteristics, industrial policies in India.Medium
- Transport networks and trade — Development and patterns of transport networks (railways, roadways, waterways, airways and pipelines); internal and external trade (trend, composition and directions).Medium
- Regional development planning — Regional development planning in India, globalisation and its impact on Indian economy.Medium
- Natural disasters in India — Natural disasters in India: earthquake, drought, flood, cyclone, tsunami, Himalayan highland hazards and disasters.Medium
Physiography and drainage → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Climate and monsoon → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Natural resources → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Population of India → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Agriculture in India → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Industrial development in India → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Transport networks and trade → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Regional development planning → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Natural disasters in India → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min
Study material
Free sample material
Continental drift and plate tectonics
Premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min · Unit 1
Read free previewDenudation, weathering and geomorphic cycle
Premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min · Unit 1
Read free previewAtmospheric circulation and cyclones
Premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min · Unit 2
Read free previewPremium detailed material — preview
Premium chapters are published for this subject: 50 topic chapters, each with a free preview; the full chapter, diagrams, worked problems and practice questions unlock with Premium.
Geography Test Series — ₹499 ₹999 · Unlocks all premium chapters (Geography) for 365 days
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Sample MCQs from the real bank
These are original practice questions with original explanations — not official NTA questions. The full bank for this subject holds 40 questions.
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Unit-wise tests
Unit 6: Geography of Economic Activities and Regional Development
4 bank questions · 5 min
Start unit testFull mock — not published yet
A 100-question full mock needs a much larger bank than the 40 questions published for this subject today, so no full mock is linked here. Unit tests above are available wherever bank questions exist. The combined 150-question mock covers Paper 1 + CS only.
Premium question bank — preview
Premium will add difficulty-wise sets, numerical and analytical sets where the syllabus needs them, and full detailed solutions for every question. The 40 questions above are the free bank available today; premium sets are not published yet, so nothing here is locked that you already need.
Previous year questions
PYQ section
Verified official PYQs — see the live count
A question is only listed as an official PYQ when its original paper and final answer key have been verified. The PYQ Library shows the live published count and the papers themselves — open it to see what is verified for this subject. Until then, nothing here is presented as an official NTA paper, and no year or session is attached to any practice question. NetSaathi is not affiliated with NTA/UGC.
Open PYQ pageStrategy
Preparation strategy for this subject
- Start with the high-weightage topics — Continental drift and plate tectonics, Atmospheric circulation and cyclones, Climatic classification, Ocean circulation, waves and tides, Ecosystem and its functions — and finish their chapter previews first.
- Read one unit, then test it the same day: each unit page ends with its own unit test, so gaps show up while the material is fresh.
- Use the unit-wise result report: after every test, revise the units where accuracy is lowest before starting a new unit.
- Attempt every question in mocks: there is no negative marking, so an unattempted question is a guaranteed zero.
- Finish with unit tests: take every available unit test under timed conditions; full mocks for this subject arrive once the bank is large enough for a 100-question paper.
Revision
Important topics & revision resources
Important topics (high weightage)
- Unit 1: Continental drift and plate tectonics
- Unit 2: Atmospheric circulation and cyclones
- Unit 2: Climatic classification
- Unit 3: Ocean circulation, waves and tides
- Unit 4: Ecosystem and its functions
- Unit 5: Population data, distribution and growth
- Unit 5: Demographic transition and population theories
- Unit 5: Urban systems and land use models
- Unit 6: Agricultural geography
- Unit 6: Industrial geography
- Unit 7: Cultural and social geography
- Unit 7: Political geography
- Unit 8: Contributions of scholars
- Unit 9: Geographic information and map making
- Unit 9: GIS and remote sensing
- Unit 10: Physiography and drainage
- Unit 10: Climate and monsoon
- Unit 10: Population of India
- Unit 10: Agriculture in India
Revision resources
- Premium chapters (50) → free previews; full chapters unlock with Premium.
- Study planner → plan revision around the exam countdown.