UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
B.Sc. DEGREE COURSE IN GEOGRAPHY
SEMESTER SYSTEM WITH CREDITS
(Effective from the Academic Year 2003-2004)

Semester IV - Paper VI - Geography of India

Duration: 3 hrs
Maximum Marks: 100
Credits: 4

Semester IV

Paper VI - Geography of India

Unit I

India as geographical Unit India's location - Physical contrasts - Physiography - relief, coasts and islands - water resources of India : Rivers - distribution and development of irrigation; tanks, canals, wells and tube wells - major irrigation and multipurpose river valley projects. Climate: seasons - temperature and rainfall - Indian monsoon - climate regions.

Unit II

Soils - types and distribution - Soil erosion and conservation - natural vegetation - forests ; types - forest as a resource: Agriculture: major food crops and regions - rice, wheat and millets, plantation agriculture - sugarcane, tobacco, jute, cotton, groundnut, castor and mustard - agricultural regions - problems of Indian agriculture - livestock wealth of India - Indian fisheries.

Unit III

Mineral resources : Iron Maganese, Bauxite, Limestone, Copper, Zinc and Gold - distribution and production - power resources: Coal, oil, hydro-electricity, Thermal and atomic power development - distribution and production, Industries : Agrobased industries - textiles - cotton, jute, woollen - sugar; metallurigical industries: Iron and Steel, aluminium, engineering and machine tools, automobiles and locomotives, ship building, chemical industries, paper and fertilizer

Unit IV

Transport: roadways - railways and airways - trade: Inland and foreign - export and import - population: distribution and density - rural and urban growth - migration.

Unit V

Tamilnadu : Physiography - climate - drainage - soil and natural vegetation - agriculture ; distribution of paddy, sugarcane and millets - plantation agriculture - distribution of minerals and industries - population ; distribution density and growth.

Reference