CUET Geography

Fundamentals of Human Geography

Unit I: Human Geography: Nature and Scope

Unit II: People
• Population of the world – distribution, density, and growth;
• Population change-spatial patterns and structure; determinants of population change;
• Age-sex ratio; rural-urban composition;
• Human development – concept; selected indicators, international comparisons.

Unit III: Human Activities
• Primary activities – concept and changing trends; gathering, pastoral, mining, subsistence agriculture, modern agriculture; people engaged in agriculture and allied activities – some examples from selected countries;
• Secondary activities – concept; manufacturing: agro-processing, household, small scale, large scale; people engaged in secondary activities – some examples from selected countries;
• Tertiary activities – concept; trade, transport, and communication; services; people engaged in tertiary activities – some examples from selected countries;
• Quaternary activities – concept; knowledge-based industries; people engaged in quaternary activities – some examples from selected countries.

Unit IV: Transport, Communication and Trade
• Land transport – roads, railways – rail network; trans-continental railways;
• Water transport- inland waterways; major ocean routes;
• Air transport – Intercontinental air routes;
• Oil and gas pipelines;
• Satellite communication and cyberspace;
• International trade – Basis and changing patterns; ports as gateways of international trade, the roleof WTO in International trade.

Unit V: Human Settlements
• Settlement types – rural and urban; morphology of cities (case study); distribution of megacities; problems of human settlements in developing countries.

India: People and Economy

UnitI: People
• Population: distribution, density and growth; composition of population-linguistic, religious;sex, ruralurban and occupational-regional variations in growth of population;
• Migration: international, national – causes and consequences;
• Human development – selected indicators and regional patterns;
• Population, environment, and development.

Unit II: Human Settlements
• Rural settlements – types and distribution;
• Urban settlements – types, distribution, and functional classification.

Unit III: Resources and Development (Periods 30)
• Land resources – general land use; agricultural land use – major crops; agricultural development and problems, common property resources;
• Water resources – availability and utilization – irrigation, domestic, industrial, and other uses; scarcity of water and conservation methods – rainwater harvesting and watershed management (one case study related to participatory watershed management to be introduced) ;
• Mineral and energy resources – metallic and non-metallic minerals and their distribution; conventional and non-conventional energy sources;
• Industries – types and distribution; industrial location and clustering; changing pattern ofselected industries – iron and steel, cotton textiles,sugar, petrochemicals, and knowledge-based industries; the impact of liberalization, privatization, and globalization on industrial location;
• Planning in India – target area planning (case study); idea ofsustainable development(case study).

Unit IV: Transport, Communication and International Trade
• Transport and communication — roads, railways, waterways, and airways; oil and gas pipelines; national electric grids; communication networkings – radio, television, satellite, and internet;
• International trade — changing pattern of India’s foreign trade; seaports and their hinterland and airports.

Unit V: Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems
• Environmental pollution; urban-waste disposal;
• Urbanisation-rural-urban migration; problem of slums;
• Land Degradation.