Geomorphology (Geography).
Syllabus: UPSC Pre GS1: Indian & World Geography; Mains GS1
Plate tectonics for UPSC: Wegener's drift, sea-floor spreading, plates, divergent, convergent and transform boundaries, and the Indian plate.
Earthquakes for UPSC: causes, focus and epicentre, P, S and surface waves, shadow zones, Richter vs Mercalli, India's seismic zones, tsunamis and…
Volcanoes for UPSC: magma and plate boundaries, shield, composite and caldera types, intrusive and extrusive landforms, Ring of Fire, Barren Island and…
BSIP (DST) researchers reported molecular evidence of massive wildfires in Gondwana forests nearly 250 million years ago. Using palynofacies analysis with Raman and FTIR spectroscopy on Godavari Valley Coalfield sediments, they separated high- and low-intensity fire-derived microcharcoal from other opaque particles. The study is in Geological Journal (Wiley).
UPSC angle: Prelims: Gondwana vs Tertiary coal.
25 May 2026
The definition decides which hills can be mined. That is why environmental groups are watching closely.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Aravallis. · Mains: Mining vs ecology.
21 Dec 2025