Part I. - Written examination in the subjects as set out in para 2 below.
Part II. - Interview/ Personality Test of such candidates as may be called by the Commission,carrying a maximum of 200 marks.

2. The following will be the subjects for the written examination, for selection to the post of Geologist, Geophysicist and Chemist Group 'A' in GSI and Junior Hydro-geologist (Scientist 'B'), Group 'A' for Central Ground Water Board.

Subject	Duration	Maximum Marks
1. General English (common for all category)	3 hrs	100
Category - 1 For the post of Geologist
2. Geology Paper I	3 hrs	200
3. Geology Paper II:	3 hrs	200
4. Geology Paper III:	3 hrs	200
Category - 2 For the post of Geophysicist
2. Geophysics Paper I:	3 hrs	200
3. Geophysics Paper II:	3 hrs	200
4. Geophysics Paper III:	3 hrs	200
Category - 3 For the post of Chemist
2. Chemistry Paper I:	3 hrs	200
3. Chemistry Paper II:	3 hrs	200
4. Chemistry Paper III:	3 hrs	200
Category - 4 For the Post of Jr. Hydrogeologist
2. Geology Paper I	3 hrs	200
3. Geology Paper II	3 hrs	200
4. Hydrogeology	3 hrs	200

Note I: Candidates competing for selection to the posts of Geologist, Geophysicist, Chemist and Junior Hydrogeologist will be required to appear in all the subjects mentioned against respective category above.

Note II: Candidates competing for selection for both the posts of Geologist and Jr.Hydrogeologist will be required to appear in all the subjects mentioned against Categories 1 and 4 above.

Note III : If any candidate failed to appear in any one or more of above papers, meant for written examination for selection to the post of Geologist, Geophysicist, Chemist, their candidature shall stand rejected and part of written examination appeared by him/her shall not be evaluated and counted for any purpose.

GEOLOGY – PAPER I : 200 Marks

Section A : Geomorphology and Remote Sensing.

Introduction : Development, Scope, Geomorphic concepts, Types and Tools; Landforms: Role of Lithology, peneplaination, endogenous and exogenous forces responsible, climatic and Tectonic factors and rejuvenation of landforms; Denudational processes : Weathering , erosion, transportation, weathering products and soils – profiles, types, duricrusts; Hillslopes : Their characteristics and development, fluvial processes on hillslopes; River and drainage basin: Drainage pattern, network characteristics, Valleys and their development, processes of river erosion, transportation and deposition; Landforms produced by geomorphic agents: Fluvial, Coastal , Glacial and Aeolian landforms; Geomorphic indicators of neotectonic movements : Stream channel morphology changes , drainage modifications, fault reactivation, Uplift – subsidence pattern in coastal areas; Applied Geomorphology : Application in various fields of earth sciences viz. Mineral prospecting, Geohydrology, Civil Engineering and Environmental studies; Geomorphology of India: Geomorphical features and zones

Electromagnetic radiation – characteristics, remote sensing regions and bands; General orbital and sensor characteristics of remote sensing satellites; Spectra of common natural objects – soil, rock, water and vegetation. Aerial photos – types, scale, resolution, properties of aerial photos, stereoscopic parallax, relief displacement; Principles of photogrammetry; Digital image processing - characteristics of remote sensing data, preprocessing, enhancements, classification; Elements of photo and imagery pattern and interpretation, application in Geology; Remote sensing applications in interpreting structure and tectonics, Lithological mapping, mineral resources, natural hazards and disaster mitigation, groundwater potentials and environmental monitoring. Landsat, Skylab, Seasat and other foreign systems of satellites and their interpretation for geological and other studies; Space research in India – Bhaskara and IRS systems and their applications, Thermal IR remote sensing and its applications, Microwave remote sensing and its applications. Principles and components of Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing data integration with GIS, applications of GIS in various geological studies.

Section B: Structural Geology

Principle of geological mapping and map reading, projection diagrams. Stress-strain relationships for elastic, plastic and viscous materials. Measurement of strain in deformed rocks. Behaviour of minerals and rocks under deformation conditions. Structural analysis of folds, cleavages, lineations, joints and faults. Superposed deformation. Mechanism of folding, faulting and progressive deformation. Shear Zones: Brittle and ductile shear zones, geometry and products of shear zones; Mylonites and cataclasites, their origin and significance.Time relationship between crystallization and deformation. Unconformities and basement-cover relations. Structural behaviour of igneous plutons, diapirs and salt domes. Introduction to petrofabric analysis.

Section C: Geodynamics

Earth and its internal structure. Continental drift – geological and geophysical evidence and objections. An overview of plate tectonics including elementary concepts of plates, lithosphere, asthenosphere, types of plate boundaries and associated important geological features like oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, accretionary wedges, topography of mid-ocean ridges, magnetic anomaly stripes and transform faults. Gravity anomalies at mid-ocean ridges, deep sea trenches, continental shield areas and mountain chains. Palaeomagnetism and its application for determining palaeoposition of continents. Isostasy, Orogeny and Epeirogeny. Seismic belts of the earth. Seismiciy at plate boundaries. Principles of Geodesy, Global Positioning System (GPS) and its application in crustal motion monitoring including neotectonics. Palaeoposition of India and Geodynamics of the Indian plate.

Section D: Stratigraphy

Principles of Statigraphy : History and Development of Statigraphy; Stratigraphic procedures (Surface and Subsurface); Concept of Lithofacies and Biofacies; Stratigraphic Correlation (Litho, Bio- and Chronostrarigraphic Correlation); Study of standard stratigraphic code (Lithostratigraphic, Biostratigraphic and Chronostratigraphic); Concepts of Magnetostratigraphy, Chemostratigraphy, Event stratigraphy, and Sequence stratigraphy; Nomenclature and the modern stratigraphic code. Radioisotopes and measuring geological time. Geological time-scale. Stratigraphic procedures of correlation of unfossiliferous rocks. Precambrian stratigraphy of India : Achaean stratigraphy - tectonic frame-work, geological history and evolution of Dharwar, and their equivalents; Easterghats mobile belt; Proterozoic stratigraphy -tectonic framework, geological history and evolution of Cuddapahs and their equivalents. Palaeozoic stratigraphy: Palaeozoic formations of India with special reference to type localities, history of sedimentation, fossil content. Mesozoic stratigraphy: Mesozoic formations of India with special reference to type localities, history of sedimentation, fossil content. Cenozoic stratigraphy: Cenozoic formations of India, Rise of the Himalayas and evolution of Siwalik basin. Stratigraphic boundaries: Stratigraphic boundary problems in Indian geology. Gondwana Supergroup and Gondwanaland. Deccan Volcanics. Quaternary stratigraphy. Rocks record, palaeoclimates and palaeogeography.

Section E : Palaeontology

Evolution of the fossil record and the geological time scale. Basic and functional morphology of major fossil groups. Species concept; Major evolutionary theories ; Techniques in Palaeontology mega fossils- microfossils – nannofossils , ichnofossils – collection, identification and illustration – binomial Nomenclature; Invertebrate Palaeontology – A brief study of morphology, classification, evolutionary trends and distribution of Bivalves, cephalopoda and Gastropods, Echinoids, Corals and Brachiopods. Vertebrate Palaeontology – Brief study of vertebrate life through ages. Evolution of reptiles and mammals; Siwalik vertebrate fauna; Biodiversity and mass extinction events; evidence of life in Precambrian times; Palaeontological perspective : Use of palaeontological data in a) Stratigraphy b) Palaeoecology and evolution; Introduction to Micropalaeontology; Types of Microfossils; Plant fossils: Gondwana flora and their significance. Different microfossil groups and their distribution in India; Application of palynology. Basic idea about statistical application in palaeontology. Fundamentals of isotopic studies of fossils.

GEOLOGY – PAPER II : 200 Marks

Section A : Mineralogy and Geochemistry & Isotope Geology

External symmetry of crystals: Symmetry Elements, methods of projection, derivation of 32 classes, Hermaun Muguin notation. Internal symmetry of crystals: Derivation of 230 space groups, diffraction of crystals by X-rays, Braggs’ law. Principles of optical mineralogy : Optical mineralogy, polarized light, behaviour of isotropic and anisotropic minerals in polarized light, refractive index, double refraction, birefringence, sign of elongation, interference figures, 2V, dispersion in minerals. Optic sign, pleochroic scheme and determination of fast and slow vibrations and accessory plates. Introduction to mineralogy: Definition and classification of minerals. Structural and chemical principles of crystals / minerals, chemical bonds, ionic radii, coordination number (CN) and polyhedron. Structure, chemistry, physical and optical characters and paragenesis of mineral groups: Olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, mica and spinel groups; Feldspar, quartz, feldspathoid, aluminum silicate, epidote and garnet groups. Accessory minerals: Apatite, calcite, corundum, scapolite, sphene and zircon. Earth mineralogy: Average mineralogical composition of crust and mantle, mineral transformations in the mantle with depth.

Earth in relation to the solar system and universe, cosmic abundance of elements. Composition of the planets and meteorites. Structure and composition of earth and distribution of elements. Trace elements and REE and their importance in fractional crystallization during magmatic / partial melting. Elementary crystal chemistry and thermodynamics. Introduction to isotope geochemistry. Geochronology and age of the Earth: Law of Radioactivity; Principles of isotopic dating, Decay schemes and Derivation of equation of age. Rb/Sr, U- Th –Pb methods of dating the rocks. Age of the Earth. Geochemistry and principles of evolution of hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. Geochemical cycle and principles of geochemical prospecting.

Section B : Igneous Petrology

Origin of magmas: Mantle, onset of partial melting of mantle, processes of partial melting in mantle, mantle-magmas in relation to degree and depth-level of partial melting. Phase equilibrium in igneous systems: Binary and ternary systems. Bowen's reaction principle: Reaction series and its application to petrogenesis. Magmatic evolution and differentiation: Fractional crystallization, gravitational differentiation, gas streaming, liquid immiscibility and assimilation. Structures and textures: Definition, description, rock examples and genetic implications of common structures and textures of igneous rocks. Classification of igneous rocks: Mode, CIPW norm, IUGS and other standard classifications; Magmatism and tectonics: Inter-relationship between tectonic settings and igneous rock suites. Igneous rock suites: Form, structure, texture, modal mineralogy, petrogenesis and distribution of Ultramafic rocks: Dunite-peridotite-pyroxenite suite; kimberlites, lamprophyres, lamproites, komatiites; Basic rocks: Gabbro-norite-anorthosite-troctolite suite, Dolerites; Basalts and related rocks; Intermediate rocks: Diorite-monzonite-syenite suite; Andesites and related rocks; Acidic rocks: Granite-syenite-granodiorite-tonalite suite; Rhyolites and related rocks; Alkaline rocks: Shonkinite, ijolite, urtite, melteigite, malignite, alkali gabbros, alkali basalt, alkali granite, alkali syenite, nepheline syenite and phonolite; Carbonatites; Ophiolite suite.

Petrogenetic provinces : Continental areas: Volcanic-Flood basalts-Tholeiites (Deccan Trap, Columbia River basalts); Layered gabbroic intrusions: The Bushveld complex, Skaergaard intrusion, Still water complex. Plutonic: Carbonatites and alkaline rock complexes of India; Oceanic Rift valleys: MORB- Tholeiites-Ophiolites

Section C : Metamorphic Petrology & Processes

Concepts and Theory: Types of Metamorphism and their controlling factors; Common minerals of metamorphic rocks; Field observations, petrographic classification of common metamorphic rocks; Metamorphic facies and facies series. Effects of Metamorphism : Phase diagrams and graphic representation of mineral assemblages; Prograde and retrograde metamorphism, Matasomatism; Deformation textures and textures related to recrystallization; Metamorphic reactions, elemental exchange and Pressure – Temperature conditions of Isograds; Mineral assemblages equilibrium/ reaction textures and geo-thermo barometry. Experimental and thermodynamic appraisal of metamorphic reactions; Role of fluids in metamorphic reactions. Metamorphism types and products: Regional and thermal metamorphism of pelitic rocks. Regional and thermal metamorphism of basic and ultrabasic rocks; Regional and thermal metamorphism of impure, silicious carbonate rocks; Metamorphism of Granitoides, Charnockites and Migmatites. Metamorphism in space and time: Plate tectonics and metamorphic processes; Paired metamorphic belts, Archaean and Proterozoic terrains; Extraterrestrial Metamorphism (Impact and Shock Metamorphism); polymetamorphism

Section D : Sedimentology

Provenance and diagenesis of sediments. Sedimentary textures. Framework, matrix and cement of terrigenous sediments. Definition, measurement and interpretation of grain size. Elements of hydraulics. Primary structures, palaeocurrent analysis. Biogenic and chemical sedimentary structures. Sedimentary environment and facies. Facies modeling for marine, non-marine and mixed sediments. Tectonics and sedimentation. Classification and definition of sedimentary basins. Sedimentary basins of India. Cyclic sediments. Seismic and sequence stratigraphy. Purpose and scope of basin analysis. Stratum contours and isopach maps.