The UPSC Syllabus for Civil Services Prelims and Mains examination is comprehensive and requires a lot of information sources to adequately address the challenges of the UPSC question paper. Here, we are giving the list of books for IAS Examination.
NCERT Textbooks:
1. NCERT Text Books from Class 6 โ 12th. NCERTs (also OLD NCERTs) are the first step
towards IAS preparation. Download them for free here.
2. Or check our free NCERT notes section.
Indian History and Culture:
1. Indiaโs Ancient Past โ R.S. Sharma.
2. History Of Medieval India โ Satish Chandra
3. History Of Modern India โ Bipan Chandra.
4. Indiaโs Struggle For Independence โ Bipan Chandra. (For Mains only)
5. The Wonder That Was India โ A.L. Bhasham (Ancient India and Culture)
6. Indian Art and Culture โ Nitin Singhania. (For Prelims โ Culture)
7. A Brief History of Modern India โ Spectrum (For Prelims)
Indian Geography and World Geography:
1. Oxford School Atlas or any good quality Atlas
2. Geography of India โ Majid Husain.
3. World Geography โ Majid Husain
4. Certificate Physical and Human Geography โ Goh Cheng Leong. (Physical and Human
Geography)
Indian Polity and Constitution:
1. Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations โ M. Laxmikanth. (ESSENTIAL FOR UPSC)
2. Introduction to the Constitution of India โ D. D. Basu (only for Mains)
Indian Economy:
1. Indian Economy โ Ramesh Singh.
2. Often questions on Indian Economy are linked with Current Affairs; more on Current Affairs prep later
Science and Technology:
1. Science and Technology in India โ Ravi P Agrahari.
2. Read NCERTs for S&T topics selectively and follow Current Affairs
Environment โ Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change:
1. Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains โ Khuller.
Current Affairs:
1. India Year Book
2. Yojana Magazine
3. Kurukshetra Magazine
4. Economic and Political Weekly
5. Science Reporter
6. The Hindu/ The Indian Express
7. RSTV
8. Press Information Bureau
CSAT:
1. Analytical Reasoning โ M. K. Pandey
2. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning โ R. S.Aggarwal
Other important reference books:
1. Essays for Civil Services โ Pulkit Khare
2. India After Gandhi โ Ramchandra Guha
3. Mastering Modern World History โ Norman Lowe
4. Social Problems In India โ Ram Ahuja.
5. Governance in India โ Laxmikanth.
6. India and the World by Surendra Kumar.
7. Challenges to Internal Security of India โ Ashok Kumar.
8. Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude โ Niraj Kumar.
