UPSC IAS Book List PDF
UPSC Books – Best Books For IAS Prelims
There are two papers in Prelims (GS 1 and CSAT) and both are of objective type with negative marking. The best IAS books for Prelims are given below:
| Subject | UPSC Books |
|---|---|
| History | 1. India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra 2. Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum 3. NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval) 4. NCERT XII (Modern Indian History) |
| Geography | 1. Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong 2. NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus) 3. NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus) 4. World Atlas |
| Indian Polity | 1. Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth 2. NCERT IX-XII |
| Economics | 1. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh 2. Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri 3. NCERT XI |
| International Relations | 1. NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics) 2. Current Affairs |
| CSAT | 1. Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual 2. CSAT II – Arihant 3. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal |
UPSC Books - Best For IAS Mains
Candidates who clear the Prelims reach the Mains stage of the IAS Exam. There are 9 theory papers in UPSC out of which two papers are on the optional subject. Candidates should follow the important IAS general studies Mains books for the best preparation.
Given below are the best General studies books for the UPSC Mains:
| Subject | UPSC Books |
|---|---|
| History, Indian Heritage & Culture [GS Paper 1] |
1. An Introduction to Indian Art Part 1: Textbook in Fine Arts for Class XI 2. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra 3. India after Independence by Bipan Chandra 4. History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra 5. Ancient India by R.S Sharma |
| Geography [GS Paper 1] |
1. Geography of India by Majid Husain 2. World Geography by Majid Husain 3. World Atlas 4. Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong 5. Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11 |
| Polity & International Relations [GS Paper 2] |
1. Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth 2. Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu 3. India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri |
| Economy [GS Paper 3] | 1. Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh |
| Ethics [GS Paper 4] | 1. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary |
Study Material For UPSC
Apart from the books mentioned above, the essential UPSC Study Material includes:
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2nd ARC Report
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Economic Survey (latest)
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Budget (latest)
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Finance Commission Report (latest)
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Annual reports by central ministries
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Current Affairs
However, the candidates belonging to 2, 3, and 4 cannot take up the IFS exam.
Read only the Best UPSC Books
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The UPSC syllabus is vast and it takes at least one year to comprehensively cover it. Therefore, you cannot waste precious time by reading books that are below standard or worse, contain incorrect and unauthenticated information. In this case, you would have to unlearn what you had previously read and this can prove difficult.
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Learning from the recommended sources would mean you can directly make notes out of it if necessary.
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There are many books that give information tailor-made for the IAS exam. For instance, Laxmikanth for Polity is a book that you must read if you are taking the UPSC exam. Many questions have been asked that seem to come directly from this book.
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In addition, many books including the one discussed above, contain information in a ‘notes’ format. So, they are readymade for IAS preparation. You don’t have to waste time trying to make notes.