Important Reference Books For UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains and Optional

In this Post on Important Reference Books for UPSC CSE we endeavour to provide you with the list of best books for Upcoming UPSC IAS Exam.

IAS toppers recommend that aspirants start their UPSC preparation with NCERT books and then move on to the standard reference books.

The best IAS books can vary from candidate to candidate depending on their previous expertise and knowledge of the subject matter. However, the UPSC booklist recommended by experts are listed in this article subject-wise.

Choosing the right IAS exam books online for different stages of the UPSC exam is quite important. The UPSC Prelims comprises only objective type questions while the IAS Mains contains descriptive essay type question papers.

Not only should the candidates be selective about the UPSC preparation books but also divide the reading list into Prelims and Mains preparation.

Important Reference Books For UPSC CSE Prelims.

There are two papers in Prelims (GS 1 and CSAT) and both are of objective type with negative marking. Here are the list of Best reference books for UPSC CSE.

1.HISTORY

2.INDIAN POLITY

  • Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
  • NCERT IX-XII

3.GEOGRAPHY

  • Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong
  • NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus)
  • NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus)
  • World Atlas (Orient Black Swan)

4.ECONOMICS

  • Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania
  • Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
  • NCERT XI

5.INTERNATIONAL RELATION

  • NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics)
  • Current Affairs

6.CSAT

  • Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
  • Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

7.SOLVED PAPER

  • IAS General Studies Prelims Solved Papers 

Important Reference Books For UPSC CSE Mains.

Candidates who clear the Prelims reach the Mains stage of the IAS Exam. There are 9 theory papers in UPSC CSE 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:

GS PAPER - 1

History, Indian Heritage & Culture

  • Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
  • India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
  • India after Independence by Bipan Chandra
  • History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
  • Ancient India by R.S Sharma

Geography

  • Geography of India by Majid Husain
  • World Geography by Majid Husain
  • World Atlas (Orient Black Swan)
  • Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
  • Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11

GS PAPER - 2

Polity & International Relations

  • Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
  • Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu
  • International Relations: Pushpesh Pant

GS PAPER - 3

Economy

  • Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania
  • Environment and Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill
  • Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar

GS PAPER - 4

Ethics

  • Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary

Important Reference Books For UPSC CSE Optional.

In the UPSC mains exam, a candidate has to choose an optional subject also. The optional papers count for 500 marks in total and therefore, it is imperative that the right books are read for the optional subjects also. The following table gives the links to the list of IAS books for the respective optional subjects.

The linked articles for UPSC books for Optional subjects are given below:

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. jagadish

    Thank you for such a great suggestion of books, i appreciate,
    here is another website where you can learn indian polity with easy language — https://constitutioncorner.net/ must visit

  2. Bankim

    This is Bankim
    Thank you for such a great suggestion of books, i appreciate,
    here is another website where you can learn indian polity with easy language — https://constitutioncorner.net/ must visit

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