What are the best books for UPSC Exam preparation? Which IAS books should be studied for UPSC Civil Services Examination Prelims and Mains? Read to know more.
We recommend civil service applicants start their preparation with ncert textbooks (class 6-12).
You are reading: Civil service books online
once applicants get a basic idea of ncert textbooks, they should focus more on standard textbooks.
recommended ncert textbooks for upsc prep (class 6-12)
It is ideal for all aspiring ias to start with ncert books from class 6 to class 12.
you can buy 40 ncert textbooks as a bundle from amazon.
recommended standard textbooks for upsc preparation
upsc applicants are advised to purchase at least 1 standard book for each subject (topic) and then expand their reading to additional reference books.
Applicants can click each link to purchase books online from Amazon.
1. upsc books for indian politics and constitution
- indian government – by m. laxmikanth
- major acts that transformed india – by alex andrews george
- major trials that transformed india – by alex andrews george
2. upsc books on indian history and culture
- art and culture of india – by nitin singhania
- ancient and medieval india – by poonam dalal dahiya
- modern indian history – by sonali bansal and snehil tripathi
3. upsc books on indian geography and world geography
- Certificate of Physical and Human Geography – by Goh Cheng Leong
- Geography of India – by Majid Husain
- Oxford Student Atlas for India
4. upsc books for indian economy
- indian economy – by nitin singhania
- indian economy – by ramesh singh
- key concepts of indian economy – by sankarganesh karuppiah
5. upsc science and technology books
- science and technology – by ravi p. agrahari
6. upsc books for environment – ecology, biodiversity and climate change
- environment – by shankar ias
- environment – by pmf ias
7. upsc current books
- india 2022 yearbook – by rajiv mehrishi
- the malayala manorama english yearbook 2022 – by mammen mathew
- india 2022 – paperback division – by publication division
8. upsc questionnaires from the previous year
- 27 years upsc ias/ ips preliminary resolved articles by topic 1 & 2 (1995-2021)
9. preliminary manual for gs (all in one guide)
- general studies manual paper-1 2022 paperback – by manohar pandey
10. preliminary manual for csat (all in one guide)
- cracking csat-2 paper – by arihant experts
11. ias essay books (upsc mains essay paper)
- essay and answer writing basics – by anudeep durichetty
- how to master essay and answer writing – by awdesh singh
12. ias books for india since independence (part of upsc mains gs1 document)
- post-independence india: for civil service exams, by sonali bansal and snehil tripathi
- india since independence, by bipan chandra
13. ias books for world history (part of upsc mains gs1 document)
- world history – by krishna reddy
- world history – by arjun dev
14. ias books for indian society (part of upsc mains gs1 document)
- indian society: social issues and problems – by nadeem hasnain
- indian society – by m senthil kumar
15. ias books for governance (part of upsc mains gs2 document)
- governance in india – by m. laxmikanth
- governance in india – by m. karthikeyan
16. ias books for foreign affairs of india (part of upsc mains gs2 document)
- international relations – by pavneet singh
- india and the world – by amb. surendra kumar
- india’s foreign policy in the post-covid world – by amb. surendra kumar
17. ias books for internal security (part of upsc mains gs3 paper)
- india’s internal security challenges – by ashok kumar and vipul anekant
- internal security – by rajkumar sp
18. ias books on ethics, integrity and fitness (upsc mains gs4 document)
- lexicon of ethics, integrity & aptitude – by niraj kumar
- ethics, integrity and aptitude – by m. karthikeyan
- ethics, integrity & aptitude – by g subba rao & p n roy chowdhury
- ethics, integrity & fitness – by awdesh singh
19. all-in-one paper manuals for upsc cse (mains)
- ias mains manual of general studies general studies document 1 – by arihant
- ias mains manual of general studies general studies document 2 – by arihant
- ias mains manuals of general studies general studies paper 3 – by arihant
- ias mains manual of general studies general studies paper 4 – by arihant
20. upsc cse mains previous year answered questions paper books
- 9 years upsc ias/ ips mains general studies works 1 – 4 years resolved (2013 – 2021) – by disha experts
- 9 years upsc ias/ ips mains essay per year resolved works (2013 – 2021) – by disha experts
21. upsc interview books
- how to succeed civil service interview paperback – by remya roshni
- civil service interview – by madhukar bhagat
highly informative additional reference books for upsc preparation
- ancient india: the ancient past of india by r.s. sharma
- ancient india: history of ancient and early medieval india by upinder singh
- ancient india: ancient history of the india by snehil tripathi and sonali bansal
- indian art and culture: indian art, heritage and culture by pushpesh pant
- medieval india : history of medieval india by satish chandra
- modern india: history of modern india by bipan chandra
- modern india: india fights for independence by bipan chandra
- ancient india and culture: the wonder that was india by a.l. bhasham
- medieval india and culture: the marvel that was india by s a a rizvi
- modern india: a brief history of india by rajiv ahir
- world geography: world geography by majid husain
- physical geography: physical geography by savindra singh
- human geography: human geography by majid husain (click to buy)
- constitution: introduction to the constitution from india by d. d. basu
- science and technology: science and technology by sheelwant singh
- environment: environmental studies: from crisis to cure by rajagopalan
- environment: environment by ravi p agrahari
- quantitative fitness: quantitative fitness by r. yes aggarwal
- reasoning: analytical reasoning of m. k. pandey
- reasoning: verbal & non-verbal reasoning by r. s.aggarwal
- essay: essays for pulkit khare civil services
- post-independence: india after gandhi de ramchandra guha
- world history: mastering modern world history by norman lowe
- world history: modern world history by uddipan
- indian society: social problems in india by ram ahuja
- international relations: pax indica by shashi tharoor
- international relations: the path of india by s. jaishankar
- internal security: internal security by m.karthikeyan
- internal security: india internal security and disaster management by syed waquar race
- ethics: ethical dilemmas of an official by anil swarup
ias books for upsc cse mains electives
- books for electives at upsc mains (open link and scroll down).
latest upsc books (new releases)
- upsc cse latest books – click to shop new releases for upsc prep.
- list of subject specific books for ias exam (for additional reference of each subject) .
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are ncert books enough for upsc preparation?
no.
ncert textbooks only give a basic idea to get you started. they are not enough to cover the entire upsc cse preliminary and major curriculum.
Along with ncerts, applicants must learn from standard textbooks.
Standard textbooks are written by subject matter experts in an exam-oriented manner, focusing specifically on each subject/topic in the upsc cse syllabus.
what ias books are available in hindi?
For many of the books listed above, corresponding Hindi language books are available on the market.
Intermediate Hindi students can refer to the link upsc Hindi language books to buy online at discounted prices.
what are the best selling upsc books?
- prelims: best selling books for upsc civil services prelims (click to buy on amazon)
- mains: best selling books for upsc civil services mains (click to buy on amazon)
how can i get free upsc study materials?
Applicants can use the clearias online study materials to supplement the recommended standard textbooks and ncert books.
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We provide notes for both static and hot topics.
how can i get advice online for upsc?
clearias provides online training for upsc applicants from our online classroom program.
The online classroom program offers features such as live classes, recorded classes, personal tutoring, pretest sets, main test sets, main answer writing practice, and interview guidance.
more details here.
how can i practice preliminary upsc mock tests?
clearias provides free and premium mock exams for upsc preliminaries.
As you may know, only when testing in a negative grade exam atmosphere can you improve your ability to deliver in the actual exam room.
try clearias upsc prelims online mock exams for free, on the new innovative platform that integrates learning with exam taking.
You’d be surprised how quickly you can learn!
can i delete ias without buying books?
upsc books are a crucial part of the clearias ttt approach that helps applicants pass the upsc civil services exam through self-study. if you are serious about preparing for ias, you should invest in quality books.
which should I prefer: books written by academics or books written by exam experts?
We mainly recommend books written specifically from an exam perspective.
There are many books written by academics that can be used as a reference.
You can also find the names of reference books on this page.
Is there a single book that covers all the topics of the preliminaries and main?
not. there is no such book.
Considering the vast nature of the upsc curriculum, it is not possible to include everything an applicant needs to study in a single book.
clearias recommends that aspiring ias consult several books for each subject in the upsc curriculum.
However, if you’re short on resources and time, you can start with the manuals (all-in-one guides) for the Preview and Major releases. take practice tests and consult additional textbooks when time is available.
Should I buy books if I have notes from training institutes?
Considering the competition and the vast curriculum, upsc exam preparation cannot be done without collecting some essential books.
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Photostats or pdf files provided by training institutes may not give you the correct information or broad perspective. if you are an aspiring ias/ips/ifs, you should invest in good textbooks.
how can i get upsc study materials in pdf format?
In addition to our online notes, clearias also publishes pdf notes (e-books).
some of our popular e-books are:
- cleararia current affairs capsules (red books)
- cleararia preliminary most likely questions (green books)
- economic/budget survey summary (red books) oranges)
- notes toppers (blue books)
check clearias online store to download clearias e-books.
can you check out the new upsc books?
clearias.com publishes reviews of new ias books on the market in our book reviews section.
Editors/authors can send us samples for review.
Readers can also post reviews of upsc books they’ve purchased in the comments section. which will be helpful to other applicants for book selection.
what are ias’s book selection tips?
if you are taking upsc training, most topics for upsc cse will be covered through the class lectures and training notes.
However, if you are doing your upsc preparation entirely on your own, you may not have access to these resources. In this scenario, books are his main companions on the upsc journey.
Be mentally prepared to invest in at least 15-20 standard textbooks for different subjects, plus ncert books. This is because the upsc cse prelims and mains mention at least 15 topics/subjects. you will often need to read multiple books to cover each topic in detail.
Although you should prioritize what you learn, you should never limit your reading. your reading should be deep and wide.
Quality books act as supplements to your online preparation and help a lot in self-study.
If you follow clearias test-based approach to clear upsc prelims, most of the books mentioned above will be covered automatically as per the mentioned schedule.
If you’re running out of time to finish your syllabus before the exam, you’re better off focusing on concise books rather than bulky ones.
It is not necessary to finish all the books from cover to cover. focus on the important sections of each book.
We keep updating this page as new books worth candidates’ time and money come onto the market. so please check this page again! ©clearias.com.
Disclaimer: clearias participates in the amazon associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.in . As an Amazon Associate, Clearias earns advertising revenue to cover our operating expenses, at no additional cost to shoppers.
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