Booklist for UPSC Prelims and Mains Examinations
It is not easy for a new diver to extract pearls from the Ocean, similarly for the fresh aspirants, choosing right UPSC
Booklist for their preparation becomes a tough task. The syllabus of the UPSC Exam covers a wide range of subjects, for
which the availability of accurate content at the right time is the foremost demand of this exam. But with a plenty of
materials available in the market, aspirants face a lot of trouble in choosing the right UPSC Booklist. To prevent you from
these confusions and to give a right direction to your preparation, we are here providing you a Booklist for UPSC CSE
which helps you throughout your journey of preparation.
Some FAQs About The UPSC Booklist
What is the role of NCERT in UPSC Civil Services Exam preparation?
As NCERT Books provide a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the various topics covered in the exam, and are
considered a good starting point for your preparation. Once you have a clear and basic understanding of the topics that you
need to focus on, you can move towards other standard books.
NCERTs are the basic books that comprehensively covers the UPSC CSE syllabus. They are very easy to read and grasp. It
is advised to start the UPSC preparation with NCERTs because of following reasons:
Covers UPSC syllabus: NCERTs covers the syllabus of UPSC CSE, useful for both prelims and the mains. If we look at the
previous years’ questions, we will find that many questions are directly asked from NCERT.
Uses Simple Language: NCERTs use simple language in its material and can be easily understood by aspirants, helping
them in enhancing their answer writing skills.
Conceptual Clarity: The content in the NCERTs are easy to understand which helps in the concept building of the aspirants,
that’s why NCERTs are recommended at the early stages of preparation.
Authenticity of information: NCERTs provide genuine information. They are designed by experts after thorough research.
Hence they are important to develop a strong foundation in any subject.
How do Previous Years’ Questions help you in the preparation for UPSC Exam?
Previous Year Questions enable you to understand the nature of questions asked in UPSC, also built a deep clarity on how to prepare each topic that is a part of preliminary and mains examination. Once the context of the questions is clear, it would be easy for you to cover the topic from available sources accordingly. It is always great to have a glance of the Previous Year Question Papers at the beginning of your UPSC preparation. You don‘t need to start solving all of them right at the beginning. An overview of 5 papers can give you a good idea about the exam pattern.
How does the handwritten notes an effective tool in the preparation of UPSC Exam?
Despite having a great memory, you may not be able to remember everything you learn. Taking notes helps you concentrate on what you study, as it is a great technique for helping aspirants make sense of what they’re reading. Also during the journey of UPSC preparation, aspirants start feeling boredom by reading printed notes for which we bring you a solution in the form of Handwritten Mindmaps prepared by our content team. As Mindmaps incorporate a unique combination of imagery, color, and visual-spatial arrangement that significantly improves memory compared to traditional methods of note-taking and rote learning.
As Mindmaps are a great aid to learning and revision for countless reasons. aid due to the fact that these can be used to breakdown the complex information in its simplest form which improve recall and memorization. Encouraging the brain to make connections between different keywords, phrases and images, Mindmaps also engage students to brainstorm their ideas for creative learning, to plan and structure assignments such as mains answer writing, essay writing, helps to recall relevant data of reports and many more. Keeping these things in mind, Handwritten Mindmaps are prepared in a very precise manner from various resources relevant for UPSC CSE and helping lakhs of aspirants across the country to make their journey easy. Apart from saving your time, these mind maps help you in quick recall of topics by making your preparation pleasant. These Mindmaps are available for 12 GS subjects in the form of e-books as well as hardcopies.
GENERAL STUDIES
History
Ancient History and Medieval History:
New Tamil Nadu Board History Textbook – Class XI
Old NCERT
Ancient India -by R S Sharma
Medieval India -by Satish Chandra
New NCERT
Our Pasts – I
Our Pasts – II
Themes – I
Themes – II
Art & Culture:
Indian Art and Culture -by Nitin Singhania
New NCERT
Introduction to Indian art (NCERT Class 11
th
)
Living Craft Traditions of India (NCERT class 12th
)
Freedom Struggle:
Brief History of Modern India -by Rajiv Ahir
India’s Struggle for Independence – by Bipin Chandra
A brief History of Modern India – Spectrum Publication
Old NCERT – Class 12th
Post-Independent History
New NCERT class 12th Political Science
India Since Independence -by Bipin Chandra (selectively)
World History
Old NCERT – Class 9
th
, 10th and 12th
Mastering Modern World History -by Norman Lowe
Geography
World Geography
NCERT
Our Environment – Class 7
th
The Earth Our Habitat – Class 6
th
Fundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT Class 11
th
)
Fundamentals of Human Geography (NCERT Class 12th
)
Certificate Physical and Human Geography – by G C Leong
World Atlas (Orient Black Swan)
Indian Geography
NCERT
Resource and Development – Class 8
th
Contemporary India – II (Class 10th
)
India Physical Environment (NCERT Class 11
th
)
India – People and Economy (NCERT Class 12th
)
Geography of India -by Majid Husain
School Atlas
India Year Book – Published by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Polity
NCERT
Democratic Politics – Class 9th
Democratic Politics, II – Class 10th
Indian Constitution at Work (NCERT Class 11th)
Indian Polity – by M. Laxmikanth (thouroughly)
Current Affairs
Current Bills and Acts: prsindia.org
IGNOU MPS-003: http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/
Indian Year Book
Governance
ARC reports (selective)
NITI AYOG – Strategies and Action Agenda
Social justice
Yojana
Kurukshetra
NITI AYOG – Action Agenda and Strategies
International Relations
NCERT
Contemporary World Politics – Class 12th
Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy -by Rajiv Sikri
Ministry of External Affairs website (Selective Reading)
Observer Research Foundation (ORF) (Selective Reading)
Economy
NCERT
Economics – NCERT Class 9
th
Understanding Economic Development (NCERT Class 10th
)
Indian Economic Development (NCERT Class 11
th
)
Introductory Macroeconomics (NCERT Class 12th
)
Indian Economy -by Ramesh Singh
Indian Economy -by Nitin Singhania
Economic Development & Policies in India – by Jain & Ohri
Budget and Economic Survey
Ecology & Environment
NCERT
Class 12th Biology NCERT- Chapter No. 13,14,15,16
Class 11
th Chemistry NCERT – Chapter No. 14 Environmental Chemistry
Geography NCERTs – Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Chapters from Class 8
th
to 11
th
Class 12th Biology Chapter No.16 Ecosystem
Science & Technology
NCERT
Class 6
th
to 10th
Class 11
th – Chemistry: Unit 14
Class 11
th – Biology: Units 4 & 5
Class 12th – Chemistry: Unit 16
Class 12th – Biology: Units 8, 9 & 10
ISRO Website
Current Affairs: The Hindu (Sci.& Tech. Section)
Agriculture
Any basic standard material or Handouts
Yojana & Kurukshetra (Selective Reading)
Disaster and disaster management
Any basic standard material or Handouts
NDMA guidelines (Selective Reading)
Internal Security
Any Basic standard material or Handouts
IDSA Website (Selective Reading)
Ministry of Home Affairs Website (Selective Reading)
Ethics
A Practical Approach to Ethics Integrity and Aptitude -by D.K Balaji
Case Studies in Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude -by R Rajagopalan
Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
ARC Reports (Selective Reading)
Current Affairs
The Hindu Newspaper
Indian Express Newspaper
Chronicle Year Book: A Compendium on India
NITI AYOG Website: https://www.niti.gov.in/
Observer Research Foundation Website: https://www.orfonline.org/
CSAT
Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning –by R S Aggarwal
We hope that we have cleared all your doubts with this article which will help you in deciding to choose a right and useful
UPSC book list