Subject-wise UPPSC PCS Books List and Strategy for PCS Exam Preparation

Best Books for UPPSC Exam 2022 - Subject Wise

Current affairs

Current affairs (CA) section has always been one of the favorite sections in UPPSC exams and the commission has repeatedly given a good number of current affairs factual questions. So aspirants should focus on current affairs questions/news and should have a “factual eye” in spotting the facts. The focus should be on the last 8-10 months of current affairs preceding the month of the prelims exam. And while reading it's important to make a synopsis of important facts for quick revision.

Reference Books

BYJU'S Exam Prep sources: Daily Current Affairs for UPSC, Monthly Current Affairs for UPSC, Monthly Current Affairs for PCS, Last Six Months Current Affairs for PCS Exams.

Other sources: Pratiyogita Darpan (Monthly edition).

Ghatanachakra current affairs (published a few days before the prelims exam)

and The Hindu or Indian Express daily newspaper.

Indian and World Geography

Geography has consistently maintained its position as one of the most dependable sections, with around 20 questions being asked each year, and has not disappointed those who have put the effort into Geography. So, its importance cannot be overlooked.

Reference Books:

New Geography NCERT books from class 7-12.

Geography of India by Majid Husain

India: Map Entries in Geography for Civil Services Main Examination by Majid Husain.

Indian Polity and governance:

This section has straightforward yet difficult-to-remember facts like articles, constitutional and legal provisions, etc. Therefore, a book covering all the aspects is required. And the one-stop solution for both English and Hindi medium aspirants is “Indian Polity” by M Laxmikanth. With this book and mastery over previous year's questions, you can tackle more than 90% of the polity questions easily.

Reference Books:

“Indian Polity” by M Laxmikanth

Modern history

Within History, the section of modern history commands the majority, as 15-20 Questions approx. are asked from this section alone and around 6-10 Questions may be from both Ancient and medieval history together. So, modern history should be given priority. UPSC IAS aspirants mostly refer to India’s struggle for independence by Bipan Chandra and such aspirants given UPPSC exams can revise from the same book. But if you want to tackle most of the questions then “A New Look at Modern Indian History: Form 1707 To The Modern Times” by  B.L. Grover and Alka Mehta is the book to go for English medium aspirants.

Reference Books:

Modern Indian History by B.L. Grover

General Science

Mostly basic and general science concepts are asked in UPPSC and aspirants especially non-science students need to cover the basics of Physics, chemistry, and biology till class 10^th level. Based on these basic concepts questions are either framed directly or questions require the application of such basic concepts (applied sciences). NCERT solutions from class 6-10^th along with the practice of previous year questions and practice of a lot of questions is often sufficient. However, for detailed knowledge, one can refer to General science by Lucent.

Reference Books:

New NCERTs from class 6^th to 10^th

General Science-Lucent

Economic and Social Development

NCERTs again come to the rescue. Apart from NCERTs, many questions are based on current affairs. Thus, after reading concepts from NCERTs, daily news update is often sufficient to cover almost all the questions. Apart from this if one can refer standard reference book if required.

Reference Books:

NCERTs (Class 6^th to 10^th)

Indian Economy By Ramesh Singh

Ancient and Medieval History

Ancient Indian History and Medieval Indian history both have a very vast syllabus with a lot of facts to cover which makes this section arduous to deal with. Thus, these sections should be low on priority as also there are not many questions that are asked from these sections.

Reference Books:

Ancient history (Old class 11 NCERT) by RS Sharma

Medieval History (Old class 12 NCERT) by Satish Chandra

History books class 11, 12 of Tamil Nadu board

General Issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

This section is mostly covered in the Geography section. Therefore, separation at times seems artificial. Still apart from reading topics of geography following books can be referred.

Reference Books:

Environment by Shankar IAS academy

Uttar Pradesh GK

Few UP-specific questions pertaining to UP economy, UP polity, UP culture, etc are asked which can be covered from any decent reference book.

Reference Books:

Uttar Pradesh - General Knowledge by KBC NANO

Note: English medium aspirants are encouraged to refer to Hindi books if necessary because Hindi books especially Pariksha Vaani books are good and very helpful for last-minute revision.

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