UPSC Books: Best Books for UPSC IAS Prelims & Mains 2022

Best Books for UPSC Prelims

UPSC Prelims exam is an objective exam and is a qualifying round. It is crucial to choose the best UPSC Prelims Books to ensure that you have covered the entire UPSC Prelims Syllabus in a comprehensive manner. The UPSC Books for Prelims include books for both Paper 1 and Paper 2 (CSAT). There are plenty of books to choose from for the prelims exam therefore the best way to begin your exam preparation is by completing the NCERT Books for UPSC for all the subjects.

UPSC Books for History [Prelims]

There are two levels of Books for UPSC Prelims for History. Beginners must go through the NCERT Books or NIOS books for Classes 11 and 12.

• NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval)
• NCERT XII (Modern Indian History)

After completing the basic books, you can move on to the following History Books for IAS

• India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra & Others
• A Brief History of Modern India (2018‑2019) Book by Rajiv Ahir
• History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
• Ancient India by R.S Sharma

UPSC Prelims Books for Art & Culture

Studying the Indian culture and heritage for the Prelims exam would be a lot easier with the following Art & Culture Books for UPSC Prelims.

• NCERT Class 11 – An Introduction to Indian Art Part-I
• NCERT Class 11 – Living Crafts Traditions of India
• NCERT Class 12 – Craft Traditions of India
• Indian Art & Culture By Nitin Singhania

UPSC Books for Polity [Prelims]

UPSC Prelims Books for Polity cover the basic and in-depth understanding of Parliament, Union States, Local Administrations, Constitutions, etc. Following are some recommended books to cover these topics.

• NCERT Class XI – Political Science: Indian Constitution at Work (New)
• NCERT Class XII – Political Science I: Contemporary World Politics(New)
• NCERT Class XII – Political Science II: Politics in India since Independence(New)

Above mentioned Polity Books for UPSC are for building the foundation. Below we have mentioned some standard books for covering Polity.

• Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations – M. Laxmikanth
• Important Acts that Transformed India – Alex Andrews George
• Important Judgments that Transformed India – Alex Andrews George

UPSC Booklist for Geography [Prelims]

Geography Books for UPSC Prelims include both Indian geography and world geography, and following are some recommended books for this subject.

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

Economics Books for IAS Prelims

UPSC Prelims Books for Economics would give you an in-depth idea about the issues associated with society, economic growth, and development, demographics, poverty, etc. here are the best books you can refer to cover these topics.

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

UPSC Books for CSAT - (Important Books)

CSAT exam is designed to test the problem-solving, decision-making, and analytical ability skills of the candidates. Below we have mentioned some CSAT Books for UPSC that would help you to enhance these skillsets

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

Other Important UPSC Books for Prelims

Apart from these above-mentioned UPSC Books for Prelims, candidates can also rely on the following resources to strengthen their preparation, and increase their chance of cracking the UPSC Prelims exam.

Important Books for UPSC Mains

Those candidates who crack the Prelims stage of the UPSC exam will have to appear Mains. Here choosing the right UPSC Books for Mains would give them a headstart with their preparation. Below we will be covering the best books for the Mains round subject-wise that would be helpful for the candidates.

Before choosing the right USPC Mains Books, it is important to understand the UPSC Exam Pattern for the Mains exam as it contains numerous papers.

UPSC Books for History [Mains GS Paper 1]

The history section of UPSC Mains Syllabus includes History and Indian Heritage & Culture. In the UPSC Mains exam, world history is also included. Check the selected UPSC Booklist to complete the history section

• Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
• India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
• India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma published by Oxford University Press
• A History of Ancient & Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh
• History of Medieval India (800–1700 AD) by Satish Chandra published by Orient Longman
• India After Independence (1947 - 2000) by Bipin Chandra & Others
• From Plassey To Partition And After by Sekhar Bandopadhyaya

Geography Books for IAS Mains [GS Paper 1]

UPSC Books for Geography include all topics such as Indian Geography, Physical Geography, etc. The best way to cover Geography for the UPSC Mains GS Paper 1 is by covering the NCERTs first before moving on to advanced books. It is fair to assume that aspirants must have covered the basic NCERTs for the UPSC Prelims exam.

Check the best Geography Books for UPSC Mains below.

• 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 & 12
• Indian Geography by D. R. Khullar

UPSC Books for GS Paper 2 [ Polity & IR]

Books for UPSC Mains GS paper 2 include sections that cover polity, governance, and IR. It is important to note that current affairs play a huge part in the GS Paper 2 section. The Best Books for IAS Polity are mentioned below.

• Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT
• Indian Polity by Laxmikant
• The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
• Yojana Magazine
• Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu
• International Relations: Pushpesh Pant

UPSC Books for Economics [Mains GS Paper 3]

The Economics books for IAS Mains focus on conceptual clarity and understanding of everyday economics. Along with the UPSC Mains books for Economics, aspirants must supplement their preparation with the Annual Budget and Economic Survey.

• Indian Economic Development NCERT Class 11
• Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma
• Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania
• Introductory Macro Economics NCERT Class 12
• The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

UPSC Books for Environment [Mains GS Paper 3]

The environment has become important for the UPSC Exam in recent years. To ensure good marks in GS Paper 3, go through the following Environment books for IAS

• Class 12 NCERT Book on Biology (Chapters pertaining to Ecology)
• India Year Book (Chapters on Environment)
• The chapter on Climate Change from Economic Survey
• The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

You can also check Environment and Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill

UPSC Booklist for Internal Security [Mains GS Paper 3]

Check the best books for UPSC Preparation to cover the Internal Security section of UPSC GS Paper 3.

• India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh
• Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar
• The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Best Ethics Books for UPSC

Check the complete UPSC Booklist for Ethics to complete the UPSC syllabus for ethics. The ethics paper consists of case studies therefore candidates must ensure that they are covering the books in the right manner.

• Ethics in Governance, ARC Report
• The Book on Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude by Lexicon by Chronicle Publications

NCERT Books for UPSC IAS Exam

The most important resource for your UPSC Exam preparation is NCERT Books for UPSC, not only these books would help strengthen your concepts, but the beginners would be highly benefitted from these books.

UPSC Book List for Optional Subjects

There are a total of 48 optional subjects in the UPSC mains exam, and candidates get the freedom to choose any one of them. Below we have provided the direct link to all the books for IAS optional subjects.

How to Read the UPSC Books?

Many aspirants often face problems because there is a huge amount of study materials to complete in a limited period of time. Reading too many books for IAS would confuse you. That’s why we have prepared this simple strategy that would help you to read the books efficiently.

• Start picking up only a unit from the UPSC syllabus and choose a book as per the content of that unit. It would be a wise decision to pick one standard book for a particular subject and build a basic understanding.
• If you are a beginner then you should start with NCERT books as the content is written in simple language, and explain the concept with ease.
• After that start making notes from the book. Make sure you are covering all the topics of that subject while creating notes.
• Highlight the important points so that you can glance through them in the revision period.
• UPSC exam requires purposeful reading, so make sure you are reading the books for IAS dedicatedly.

UPSC Books Online

With the advancement of digitalization, candidates have the option to download e-books for IAS. these e-books are easily available online and they possess the same content as hardcopy books. Every subject requires several books, and it is not possible for the candidates to carry those books all the time. Thus online UPSC Books would a great alternative, and candidates can carry the PDF format anywhere they go.