As we know UPSC thrills us by giving vast Syllabus it is difficult to find all the information in just a single book. Many people would suggest TataMcGraw Hill Paper 1 (Tata McGraw Hill – GENERAL STUDIES MANUAL 2019 ) for General Studies Paper 1 and TataMcGraw Hill Paper 2 for CSAT Paper 2. Even though TataMCGraw Hill Paper 2 is more than enough for CSAT to get qualifying mark but TMH Paper 1 is not enough and if you want to be thorough with basics you have to go for standard textbooks. You need not read all NCERT books as it will take months to finish. I have mentioned important NCERT books to read, those books are mandatory. Extensive reading is not bad so read any other NCERT if you find that subject interesting. I have even listed some books for extensive reading apart from books for UPSC Prelims. Some of you may find easy to read as an E-Book and some may not. those who want to buy NCERT books as hardcopy Click here. If you can read e-copy then just download new NCERT books, Download Old NCERT books from the links. If you have any Additional information please share it by commenting on this post..
Books for UPSC Prelims:
Geography :
- Which atlas is best Orient Blackswan school atlas or Oxford School atlas?
Oxford School Atlas. It contains very detailed maps.
- Environment (By Shankar IAS Academy) <– Highly Recommended
- Environment & Ecology: Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Disaster Management – Majid Husain
- Old NCERT X, XI, XII – Download
Ancient_India (RS_Sharma)
Medieval India (Romila Thapar)
Modern India (Bipan Chandra) - Moden India- Spectrum Publication (If you read this book you can skip Modern India NCERT)
- Struggle for Independence – Bipin Chandra
Indian Polity:
- Indian Polity – Lakshmikanth
- NCERT (IX-XII)
Political Science (Democratic Politics 1)
Political Science (Democratic Politics 2)
Political Science (Indian Constitution at Work)
Political Science (Political Theory) - Indian Constitution for References
- An Introduction to the constitution of India – D.D. Basu (This book is for extensive reading only. It will be in a complicated language to read and hard to interpret. First, you have to be strong in basics to read this book. If you are a newbie just buy ‘Indian Polity – M Lakshmikanth’ )
Economics :
- NCERT XII
Economics (Introductory Macro Economics)
Economics (Indian Economic Development) - Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh
- Indian Economy Key Concepts – Shankar Ganesh [Best for Basic Understanding]
- Economic Survey
- Newspaper
Current Affairs:
- Daily Newspaper
- LearningSpaceDigital.com
- Yojana / Kurukshetra
- India Year Book
General Science:
- NCERT X
- Science Reporter magazine
Above are not very important. You can cover this with current affairs.
CSAT:
- Buy General Studies for Civil Services Preliminary Examination Paper
- Arihant – Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT <- Best buy for Aptitude Questions
Since CSAT was made to be just a qualifying paper you need to score just 33% which is very easy to obtain. anyhow if you want to do some practice read this book. it is always recommended to work out previous year question papers and model exams rather than simply memorizing formulas as UPSC will always concentrate on logical reasoning rather than quantitative aptitude. Try to solve CAT question papers then this will look very easy to solve(Recommended only for geeks).
Previous Year Question Papers:
Extensive Reading:
- India After Gandhi – Ramachandra Guha
- Pax Indica – Sasi Tharoor
- The Argumentative Indian – Amartya Sen
- The Discovery of India- Jawaharlal Nehru
- Story of My Experiments with Truth – Mahatma Gandhi
- India Unbound – G. Das
- The Life of Mahatma Gandhi – Louis Fischer
- Imagining India – N. Nilekani
I’m mentioning 10’s of books because your taste may vary or some may have already read those books.
Where can I buy these Books?
Other Important Links:
UPSC Prelims Previous Year Question paper with answer keys
Top 10 IAS academy in Chennai
Manidhaneyam IAS Academy
All India Civil Service Coaching Centre
P.S: The Buy links for all the books are affiliate links. If you buy books for UPSC prelims through these links it would be helpful for this blog.
Sir,where to buy ncert books as hard copy?
1) Success Book House, No 2137 L Block, 7th Street 12th Main Road, Anna Nagar, Chennai – 600040
2) Success Book Shop, No. 7, Prasanth Apartment, 1st Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai – 600020
3) BookMark, AF Block, 8th Street, 12th Mainroad, Anna Nagar, Chennai – 600040
The above book shops have old versions of NCERT books too.
For New NCERTs you can go to any shops mentioned below
4) http://www.justdial.com/Chennai/CBSE-Books-%3Cnear%3E-T-Nagar/ct-272115
Note: Old Versions are recommended for history.
Can you please mention the edition year for old ncert books.
Ancient India, Author: Ram Sharan Sharma
Medieval India, Author: Sathish Chandra
Modern India, Author: Bipin Chandra
You can download old NCERT E-books at: http://www.upschub.com/download-old-ncert-books/
when will be thaclasses started sir?
I hope u r asking about manidhanaeyam. Classes may start in the 2nd/3rd week of august.
Sir, i apply upsc prelims coaching this year…. i confused to choosing the optional subject… please guide me for choosing the optional… i’m Graduate in Computer Science(B.Sc.CS) and Post graduate in Computer Applications(MCA)…
I guess you are 2016 prelims batch so don’t worry about optional now. just read all subjects and go through syllabus of all optional subjects. Spend at least a week to decide about optional. Decide whether to select science subjects or non science. I suggest you to select some subjects from humanities. Don’t select geography or pub ad just for the simple reason that every aspirants are choosing it. be unique and select one subject which makes you keen on reading it. eg: I’m interested in reading international politics and relations so that drives me towards political science even though i’m from maths background.
very good blog for upsc aspirants and it provides more info for starters thank u bro
Thanks for your review bro
Sir, I would like to study in manidhanaeyam IAS Academy but i don’t know how to apply. plz guide me
Read my previous post on How to apply for Manidhaneyam IAS Academy.
Respected sir can you help me for the book ancient indian history and civilisation by s n sen it is very good book for ancient india .I lives in Chandrapur Maharashtra. Can you send me this book to my address
Sir which Atlas is good ,I mean blackswan or oxford.
Blackswan was insufficient for me so I prefer Oxford. Oxford has very detailed sketching.
What is the duration of coaching sir? I mean the no. Of months.
Normally classes will be taken for 5-6 months.
Hi sir.. I want to study in tamil…Plz help me.. How to collect material. It available in market?. Im selected this year MNT weekend batches..classes not yet started. So plz give me a idea how to prepare tamil…
To help UPSC Tamil aspirants Elam Bhagavat Anna has started a telegram group please make use of it.
https://goo.gl/YEHkjy
Is there entrance exam in manidhaneyam for this year?.
Plz upload old edition books for class 11th and 12th Biology. I need it urgently!!!!
uploaded Please Check it.
Seriously saying you gave the best knowledge on Manithaneyam Academy regarding how to register , what to prepare and other things. Except your blog nowhere in internet I could find it easy. Definitely your article will help rural people or anyone who don’t understand how to register or how to contact them. You have done a great work. Best wishes to guide people more and more.
Sir the books given above is enough to clear prelims
yes it is enough to clear prelims
Hi sir, I Decided to choose Mathematics as My Optional Subject for UPSC Mains. So please suggest me the Book list.
can you provide 10th class math book 2003 addition….
sir, are these books enough to clear ias prelims what you give above list of books. because i have very less time to preparation. i have to cover these in that 6 months time period. please guide me.