Books for UPSC Civil Service Preliminary Exam Preparation

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For ease of convenience, we are dividing the books for UPSC Civil Service Preliminary Exam preparation into two categories – Essential and Reference. Books tagged ‘essential’ are fundamental books which will be highly useful to build your basics. Once you are thorough with these basic books, if you have time, you may check ‘reference books’ for additional knowledge.

Also, don’t miss the links of IAS Manuals, Previous Year Question Papers, Free Online Resources for Prelims and Mains, Books for other exams like IBPS and PSC etc. The mentioned books are based on the feedback from many aspirants/toppers who found them useful for the exam. We keep updating this page, when new books worth the time and money of candidate appear in market. So come back to check this page again! 

Essential Books For IAS Prelims – GS/CSAT (Click to Buy Online)

1. History Of Modern India – Bipan Chandra. (History)
2. India’s Struggle For Independence – Bipan Chandra. (History)
3. India’s Ancient Past – R.S. Sharma. (History)
4. History Of Medieval India – Satish Chandra. (History)
5. The Wonder That Was India – A.L. Bhasham. (Culture)
6. Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum. (Culture)
7. Geography of India – Majid Husain. (Geography)
8. Oxford School Atlas – Oxford. (Geography)
9. Certificate Physical and Human Geography – Goh Cheng Leong. (Geography)
10. Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations – M. Laxmikanth. (Polity)
11. Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh. (Economy)
12. Economic Survey. (Economy)
13. Science and Technology in India – TMH. (Science and Technology)
14. Environmental Studies from Crisis to Cure 2nd Edition – R.Rajagoplan. (Environment)
15. Efforts Towards Green India – Environment and Ecology – Arihant Experts. (Environment)
16. India Year Book (Current Affairs)
17. Manorama Yearbook. (Current Affairs)
18. CSAT Paper – 2 Manual by TMH or CSAT-II – Arihant (CSAT – Paper 2)
19. Analytical Reasoning – M. K. Pandey (CSAT – Paper 2: Analytical Reasoning)
20. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R. S.Aggarwal (CSAT Paper 2: Reasoning)

IAS Manuals and Previous Year Question Papers (Click to Buy Online)

1. General Studies For Civil Services Preliminary Examination – TMH. (GS Problem Solving)
2. UPSC Civil Services Prelims in 60 days – Rakesh Dwivedi. (Revision)
3. IAS Prelims 20 Years General Studies Topic-Wise Solved Papers – Disha.
4. IAS (Pre.) Solved Papers General Studies wih CSAT Papers – Arihant.

Reference Books for IAS Prelims

Lot of good books are available in the market to supplement your prelims preparation. If any particular area needs extra preparation you may go for these books.

1. IAS Books Prelims – History.
2. IAS Books Prelims – Geography.
3. IAS Books Prelims – Indian Polity.
4. IAS Books Prelims – Economics.
5. IAS Books Prelims – Science And Technology.
6. IAS Books Prelims – Environment.
7. IAS Books Prelims – Current Affairs.
8. IAS Books Prelims – General Studies Complete Guides / Question Papers.
9. IAS Books Prelims – Logical Comprehension.
10. IAS Books Prelims – English Language Comprehension.
11. IAS Books Prelims – Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability.
12. IAS Books Prelims – Quantitative and Basic Numeracy.
13. IAS Books Prelims – Data Interpretation.
14. IAS Books Prelims – Decision Making and Problem Solving.
15. IAS Books Prelims – Interpersonal Skills including communication skills.
16. IAS Books Prelims – CSAT Paper 2 Complete Guides / Question Papers.

Free Online Resources For IAS Prelims and Mains

• NCERT Books Download.
• Yojana Magazine Download.
• Kurukshetra Magazine.
• Pratiyogita Darpan Magazine.
• IGNOU Books.
• Clear IAS Online Study Materials.
• Clear IAS Prelims Online Mock Tests.

Books for Other Exams (Click to Buy Online)

1. Banking Exam Books
2. MBA Exam Books
3. Engineering Books

Links of UPSC Books at online Stores! (Click to Buy Online)

• Recommended list of UPSC books available in Flipkart.
• Full list of UPSC books available in Flipkart.
• Full list of UPSC books available in Amazon.
• IAS Books in Hindi: List of Useful Books For Hindi Medium Aspirants.
• Latest IAS Books: Click To Buy New Releases For UPSC Preparation.

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