Essential IAS Books For UPSC Prelims (Click to Buy Online)

If you have the question “What are the books needed to clear IAS?” in your mind, we hope this post to clear all your doubts. Taking inputs from toppers, a detailed list of the best IAS books available in the market as per the latest UPSC syllabus for each subject in Prelims and Mains is given below. Aspirants may click on each link to buy books online at discounted prices. Links to free IAS online study materials are also provided in this post (see last section). Take maximum benefit of the same. All the best!

Essential IAS Books For UPSC Prelims (Click to Buy Online)

Click to buy India Year Book 2015

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)

Additional IAS Books for UPSC Mains (Click to Buy Online)

Click to buy Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe

1. Contemporay Essays by Ramesh Singh OR 151 ESSAYS For UPSC Mains(Essay Paper)
2. India After Gandhi – Ramchandra Guha (History – GS1)
3. Norman Lowe OR History of Modern World – Jain and Mathur (World History – GS1)
4. Social Problems In India – Ram Ahuja. (Indian Society – GS1)
5. IAS Mains General Studies Paper 2 (Arihant Manual – GS2)
6. Governance in India for CSE. (Governance – GS2)
7. Pax Indica – Shashi Tharoor. (Foreign Policy – GS2)
8. India and the World by Surendra Kumar. (Foreign Policy – GS2)
9. IAS Mains General Studies – GS3. (Arihant Manual – GS3)
10. India’s National Security: A Reader. (Internal Security – GS3)
11. Challenges to Internal Security of India. (Internal Security – GS3)
12. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Mains. ( Ethics – GS4)
13. IAS Mains General Studies – Ethics. ( Arihant Manual – GS4)

PS: Many books for UPSC Civil Service Main Exam overlap with books recommended for Prelims, except the mentioned additional books for topics like Foreign Relations, Internal Security, Ethics etc.

IAS Books for Optional Subjects and Additional Reference (Click to Buy Online)

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.
5. IAS Mains Civil Services Main Examination: General Studies Chapter-wise Solved Papers.

IAS Books in Hindi Language

For many of the books listed above, corresponding books in Hindi language are available in the market. Hindi medium students may check the link UPSC Books in Hindi Language to buy online at discounted prices.

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

• Full list of UPSC books available in Amazon.
• Full list of UPSC books available in Flipkart.
• Recommended list of UPSC books available in Flipkart.

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.

As you may know, only when tested in an exam atmosphere with negative marking, you can improve the ability to deliver in the actual exam hall. Try for free the UPSC Prelims online mock exams by Clear IAS Exam – the new innovative platform which integrates learning with test-taking. You would be surprised to find how fast you can learn!

Tips regarding IAS book selection

• It’s not necessary to read 201-heavy-weight-books to clear IAS! But considering the competition and vast syllabus, there is no doubt that UPSC exam preparation cannot be done without some essential books. Quality books act as add-ons to your online preparation and help a lot in self-study. Concentrate on the recommended books mentioned in this website along with NCERT books for daily study. Use additional books as reference.
• ClearIAS.com publishes reviews on new books in the market under our Book Review section. Publishers/authors can send us samples for review. Readers too can post the reviews about the UPSC books they bought in the comment section. That will be helpful for other aspirants for book selection.
• 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!