IAS Books for Civil Services Prelims and Mains Exam Preparation
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.
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Indian History:
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India Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
NCERT Books (XI and XII)
Gandhi Nehru Tagore and Ambedkar by Gopal Krishna
Modern India by Bipin Chandra
History of Modern India by A.C.Banerjee
Geography:
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NCERT Books (XI and XII),
Economic and Commercial Geography of India by Sharma and Cotinho
India - A Comprehensive Geography by Khullar
General Principles of World Geography by Charles Farro
School Atlas
Indian Economy:
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NCERT Books
Evolution of Indian Economy by I C Dhingra
Indian Economy by Mishra and Puri
Economic Survey by Dutt and Sundaram
The Economic Times
Business Standard
Pratiyogita Darpan
National Journal Yojana
Indian Polity:
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Constitution of India by Bakshi
NCERT books on Indian Political System
Bhartiya Rajya Vyavastha by N.L. Madan
Indian Constitution by D.D. Basu
Indian Constitution by P.M. Bakshi
Our Constitution by Subhash C. Kashyap
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General Science:
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Tata Mc Graw Hill Guide
NCERT Books
Popular Science Series (CSIR)
Reports of the Ministry of Science and Technology by Yojana
Science Reporter
Science and Technology in India by Spectrum
Anatomy and Physiology by Evelyn Pearce
Current Affairs: Some magazines and newspapers as follows can be utilized:
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India Today
The Hindu/The Times of India
Frontline
Civil Service Chronicle
Chanakya
Competition wizard
Civil Services Today
Mental Ability:
Quantitative Apitude by R.S. Aggarwal
Data Interpretation:
Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency by Tyra and Kundan
English Comprehension and Communication:
Objective General English by R.S. Agarwal
Logical Reasoning:
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A Modern Approach to Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Agarwal
A new Approach to Reasoning by Sijwali and Sijwali
Essential IAS Books for UPSC Prelims:
1. History of Modern India – Bipin Chandra (History)
2. India’s struggle for Independence – Bipin 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 Hussain (Geography)
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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. Rajagopalan (Environment)
15. Efforts towards Green India – Environment and Ecology – Arihant Experts
(Environment)
16. India Year Book (Current Affairs)
17. Manorama Year Book (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:
1. Contemporary 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)
Magazines and News Papers:
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The Hindu / The Times of Inida
Frontline
Civil Service Chronicle
Chanakya
Competition WIZARD
Civil Services Today
Career Chronicle
Yojana & Kurukshetra
Economic Survey Report
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Guide:
 Tata Mcgraw Hill
 Spectrum
 Unique
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 may read Chronicle because everyone reads it. Personally CST
has better quality overall, and PD is excellent for international issues. But PD is
not to be read back to back. You can in fact get certain articles from PD Xeroxed
and can read it.
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