🎯 Updated UPSC Book List for 2024 & 2025 Aspirants
📥 [Download Free Sample PDF]
🧠 About the UPSC Exam
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Exam is one of the most prestigious exams in India. It is conducted in three stages:
- Prelims – Objective Type (with negative marking)
- Mains – Descriptive Type
- Interview – Personality Test
The right selection of books plays a crucial role in a candidate’s success. Below is a curated list of the best books for IAS Prelims, Mains, and Optional Subjects.
📗 Best Books for UPSC Prelims (GS Paper I & CSAT)
🔍 General Studies Paper I
| Subject | Recommended Books |
|---|---|
| History | 📘 NCERT Class 11 (Ancient & Medieval) 📘 NCERT Class 12 (Modern History) 📘 Indian Art & Culture – Nitin Singhania 📘 India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra |
| Geography | 📘 NCERT Class 6–10 (Old) 📘 NCERT Class 11–12 (New) 🌍 World Atlas – Orient Black Swan 📘 Certificate Physical Geography – G.C. Leong |
| Polity | 📘 NCERT Class 9–12 📘 Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth 📘 Economic Development in India – Jain & Ohri |
| Economics | 📘 Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania |
| International Relations | 📘 NCERT Class 12 (Contemporary World Politics) 📰 Current Affairs |
📐 CSAT Paper (General Studies Paper II)
| Subject | Recommended Books |
|---|---|
| Aptitude & Reasoning | 📘 CSAT Manual – Tata McGraw Hill 📘 Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R.S. Aggarwal |
📄 Previous Year Questions
| Recommended Book |
|---|
| 📘 IAS Prelims Solved Papers – Vishal Publications |
📘 Best Books for UPSC Mains (GS Paper I to IV)
📚 General Studies Paper I – History, Culture & Geography
- Ancient India – RS Sharma
- India After Independence – Bipan Chandra
- History of Medieval India – Satish Chandra
- Indian Art and Culture – Nitin Singhania
- Geography of India – Majid Husain
- Certificate Physical & Human Geography – G.C. Leong
- World Atlas – Orient Black Swan
🏛️ General Studies Paper II – Polity & International Relations
- Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth
- Introduction to the Constitution of India – D.D. Basu
- International Relations – Pushpesh Pant
📉 General Studies Paper III – Economy, Environment & Internal Security
- Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania
- Environment & Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill
- Challenges to Internal Security – Ashok Kumar
⚖️ General Studies Paper IV – Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
- Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude – Subba Rao & P.N. Roy Chaudhary
📙 Optional Subjects – UPSC Book List
🌾 Agriculture
- Agronomy – Yellamananda Reddy
- Soil Science – D.K. Das / Brady
- Genetics – B.D. Singh
- Entomology – Vasantha Raj & David
- Hindu Special Issues – Agriculture
👤 Anthropology
- Tribal India – N. Hasnain
- Cultural Anthropology – Herskovits
- Forensic Anthropology – Surender Nath
- Physical Anthropology – Stein & Rowe
🌱 Botany
- Taxonomy – Nair & Datta
- Embryology – Bhojwani & Bhatnagar
- Physiology – Salisbury & Ross
- Economic Botany – Kochar / Verma
⚗️ Chemistry
- Inorganic Chemistry – G.S. Manku
- Organic Chemistry – Peter Sykes
- Physical Chemistry – Gurdeep Raj
📊 Economics
- International Economics – Bo Soderston
- National Income – Bakerman
- Banking – S.B. Gupta
- International Trade – Bo Soderston
📚 History
- History of Modern India – Bipan Chandra / Shekhar Bandopadhyaya
- India’s Ancient Past – R.S. Sharma
- The Wonder That Was India – A.L. Basham
- Ashoka & the Decline of the Mauryas – Romila Thapar
💼 Management
- Financial: Pandey / Khan & Jain
- Operations: Adams / Taha
- Organizational Design: Khandwala / M. Shukla
📐 Mathematics
- Differential Equations – M.D. Raisinghania
- Real Analysis – Shantinarayan / Royden
- Linear Programming – S.D. Sharma
⚡ Electrical Engineering
- Control Systems – Ogata
- Electromagnetism – R.N. Singh
- Heat Conversion – Arora & Kundwar
📝 Urdu
- Urdu Shayari – Suenbul Nigar
- Urdu Nasr – Suenbul Nigar
- History of Urdu Literature – Noorul Hasan Naqvi
🧠 Psychology
- Psychology – Robert A. Baron
- Social Psychology – Baron & Byrne
- Group Psychology – Shaw
📌 Why These UPSC Books Are Essential
UPSC books serve as the foundation of civil services preparation. Here’s how they help:
✅ Build conceptual clarity
✅ Provide structured content
✅ Include practice questions & PYQs
✅ Cover the entire UPSC syllabus systematically
🔔 Pro Tip: Books are just the beginning. Combine them with mock tests, current affairs, online content, and expert guidance for holistic preparation.
🏁 Final Note
Preparing for UPSC? These are the most recommended books for both beginners and advanced aspirants. Start with NCERTs, move to standard books, and revise strategically.
📥 [Download UPSC Book List PDF]
📚 Start your journey with the best resources.