Standard Books for UPSC Civil Services Examination

The Civil Services Examination has a very diverse syllabus, so there are many books you need to study. Also, the internet suggests many options when searching for the best books for UPSC Civil Services Exam. At first, I also got confused about selecting the books for myself, and finally, I’ve curated my UPSC booklist that I’m sharing with you all here.

UPSC Exam Preparation Books

NCERT books are the most important books that you first need to read for conceptual clarity and for a basic understanding of the syllabus. After reading the most important NCERT textbooks, you can begin reading the standard books for UPSC Civil Services Examination shared here that I’ve curated online for my preparation also.

  • Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
  • Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania
  • A Brief History of Modern India – Spectrum Publication
  • Certificate Physical and Human Geography – GC Leong
  • Indian and World Geography – Late Majid Husain
  • Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar, IPS
  • Indian Art and Culture – Nitin Singhania
  • Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
  • Shankar IAS’ Environment Book
  • Oxford Student Atlas for India
  • Any Publication’s Book for Disaster Management, and International Relations

These are some of the most important standard UPSC preparation books that most of the toppers recommend. Some students refer to other books for a more detailed approach and some alternative publication’s books, these are listed below.

  • India’s Ancient Past – R.S. Sharma
  • India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
  • India Since Independence – Bipan Chandra
  • Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
  • Introduction to the Constitution of India – DD Basu
  • PMF IAS Environment Book
  • Environment & Disaster Management – D R Khullar
  • Any Publication’s Science & Technology Book

For current affairs, following a monthly magazine along with daily newspaper reading is enough.

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