Best Books for IAS Prelims and Mains Exam Preparation

History of India topic includes three different topics. From the perspective of the UPSC IAS exam, all of them are equally important though some are important for prelims and others are for UPSC IAS main exam. The History of India comprises the following sections.

Ancient history

Ancient history is not very much important for the Prelims exam but UPSC ask a good number of questions from ancient history in the mains exam. some of the best books are as follows

• Ancient History NCERT Class 11th  by R.S. Sharma
• India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma
• Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania

Medieval History

Medieval history is not very important either for prelims or for the mains exam but UPSC can surprise the candidate anytime so we cannot ignore the subject but we can pay less time to this topic. Best books for medieval history will include the following.

• History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
• Medieval History NCERT Class XI-XII

This topic is the most important topic for IAS prelims and main exam. This topic includes the events which took place from 1800 to 1947 or rather 1950. This topic is very important because the candidates can relate to the aspirations of our national leaders who lay down their lives for the independence of India. There are various books on this topic but the best books as suggested by the IAS toppers are as follows.

• India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
• NCERT XII (Modern Indian History)
• History of Modern India - Bipan Chandra
• A brief history of Modern India - Spectrum

Geography section of the UPSC IAS syllabus includes the physical geography,  Indian geography and the world geography.  it is one of the most important sections for prelims main exam.  the candidates having geography as an optional subject find that most of the important topics of general studies are covered in the geography itself. Some of the best books for geography are as follows.

• Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
• Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11
• Geography of India by Mazid Hussain
• Oxford Student Atlas
• Concise Geography by ALS

See here: Geography Syllabus Explained

Indian Economy also covers a major portion of UPSC IAS syllabus in the prelims and the main exam.  Indian economy topics have overlapped with the current affairs.  Indian economy concepts are very dynamic and data changes every year.  Since the Indian economy is not an independent entity and it depends on the changing dynamics of the world economy and Foreign relations, so it is very difficult to prepare. Some important books for the Indian economy are as follows.

• Indian Economic Development NCERT
• Introduction to Macroeconomics NCERT
• Introduction to Microeconomics NCERT
• Economic survey
• Indian Budget
• India yearbook
• Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
• Niti Aayog Reports

Indian Polity is a favourite subject of UPSC the questions asked in the UPSC IAS Prelims Paper are very much twisted and concept based.  Knowledge of the Constitution of India is mandatory to solve the Indian Polity question asked by the UPSC. Besides the constitution of India, the candidates are expected to know the legislation and its provisions passed or introduced in the Parliament of India. In recent years, UPSC is also asking questions based on the Governance of the country. Some of the best books are as follows.

• Constitution of India Bare Act
• Constitution of India by DD Basu
• Indian polity by Laxmikant
• Indian Constitution by P.M. Bakshi

See here: Indian Polity Syllabus

Earlier the Environment and Ecology was studied as a part of geography but lately, the number of questions are increasing in the UPSC IAS prelims and mains exam so it has to be covered separately.  Some book which can immensely help in preparing the environment topics are as follows.

• Environmental Studies Books of IGNOU and NOS
• Environment Book by DS Khullar
• Environment Book - Shankar UPSC IAS Academy 

Science and Technology topics have very much overlapped with the current affairs topic.  UPSC always ask about the latest technology invented and the discoveries made in the fundamental sciences.  this is a very dynamic topic and requires constant up-gradation flow newspapers and journals can cover the basic topics with the following books.

• Science and technology by Ashok Singh 
• Science and Technology by Ravi Agrahari
• Newspaper columns dedicated to technology

Download Here UPSC UPSC IAS Booklist with Tips

This is the largest topic for UPSC IAS preparation and it has implications for all the other topics discussed above. The candidates need to prepare the current affairs in a very comprehensive manner so they can cover the basic and the current happenings related to that topic.  The candidates can cover the current affairs from the following sources.

• Newspapers -The Hindu, Indian Express
• Press Information Bureau (PIB) website
• Monthly magazine
• Yojana and Kurukshetra  monthly magazines

Read here: How to prepare Current Affairs for UPSC IAS 

The candidates can see here questions related to UPSC IAS Books.