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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. Links to free IAS online study materials are also provided in this post (see the last
section). Take maximum benefit of the same. All the best!

Essential IAS Books For UPSC Prelims (Click on the links to buy online)

1. History Of Modern India Bipan Chandra. (History)

2. Indias Struggle For Independence Bipan Chandra. (History)
3. Indias 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. Indian Art and Culture Nitin Singhania. (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 Rajagopalan. (Environment)
15. Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains Khuller. (Environment)
16. India Year Book (Current Affairs)
17. Manorama Yearbook. (Current Affairs)
18. CSAT Paper 2 Manual by MHE or CSAT-II by 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 on the links to buy online)

1. Selected Contemporary Essays Saumitra Mohan (Essay Paper)

 2. Essays for Civil Services Pulkit Khare (Essay Paper)
3. India After Gandhi Ramchandra Guha (History GS1)
4. Norman Lowe OR History of Modern World Jain and Mathur (World History GS1)
5. Social Problems In India Ram Ahuja. (Indian Society GS1)
6. IAS Mains General Studies Paper 2 (Arihant Manual GS2)
7. Governance in India for CSE. (Governance GS2)
8. Pax Indica Shashi Tharoor. (Foreign Policy GS2)
9. India and the World by Surendra Kumar. (Foreign Policy GS2)
10. IAS Mains General Studies GS3. (Arihant Manual GS3)
11. Indias National Security: A Reader. (Internal Security GS3)
12. Challenges to Internal Security of India. (Internal Security GS3)
13. Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude. ( Ethics GS4)
14. 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 on the
links to buy online)

Buy NCERT Books Online

Latest UPSC CSE Books: Click To Buy New Releases For UPSC Preparation.
UPSC CSE Books in Hindi: List of Useful Books For Hindi Medium Aspirants.
Books for Optional subjects in UPSC Mains (Open the link and scroll down).
Most read books: Subject Specific Book-List for IAS exam (Open the link and scroll down).

IAS Manuals and Previous Year Question Papers (Click on the links to buy
online)

1. General Studies for Civil Services Preliminary Examination by Pearson

2. General Studies For Civil Services Preliminary Examination by McGraw Hill.
3. UPSC Civil Services Prelims in 60 days Rakesh Dwivedi. (Revision)
4. IAS Prelims 23 Years General Studies Topic-Wise Solved Papers Disha.
5. IAS (Pre.) Solved Papers General Studies with CSAT Papers Arihant.
6. IAS Mains Civil Services Main Examination: General Studies Chapter-wise Solved Papers.

IAS Books in the Hindi Language

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

Books for Other Exams (Click on the links to buy online)

UPSC NDA/CDS/IES Exam Books

SSC Exam Books
Banking Exam Books
MBA Exam Books
Engineering Books

Links to UPSC Books at online Stores! (Click on the links to buy online)

The full list of UPSC books available in Amazon.

The 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.

Buy NCERT Books Online.
Yojana Magazine Download.
Kurukshetra Magazine Download.
Buy Pratiyogita Darpan Magazine.
IGNOU Books Download.
Clear IAS Online Study Materials.

ClearIAS Prelims Mock Test Series

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 ClearIAS in 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

Its not necessary to read 201-heavy-weight-books to clear IAS! But at the same time,
 there is no single book which covers all topics of IAS exam Prelims and Mains.
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 on this website along with NCERT
books for daily study. Use additional books as reference.
Please note that we always try to update the list with most authentic books available in
the market. But if you are running short of time to finish the syllabus before the exam,
you may better focus on concise books instead of bulky ones. You can use Modern India
by Spectrum (Rajiv Ahir IPS) then, which is a small book which covers almost all major
points given in Modern India by Bipan Chandra. Similarly, you may just focus on Indian
art and culture by Nithin Singhania IAS, for culture topics.
ClearIAS.com publishes reviews on new IAS 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 the market. So come back to check this page again! ClearIAS.com

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