Best Books for UPSC IAS 2020 - UPSC aspirants must choose the best books to prepare for UPSC IAS 2020. Qualifying Civil Services Exam requires strong planning backed with best books for UPSC IAS preparation 2020. These best IAS books 2020 cover the complete IAS syllabus 2020. Candidates often get confused with the plethora of best books for UPSC IAS 2020 available online and book stores. Hence, here we provide the list of UPSC IAS best books 2020 for Prelims and Main exam recommended by toppers. It is advisable to stick to the best books to prepare for UPSC IAS that contains most of the knowledge you require to crack UPSC IAS exam and repeatedly revise these books. UPSC IAS 2020 Prelims will be held on October 4, 2020. Read the article to check the IAS books 2020
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Best Books for UPSC IAS 2020 for Better Preparation

As a beginner, it is recommended by IAS toppers to start with NCERT books and then move towards standard reference books. Along with this, the candidates must make it a habit to read the newspaper every day and keep making notes of important things they find in it.

IAS Best Books

Best Books for UPSC IAS 2020 Prelims

The UPSC Prelims exam is an objective MCQ based exam. It consists of 2 papers:

1. General Studies Paper - I

2. General Studies Paper-II /Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT)

Here is a subject-wise list of best books for UPSC IAS prelims recommended by experts:

Best Books For IAS 2020 Prelims

CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test was introduced in 2011 to test the aptitude, analytical skills and reasoning ability of UPSC IAS candidates.

CSAT is officially known as General Studies Paper 2.

The candidates need to score only 33.33% to qualify this paper. There is no need for any special books for Paper- II but you must practice 10th level Maths and English questions on grammar and reading comprehension. This is especially required for beginners like students from Commerce/Arts background.

The books recommended by IAS toppers for GS Paper - II - CSAT include:

1. Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual

2. CSAT II – Arihant

3. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

4. Cracking the CSAT Civil Services Aptitude Test with Solved Papers

5. The Pearson CSAT Manual

UPSC IAS 2020 Best Books - Other books and study material

Apart from the standard subject-wise books mentioned above, there are some other important books and study material that should be referred for completing your UPSC IAS preparation.

These are:

1. India Year Book - Publication Division, Govt. of India

2. Economic Survey (latest)

3. Budget (latest)

UPSC IAS 2020 Best Books - Current Affairs

1. Newspaper - Hindu/Indian Express (this should be read every day)

2. Press Information Bureau

UPSC IAS Best Books - Magazines

1. Yojana

2. Kurukshetra

3. Economic and Political Weekly

4. Down to Earth

5. Frontline

6. The Economist

Best Books for UPSC IAS 2020 - Question Banks

1. Indian Polity Question Bank – TMH

2. General Science Question Bank – TMH

3. Geography (India+World) Question Bank – TMH

4. Social & Economic Development Question Bank – TMH

5. 1000 Plus Questions on Indian Polity: General Studies for Civil Services Preliminary Examination (Paper – 1)

6. 14000+ MCQs For Paper-I Prelims

Best Books for IAS 2020 Mains

Candidates who clear the UPSC CSE Prelims are shortlisted for the Mains stage of the UPSC CSE Exam. In UPSC IAS 2020 Mains, there are 9 General Studies (GS) descriptive papers out of which 2 papers are of qualifying nature. These qualifying papers are General English and General Language. There are 4 General Studies papers, 1 Essay Paper and 2 optional subject papers.

List of Best Books for IAS Main

In the UPSC CSE Mains exam, besides 4 General Studies papers, there are 2 Optional papers. Candidate has to choose one optional subject for this Optional Paper. The optional papers accounts for 500 marks in total and it plays an important role in deciding candidates’ ranking in UPSC CSE examination. Therefore, it is important that the right books are referred for it. The list of best books for UPSC IAS Mains for the optional subjects are given below:

Best Books for the UPSC IAS Mains - Geography

Geography is one of the popular optional subjects among UPSC IAS candidates. It has a high success rate and roughly 3000 to 4000 out of 16000 aspirants opt for Geography, thus, there is a high level of competition also. Geography is a scientific subject based on understanding of concepts and involves minimum rote-learning. Geography has exhaustive but a definite syllabus. Some topics overlap with GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 3. Here is the list of books for Geography:

IAS Best Books 2020 for Geography

Other Books that can be referred:

1. Evolution of Geographical Thought by Majid Husain

2. Economic and Social Geography Made Simple by R. Knowles, J. Wareing

3. Models in Geography by Majid Husain

4. Oxford Student Atlas for India

Best Books for the UPSC IAS 2020 Main for Public Administration

Public administration is one of the most popular optional subjects opted for by students in UPSC IAS main examination. It is considered a scoring subject. Its significance lies in its interlinkage with administration and governance of the country. There is some overlap with the General Studies papers topics and hence students find it easier to study this subject. Here is the list of books for Public administration.

Public Administration Books for UPSC Mains:

1. Indian Public Administration: Institutions and Issues by Arora and Goyal
2. Public Administration in India by B L Fadia
3. Public Administration in India 1st Edition by Maheshwari

4. Administrative Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad

Other Books that can be referred:

1. Public Administration by Laxmikant
2. Public Administration by Prasad & Prasad
3. Public Administration by Mohit Bhattacharya

4. Public Administration and Public Affairs 12th Edition – Nicholas Henry

Best Books for the UPSC IAS 2020 Mains (Sociology)

Sociology is one of the easiest optional subjects. It is easy to understand and considered highly scoring. The syllabus deals with day-to-day life of society and a lot of questions can easily be attempted. Paper I of Sociology deals with the fundamentals of Sociology where Paper II of Sociology optional deals with the Indian society, its structure, and change. Here is the list of books for Sociology.

IAS Best Books 2020 for Sociology

Best Books for the UPSC IAS 2020 Main (History)

Many candidates opt for History as it is an easy subject telling the story about the past of India and the world around us. It requires the least amount of coaching. History is a general studies friendly subject. Here is the list of books for History.

IAS Best Books 2020 for History

Best Books for the UPSC IAS 2020 Main (Economics)

Economics is also a popular optional paper generally opted by candidates who have a good understanding of concepts of economics. Also, there is a large overlap of the syllabus of General Studies for Prelims and Mains. The syllabus focuses on the candidates’ understanding of the basic concepts in economics and application of this knowledge to developmental challenges of the country. Here is the list of books for Economics.

IAS Best Books 2020 for Economics

Other References:

1. Economic Survey, EPW, RBI

2. Any one Business Newspaper – Economic Times or Financial Express or The Economist

Best Books for the UPSC IAS 2020 Main - Political Science

About 50-60% of the syllabus of Political Science coordinates with the General Studies Paper topics of UPSC Mains. Considering the changes and revision in syllabus and nature of the topics dealt in the subject, it is considered a very dynamic and constantly evolving subject. Here is the list of books for Political Science. The Paper-I of UPSC Mains Political Science deals with the Political Theory and Indian Politics. Paper-II of UPSC Mains Political Science deals with Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics.

Political Science Books for UPSC Mains:

1. A History of Political Thought: Plato to Marx by Mukherjee and Ramaswamy
2. Introduction to Political Theory by O P Gauba
3. Political Theory by Rajeev Bhargava
4. Politics by Andrew Heywood
5. Global Politics by Heywood
6. International Relations by V N Khanna
7. Foundations of Indian Political Thought: An Interpretation - from Manu to the Present Day by V. R. Mehta
8. Introduction to the Constitution of India by D.D. Basu
9. India's Struggle for Independence: 1857-1947 by Bipan Chandra

10. Indian Government and Politics by BL Fadia

11. Does the Elephant Dance?: Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy by David M. Malone

Best books for the UPSC IAS 2020 - Other References:

Apart from the standard books mentioned above, the essential UPSC Study material includes certain important newspapers, magazines and reports:

1. Yojana

2. Kurukshetra

3. Geography and You

4. NITI Aayog reports (especially related to Agriculture, Infrastructure, Regional development, Rural development etc)

5. Niti Aayog Action Agenda

6. Some UN documents on Population, development & Environment (eg UNDP)

7. 2nd ARC Report

8. Economic Survey (latest)

9. Budget (latest)

10. Finance Commission Report (latest)

11. Annual reports by central ministries

12. Current Affairs

    • The Hindu

    • Yojana Magazine

    • Press Information Bureau

Preparing for IAS does not mean reading every book available. A lot of good books are available that are more valuable for academics and research scholars, but not necessarily for the UPSC exam. IAS toppers would tell you that you need to remember everything you read. And it is not humanly possible to remember everything you read unless you keep revising it. And you can revise only a set number of books and notes. So, you need UPSC IAS best books that will help in your preparation and help you clear the IAS exam with good marks.

UPSC IAS 2020 Best Books - Highlights

1. Read newspaper every day

2. Revise your notes and best books for UPSC IAS repeatedly to memorize everything you study

3. While most standard books are used for the preparation of both Prelims and Mains exam, some UPSC IAS best books can be divided into those required mainly for Prelims exam and those for Mains exam.

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