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Books for UPSC IAS 2024 - Subject wise prelims & Mains Books

Books for UPSC IAS 2024 - Subject wise prelims & Mains Books

Edited By Vishnukumar | Updated on Feb 14, 2024 03:00 PM IST | #UPSC CSE

Candidates preparing for the UPSC Civil Services exam are advised to study from the best IAS books for preparation. To increase and enrich their knowledge base and preparation, candidates must study from the UPSC IAS books of different subjects. There is a myriad of study material available for the UPSC IAS exam, so it is important to choose books for preparation carefully.

Before selecting the best books for IAS preparation, candidates must also know the UPSC IAS syllabus. Candidates appearing for the IAS exam must have started preparing for the exam long before, if not they should immediately do so. Referring to the best books for IAS is not enough to qualify the IAS exam. Candidates must also work hard and practice as many IAS sample papers and previous year IAS question papers as possible to clear the exam.

UPSC IAS 2024 - Highlights

Candidates can check some basic details about UPSC IAS exam here.

Exam Name

Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Exam

Exam Conducting Authority

Union Public Service Commission

Stages of Exam

Preliminary

Mains

Personality Test

Exam Mode

Offline

Quick Links:


Best Books for IAS

Here is a list of some of the best and most commonly referred books for UPSC IAS exam preparation. Check the table below for the names of the most common UPSC IAS preparation books.]

Best books for UPSC IAS

Sr. No.

IAS syllabus books

1

NCERT books (Geography, Polity, History, Economics)

2

Indian polity by M Laxmikahth

3

Indian art and culture by Nitin Singhania

4

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

5

Environment by Shankar IAS

Books for IAS - Best Books for IAS Prelims and Mains exam

UPSC Civil Services exam is a three-stage exam - prelims, mains and personality test. Candidates preparing for the IAS exam are always looking for good IAS syllabus books to brush up their knowledge base. Check some of the books that they can refer to while preparing the IAS exam in the tables below.

IAS Books for Prelims

UPSC IAS prelims exam is a multiple choice question type having two papers - General studies and CSAT. In paper 1 questions are from subjects like history, geography, economy, polity, general knowledge, general science, etc. Whereas in CSAT candidates' reasoning and aptitude capabilities are tested. So to prepare for UPSC civil services prelims candidates can refer to the IAS syllabus books mentioned in the table below.

Books for UPSC IAS Prelims

Subject

Books for UPSC IAS Prelims

History

India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipin Chandra

Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum

NCERT 11th (Ancient & Medieval)

NCERT 12th (Modern Indian History)

Geography

Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong

NCERT 6th to 10th

NCERT 11th and 12th

World Atlas

Indian Polity

Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth

NCERT 9th to 12th

Economics

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri

NCERT 11th

International Relations

NCERT 12th (Contemporary World Politics)

Current Affairs

CSAT

Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual

CSAT – Arihant

Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

IAS Books for IAS Mains

UPSC IAS mains exam is descriptive in nature. It has a total of 9 papers all written. In IAS mains questions are asked from subjects like geography, history, economy, Hindi language, English language, etc. To know about the best books for UPSC IAS mains preparation check the table below:

UPSC IAS books for mains exam

Subject

Books for IAS mains

History, Indian Heritage & Culture

An Introduction to Indian Art Part 1: Textbook in Fine Arts for Class 11th

India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra

India after Independence by Bipin Chandra

History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra

History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra

India’s Ancient Past by R.S Sharma

Contemporary World History for class 12th

Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe

Geography

NCERT Class 11 - Physical Geography

NCERT Class 12 - Human Geography

World Geography by Majid Husain

Geography of India by Majid Husain

Certificate Physical and Human Geography by G C Leong

World Atlas

Polity

Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth

Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu

From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur

Ethics in Governance, ARC Report

Human Development Report

World Development Report

Social Justice

NCERT of 11th on Indian Society

12th class NCERT

The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Human Development Report

World Development Report

International Relations

India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P. Dutt Or

India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Economy

Indian Economic Development NCERT of 11th

Introductory Macroeconomics 12th class NCERT

Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Economic Survey (latest)

The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Biodiversity, Environment

12th NCERT Book on Biology

India Year Book

The chapter on Climate Change from Economic Survey

The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Security and Disaster Management

India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh, published by National Book Trust of India

The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Science & Technology

8th, 9th and 10th class NCERT books on Biology

The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Monthly Magazine ‘Science Reporter for Science & Technology

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudhary

Ethics in Governance

ARC Report

Lexicon

Best Study Material for UPSC Civil Services Exam- Prelims & Mains - Video Guide

How to Prepare for IAS Exam 2024?

Candidates preparing for UPSC IAS 2024 should have a preparation strategy on how to prepare for the UPSC IAS 2024 exam. The best way to prepare for the UPSC civil services exam is to have your own unique plan and not anyone else. Here a few tips on how to prepare for the UPSC IAS examination:

  • Candidates must go through the UPSC IAS syllabus and exam pattern before starting their preparation

  • Candidates must refer to the standard books for IAS exam

  • Candidates must develop a habit of reading the newspaper

  • Candidates should make short notes while studying for faster revision

  • Candidates must go through the previous year's UPSC IAS question papers to know the type and level of questions and more

UPSC CSE Preparation Strategy and Best Books
UPSC CSE preparation strategy along with best books for prelims as well as mains exam for sure success.
Download EBook

More Relevant Links - UPSC IAS Result 2024

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

1. Which economy IAS books is best for the UPSC civil services exam?

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh is the best book for the UPSC IAS exam.

2. Does UPSC release the IAS cutoff?

Yes, UPSC releases the IAS cutoff after the declaration of the final IAS result.

3. What is the minimum age required to apply for the UPSC IAS exam?

The minimum age required to apply for the IAS exam is 21 years.

4. Are NCERT books enough for IAS exam preparation?

No, NCERT books are good and much needed for IAS 2024 exam preparation. But alone they are not enough to crack the exam. To clear the IAS exam candidates must read other reference books too.

5. How can I choose best books for UPSC IAS?

While buying the books for UPSC 2024, keep in mind that books must be based on latest syllabus and exam pattern.

6. Which is better for preparation - books or online mode?

It completely depends on the students' perspective. There are students who prefer to study in online mode because of the amount of resources available there whereas some prefer books because of authenticity.

7. How can I get UPSC sample papers?

The sample papers of UPSC 2024 is available in the online mode. However, you can buy the books of UPSC IAS which contain the sample practice papers.

8. How can I choose best IAS books?

While choosing the best books for IAS, candidates must keep in mind that the books are based on latest exam pattern and syllabus of UPSC IAS 2024.

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Questions related to UPSC CSE

Have a question related to UPSC CSE ?

Dear aspirant !!

Hope you are doing good !

Yes it will be considered because Bachelor in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (BASLP) is a 4-year degree course . It is a multi-disciplinary profession with core subjects including speech pathology, language pathology, and audiology.

Hope it helps you ;

Thank you

Dear Aspirant !

Hope you are fine!

The main subjects for the UPSC Exam are Indian Politics, Indian Economy, International Relations, Science and Technology, Geography, History, Environment and Ecology, and related Current Affairs . There are 25 subjects and 23 literature optional that one can choose from in addition to this..

Thank you

Hello aspirant,

With the help of the IAS Answer Key 2024, applicants can estimate their potential score for the IAS preliminary exam, learn about the various IAS question types, gauge the exam's difficulty, and much more.

To get the answer key, you can visit our website by clicking on the link given below.

https://competition.careers360.com/articles/upsc-ias-answer-key

Thank you

Hope this information helps you.

Dear aspirant !!

Hope you are doing good !!


The syllabus of these papers includes subjects like Modern Indian History, World Geography, International Relations, Indian Economic development, Disaster Management and Ethics, Aptitude and Integrity . To know all the subjects in detail, you can check UPSC syllabus 2024 for CSE in the given link below ;-

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://competition.careers360.com/articles/upsc-ias-syllabus&ved=2ahUKEwiYh_iZ_byEAxXLhlYBHf8GC1EQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0LptyFY3WnS35rKlE8MAhL .

Hope it helps you !

Thanking you

Hello aspirant,

Hope you are doing great.

As per your question, YES absolutely you can study for the IAS side by side along with your Btech course. There won't be any problem for the same. After completing your Btech course, then you can give your 1st attempt of UPSC exam.

Hope this helps!!

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