Hello Dear Student,

UPSC CSE Prelims consist of 2 Question Papers:

Paper 1: General Studies (GS), 100 Questions: 200 Marks.

Paper 2: CSAT, 80 Questions: 200 Marks.

Both papers have negative marks for wrong answers marked to the tune of 1/3rd of the total marks assigned to that question.

Subjects in Paper 1 (GS): Indian Polity, Geography, History, Indian Economy, Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology, International Relations and Current Affairs.

Syllabus for CSAT Paper 2: Reading Comprehension, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision making and problem solving, Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders and magnitude), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency) Etc.

Recommended Books for GS Paper 1:

History: NCERT 9th Class (Ancient and Medieval), NCERT 12th Class (Modern Indian History), India's struggle for independence by Bipin Chandra, Modern India History by Spectrum.

Geography: Indian Geography by Majid Hussain, G.C Leong Certificate in Physical Geography, NCERT 6th to 12th, World Atlas.

Polity: Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth, Constitution at Work NCERT Class 11th, Political Theory NCERT Class 11th.

Economics: Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh, NCERT Class 11th & 12th. Or you can also use Indian Economy by Sri Ram IAS.

International Relations: International Relations by Pavneet Singh.

Art & Culture: Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania.

Environment: Environment by Shankar IAS and Environment and Ecology by Vaishali Anand.

Current Affairs: The Hindu Newspaper or The Indian Express and Vision IAS Monthly Current Affairs Magazine or Vajiram and Ravi Monthly Recitals or Rau's IAS Monthly Current Affairs Magazine. Newspaper will also Help you in Science and Technology portion and environment section.

Recommended Books for CSAT Paper 2:

Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning by R.S Aggrawal, TataMcGraw hill CSAT Manual, Old CSAT Question Papers.

Must Solve UPSC CSE Prelims Old Question Papers Book by Disha Publications or Arihant Publications for better practice.

All the Best

Hi!

Here is a list of all essential books for IAS-

Ancient History

‘Ancient India’ by RS Sharma (Old NCERT)

World Geography

1.Fundamentals of Human Geography (NCERT)

2.Certificate Physical And Human Geography

Medieval History

History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra (Old NCERT)

Economy

1.India People and Economy (NCERT)

2.Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Modern History

1.A Brief History of Modern India by Rajiv Ahir

2.World History by Norman Lowe

3.‘Concise History of Modern India’ by Sujata Menon

Polity

Indian Polity by Laxmikanth

Indian Culture

1.‘Facets of Indian Culture’ by Spectrum

2.Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania

3.CCRT website

Current Affairs

The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, Jagran Josh

Physical Geography

Certificate Physical And Human Geography

Science & Tech

1.Daily Newspapers

ISRO website

Indian Geography

India: Physical Environment (NCERT)

Environment & Ecology

1.Recent Events on Climate change through Newspapers

2.NIOS Study Materials

These are some of the neccessary books for UPSE preparation, and by thoroughly studying them, it will help you a great deal in your IAS journey.

All the best!

Dear Aspirant,

The best IAS books can vary from candidate to candidate depending on their previous expertise and knowledge of the subject matter. Choosing the right books will be very beneficial for ypu.

However, the books for UPSC recommended by experts are listed in this article subject-wise.

History :

• India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
• Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum
• NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval)
• NCERT XII (Modern Indian History

Geography :

• Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong
• NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus)
• NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus)
• World Atlas

Indian polity :

• Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
• NCERT IX-XII

Economics :

• Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
• Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
• NCERT XI

Internationl relations :

• NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics)
• Current Affairs

CSAT :

• Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
• CSAT II – Arihant
• Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

Hope it helps.

UPSC is a 3 stage   selection process involving Prelims, Mains and Interview which tests your personality test. Prelims has 2 Papers namely General Studies and CSAT.

General Studies has Current Events, History of India and Indian National Movement, Indian and World Geography, Indian Polity and Governance, Economic and Social Development, Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change and General Science.

CSAT has Comprehension, Interpersonal skills including communication skills, Logical Reasoning and Analytical ability, Decision making and problem solving, General Mental Ability, Basic numeracy and Data Interpretation.

You will need atleast to start preparing ahead of 1- 2 years. If you are preparing at home, you need to keep yourself away from distractions and focus on the goal ahead. Gather as much as information as you can on each topic and keep yourself updated. Practise mock test papers.

Indian Polity for Civil Services bby M. Laxmikanth

Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania

Certificate Physical and Human Geography by Gog Cheng Leong

Oxford School Atlas by Oxford Publishers

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Economic Survey by Ministry of Finance

India Year Book

A Brief History of Modern India by Rajiv Ahir