what is the best study material for upsc

Hello, .

UPSC Civil Service Exam consists of three stages-

Preliminary : First Stage is MCQs based exam, it has two papers and each one consists of 200 marks,its numbers ain't added to final list, you just need to score the required cut offs against your category.

First is GS Paper-I which consists of the following topic such as History of India and Indian national movement, Indian and World geography, Economic and social development- sustainable development, poverty,inclusion demographics, social sector initiatives etc,Indian polity and governance-constitution,political system,Current Events nationally and Internationally, General Science,General Issues on environmental ecology,biodiversity and climate change. you just need to score the required cut offs against your category.

Second Paper is CSAT which is qualifying by nature,you need to score merely 33% which is 66 marks out of 200, it includes following topics such as basic numeracy, comprehension, logical reasoning and analytical ability, general mental ability, decision making and problem solving, interpersonal skills including communication skills.

History ;

NCERT Class XI and XII
India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
For Indian Culture, refer art and culture by Nitin Singhania

Geography ;

NCERT Class VI to XII
GC Leong's Physical Geography
World Atlas

Economics ;

NCERT Class XI
Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

International Relations & Polity ;

NCERT XII Political Science with current affairs
Indian Polity by Laxmikanth

CSAT ;

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Agarwal
M Tyra's Quicker Maths


Mains : This is a second stage which it's more of a subjective type, you are required to write answers for Four General Studies Paper such as

GS-I includes Indian Heritage and Culture,History and Geography of the World and Society,


For History , Class XI NCERT book with India's struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra,India after Independence by Bipan Chandra,History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra. For Geography refer World Geography and Geography of India by Majid Hussain, GC Leong's Physical and Human Geography with NCERT Class XI book.

GS-II includes Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations,


Polity and International Relations , refer Indian Polity by Lamikanth,India's Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri


GS-III includes Technology, Economic Development, Bio-Diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management,

For Economics refer Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh, read ARC report along with Economic Survey and Fiscal Budget.

GS-IV includes Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude

For Ethics refer a book named Lexicon by Niraj Kumar, also you can go through study material of IGNOU.



In addition to above there are Two Optionals, One Essay,
Two Language Papers, in total there are nine papers in Mains, and each paper is of 250 marks, total adds up to 1750 marks. The two stages are further followed by personality test of 275 marks.