What are the Standard Books that Need to be Read?

Standard Books to be Read

Prelims

Subject Books
History India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
NCERT Class XI (Ancient & Medieval)
NCERT Class XII (Modern Indian History
Geography Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
NCERT Class VI – X (Old Syllabus)
NCERT Class XI, XII (New Syllabus)
World Atlas (Orient Black Swan)
Indian Polity Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
NCERT Class IX-XII
Indian Economy Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania
Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
NCERT Class XI
International Relations NCERT Class XII (Contemporary World Politics)
Current Affairs
CSAT Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

Mains

Subject Books
History, Indian Heritage & Culture
[GS Paper 1]
 Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
India after Independence by Bipan Chandra
History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
Ancient India by R S Sharma

Geography [GS Paper 1]

Geography of India by Majid Husain
World Geography by Majid Husain
World Atlas (Orient Black Swan)
Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class XI
Polity & International Relations
[GS Paper 2]
 Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth
Introduction to the Constitution of India by D D Basu
International Relations: Pushpesh Pant

Economy, Security, Disaster Management, Environment [GS Paper 3]

 Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania
Environment and Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill
Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude [GS Paper 4]

 Lexicon of Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude by Chronicle Publications Private Limited

Are all advices regarding books good?

No. Seeking advices on books/ study materials from multiple sources will only lead to chaos and confusion. Random advices could be misleading.

  • The syllabus of Civil Services Exam is very vast and thus it is necessary that we keep our resources limited.
  • An aspirant must be well-rehearsed with the standard books available for various subjects in the market. Along with coaching institute materials (if enrolled), one or two books for a particular subject is recommended.

IAS/PCS Preparation Tips/Tricks