Standard Books For UPSC 2025

Standard Books For UPSC

Studying for the UPSC Civil Services Examination necessitates a comprehensive grasp of various subjects. Below are recommended standard books and resources for each subject:

General Studies Paper I (Prelims and Mains)

History:

1. Ancient History:
   • “India’s Ancient Past” by R.S. Sharma
   • “History of Ancient India” by R.S. Sharma (Old NCERT)
2. Medieval History:
   • “Medieval India” by Satish Chandra (Old NCERT)
3. Modern History:
   • “A Brief History of Modern India” by Spectrum
   • “India’s Struggle for Independence” by Bipan Chandra
4. Art and Culture:
   • “Indian Art and Culture” by Nitin Singhania

Geography:

1. “Certificate Physical and Human Geography” by G.C. Leong
2. “Oxford School Atlas” by Oxford
3. NCERT Books (Class 6-12)

Polity:

1. “Indian Polity” by M. Laxmikanth
2. “Introduction to the Constitution of India” by D.D. Basu

Economics:

1. “Indian Economy” by Ramesh Singh
2. “Economic Survey” (Government of India)
3. “Indian Economy” by Sanjiv Verma
4. NCERT Books (Class 11-12)

Environment and Ecology:

1. “Environment” by Shankar IAS Academy
2. NCERT Biology (Class 12)

General Science:

1. NCERT Science Books (Class 6-10)
2. “Science and Technology” by Ravi P. Agrahari

General Studies Paper II (Mains)

Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations:

1. “Governance in India” by M. Laxmikanth
2. “Social Problems in India” by Ram Ahuja
3. “India’s Foreign Policy” by Rajiv Sikri

General Studies Paper III (Mains)

Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management:

1. “Indian Economy” by Ramesh Singh
2. “Economic Survey” (Government of India)
3. “Challenges to Internal Security of India” by Ashok Kumar
4. “Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure” by Rajagopalan

General Studies Paper IV (Mains)

Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude:

1. “Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude” by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chowdhury
2. “Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude” by Niraj Kumar

Additional Resources

Current Affairs:

1. Newspapers like “The Hindu” or “Indian Express”
2. Monthly magazines like “Yojana,” “Kurukshetra,” and “Economic and Political Weekly”

Practice Papers:

1. Previous years’ question papers
2. Test series from reputed coaching institutes

These books and resources are commonly recommended by toppers and educators for their comprehensive coverage of the UPSC syllabus.

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