UPSC Books for General Studies for UPSC – BOOKLIST

Basic Books:

1. NIOS course books for classes XI and XII on – Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, National Movement & Contemporary World,
2. and Culture of India. (All these are available in PDF format on this website)

Advance Level Books:

1. India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma published by Oxford University Press ( Amazon Link )
2. A History of Ancient & Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh ( Amazon Link )
3. History of Medieval India (800–1700 AD) by Satish Chandra published by Orient Longman ( Amazon Link ) ( Buy Full Set of 3 Books )
4. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra (2009 Edition) ( Amazon Link ) ( Buy Full Set of 3 Books )
5. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra & Others ( Amazon Link )
6. India After Independence (1947 – 2000) by Bipin Chandra & Others ( Amazon Link )
7. From Plassey To Partition And After by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay ( Amazon Link )

World History:

1. The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT – ( Available on this Website )
2. Contemporary World History for class XII (Old NCERT Book) ( Amazon Link ) or free download from this website
3. Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe ( Amazon Link )

Geography:

1. Certificate Physical & Human Geography (Oxford) by Goh Cheng Leong ( Amazon Link )
2. NCERTs (New Editions)

• XI Standard: (1) India – Physical Environment (2) Fundamentals of Physical Geography ( Amazon Link ) ( Set of 4 Books )
• XII Standard: (1) India – People & Economy (2) Fundamentals of Human Geography ( Amazon Link ) ( Set of 4 Books )

3. School Atlas – Orient Black Swan ( Amazon Link )

4. Indian Geography by D. R. Khullar ( Amazon Link )

Social Issues

1. XI Standard NCERT on Indian Society (Chapters on Unity & Diversity and Population Issues) ( Amazon Link )
2. XII Standard NCERT (Chapters on Communalism, Secularism and Urban Issues such as Poverty, Housing, etc.) ( Amazon Link )
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper – join telegram

Indian Polity

1. Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication ( Amazon Link )
2. Indian Polity by Laxmikant ( Amazon Link )
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
4. Yojana Magazine

Governance Issues

1. From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur ( Amazon Link )
2. Ethics in Governance, ARC Report ( Amazon Link )
3. Citizen-Centric Administration (Chapters 2, 5, 6, 7 & 8 only and box items in the report)

Developmental Issues

1. Human Development Report & World Development Report ( Amazon Link )
2. Panchayati Raj in India by Kuldeep Mathur ( Amazon Link )
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
4. Kurukshetra & Yojana Magazines

International Relations

1. India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P. Dutt ( Amazon Link 1 ) ( Amazon Link 2)
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Indian Economy

1. Indian Economic Development XI Standard NCERT ( Amazon Link )
2. Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma ( Amazon Link )
3. Introductory Macro Economics XII Standard NCERT (Ignore all diagrams & mathematical formulas) ( Amazon Link )
4. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
5. Economics Dictionary published by Collins & Penguin ( Amazon Link )
6. Economic Survey 2020 – 21 & 2021 – 22 (to be out in Feb 2022, only recommended chapters)

Ecology & Environment

1. Certificate Physical & Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong (Second Half of the Book) ( Amazon Link )
2. XII Standard NCERT Book on Biology (Chapters pertaining to Ecology) ( Amazon Link )
3. India Year Book (Chapters on Environment)
4. The chapter on Climate Change from Economic Survey
5. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Security Issues

1. India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh, published by National Book Trust of India ( Amazon Link )
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Science & Technology

1. VIII, IX, X Standard NCERT books on Biology
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
3. Monthly Magazine ‘Science Reporter for Science & Technology’

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

1. Ethics in Governance, ARC Report ( Amazon Link )
2. Lexicon by Chronicle Publications ( Amazon Link )
3. The Book on Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude published by Access Publication ( Amazon Link )

Current Affairs

1.  ENGLISH NEWSPAPER – THE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS, etc.