Best General Studies Booklist for UPSC IAS

The Foundation and the First Line of reading while preparing for the Preliminary Test and Main Examination is the 18 Volumes of ‘Yellow Books’ on General Studies and the Monthly Current Affairs Digest published by Vajiram & Ravi. Apart from these Volumes, the aspirants should study the following books:

History

Basic Books:

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

 

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 Bandopadhyaya ( Amazon Link )

 

World History:

1. The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT ( Amazon Link )

2. Contemporary World History for class XII (Old NCERT Book) ( Amazon Link )

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 )

• XII Standard: (1) India - People & Economy (2) Fundamentals of Human Geography ( Amazon Link )

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

 

Indian Polity

1. Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication ( Amazon Link )

2. Indian Polity by Laxmikanth ( 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 )

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 Macroeconomics 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 2021 - 22 Highlights ( Amazon Link )

 

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. 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. Monthly Current Affairs Digest published by Vajiram and Ravi
   https://www.vajiramandravi.com/current-affair-material.php

2. Daily Current Affairs Update and MCQs by Vajiram & Ravi
   website: https://vajiramias.com/
   app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vajiramandravi.iasprep

3. Vajiram’s Student Portal