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:
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:
India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma published by Oxford University Press ( Amazon Link )
A History of Ancient & Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh ( Amazon Link )
History of Medieval India (800–1700 AD) by Satish Chandra published by Orient Longman ( Amazon Link ) ( Buy Full Set of 3 Books )
History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra (2009 Edition) ( Amazon Link ) ( Buy Full Set of 3 Books )
India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra & Others ( Amazon Link )
India After Independence (1947 - 2000) by Bipin Chandra & Others ( Amazon Link )
From Plassey To Partition And After by Sekhar Bandopadhyaya ( Amazon Link )
World History:
The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT ( Amazon Link )
Contemporary World History for class XII (Old NCERT Book) ( Amazon Link )
Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe ( Amazon Link )
Geography
Certificate Physical & Human Geography (Oxford) by Goh Cheng Leong ( Amazon Link )
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
XI Standard NCERT on Indian Society (Chapters on Unity & Diversity and Population Issues) ( Amazon Link )
XII Standard NCERT (Chapters on Communalism, Secularism and Urban Issues such as Poverty, Housing, etc.) ( Amazon Link )
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Indian Polity
Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication ( Amazon Link )
Indian Polity by Laxmikanth ( Amazon Link )
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Yojana Magazine
Governance Issues
From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur ( Amazon Link )
Ethics in Governance, ARC Report ( Amazon Link )
Citizen Centric Administration (Chapters 2, 5, 6, 7 & 8 only and box items in the report)
Developmental Issues
Human Development Report & World Development Report ( Amazon Link )
Panchayati Raj in India by Kuldeep Mathur ( Amazon Link )
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Kurukshetra & Yojana Magazines
International Relations
India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P. Dutt ( Amazon Link )
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Indian Economy
Indian Economic Development XI Standard NCERT ( Amazon Link )
Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma ( Amazon Link )
Introductory Macroeconomics XII Standard NCERT (Ignore all diagrams & mathematical formulas) ( Amazon Link )
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Economics Dictionary published by Collins & Penguin ( Amazon Link )
Economic Survey 2021 - 22 Highlights ( Amazon Link )
Ecology & Environment
Certificate Physical & Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong (Second Half of the Book) ( Amazon Link )
XII Standard NCERT Book on Biology (Chapters pertaining to Ecology) ( Amazon Link )
India Year Book (Chapters on Environment)
Chapter on Climate Change from Economic Survey
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Security Issues
India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh, published by National Book Trust of India ( Amazon Link )
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Science & Technology
VIII, IX, X Standard NCERT books on Biology
The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
Monthly Magazine ‘Science Reporter for Science & Technology’
Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
Ethics in Governance, ARC Report ( Amazon Link )
Lexicon by Chronicle Publications ( Amazon Link )
The Book on Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude published by Access Publication ( Amazon Link )
Current Affairs
Monthly Current Affairs Digest published by Vajiram and Ravi
https://www.vajiramandravi.com/current-affair-material.php
Daily Current Affairs Update and MCQs by Vajiram & Ravi
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