UPSC Book List
Standard & Recommended Books for Prelims and Mains – Curated by Toppers & Mentors
📘 Prelims (General Studies)
- NCERTs (Class 6–12) – History, Geography, Polity, Economics, Science
- Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth
- Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh / Nitin Singhania (for theory)
- Geography – G.C. Leong + Certificate Physical Geography (NCERTs)
- History – Spectrum (Modern) + NCERT Ancient & Medieval
- Environment – Shankar IAS Book
- Current Affairs – Newspaper + Monthly Magazines (e.g. Vision, Insights)
📝 Mains GS (Papers I–IV)
- GS-I: Indian Society – NCERT Sociology + IGNOU Material
- GS-I: Indian Heritage – Nitin Singhania (Art & Culture)
- GS-II: Governance & Polity – Laxmikanth + ARC Reports
- GS-III: Economy – Ramesh Singh + Economic Survey
- GS-III: Internal Security – Challenges to Internal Security by Ashok Kumar
- GS-IV: Ethics – Lexicon + Subbarao + Case Study Compilation (ForumIAS)
🗒️ Essay & Interview
- Essay: Essays by IAS Toppers (Vision / Insights compilations)
- Interview: Mock transcripts + “Cracking the Code” by Ayush Sinha