Complete Set of UPSC Books: Here is a complete and updated set of UPSC Books for UPSC Civil Services Exam — both Prelims and Mains. The list is organized paper-wise and topic-wise to help you plan your preparation strategically. These are standard and widely recommended books by toppers and coaching institutes.
Complete Set of UPSC Books – Prelims
📙 UPSC Prelims – General Studies (Paper I)
History
- Ancient India – R.S. Sharma (Old NCERT) or Tamil Nadu Class 11 textbook
- Medieval India – Satish Chandra (Old NCERT)
- Modern India – Spectrum’s “A Brief History of Modern India” by Rajiv Ahir
- Art & Culture – LotusArise / Nitin Singhania (latest edition)
Geography
- NCERTs (Class 6–12) – especially Class 11 and 12
- Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G.C. Leong
- Geography Complete Notes by LotusArise
- Oxford Students Atlas for India & LotusArise Mapping Notes
Polity
- Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth (latest edition)
- NCERT Class 9–12 Polity
Economy
- Indian Economy – Sanjeev Verma (conceptual)
- Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh (optional)
- NCERT Class 11–12 Macroeconomics
- Economic Survey (latest)
- Budget Highlights (latest)
Environment and Ecology
- Shankar IAS Environment Book (latest edition)
- NCERT Class 12 Biology – Chapters on Ecology
- Current Affairs (for environmental conventions, reports)
Science and Technology
- Science and Technology – LotusArise / Ravi P. Agrahari
- NCERTs (Class 6–10 Science) – basics
- Current Affairs (PIB, The Hindu, etc.)
Current Affairs
- Newspapers – The Hindu or Indian Express
- Monthly Magazine – Vision IAS / Drishti IAS / Insights
- PIB, Yojana, Kurukshetra
📙 UPSC Prelims – CSAT (Paper II)
- CSAT Manual – TMH (Tata McGraw Hill)
- Quantitative Aptitude – R.S. Aggarwal
- Analytical Reasoning – M.K. Pandey
- Previous Year Papers – Solve last 8–10 years CSAT papers
Complete Set of UPSC Books – Mains
GS Paper I – Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography
- Art and Culture – by LotusArise / Nitin Singhania
- Modern History – Spectrum / Bipin Chandra
- World History – Norman Lowe / LotusArise Notes
- Post-Independence India – Bipin Chandra’s “India Since Independence” / LotusArise Notes
- Geography – NCERTs + G.C. Leong + Atlas + LotusArise Notes
- Society – IGNOU/NCERT Sociology or LotusArise Notes
GS Paper II – Polity, Governance, IR
- Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth
- Governance – 2nd ARC Reports / LotusArise Notes
- Social Justice – Current affairs + Government Schemes + LotusArise Notes
- International Relations – LotusArise Notes + Current Affairs + Ministry of External Affairs Website
GS Paper III – Economy, Environment, Science, Security
- Economy – Sanjeev Verma / Ramesh Singh + Economic Survey + Budget
- Environment – Shankar IAS Book
- Disaster Management – 2nd ARC + NDMA Guidelines + LotusArise Notes
- Science & Tech – Current Affairs focused + LotusArise Notes
- Security – Challenges to Internal Security of India by Ashok Kumar / LotusArise Notes
GS Paper IV – Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude
- Ethics Book – LotusArise Notes / Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
- G Subba Rao (Optional – for conceptual clarity)
UPSC Mains – Essay Paper
- Book – 151 Essays by Arihant
- Essays Demystified For UPSC CSE – by IAS Nishant Jain , IAS Abhishek Saraf, etc.
- Practice – Previous Year Topics
