Byjus IAS Complete Course PDF Notes Download
All Study Material For Preparation Of UPSC Exam
You need not buy all the books recommended to you.
You should understand that whatever you need to learn for the UPSC exam, you can get through some reliable resources. So there is no need to read many books. Your IAS study material should be a wise mix of textbooks, NCERT books, online sources, newspaper notes, magazines, etc. (Detailed list will feature later in this article.) You cannot even think of reading from all the sources available in the market.
You should prefer limited sources and study by making notes wherever required. What you need to finish is your UPSC syllabus and not books! In this article, you will get a comprehensive UPSC book list for your reference.
Importance of reading the right study material for the Byjus IAS exam:
- You cannot waste time reading unnecessary stuff as UPSC Syllabus is very vast and you need to cover it.
- Reading from substandard books and study material can be a potential disaster as it can lead you to even fail the UPSC exams. It is difficult to unlearn what you have studied. So avoid reading the wrong kind of books since they might contain unverified and blatantly wrong information.
- You should refer to 100% authentic material for current affairs. So, be sure to check your IAS current affairs sources for accuracy. Also, make sure you are getting updated information. You should not waste time reading outdated data.
- Get the best current affairs for The Byjus IAS exam! Check BYJU’S Current Affairs for all the latest current affairs compiled from all the relevant sources. BYJU’S CURRENT AFFAIRS.
Given below are lists of books required for the IAS prelims and mains exam, subject-wise.
UPSC VIDEO GUIDE
Booklist for Byjus IAS Exam
BOOKS FOR IAS PRELIMS GS PAPER I
Subject | Books | Newspapers/Magazines |
History | NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval)
NCERT XII (Modern Indian History) India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum |
The Hindu |
Geography | NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus)
NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus) Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong |
The Hindu, The Indian Express |
Economics | NCERT XI
Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri |
The Frontline, Business Standard |
Indian Polity | NCERT IX-XII
The Constitution of India – PM Bakshi Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth |
The Hindu, Yojana |
International Relations | NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politic)
World Atlas (TTK/Blackswan) |
The Hindu, Kurukshetra |
BOOKS FOR IAS PRELIMS CSAT PAPER II
- Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
- CSAT II – Arihant
- Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal (For the comprehension passage part)
BOOKS FOR IAS MAIN GENERAL STUDIES
General Studies Paper I:
Topics | Books |
Indian Heritage & Culture, History | NCERT XI
NIOS notes on culture ccrtindia.gov.in Culture books of National Books Trust NCERT Ancient History The Wonder That Was India – A L Basham Ancient India in Historical Outline – D N Jha NCERT Medieval Indian History IGNOU material Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Vol III: Medieval Indian Society and Culture by J. L. Mehta History of Medieval India – Satish Chandra A Social, Cultural and Economic History of India by P. N. Chopra, B. N. Puri, M. N. Das India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra India After Independence – Bipan Chandra NCERT XII: Politics in India after Independence Mastering Modern World History – Norman Lowe NCERT XII: Indian Society NCERT XII: Social Change and Development in India |
Geography of the World and Society | Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
NCERT XI: Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT XI: India: Physical Environment NCERT XII: India: People and Economy Geography of India – Majid Husain World Geography – Majid Husain Status of Forests Report Orient BlackSwan School Atlas |
General Studies Paper-II:
Topics | Books |
Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice | Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
NCERT XI: Indian Constitution at Work Introduction to the Constitution of India – D D Basu Constitution of India Bare Act Punchhi Commission Report Finance Commission Report 2nd Arc Report Five-Year Plan Documents |
International Relations | NCERT XII: Political Science: World Politics
India’s Foreign Policy – Rajiv Sikri |
General Studies Paper III:
Topics | Books |
Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment | Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh
NCERT XI: India’s Economic Development NCERT XII: Geography India People and Economy Budget Economic Survey Science and Technology – Spectrum |
Security and Disaster Management | Internal Security & Disaster Management – Ashok Kumar
IGNOU Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs |
General Studies Paper IV:
Topics | Books |
Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude | Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination – G Subba Rao and P N Roy Chowdhury |
BOOKS FOR IAS MAIN OPTIONAL SUBJECTS
The lists of reference books for some popular options are given below:
HISTORY OPTIONAL
- A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India – Upinder Singh
- Medieval India (2 volumes) – Satish Chandra
- Medieval India: The Study of a Civilization – Irfan Habib
- India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
- India since Independence – Bipan Chandra
- From Plassey to Partition – Shekhar Bandhopadhyay
- Mastering Modern World History – Norman Lowe
- A History of the Modern World – Ranjan Chakrabarti
GEOGRAPHY OPTIONAL
- Physical Geography – Savindra Singh
- Physical Geography Made Simple – Rupa Publication
- Evolution of Geographical Thought – Majid Husain
- Models in Geography – Majid Husain
- Certificate in Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
- Economic and Social Geography Made Simple – Rupa Publication
- Dictionary of Human Geography
- Regional Planning in India – Mahesh Chand
- India – A Comprehensive Geography – Khuller
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OPTIONAL
- Administrative Thinkers – Prasad and Prasad
- Public Administration and Public Affairs – Nicholas Henry
- Essentials of Organizational Behavior – Stephen P Robbins
- New Horizons of Public Administration – Mohit Bhattacharya
- IGNOU material
- Indian Administration – R K Arora, Rajni Goyal
- Ethics in Governance – R K Arora
- Public Administration in India – Fadia and Fadia
- Reports of 2nd Administration Reforms Commissions
SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL
- Sociology – Anthony Giddens
- Sociological Thought – Francis Abraham and John Henry Morgan
- Political Theory – O P Gauba
- IGNOU
- Handbook of Indian Sociology – Veena Das
- Modernization of Indian Tradition – Yogendra Singh
- Rural Sociology – Doshi and Jain
- Indian Society and Culture – Nadeem Hasnain
- Social Change in India – M N Srinivas
- Caste: It’s Twentieth Century Avatar – M N Srinivas
ANTHROPOLOGY OPTIONAL
- Physical Anthropology: P Nath/B M Das
- Indian Anthropology: Nadeem Hasnain/ V S Sahay and Pradeep K Singh
- Social Anthropology: Ember and Ember/ Makhan Jha/ D N Majumdar and T N Madan, N K Vaid
- Anthropological Thought – Upadhyay and Pandey
POLITICAL SCIENCE OPTIONAL
- Our Constitution – Subhash Kashyap
- Our Parliament – Subhash Kashyap
- History of Political Thought – Mukherjee and Ramaswamy
- Political Theory – O P Gauba
- Indian Political Thought – Mahendra Prasad and Himanshu Roy
- Politics in India – Rajni Kothari
- Indian Foreign Policy – Gupta and Shukla
- United Nations – Rumki Basu
ECONOMICS OPTIONAL
- Microeconomics – Ahuja and Koutsyansis
- International Economics – Salvatore
- Macroeconomics – H L Ahuja
- Money and Banking – Gupta and Ahuja
- Indian Economy – Datt and Sundaram
- Indian Economy – Mishra and Puri
- Indian Economy – Performance and Policies – Uma Kapila
- Economic Survey
- Business newspapers
- RBI Website
The given below list gives the IAS study material other than books:
- Newspapers: The Hindu, The Indian Express, Business Standard, Economic Times
- Magazines: Frontline, Yojana, Kurukshetra, Science Reporter, Economic & Political Weekly (EPW)
- Year Books – Manorama/ India Year Book
Sources for Current Affairs:
- Newspapers, magazines, PIB, Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha TV
- For a comprehensive analysis of your daily news, click below: