Best Books Recommended By IAS Toppers For UPSC Prelims & Mains – The best IAS books can vary from candidate to candidate depending on their educational background, however, the UPSC books which are widely recommended for UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains, not only by IAS toppers but also provided by Rau’s IAS Study Circle as part of its study material are listed here under:
Best Books Recommended By IAS Toppers For UPSC Prelims & Mains
| Ancient, Medieval Indian History |
- Old NCERT Class 11 – Ancient India by R S Sharma
- Old NCERT Class 11 – Medieval India by Satish Chandra
- NCERT Class 12 – Themes in Indian History, Part 1
- NCERT Class 12 – Themes in Indian History, Part 2
|
| Indian heritage (ART & CULTURE) |
- NCERT Class 11 – An Introduction to Indian Art, Part 1
- Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
|
| Modern INDIAN HISTORY |
- Old NCERT Class 11 – Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- NCERT Class 12 – Themes in Indian History, Part-3
- Spectrum – A Brief History of Modern India
|
| Post-Independence HISTORY OF INDIA |
- Spectrum – A Brief History of Modern India
|
| World History |
- Old NCERT (Class 10) – Story of civilization
- OLD NCERT (Class 12) – History of the World by Arjun dev
- NCERt Class 11 – Themes in World History
|
| Geography |
- NCERT Class 6 – The Earth our habitat
- NCERT Class 11 – Fundamentals of Physical Geography
- NCERT Class 11 – India Physical Environment
- NCERT Class 12 – Fundamentals of Human geography
- NCERT Class 12 –India People and Economy
- Orient Longman Atlas
|
| Environment |
- Environment & Ecology: A Complete Guide by R Rajagopalan
|
| Polity and Governance |
- NCERT Class 11 – Indian Constitution at Work
- NCERT Class 11 – Political Theory
- Lakshmikanth – Indian Polity 6th Edition
|
| Indian economy |
- NCERT Class 10 – Understanding Economic Development
- NCERT Class 11 – Indian Economic Development
- Economics Class 12 – Macroeconomics
- Economics Class 12 – Microeconomics
|
| Society |
- NCERT Class 11 – Understanding Society
- NCERT Class 12 – Indian Society
- NCERT Class 12 – Social Change and Development in India
|
| Science and Technology |
- NCERT Class 9th – Science
- NCERT Class 10th – Science
|
| International Relations & Security |
- NCERT Class 12th – Contemporary World Politics.
|
| Ethics |
- Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude – G Subba Rao & P N Roy Chowdhury (retired IAS officers)
|
