IAS Books for Civil Services Prelims and Mains Exam Preparation

If you have the question “What are the books needed to clear IAS?” in your mind, we hope this post to clear all your doubts. Taking inputs from toppers, a detailed list of the best IAS books available in the market for each subject in Prelims and Mains, with links for buying books online is provided here. Take maximum benefit of the same. All the best!

Essential IAS Books For UPSC Prelims (Click to Buy Online)

Click to buy India Year Book 2015

1. History Of Modern India – Bipan Chandra. (History)
2. India’s Struggle For Independence – Bipan Chandra. (History)
3. Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum. (Culture)
4. Geography of India – Majid Husain. (Geography)
5. Oxford School Atlas – Oxford. (Geography)
6. Certificate Physical and Human Geography – Goh Cheng Leong. (Geography)
7. Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations – M. Laxmikanth. (Polity)
8. Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh. (Economy)
9. Economic Survey (2013-14). (Economy)
10. Science and Technology in India – TMH. (Science and Technology)
11. Environmental Studies from Crisis to Cure 2nd Edition – R.Rajagoplan. (Environment)
12. India Year Book (Current Affairs)
13. Manorama Yearbook. (Current Affairs)
14. CSAT 2015 : Paper – 2 Manual by TMH or CSAT-II – Arihant (CSAT – Paper 2)
15. Analytical Reasoning – M. K. Pandey(CSAT – Paper 2 : Analytical Reasoning)
16. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R. S.Aggarwal (CSAT Paper 2 : Reasoning)

Additional IAS Books for UPSC Mains (Click to Buy Online)

Click to buy Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe

1. Contemporay Essays by Ramesh Singh OR 151 ESSAYS For UPSC Mains(Essay Paper)
2. India After Gandhi – Ramchandra Guha (History – GS1)
3. History of Modern World – Jain and Mathur OR Norman Lowe (World History – GS1)
4. Social Problems In India – Ram Ahuja. (Indian Society – GS1)
5. IAS Mains General Studies Paper 2 (Arihant Manual – GS2)
6. Governance in India for CSE. (Governance – GS2)
7. Pax Indica – Shashi Tharoor. (Foreign Policy – GS2)
8. India and the World by Surendra Kumar. (Foreign Policy – GS2)
9. IAS Mains General Studies – GS3. (Arihant Manual – GS3)
10. India’s National Security: A Reader. (Internal Security – GS3)
11. Challenges to Internal Security of India. (Internal Security – GS3)
12. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Mains. ( Ethics – GS4)
13. IAS Mains General Studies – Ethics. ( Arihant Manual – GS4)

PS : Many books for UPSC Civil Service Main Exam overlap with books recommended for Prelims,