UPSC General Studies Books

Recommended Books for UPSC General Studies

History

Basic Books:

1. NIOS course books for classes XI and XII on – Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, National Movement & Contemporary World and Culture of India. (All these are available in PDF format on internet)

 Advance Level Books:

1. India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma published by Oxford University Press (Amazon Link )
2. A History of Ancient & Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh (Amazon Link )
3. History of Medieval India (800–1700 AD) by Satish Chandra published by Orient Longman (Amazon Link ) ( Buy Full Set of 3 Books  )
4. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra (2009 Edition) (Amazon Link ) ( Buy Full Set of 3 Books  )
5. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra & Others (Amazon Link )
6. India After Independence (1947 – 2000) by Bipin Chandra & Others (Amazon Link )
7. From Plassey To Partition And After by Sekhar Bandopadhyaya (Amazon Link )

 World History:

1. The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT (Amazon Link )
2. Contemporary World History for class XII (Old NCERT Book) (Amazon Link )
3. Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe (Amazon Link )

 Geography

1. Certificate Physical & Human Geography (Oxford) by Goh Cheng Leong (Amazon Link )
2. NCERTs (New Editions)

• • XI Standard: (1) India – Physical Environment (2) Fundamentals of Physical Geography (Amazon Link )
  • XII Standard: (1) India – People & Economy (2) Fundamentals of Human Geography (Amazon Link )

3. School Atlas – Orient Black Swan (Amazon Link )
4. Indian Geography by D. R. Khullar (Amazon Link )

Social Issues

1. XI Standard NCERT on Indian Society (Chapters on Unity & Diversity and Population Issues) (Amazon Link )
2. XII Standard NCERT (Chapters on Communalism, Secularism and Urban Issues such as Poverty, Housing, etc.) (Amazon Link )
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

 Indian Polity

1. Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication (Amazon Link )
2. Indian Polity by Laxmikanth (Amazon Link )
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
4. Yojana Magazine

 Governance Issues

1. From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur (Amazon Link )
2. Ethics in Governance, ARC Report (Amazon Link )
3. Citizen Centric Administration (Chapters 2, 5, 6, 7 & 8 only and box items in the report)

 Developmental Issues

1. Human Development Report & World Development Report (Amazon Link )
2. Panchayati Raj in India by Kuldeep Mathur (Amazon Link )
3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
4. Kurukshetra & Yojana Magazines

 International Relations

1. India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P. Dutt (Amazon Link )
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

Indian Economy

1. Indian Economic Development XI Standard NCERT (Amazon Link )
2. Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma (Amazon Link )
3. Introductory Macroeconomics XII Standard NCERT (Ignore all diagrams & mathematical formulas) (Amazon Link )
4. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
5. Economics Dictionary published by Collins & Penguin (Amazon Link )
6. Economic Survey 2021 – 22 Highlights (Amazon Link )

 Ecology & Environment

1. Certificate Physical & Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong (Second Half of the Book) (Amazon Link )
2. XII Standard NCERT Book on Biology (Chapters pertaining to Ecology) (Amazon Link )
3. India Year Book (Chapters on Environment)
4. Chapter on Climate Change from Economic Survey
5. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

 Security Issues

1. India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh, published by National Book Trust of India (Amazon Link )
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

 Science & Technology

1. VIII, IX, X Standard NCERT books on Biology
2. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
3. Monthly Magazine ‘Science Reporter for Science & Technology

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

1. Ethics in Governance, ARC Report (Amazon Link )
2. Lexicon by Chronicle Publications (Amazon Link )
3. The Book on Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude published by Access Publication (Amazon Link )