UPSC Book List, UPSC Prelims, Mains, Optionals Best Books

Q: How many total books are in UPSC?

There’s no fixed number, but typically around 15–20 core books like NCERTs, standard reference books, and current affairs materials are used for complete UPSC preparation.

Q: What is the 7/5/3 rule in UPSC?

The 7/5/3 rule in UPSC suggests revising core subjects 7 times, optional subjects 5 times, and current affairs 3 times before the exam.

Q: What are the 12 subjects for IAS?

The 12 subjects for IAS preparation include History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Environment, Science & Technology, Ethics, International Relations, CSAT, Social issues, internal security, current affairs.

Q: Can I crack UPSC in 1 year?

Yes, with a focused strategy, consistent study, and effective time management, many aspirants successfully crack UPSC in 1 year of dedicated preparation.

Q: Which subject is best for IAS?

Subjects like Public Administration, Geography, Sociology, History, and Political Science are popular for IAS preparation due to overlap with GS papers and scoring potential.

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Preparing for the UPSC CSE Exam 2025 requires strategy and selecting the right study material is a key part of it. The best UPSC Book List is not just informative, but also prepared in a way that helps aspirants understand concepts easily, stay updated with the syllabus and exam pattern. The Prelims exam assesses the objective knowledge through multiple-choice questions, the Mains exam requires in-depth analysis and descriptive writing skills. We have collected the UPSC Book List for Prelims, Mains as well as the Optional subjects.

UPSC Book List for Prelims

The UPSC Prelims Exam 2025 consists of two objective-type papers, General Studies Paper I and the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), also known as Paper II. Both papers carry negative marking for incorrect answers, so accuracy is crucial. Choosing the right books for each paper is the first step toward building a solid foundation. We have shared the list of UPSC Book List for Prelims:

UPSC Book List for Prelims
Subject	UPSC Books List
History	Ancient History Yellow Book by Vajiram & Ravi Medieval History Yellow Book by Vajiram & Ravi Modern Indian History Yellow Book by Vajiram & Ravi World History Book by Vajiram & Ravi India’s Ancient Past by RS Sharma
Geography	Vajiram & Ravi Indian Geography Book Vajiram & Ravi “Concepts of Geography” Book Go Cheng Leong – Certificate Physical & Human Geography. School Atlas – Orient Black Swan. Oxford Student Atlas.
Indian Polity	Indian Polity Yellow Books Part 1 & 2 Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth Introduction to the Constitution of India Our Parliament by Subhash C. Kashyap Indian Polity” by M. Krishna Reddy
Economics	Indian Economy by Jayant Parikshit Economic Survey Economics Budget
International Relations	“International Relations” by Vinay Kumar Malhotra “Global Politics” by Andrew Heywood “Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy” by Rajiv Sikri “International Relations: The Key Concepts” by Terry O’Callaghan, Martin Griffiths, Steven C. Roach “The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy” by David M. Malone, C Raja Mohan, Srinath Raghavan “International Relations in the 21st Century” by Pant
CSAT	Analytical Reasoning-M K Pandey Cracking the CSAT Paper-Arihant Experts A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non- Verbal reasoning-RS Aggarwal The Mantra of Csat Paper II-Gautam Puri General Studies Paper II for UPSC Preliminary Examination-Tata Mcgraw Hill CSAT Manual-Pearson
Solved Papers	IAS General Studies Prelims Solved Papers by Vishal Publications

UPSC Book List for Mains

Candidates preparing for the UPSC Exam 2025 should focus on books that help develop analytical skills, offer depth in subject matter, and align with the UPSC Syllabus 2025. Below is a subject-wise breakdown of some of the most widely recommended books for General Studies (GS) Papers I to IV in the UPSC Mains Exam 2025:

UPSC Book List for Mains
Subject	UPSC Books
History, Indian Heritage & Culture [GS Paper 1]	NCERT Class XI Ancient India NCERT Class XII Theme in Indian History- I Old NCERT- History of Medieval India- Satish Chandra A History of South India by K.A. Nilkantha Sastri Europe Since 1815 – W.C. Craig Europe Since 1870 – James Joll A Brief History of Modern India NCERT Class XI Modern India by Bipan Chandra
Geography [GS Paper 1]	Vajiram & Ravi Indian Geography Yellow Book Vajiram & Ravi Concepts of Geography Yellow Book Geography of India by Majid Husain World Geography by Majid Husain Certificate Physical and Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong Physical, Human and Economic Geography for Civil Services Examination by D R Khuller
Polity & International Relations [GS Paper 2]	Indian Polity Yellow Books Part 1 & 2 Constitution of India by P.M. Bakshi Indian Constitution Indian Political Thought by O.P. Gauba Selected Contemporary Essays by Saumitra Mohan Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja
Economy [GS Paper 3]	Modern Microeconomics – A. Koutsoyiannis Advanced Economic Theory: Microeconomic Analysis – H. L. Ahuja Macroeconomic Theories & Policies – R.T. Froyen Macroeconomics – H. L. Ahuja Monetary Economics – S. B. Gupta International Economics – D. Salvatore Open Economy Macroeconomics from Froyen
Ethics [GS Paper 4]	Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary
Solved Papers	IAS General Studies Prelims Solved Papers – Vishal Publications

UPSC Book List for Optional

Choosing the right optional subject for the UPSC Mains Exam 2025 is important as it can significantly impact the final score. Once an applicant has selected optional, the next step is opting the UPSC Book List for Optional that helps in understanding the core concepts, improve answer writing, and attempting the previous years’ questions with confidence.

UPSC Book List for Optional
Agriculture	Economics and Farm Management – by John Westra, Kent Olson Soil Science – D.K Das or Brady Agronomy by Yellamananda Reddy Plant Breeding by B.D. Singh Genetics by B.D.Singh Physiology by Pandey & Singha Introduction to Horticulture – Kumar Handbook of Agriculture by ICAR Agricultural Extension Education in India Pathology – Singh Entomology – Vasantha Raj & David The Hindu – Survey of Indian Agriculture Agriculture Statistics – Dept. of Agriculture The Hindu- Special Issue on Agriculture
Anthropology	Braintree material Physical Anthropology – P Nath Anthropology Simplified – Vivek Bhasme (very good source for diagrams and answer structuring) Anthropology – Ember and Ember Indian Anthropology -Nadeem Hasnain Tribal India – Nadeem Hasnain Anthropology Simplified- Vivek Bhasme The Tribal Culture of India – LP Vidyarthi Xaxa Report January 2014 edition of Yojana- Tribal and Marginalized Communities
PSIR	An Introduction To Constitution- D.D. Basu An Introduction To Political Theory- O.P Gauba Fifty Major Political Thinkers- Ian Adams And R W Dyson A History Of Political Thought: Plato To Marx – Subrata Mukherjee And Sushila Ramaswamy An Oxford Companion To Politics In India – Niraja Gopal Jayal And Pratap Bhanu Mehta Foundations Of Indian Political Thought- V.R Mehta A New Look At Modern Indian History- B.L Grover And Alka Mehta India’s Struggle For Independence – Bipan Chandra Indian Government And Politics – B L Fadia
Public Awareness	Administrative Thinkers by D. Ravindra Prasad Contemporary Debates in Public Administration by Dhameja Alka Indian Administration by Maheswari Introduction to the Constitution of India by D.D. Basu Important Judgments that Transformed India by Alex Andrews George Public Administration: Concepts And Theories by Rumki Basu A Dictionary of Public Administration by Maheswari Administrative Theories And Management Thought by Sapru
Economics	Economic History of India: 1857-1947 – Tirthankar Roy The New Oxford Companion to Economics in India – Edited by Kaushik Basu Indian Economy Since Independence – Uma Kapila Economic Survey: Current & Last year Websites of RBI, NITI Aayog, PIB, & PRS Selected Articles from Regular & Business Newspapers (like Indian Express, Business Line etc.) or Journals (like EPW).
Psychology	“Psychology” by Robert A. Baron and Nyla R. Branscombe “Psychology” by Saundra K. Ciccarelli and J. Noland White “Psychology: Themes and Variations” by Wayne Weiten “Introduction to Psychology” by Morgan and King “Foundations of Psychology” by Nicky Hayes “Psychology – The Science of Mind and Behaviour” by Richard Gross “Psychology: A Very Short Introduction” by Gillian Butler and Freda McManus “Psychology: An Introduction” by Benjamin Lahey “Social Psychology” by Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, and Robin M. Akert “Abnormal Psychology” by James N. Butcher, Susan M. Mineka, and Jill M. Hooley
Philosophy	John Hick: Philosophy of Religion. Michael B. Wilkinson: Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction. O. P. Gauba: Social & Political Philosophy. Political Theory, An Introduction. Edited By Rajeev Bhargava & Ashok Acharya. Oxford Dictionary of Politics.
Mathematics	ANALYTICAL SOLID GEOMETRY – Shanti Narayan and P K Mittal ORDINARY AND PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS – M D Raisinghania ADVANCED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS – M D Raisinghania MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS – S C Malik and Savita Arora SCHAUM SERIES – Seymour Lipschutz
Sociology	Introduction to Sociology by Anthony Giddens Sociological Theory by George Ritzer Sociology Themes and Perspectives by Haralambos & Holborn A Dictionary of Sociology by John Scott Sociological Thought by Francis Abraham and John Henry Morgan An Introduction to Political Theory by O P Gauba
History	A New Look at Modern Indian History From 1707 to the Modern Times- Alka Mehta and B L Grover S Mastering Modern World History- Norman Lowe (Best book for World History UPSC) The Penguin History Of Early India: From The Origins To AD 1300- Romila Thapar Age of Revolution 1789-1848- Eric Hobsbawm History of Medieval India- Satish Chandra
Commerce	Accounting Corporate Accounting – Naseem Ahmed Accounting Standards- D. S. Rawat Auditing Students’ Guide to Auditing- Aruna Jha Income Tax book by- V.K. Singhania or Girish Ahuja Cost Accounting; Theory & Problems- Maheshwari & Mittal Financial Management Taxation- Income Tax, Service Tax & VAT Financial Management; Text and Problems- Khan and Jain Financial Markets & Institutions Indian Financial System- M.Y. Khan Financial Institutions & Markets- L.M. Bhole
Geography	Human Geography by Majid Husain A Geography by Population by R.C. Chandna Goh Cheng Leong Oceanography by Sharma & Vatal Physical Geography – Made Simple, Rupa Publisher Physical Geography by Savindra Singh Economic and Social Geography – Made Simple by Rupa Publisher