Must-read books for UPSC Mains | Career Launcher

UPSC Mains is a descriptive exam consisting of 9 papers. Out of these, 2 are language papers that are qualifying in nature. In this article, we have discussed the books for UPSC Mains Exam that aspirants should read in order to write informative answers in the exam.

Generally, each question has to be answered in about 250 words. Hence, you should be well prepared with the content for each of the topics mentioned in the syllabus. In order to do so, you will need to read these recommended books for UPSC. However, before that, it is important that you read the syllabus carefully and stick to it while reading these books. You do not need to read anything that is outside the syllabus.

Books for UPSC Mains

General Studies I

The Wonder That Was India- A.L. Basham. (Culture)

India’s Ancient Past - R.S. Sharma. (Culture)

Indian Heritage, Art and Culture (Preliminary & Main) 3rd Edition by Madhukar Kumar Bhagat

History of Modern India 3rd Edition by Sujata Menon

History Of Modern India - Bipan Chandra. (History)

Pracheen Bharat ka Ithihas evam Sanskriti by PL Gautam

India’s Struggle For Independence - Bipan Chandra. (History)

India After Gandhi - Ramchandra Guha (History - GS1)

Norman Lowe OR History of Modern World - Jain and Mathur (World History - GS1)

Social Problems, Women Empowerment, Population Issues and Diversity of India by Bitasta Das

Indian and World Geography for General Studies Paper 1 (Prelims) Paperback – 7 March 2016

by D.R. Khullar

Certificate Physical and Human Geography - Goh Cheng Leong. (Geography)

General Studies II

Essentials of Indian Polity Constitution & Governance by Neeharika Reddy

The Constitution of India Bare Act with Short Notes for Students 3rd Edition by A.R Khan

General Studies Paper II For UPSC Civil Services Main Examination 2e by DVK Rao

Introduction to the Constitution of India by Durga Das Basu.

Public Institutions in India: Performance and Design by Devesh Kapur & Pratap Bhanu Mehta

NCERTs of Class XI and XII 

General Studies III

NCERT Class X – Understanding Economic Development 

NCERT Class XI – Indian Economic Development

NCERT Class XII – Macroeconomics (chapters 2,5 and 6 are very important)

Indian Economy: Developmental Perspective through Questions & Answers by AV Balakrishnan

Economic Development in India (Policies, Reforms and Liberalisation) 3rd Edition by AV Balakrishnan

Environment & Ecology for Civil Services Examination 6th Edition by Majid Husain

Advancements in Science and Technology by Ashok Matcha

Economic Survey 2022-23 & Budget 2023-24 by Access

Internal Security in India - Issues & Perspectives by Vivek TV 

IGNOU Notes on Disaster Management.

IGNOU Notes on Cyber Security.

India Year Book

NITI Aayog Reports

Lok Sabha Question-Answers

General Studies IV

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude – G Subba Rao & P N Roy Chowdhury

Neetishastra, Satyanishtha Evam Abhivriti for Civil Seva Pariksha 8th Hindi Edition

A Concise Analysis of Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude by G. Subba Rao, P.N Roy Chowdhury

100+ Case Studies in Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude by G. Subba Rao, P.N Roy Chowdhury

ARC Reports

Past Years’ Solved Papers

UPSC Mains 2023 General Studies Paper I-IV – Solved Papers 2013-2022 by G. Subba Rao, DVK Rao, Uddipan Mukherjee, PN Roy Chowdhury, Kantesh Mishra

UPSC Mains 2023: Samanya Adhyayan Prashn Patra I-IV, Hal Prashn Patra 2013-2022 by Access

Optional Papers

History Optional 2023 – Ancient & Medieval India – Previous Years UPSC Solved Papers (1979 – 2022) 2nd Edition by Rashid Yasin

UPSC 2019 – Complete History through Questions & Answers by Rashid Yasin & Ranjan Singh

Modern World History for Civil Services Main Exam 2nd Edition by Uddipan Mukerjee

History Optional 2023 – Modern India & World History – Previous Years UPSC Solved Papers 1979-2022 2nd Edition by Access

Map Entries for History Optional 3rd Edition by Rashid Yasin

India Map Entries in Geography for Civil Services Main Examination 2nd Edition by Majid Husain

Essays

UPSC Civil Services 2023 Essays: Papers from 1993 Onwards by DVK Rao

Essays for Civil and Judicial Services (Main) 2ed Paperback by A P Bhardwaj

In addition to this, you should note down the relevant points from current affairs to substantiate your answers and fetch more marks.

So, this is the list of recommended materials and books for the UPSC Mains exam. However, these are not to be read cover to cover. You must read only the topics that are mentioned in the syllabus. If you find it difficult to cover all the books in the short span of time, you can enroll in our Mains specific courses wherein our expert faculty will explain every topic mentioned in the syllabus comprehensively. Should you have any further doubts, please contact our course counselors.


Current Affairs analysis