UPSC Prelims 2021 Books | As far as UPSC prelims goes, you do not have to do all questions but you have to do all such questions that majority of students have attempted. Additionally, in order to prepare peacefully you need to feel secured about clearing prelims exam by some margin, hence you need atleast 10-15 more marks than tentative cut-offs.
The general trend in recent years UPSC Prelims Examination that there were a number of current affairs related questions on subjects like geography & economy, instead of basic theory questions. Hence, the books that you read need to be updated. So books that do get regularly updated have reduced significance in examination.
However, books provide a structured understanding of topics & so their utility cannot be neglected. In this page, we have streamlined strategy along with few important books to follow for UPSC Civil Services Prelims examination in English Medium.
UPSC Prelims 2021: Books for History
A. Books for Ancient History
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT- Ancient History by R. S. Sharma | Download Free PDF (Eng.) |
| India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma | Check Amazon |
B. Books for Medieval History
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT – Medieval History by Satish Chandra | Download FREE PDF (Eng.) |
| History of Medieval India (800–1700 AD) by Satish Chandra | Check Amazon |
C. Books for Modern History
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT- Modern History by Bipin Chandra | Download FREE PDF(Eng.) |
| India’s Struggle for Independence | Check Amazon |
| Spectrum – A brief history of Modern India | See Amazon |
D. Books for Post Independence History
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| India Since Independence (1947 – 2000) by Bipin Chandra | Amazon |
E. Books for World History
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT – The Story of Civilization (Part II) by Arjun Dev | Download FREE PDF(Eng.) |
| NCERT – Contemporary World History Class XII | Amazon |
F. Books for Art, Culture & Heritage
Most part of ‘Culture’ section overlaps with Ancient and Medieval History and so will be covered in above books. However, if one wants to refer special book then:
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| Indian Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania | See Amazon |
UPSC Prelims 2021: Books for Geography
A. Books for Geography
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT – Fundamental of Physical Geography Class IX | See Amazon |
| NCERT – India Physical Environment Class XI | See Amazon |
| NCERT – Fundamentals of Human Geography Class XII | See Amazon |
| NCERT – India People & Economy Class XII | See Amazon |
| Certificate Physical And Human Geography by G C Leong | See Amazon |
B. Map books & Atlas
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| School Atlas – Orient Black Swan | See Amazon |
| or Oxford student Atlas | See Amazon |
| India Physical Map Poster | See Amazon |
| World Physical Map Poster | See Amazon |
| Maps of India for practise & notes-making | See Amazon |
C. Books for Environment & Ecology
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| Environment by Shankar IAS | See Amazon |
UPSC Prelims 2021: Books for Polity
A. Books for Indian Polity
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT – Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) | See Amazon |
| Indian Polity by Laxmikant | See Amazon |
| Constitution of India Poster | See Amazon |
B. Books for Government Schemes
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| Vision IAS – Government Scheme Module (Search latest) | See Amazon |
| Yogana Magazine | |
| India Year Book | See Amazon |
UPSC Prelims 2021: Books for Economy
A. Books for Economics & Indian Economy
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT – Class 9 to 12 | See Amazon |
| This – Indian Economy by SRI RAM IAS | See Amazon |
| or – Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh | See Amazon |
| Current Year – Economic Survey | See Amazon |
Books for Science & Technology
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| NCERT – Class 6 to 12 | See Amazon |
| Science Reporter Magazine |
Books for Current Affairs
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| Not Recommended | Newspapers, Websites |
Books for CSAT Preparation
| Book Name | Download / Buy |
|---|---|
| General Studies Paper II for UPSC Preliminary Examination by Tata McGraw Hill or | See Amazon |
| A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R.S. Aggarwal | See Amazon |
| Cracking the CSAT Paper-2 by Arihant Experts | See Amazon |
| The Mantra of CSAT Paper II by Gautam Puri | See Amazon |