Booklist for UPSC and APSC (new syllabus) - General Studies

Now that the syllabus of APSC and UPSC are almost similar, aspirants preparing for APSC exam need to reconsider their strategies and update their booklist. Although there is no dearth of booklist suggestions on the internet, it is important to choose them wisely because you cannot afford to waste precious time by reading books which are inaccurate or sub standard. Gradient IAS took help of a few IAS, IPS and IRS officers and prepared the most effective booklist for Prelims and Mains General Studies. We are confident that these would go a long way in preparing the students for the UPSC as well as APSC. PRELIMS General Studies 1 History 1. India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra

2. A Brief History of Modern India – Spectrum

3. Themes in Indian History (NCERT, Part 1,2,3)

4. Ancient and Medieval History: Tamil Nadu State Board history books

Geography

1. Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong

2. NCERT VI – XII (New syllabus)

3. Geography of India - Majid Hussain

4. Oxford and Orient Blackswan Atlas for map study

Indian Polity

1. Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth

Art & Culture

1. Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum

2. CCRT

3. Fine Arts NCERT

4. Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania

Economics

1. NCERT XII book on Macroeconomics

2. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

3. Economic Survey

4. Budget

5. Sankar Ganesh book on Indian Economy Environment & Ecology

1. Shankar IAS Book on Environment

Science & Technology

1. General Science by Lucent Publications

Current Affairs

1. In The News, Gradient IAS monthly current affairs booklet (get it here)

2. The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Business Standard editorials

3. Press information Bureau

4. Vision IAS Current affairs booklet

CSAT

1. Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual

2. CSAT II – Arihant Publications

3. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

MAINS

Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society (GS Paper 1)

1. An Introduction to Indian Art Part 1: Textbook in Fine Arts for Class XI

2. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra

3. India after Independence by Bipan Chandra

4. History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra

5. Ancient India by R.S Sharma

6. Geography: The booklist for Prelims

7. Society: The Hindu, The Indian Express, Yojana

Governance, Constitution, Welfare Initiatives, Social Justice & International Relations [GS Paper 2]

1. Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth

2. Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu

3. India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

4. 2nd ARC Report

Technology, Economic Development, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management [GS Paper 3]

1. Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh

2. Economic survey, Budget

3. Current affairs for Science and Technology and Disaster management portion,

4. The Hindu & The Indian Express editorials on Internal Security

5. Biodiversity: Same booklist as Prelims

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude [GS Paper 4]

1. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary

2. Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude for IAS General Studies ADDITIONAL READINGS - 2nd ARC Report Economic Survey (latest) Budget (latest) Finance Commission Report (latest) Annual reports by central ministries Current Affairs - Yojana Magazine, Press Information Bureau Niti Aayog Action Agenda