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General Studies Books for IAS 2023

'General studies' is a vast subject. Aspirants who are pursuing General Studies can use the best reference books for studying. We have compiled a list of 'General Studies' books that may help during the preparation of Civil Services and other services exams conducted by the UPSC.

Since General Studies needs a certain amount of updations every year, make sure you buy the most recent edition.

We have also added names of some monthly magazines too that is helpful for the preparation of General Studies paper. Please select the ones that you like the most.

Download NCERT Books Free

NCERT Textbooks GS Manuals for Prelims (All-in-One Guides) UPSC Previous Year Question Papers
Indian History and Culture Indian Geography and World Geography Indian Polity and Constitution
Indian Economy Science and Technology Environment – Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change
Current Affairs CSAT (For those weak in CSAT) Essay (UPSC Mains Essay Paper)
India Since Independence (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper) World History (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper) Indian Society (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)
Governance (Part of UPSC Mains GS2 Paper) Foreign Relations of India (Part of UPSC Mains GS2 Paper) Internal Security (Part of UPSC Mains GS3 Paper)
Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude (UPSC Mains GS4 Paper) Are there all-in-one manuals for UPSC Civil Services Main Exam? UPSC CSE Mains Previous Year Solved Question Paper Books
Books for UPSC Interview


NCERT Textbooks

  • NCERT Text Books from Class 6 – 12

GS Manuals for Prelims (All-in-One Guides)

  • General Studies Paper 1 Manual by Pearson
  • General Studies Paper 1 Manual by McGraw Hill
  • General Studies Paper 1 Manual by Manohar Pandey
  • General Studies Paper 2 Manual by Pearson
  • General Studies Paper 2 Manual by MHE

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

  • Kiran Prakashan’s book for GS Paper 1
  • GS Paper 2 (CSAT)
  • IAS General Studies Preliminary Topic wise Solved Papers (Paper I and II) – New Vishal
  • 24 Years UPSC IAS/ IPS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers 1 & 2 (1995-2018) – by Disha Experts

Indian History and Culture

  • India’s Ancient Past – R.S. Sharma.
  • History Of Medieval India – Satish Chandra.
  • History Of Modern India – Bipan Chandra.
  • India’s Struggle For Independence – Bipan Chandra.
  • The Wonder That Was India – A.L. Bhasham.
  • Indian Art and Culture – Nitin Singhania.
  • Ancient and Medieval India – Poonam Dalal
  • Modern Indian History – Sonali Bansal
  • A Brief History of Modern India – Spectrum

Indian Geography and World Geography

  • Oxford School Atlas – Oxford.
  • Geography of India – Majid Husain.
  • World Geography – Majid Husain
  • Physical Geography – Savindra Singh
  • Human Geography – Majid Husain
  • Certificate Physical and Human Geography – Goh Cheng Leong.

Indian Polity and Constitution

  • Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations – M. Laxmikanth.
  • Introduction to the Constitution of India – D. D. Basu

Indian Economy

  • Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh
  • Indian Economy Key Concepts – Shankarganesh
  • The Indian Economy – Sanjiv Verma
  • Economic Survey.

Science and Technology

  • Science and Technology – Sheelwant Singh
  • Science and Technology in India – Ravi P Agrahari.

Environment – Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change

  • Environmental Studies: – Dr. Narendra Mal Surana.
  • Environment – Shankar

Current Affairs

  • India Year Book
  • Manorama Yearbook.

CSAT (For those weak in CSAT)

  • Cracking the CSAT – Jatin Kinger
  • Analytical Reasoning – M. K. Pandey
  • Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R. S.Aggarwal

Essay (UPSC Mains Essay Paper)

  • Selected Contemporary Essays – Saumitra Mohan
  • Essays for Civil Services – B Ramaswamy

India Since Independence (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)

  • India Since Independence – Bipan Chandra
  • India After Gandhi – Ramchandra Guha
  • Post-Independence India – Chinmaya Saxena

World History (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)

  • History of the World – Arjun Dev
  • Mastering Modern World History – Norman Lowe
  • World History – Krishna Reddy
  • Modern World History – Uddipan

Indian Society (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)

  • Social Problems In India – Ram Ahuja.
  • Social Change in Modern India – M N Srinivas
  • Indian Society – Senthil

Governance (Part of UPSC Mains GS2 Paper)

  • Governance in India – Laxmikanth.
  • Governance in India – M.Karthikeyan
  • Esencia Current Affairs

Foreign Relations of India (Part of UPSC Mains GS2 Paper)

  • International Relations – Pavneet Singh.
  • Pax Indica – Shashi Tharoor.

Internal Security (Part of UPSC Mains GS3 Paper)

  • Internal Security – M.Karthikeyan.
  • Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar.
  • India’s Internal Security – Rajkumar.
  • India’s National Security: A Reader – Bajpai.

Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude (UPSC Mains GS4 Paper)

  • Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude – Niraj Kumar.
  • Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude – M. Karthikeyan
  • Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude – Subha Rao

Are there all-in-one manuals for UPSC Civil Services Main Exam?

  • GS Paper 1 – Arihant

UPSC CSE Mains Previous Year Solved Question Paper Books

  • IAS General Studies Main Solved Papers – New Vishal
  • IAS Mains General Studies Solved Papers – Heed
  • IAS Mains Chapterwise Solved Papers General Studies – Arihant

Books for UPSC Interview

  • Civil Services Interview – Madhukar
  • Common Mistakes At UPSC Civil Services Examination & How to Avoid Them – Abhishek Dular
  • Esencia Current Affairs



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