If you are appearing for Prelims 2015, and want to know which books you need to read, below is the list of books that you will need to clear Prelims.
It has been compiled from the experience of ForumIAS members, and has been updated keeping in mind the UPSC Prelims examination of the past 3 years.
Indian Polity
1. Indian Polity by M Laxmikant Latest Edition [click] No any second source. Just one book. There is no alternative to it. You must read it at least 5-10 times. Don’t make notes. It’s not possible. Read every line and when you read every chapter, every line 4-5 times, you will remember most of it. Here you should be able to answer any question that comes from anywhere in the book.
Readers may also refer:
- Subhash Kashyap – Our Constitution at Work – Amazon | Flipkart
- DD Basu – Amazon | Flipkart
Indian History
2. Indian History – Spectrum Modern India by Rajiv Ahir[click] . It is a summary of Bipin Chandra’s India’s Struggle for Independence . every question in last prelims and before that which was in “ANSWERABLE” category (some questions are not to be answered by anyone – don’t waste time and energy on finding where those questions came from).
Update: Bipan Chandra should be kept as an essential read book, because it can really help with both – parts of Prelims & Mains. A few thorough readings should help.
We would recommend aspirants to buy and use both books.
Chapters to be seen from here would include Peasant Movements, Tribal movements etc.
Art & Culture
3.Indian Culture ‘s Spectrum Book – Culture has become very important. While you must buy this book as most people buy it, you can also refer to NCERT books on Culture. There are more than one, so if you can’t find them all then buy the above book. It largely covers most culture questions asked in UPSC Mains+ Prelims
Update 1: Get the xerox of NCERT Art & Culture. A few questions in Prelims 2014 were directly from it , though Prelims 2014 was a bit off the mark from Prelims 2013 & 2012 in terms of increasing factual questions from Culture Part.
Update 2: Culture will trouble you in Mains Examination as well. This post has the list of most useful resources for Art & Culture, since the Spectrum book is above is bought by almost everyone, and NOT read by almost everyone.
Geography
4. Geography – You will need to do 3 books here. Everyone has to, so don’t crib.
For Principles of Geography Just do Go Cheng Leong – Certificate Physical & Human Geography[click] line by line 4-5 times – every chapter. Don’t by-heart, but read closely. Only memorize concepts. This is the single book for most Geography concepts. Chapters are short and easy to understand. Has been recommended book for doing basic principles of Geography since Subhra Ranjan topped the Examination almost a decade ago.
Note:- Three topics , namely :-
– Monsoons
-EL Nino
-La Nina
is not given very well here, and it is not sufficient from UPSC point of view. You will have to take help from your geography optional friends and either understand it from them or get their notes.
– Indian geography books (2 of them) 11th & 12th NCERT. Again do it 4-5 times. Any question coming from it should be answerable. Don’t be the fool who has read the book but is not able to answer question from it. If you r not able to answer, it means you are not honest in your effort. You have to do all of the above.(Not my Lines; copied from source )
The tea plantation question that came in Mains 2014 – asking why tea plantations were successful in Eastern Himalayas, and not in Western Himalayas could be answered by either common sense or by a reading of the books above. Be thorough with this book. All your competitors will be.
ECONOMY
4. Indian economy – For best strategy, you will need to have a two level approach:-
- TMH Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh[Latest Edition][click] OR
- March of Indian Economy by I C Dhingra [click here to buy]
March of the Indian Economy is a new addition to our reading list based on users feedback of the book. Also. I C Dhingra is a renowned author in the field of Economy, who has now written from the perspective of UPSC Syllabus.
Some of the questions that appeared in Prelims 2014 were answerable from I C Dhingra’s Book: as seen below:-
Answer – March of the indian economy – Page no 18Question 2) With reference to balance of payments what constitutes the current account.(UPSC 2014) Answer – March of the indian economy – Page no – 86Question 3) With reference to union budget , What covers Non-plan expenditure?(UPSC 2014)
Answer – Forward March of the indian economy – Page no 74
Question 4) If the interest rate decreases in an economy what will be the out come?(UPSC 2014)
Answer – March of the indian economy – Page no – 279 . MCQ No . 110
Question 5) In Context of indian economy what are the following purposes of statutory reserve requirements.(UPSC 2014)
Answer – March of the indian economy – Page no – 110,111. UPSC Mains 2014
Q1) What are the reasons for huge growth of services ?
Answer- March of the indian economy page- 60 ,112
2. You may want to read either Vajiram Economy class notes OR Sriram’s IAS Economy notes in addition to the above for your Mains Preparation . This will help you for both Prelims as well as mains. Sriram’s Economy Notes is an end to end solution for both Mains & Prelims and is the most recommended source. If you like the reading pleasure of a book, do buy books apart from Sriram’s Notes.
Again, reading is to be line by line, every chapter, at least 5-6 times. You will see your knowledge grow by leaps and bounds. And GS will be conquerable.
India Year Book 2015
India Year book is a must have for all IAS aspirants or both Prelims and Mains Examination. Click here to view from Flipkart
Magazine
Magazine Read at least one magazine every month – don’t change your magazine – try chronicle or wizard. You should have all issues of past one year when u write prelims/Mains.
Update: You may still buy a magazine, but magazines have lost relevance for several reasons – (1) Vision IAS Current Affairs Notes has become the standard source for Current Affairs (2) Insights on India ‘s Secure 2014/2015 answer writing challenge is also a great initiative, leaving very little time/other resources to read magazines.
Still, if this is your first attempt, it is better to get a magazine, than not to get one.
Final Words
(1) Its not possible to NOT clear prelim after having done all of the above 5-6 times. honest , hard work and discipline is required.
(2) Join a good test series, if this is your first attempt. If you do not want to join a Test series, then here is what you can do:
If you have a good peer group, try to get test papers from market and practice it at home. Then check and compare score amongst each of you.
Make sure you stand at least in top 3 among a group of 5 people. If you are being the last two in your peer group, then either
- ask your friends not to cheat while writing Test, or better
- start studying hard, and seek help while there is still time.
Work hard, and if you spend too much time on ForumIAS.com , try answering questions asked by others – especially threads like Prelims questions and other course related doubts, and staying away from speculation threads. That is not how ForumIAS used to function before Orkut shut down.(grumble)
ForumIAS loves you. Cheers!
