Dear Readers, as per the tentative schedule released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015 will be held on the 28th of August this year. The Preliminary Examination is the first stage of the two tier Civil Services Examination. Hence, it is extremely critical for aspirants to clear the prelims in order to qualify for the Main Examination.
With less than four months remaining for the prelims, we at PaGaLGuY bring you a list of essential books and reference material which will help you prepare better in the days to come. The subject-wise list is as follows:
I. Current Affairs of National and International Importance
1. One National Newspaper daily – preferably, either ‘The Hindu’ or ‘The Indian Express’ along with ‘The Economic Times’.
2. India Year Book – It is published by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It provides comprehensive coverage of everything that has happened in the previous year and is available in the market by the month of January/February.
3. Magazines : Frontline / Civil Services Chronicle / Economic and Political Weekly
II. History of India and Indian National Movement
1. NCERT text books in English/Hindi medium (Std VII – XIIth)
2. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra
3. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
III. Geography
1. NCERT text books in English/Hindi (Std VII – XIIth)
2. School Atlas
3. Economic and Commercial Geography of India by Sharma and Coutinho
4. Certificate Physical and Human Geography by G. C. Leong
IV. Indian Economy
1. NCERT text books on Economics in English/Hindi medium
2. Indian Economy by Dutt, S. Mishra and Puri
3. Important Studies and Commissions’ Reports published by Government of India
4. Websites of Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Women and Child development
5. Latest Government Schemes
V. Indian Polity
1. NCERT text books on Political Science/ Civics in English/Hindi medium
2. Introduction to Indian Constitution by D. D. Basu
3. Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
VI. General Science
1. NCERT Text books pertaining to Science/ Biology/ Chemistry/Physics
2. Tata McGraw-Hill Guide
3. Reports and Studies published by the Ministry of Science and Technology
VII. Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change
1. Ecology and Environment by P. D. Sharma
2. NCERT EVS text books (Xth Std)
VIII. CSAT
1. Pearson’s/ Tata McGraw-Hill/ Edgar and Showick Thorpe latest CSAT Manual
2. Quantitative Aptitude by R.S. Agarwal
We hope that this list will be very helpful for you and will aid your preparation. All the Best!