Essential books for Upsc

Essential UPSC Preparation Books

Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth

Indian Polity — M. Laxmikanth

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Certificate Physical & Human Geography by G.C. Leong

Cert. Phys. & Human Geo. — G.C. Leong

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Ancient India by R.S. Sharma (NCERT)

Ancient India (NCERT) — R.S. Sharma

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Medieval India by Satish Chandra (NCERT)

Medieval India (NCERT) — Satish Chandra

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Modern India by Spectrum

Modern India — Spectrum

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Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Indian Economy — Ramesh Singh

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Environment by Shankar IAS

Environment — Shankar IAS

Buy
General Science NCERTs

General Science (NCERTs)

Buy
The Hindu Newspaper

The Hindu Newspaper

Read
Yojana Magazine

Yojana Magazine

Subscribe
Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude by G. Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chowdhury

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

Buy
Governance in India by M. Laxmikanth

Governance in India — M. Laxmikanth

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Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India's Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy — Rajiv Sikri

Buy
Disaster Management by P Kumar

Disaster Management

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Internal Security by Ashok Kumar

Internal Security — Ashok Kumar

Buy
Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania

Indian Art and Culture — Nitin Singhania

Buy
History of Modern India by Bipan Chandra

History of Modern India — Bipan Chandra

Buy
World Geography 5th Ed

World Geography 5th Ed — Majid Husain

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Public Administration by M. Laxmikanth

Public Administration

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Sociology by Anthony Giddens

Sociology — Anthony Giddens

Buy
Indian Anthropology by Nadeem Hasnain

Indian Anthropology

Buy
Essay for Civil Services by Pulkit Khare

Essay for Civil Services

Buy
CSAT Paper-II by Arihant Experts

CSAT Paper-II

Buy
Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India's Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy

Buy
Indian Economic Survey (Latest)

Indian Economic Survey (Latest)

View
Union Budget (Latest)

Union Budget (Latest)

View
India Year Book (Latest)

India Year Book (Latest)

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Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe

Mastering Modern World History

Buy
Physical Geography by Savindra Singh

Physical Geography — Savindra Singh

Buy
Human Geography by Majid Husain

Human Geography — Majid Husain

Buy
All About UPSC Civil Services Exam: A Complete Preparation for UPSC Civil Services Exam

All About UPSC Civil Services Exam: A Complete Preparation for UPSC Civil Services Exam

Read
UPSC Previous Years' Question Papers

Previous Years’ Papers

Buy
Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

Lexicon for Ethics

Buy
2nd ARC Reports on Governance

2nd ARC Reports on Governance

Read
Governance, Constitution and Social Justice for Civil Services Examination - Salman Khurshid , Gaurav Gupta

Social Justice and Governance

Buy
CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS by Garrett W Brown, Iain McLean, Alistair McMillan

CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Buy
Key Concepts in Politics and International Relations by Andrew Heywood

Key Concepts in Politics and International Relations

Buy
A Competitive Book Of Agriculture by Nem Raj Sunda

Indian Agriculture

Buy
Science and Technology in India by Kalpana Rajaram

Science and Technology in India

Buy
General Studies by Singh B. , Singh A. P.

UPSC Comprehensive Guide

Buy
Nios Environmental Science Class 12

NIOS Study Material

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NCERTs Summary for UPSC

Arihant NCERT Notes India and Economy, Indian Polity and Governance, India and World Geography,Indian History,General Science

Buy
Oxford School Atlas

Oxford School Atlas

Buy
Constitution of India covering 106th Amendment with important Case Laws, Q&A Data Bank on Constitutional Aspects of Indian Polity

Polity Notes

View
Current Events Yearbook

Current Events Yearbook

Buy
General Knowledge by Lucent Publications

General Knowledge — Lucent

Buy
Objective Indian Polity (English) by M Laxmikanth

Objective Indian Polity (English) by M Laxmikanth

Buy
Aptitude for CSAT

Arihant Cracking the CSAT Paper II

Buy
A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning

A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning

Buy
Comprehension, Decision Making & Problem Solving Compendium for UPSC

Comprehension, Decision Making & Problem Solving Compendium for UPSC

Buy

Modern Indian History — Important Topics for UPSC Prelims

TopicKey Subtopics / Keywords
Advent of European PowersPortuguese, Dutch, French, British; trading posts; Battle of Plassey (1757); Anglo-French rivalry
Company Rule — Expansion & ConsolidationDiwani of Bengal (1765), Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse, Annexations
Revenue Systems & Land SettlementsZamindari, Ryotwari, Mahalwari; Permanent Settlement; impact on agrarian society
Administrative & Judicial ChangesPolice system, Civil services, Legal codes, Regulating Act, Pitt’s India Act
Economic Impact of ColonialismDeindustrialisation, drain of wealth, famines, railways, and plantation economy
Social & Religious Reform MovementsBrahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, reformers (Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dayananda)
Tribal & Peasant RevoltsSanyasi-Fakir, Santhal, Munda, Indigo, Eka Movement, Bardoli Satyagraha
1857 RevoltCauses (political, military, economic, social), major centres, leaders, outcomes
Growth of Nationalism — Early PhaseFormation of Indian National Congress, Moderates vs Extremists, early demands
Partition of Bengal (1905) & SwadeshiReasons, reaction, boycott movement, impact on national movement
Revolutionary NationalismJugantar, Anushilan, HSRA, key personalities (Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad)
Impact of World War IIndian contribution, Home Rule Movement, economic impact, Montagu-Chelmsford reforms
Rowlatt Act & Jallianwala Bagh (1919)Provisions, reactions, Hunter Commission, significance
Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22)Causes, course, Chauri Chaura, end and lessons
Civil Disobedience (1930–34)Dandi March, Salt Satyagraha, provincial elections, Round Table Conferences
Simon Commission & Nehru ReportBoycott of commission, recommendations, reaction
Government of India Act, 1935Provisions (provincial autonomy, federal scheme), why it failed
Rise of Mass Politics (1930s)Provincial ministries, Congress policies, Muslim League developments
World War II & Indian ResponseCripps Mission, Quit India Movement (1942), INA, Subhas Chandra Bose
Indian National Army (INA) & TrialsFormation, Rani of Jhansi Regiment, INA trials, impact on Army & public opinion
Constituent Assembly & Transfer of PowerMountbatten Plan (1947), Partition, Indian Independence Act, major dates
Communalism & PartitionCauses of communal tensions, Direct Action Day, refugee flows, princely states
Princely States & IntegrationPolicies, accession of Hyderabad, Junagadh, Jammu & Kashmir basics
Peasant & Labour Movements (20th century)Khilafat and its agrarian impact, Bardoli, Tebhaga, Telangana; trade unions
Role of Press, Education & LiteratureVernacular press, English press, reform through print, national education
Women & Social ReformWomen leaders, social legislation (Child Marriage Restraint Act, Widow Remarriage), women in movements
Religious & Cultural MovementsBrahmo/Arya impacts, Islamic reform movements, cultural nationalism
Important Personalities & BiographiesGandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Tilak, Gokhale, Bose, Jinnah, Savarkar, etc.
Important Acts, Committees & ReportsRegulating Act, Pitt’s Act, Montagu-Chelmsford, Simon, Cripps, Cabinet Mission
Chronology & Timeline PracticeKey dates 1757–1947, movement-wise timelines
Maps & Geography-Linked HistoryCenters of 1857, major naval/port towns, Princely states map practice
Historiography & SourcesOrientalists, Utilitarians, Nationalist historians, Tribal/peasant studies
Post-1947 (brief) — Relevance to Modern HistoryImmediate aftermath: refugee resettlement, first constitution, integration outcomes
* * All the Notes in this blog, are referred from Tamil Nadu State Board Books and Samacheer Kalvi Books. Kindly check with the original Tamil Nadu state board books and Ncert Books.