Tips To Make NCERT Notes For UPSC?
UPSC CSE is one of the toughest and the most challenging exam of the country. UPSC exam has a vast syllabus which is a bit difficult to cover if not studied strategically. Making notes for an exam is very crucial. Notes make revision easy especially during the last times as it is very difficult to go through every book during revision and you cannot memorize everything.
Below given are steps and strategies deeply analyzed by our expert team for making effective notes. Also there is a list of books suggested by the experts and toppers which the aspirants can refer to prepare effective notes for UPSC CSE exams
You can follow the strategy given below to boost your UPSC Civil Services exam preparation.
Step 1- Understand the UPSC Exam Pattern and Syllabus Deeply:
The UPSC CSE exam is conducted in three phases:
1- THE PRELIMS- a preliminary examination which consists of two objective-type papers
2- MAINS- a main examination that consists of nine papers that include essay writing, in which two papers are qualifying and only marks of seven are counted
3- An interview round
UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern–
The candidates should understand the exam pattern of the UPSC Prelims, for better understanding a table is given below-
| Two Compulsory Papers | • General Studies Paper-I • General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) |
| Number of Questions asked in GS Paper-I | 100 |
| Number of Questions asked in CSAT | 80 |
| Total Number of Marks | 400 marks that means 200 marks each for every subject |
| Negative Marking | For every incorrect answer 1/3 of the marks are deducted from the allotted question |
| Time Allotted | Two hours each |
The subjects in Prelims are common and compulsory to all the students. But there are optional subjects in the mains exam.
UPSC Prelims Syllabus for Paper-1 (GS-1)
Listed below is the syllabus for GS-1 that is General Studies Paper -1
• Current events of national and international importance
• Current affairs
• Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, and Economic Geography of India and the World
• Indian History
• Indian National Movement
• Economic & Social Development (Poverty, Demographics, Sustainable Development, Social Sector Initiatives)
• Biodiversity
• General Issues on Environmental Ecology
• Climate Change
• General Science
• International Relations
• Indian Polity
• Indian Governance
UPSC Prelims Syllabus Paper-2 (CSAT)
Listed below is the syllabus for GS-2 that is General Studies Paper -1 or CSAT- Civil Services Aptitude Test.
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills
• Comprehension
• Decision-making and problem-solving
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (orders of magnitude, numbers and their relations & others)
• Data Interpretation (Charts, Tables, Graphs Data Sufficiency, etc. Class 10 level knowledge would be sufficient for these topics.
UPSC Mains Exam Pattern-
• After clearing the Prelims the candidate is eligible to appear for the main exam which is the second phase of the UPSC exam.
• The Mains examination constitutes of total 9 papers
• Two papers of language out of 9 are the qualifying papers of 300 marks each
• These two qualifying papers are English Language Papers and Any Indian Language
• The papers on General Studies, Essay and Optional Subjects of only those candidates are evaluated who get 25% marks in both language exam papers. If a candidate fails to do so the marks are not counted.
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
| Paper-I | Essay (can be written in the medium of the candidate’s choice) | 250 |
| Paper-II | General Studies – I (Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society) | 250 |
| Paper-III | General Studies – II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice & International Relations) | 250 |
| Paper-IV | General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management) | 250 |
| Paper-V | General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude) | 250 |
| Paper-VI | Optional Subject – Paper I | 250 |
| Paper-VII | Optional Subject – Paper II | 250 |
Mains GS-II (Paper I) Syllabus
Qualifying Papers on Indian Languages and English
Structure of the language papers:
The types of questions asked are –
1. Essay – 100 marks
2. Reading comprehension – 60 marks
3. Precise Writing – 60 marks
4. Translation:
• English to compulsory language (e.g. Hindi) – 20 marks
• Compulsory language to English – 20 marks
Grammar and basic language usage – 40 marks
The rest of the seven papers can be written in any of the languages mentioned under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India or in English.
The pattern of the papers is as follows-
English Language:
• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precise Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays.
Indian Languages:
• Comprehension of given passages.
• Precise Writing.
• Usage and Vocabulary.
• Short Essays.
Translation from English to the Indian Language and vice-versa.
Mains GS-II (Paper II) Syllabus
Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics.
They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. The more exact and efficient the writing is the better you score.
General Studies -1 Syllabus
Also known as Paper-II of UPSC Mains. The syllabus here includes- Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.
Let us have a look at the detailed syllabus of General Studies-1:
The topic Indian culture includes Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
| • Modern Indian History |
| • The Medieval History |
| • The Indian Freedom Struggle, Freedom fighters and their contributions. |
| • India Post-independence |
| • History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc. |
| • Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India. |
| • Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues |
| • Poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies. |
| • Effects of globalization on Indian society. |
| • Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism. |
| • Salient features of world’s physical geography. |
| • Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India). |
| • Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone. etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes. |
Mains GS-II (Paper III) Syllabus
| 1. Indian Constitution- a detailed study |
| 2. Federal Structure |
| 3. Distribution of Power |
| 4. Comparison between other nations and Indian Constitution |
| 5. Parliament and State legislatures |
| 6. Indian Executive and Indian Judiciary |
| 7. Representation of People’s Act. |
| 8. Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies |
| 9. Various quasi-judicial bodies |
| Government policies and implementation |
| The role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders |
| Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections |
| Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sectors Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources |
| Issues relating to poverty and hunger |
| Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures |
| Role of civil services in a democracy |
| India and its neighbourhood- relations |
| Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests |
| Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests |
| Important International institutions and agencies. |
Mains GS-III (Paper IV) Syllabus
| 1. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment |
| 2. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it |
| 3. Government Budgeting |
| 4. Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers |
| 5. Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing |
| 6. Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management |
| 7. Land reforms in India |
| 8. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth |
| 9. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways and others |
| Investment models |
| Science and technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life |
| Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and development of new technology. |
| Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights |
| Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment |
| Disaster and disaster management |
| Linkages between the development and spread of extremism |
| Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security |
| Challenges to internal security through communication networks, the role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money laundering and its prevention |
| Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism |
| Various Security forces and agencies |
Mains GS-IV (Paper V) Syllabus
| 1. Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. Human Values -lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; the role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values |
| 2. Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion |
| 3. Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections |
| 4. Emotional intelligence concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance |
| 5. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world |
| 6. Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance |
| 7. Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption. |
Mains Optional Paper (VI & VII) Syllabus-
It is very necessary to choose an optional subject which is right for you and helps you score better marks. Many candidates do their graduation in fields that they wish to choose their optional subjects in the UPSC exam or even you can choose the subject which you are most familiar to. Choose a subject which you feel is easy for you and has less syllabus to cover. Many applicants adopt the overlapping technique, in which they select an optional subject that is also a significant component of General Studies. Optional choice should be made correctly as this can boost your marks in the final exam.
Here is a list of total 48 optional subjects in the UPSC Mains exam, which includes 25 core subjects and 22 Literature optional.
| • Agriculture |
| • Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science |
| • Anthropology |
| • Botany |
| • Chemistry |
| • Civil Engineering |
| • Commerce and Accountancy |
| • Economics |
| • Electrical Engineering |
| • Geography |
| • Geology |
| • History |
| • Law |
| • Management |
| • Mathematics |
| • Mechanical Engineering |
| • Medical Science |
| • Philosophy |
| • Physics |
| • Political Science and International Relations |
| • Psychology |
| • Public Administration |
| • Sociology |
| • Statistics |
| • Zoology |
Literature-
| • Assamese, |
| • Bengali, |
| • Bodo, |
| • Dogri, |
| • Gujarati |
| • Hindi, |
| • Kannada, |
| • Kashmiri, |
| • Konkani, |
| • Maithili, |
| • Malayalam, |
| • Manipuri, |
| • Marathi, |
| • Nepali, |
| • Oriya, |
| • Punjabi, |
| • Sanskrit, |
| • Santali, |
| • Sindhi, |
| • Tamil, |
| • Telugu, |
| • Urdu, |
| • English. |
The candidate needs to choose any one of the optional subject from the above given list. You can also analyze the success rate of different optional subjects and then make a choice.
Step 2- Choose Note Making Format:
The two most common NCERT-making styles used by toppers are:
1. Linear Method- Here, you can use headings, highlights & capitals using symbols, abbreviations & bullet points to organize brief notes.
2. Pattern or Horizontal Method- Pattern note-making can be done by organizing keywords & concepts like a mind map by using colors & diagrams to understand complex ideas easily.
• Never use paragraphs or long descriptions. Underline or highlight key words and make bullet points whenever possible as it will help you filter information quickly. Long paragraph writing wastes a lot of time.
• You can use sticky notes to write important points or things you find difficult to learn, this will make revision easy.
• Create flow charts since pictographic information is easier to read and remember. It will also help you remember points easily for making descriptive answers from a chain of events, especially in History or Polity subjects.
• Write notes in short and easy to grasp way. Create UPSC Notes for NCERTs in a Where, When, and How format. Make notes in your own language and don’t resort to re-writing exact long sentences used in the textbook.
• Don’t make very lengthy notes; instead try completing them in few pages.
• Short and easy notes make learning process easy and save time.
Step 3- Read Text-Books:
Reading books provides you a plenty of information and ways to make notes. You can take a class-wise or subject-wise approach for reading NCERT books. In total, there are about 40-45 books from class 6th to class 12th. Try to read books multiple times. Initially, when you read the books do not make the notes on first time and try understanding the topics and points. In second or third readings, try to note down key topics from each chapter and subject to memorize them thoroughly. Second time reading will help you understand the important points of the chapter and the things you need to remember.
Step 4- Get Digital-
Use digital modes of note making. Instead of always sticking to a pen-and-paper format, use digital means like PDF notes, and flash charts whenever possible. Digital platforms can be very helpful in making notes. As there can be some mistakes during the first time and correcting them on pen paper is a bit tough but in digital mode there is no such problem of space and you can edit them whenever needed. You can edit your notes from wherever you want.
You can use the Textbook App and it will also save you a lot of manual writing time. You can read them whenever and wherever you want to.
Step 5- Practice Writing on Loose Sheets:
If you do not want or have access to digital mode or devices you can also switch to loose sheets. Manual writing of notes ultimately increases your learning and memory retention capacity. Writing manual notes will also enhance your writing skills.
Make notes on loose sheets or A4 papers and not on registers or note-books. It becomes difficult when it comes to add records or pages in between, but when you make notes on loose sheets, you can add sheets in between and update your records from time to time.
Step 6- Make short notes-
Making notes is one of the most important parts of your preparations. They make your preparation more strong. But at the same time this is a very lengthy process. You must avoid making very long notes. The notes you make should be precise, to the point, understandable, readable and short so that you can read them on last time before the exams. It makes learning easy and helps to revise the syllabus easily while consuming less time. Always keep in mind that the NCERT notes for UPSC you make are in bullet form. Long paragraphs are just a waste of time.
Step 7- Use Flowcharts and Diagrams-
You can make flowcharts and mind maps they are easy to understand. Flowcharts and mind maps help learning things more easily and cover all the important points of the topic. Create flow charts since pictographic information is easier to read and remember. It will also help you remember points easily for making descriptive answers from a chain of events, especially in Biology, History or Polity subjects. In Polity there is a lot of information about government systems and their models, so for that part, one can easily make a chart. Making flowcharts and min maps save a lot of time and make note making process easier and also help in memorizing points for longer period of time.
Step 8- Use Newspapers:
Newspaper reading is very crucial for the UPSC prelims and mains exams. Newspapers keep you updated with current events happening in India and world. Always try to make short notes in a ‘year-event-person’ format from long editorials or columns in your notebook. When you read a newspaper there are a lot of articles which are directly related to some of the other subjects. Always try making records or short points for the articles or editorials which you think are important. Writing an answer which is related to current affairs always helps you get more marks compared to writing a generic answer. Giving examples of current events and affairs always impresses the examiner.
Step 9- Keep on Updating the Notes-
You need to keep yourself updated with current affairs and events. This helps you to gather the latest information for your exams and you would not commit mistakes in the questions related to current affairs. This also helps you in the revision time as you have your own updated and detailed content.
Step 10- Make Template Answers-
After you are done reading a topic or one subject, make a list of possible questions which could come out of the topic and make a template answer for them.
By doing this you save a lot of your time in the examination. You only get 8 minutes to write each answer and you can’t really waste your time in thinking about the content. Making templates makes it easier to remember the points and you can directly start writing the answer once you know what the question is about.
Step 11- Mistakes to Avoid While Making UPSC Notes:
Making notes that are effective and good is a very important part of UPSC preparations. Good notes boost your preparation and give you better results. Making notes can be a tough process and even you will mistakes in your first time. Here are some common mistakes that you should avoid while making notes this will make your notes more effective and preparations stronger.
1. Avoid writing complicated notes. Keep them simple and precise for better understanding and easy learning at the time of revision.
2. Instead of copying everything and writing long paragraphs try to rephrase the content in your own words to enhance.
3. Maintain a consistent format throughout your notes in order to make organized and well structured notes.
4. Regularly reviewing your notes helps reinforce your memory and understanding of the content. This will help you in memorizing it for longer time.
5. Do not copy any other candidate’s notes, make your own ones. Customize your note-making approach to match your learning style and preferences.
6. Utilize diagrams and visuals when necessary to illustrate complex concepts and make your notes more informative. Pictures help you in memorizing points for longer durations. You can even use flow charts and min maps as mentioned above.
7. Always date your notes to provide context and relevance, especially when dealing with time-sensitive information.
8. Highlight important points, keywords, dates and events.
9. Do not use very fancy language and difficult words, use wording that are easy to understand.
Why Is It Important To Make Notes?
Notes making is a very crucial step of preparation as discussed before. Making your own notes will always help you in revision times. This will boost your preparation for one of the toughest exam of the nation, UPSC Civil Services exam.
Study notes help students keep track of all they’ve learnt. It serves as a handy reference to consult when studying for exams. Writing notes while studying saves students’ energy and time during the exam, but it also allows them to recall information more quickly. It helps you understand what you are learning and clarify your thoughts. This helps in retaining the information for a longer period of time. Effective note-taking improves your learning abilities. By taking effective notes, candidates get actively engaged in the learning procedure by identifying and organizing the main topics/chapters for preparation and revision. This gives them an edge during exams in which they need to debate or describe a topic in detail. Creating concise notes helps you break down complex concepts, making them easier to retain and revise. When the exam date draws near, these notes become your quick reference guide for efficient revision.
Reading NCERT books from class VI to XII is a daunting task in itself given the number and size of books. It’s almost impractical to read and memorize around 40-45 books for all subjects after covering study materials. Preparing short and effective notes help you during revision times. Note-creation also helps aspirants to better approach descriptive answer writing in Mains. Preparing short and precise notes help you to do better revision of each subject.
Best Books for Making Notes-
Below given are some of the best books suggested by experts and toppers to prepare for UPSC exam-
Best Books for UPSC Prelims
History
o India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
o Indian Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania
o History of Medieval India (Old NCERT) – Satish Chandra
o ‘Concise History of Modern India’ – Sujata Menon
o NCERT 11th Ancient and Medieval
o NCERT 12th Modern Indian History
Geography
o World Atlas – Orient Black Swan
o Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong
o Fundamentals of Human Geography – NCERT
o India: Physical Environment – NCERT
o NCERT VI-X Old Syllabus
o NCERT XI, XII New Syllabus
Polity
o NCERT IX-XII
o Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
o The Constitution of India – PM Bakshi
o India’s Foreign Policy – Rajiv Sikri
o Introduction to the Constitution of India – DD Basu
o Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
Economics
o Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania
o The Indian Economy – Sanjiv Verma
o Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
o NCERT XI
International Relations
o Current Affairs
o NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics)
Current Affairs
o The Hindu
o Indian Express
o Yojana Magazine
o Economic and Political Weekly
o Kurukshetra Magazine
CSAT Books
o Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
o Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R S Aggarwa
Solved Question Papers
o IAS General Studies Prelims Solved Papers by Vishal Publications
| List Of UPSC Books For Mains GS Papers | ||
| Subject | Mains Paper | UPSC Books |
| History, Indian Heritage & Culture | GS Paper 1 | o Ancient India by RS Sharma o Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania o History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra o India after Independence by Bipan Chandra o India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra |
| Geography | o World Atlas (Orient Black Swan) o World Geography by Majid Husain o Geography of India by Majid Husain o Certificate Physical and Human Geography by G C Leong o Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11 | |
| Polity & International Relations | GS Paper 2 | o Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth o International Relations: Pushpesh Pant o Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu |
| Economy | GS Paper 3 | o Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania o Environment and Disaster Management by Tata McGraw Hill o Challenges to Internal Security of India by Ashok Kumar |
| Ethics | GS Paper 4 | o Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary |
Books for Mains Optional Paper-
| Optional Subjects | Book Name |
| Agriculture Books | o Fundamentals Of Agricultural Extension Education by U Barman o A Text Book of Agricultural Statistics R. Rangaswamy o Agronomy – Yellamanda Reddy o Entomology – Vasantha Raj & David o Genetics- B.D.Singh |
| Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | o A guide on forest Entomology – Regupathy o A Textbook Of Animal Husbandry- G C Banerjee o Advanced Animal Nutrition- D. V Reddy o Agricultural Economics- S Subba Reddy o Animal husbandry & veterinary science- T.N. Palanivelu |
| Anthropology Books | o Physical Anthropology – P Nath o Fossil Evidence – S Das o Social Anthropology – DN Majumdar & T N Madan o Indian Anthropology – Nadeem Hasnain o Anthropology Theories – Makhan Jha |
| Botany | o Cell Biology- De Robertis & Ambrose and Easy or Powar Cryptograms- B.R. Vasista o Botany for Degree Students; Pteridophyta (Vascular Cryptogams)-P.C. Vashishta o Ecology, Microbiology, Animal Behaviour, Pollution and Toxicology For B. Sc. Part III, Paper III- Dr Veer Bala Rastogi o Economic botany in the tropics- S. L. Kochhar |
| Chemistry | o A guide to mechanism in organic chemistry – Peter Sykes o A textbook of environmental chemistry and pollution – S.S. Dara. o A textbook of organic chemistry – Bahl & Ba o A textbook of physical chemistry (Vol. – IV) – K.L. Kapoor o Advance physical chemistry – Gurdeep Raj |
| Civil Engineering | o Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics – Irving Herman Shames o Strength of Material- Prof. S. Ramamrutham o Mechanics for Engineers- B Johnson o Structural Analysis- C. K. Wang o Limit state design of steel structures: S K Duggal |
| Commerce & Accountancy | o Accounting Corporate Accounting – Naseem Ahmed o Accounting Standards- D. S. Rawat o Auditing Students’ Guide to Auditing- Aruna Jha o Income Tax book by- V.K. Singhania or Girish Ahuja o Cost Accounting; Theory & Problems- Maheshwari & Mittal |
| Economics Books | o Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh o The Indian Economy – Sanjiv Verma o Indian Economy – Mishra and Puri o Indian Economy – R. Dutt and KPM Sundaram o Banking – S.B. Gupta o Dictionary of Economics – Graham Bannock; T.E. Baxter, Ray Rees |
| Electrical Engineering | o Electromagnetic Fields & Waves- Kd Prasad o Energy Conversion: Ashfaq Hussain o Circuit Theory: Analysis and Synthesis- A. Chakrabarti o Signals and Systems-Alan V. Oppenheim, Alan V. Willsky, S. Hamid Nawab o Physics of Semiconductor Devices – Simon Sze o Analog Electronics: J.B. Gupta o Digital Logic and Computer Design-M. Morris Mano o Principles of Electronics – V .K. Mehta |
| Geography Books | o A Geography by Population – R.C. Chandna o Agricultural Geography – Majid Husain o Climatology – D.S.Lal o Economic and Social Geography – Made Simple – R.Knowles & J.Wareing o Economic Geography- Hartshorn & Truman A |
| Geology | o Advancing Frontiers in Geology and Geophysics: A Volume in Honour of M.S. Krishnan- A P Subramaniam & S. Balakrishnano Ananda K. o Coomaraswamy Writings on Geology and Mineralogy: Scientific Papers and Comments- Ranganathan, A. & Rao, K. Srinivasa (Eds.) o Concise Glossary of Geology- Mathur, S.M. o Deccan Traverses: The Making of Bangalore’s Terrain-Mathur, Anuradha & Cunha, Dilip Da o Delta Sedimentation: East Coast of India- Singh, I.B. & Swamy, A.S.R. o Dimensions of Himalayan Geology- Biyani A.K. |
| History Books | o A History of South India -K.A. Nilkantha Sastri o Ancient India – Upinder Singh o Anatomy of the Raj (PPH) – Suhash Chakravarty o Age of Capital -E.J. Hobsbawm o The story of Civilization, Vol. 2 (NCERT) -Arjun Dev |
| Law | o International Law- S. K Kapooro Our Constitution – Subhash C. Kashyap o The Constitution of India (Bare Act) – PM Bakshi o An Introduction to Public International Law – S. K. Verma o Introduction to the Constitution of India – D.D Basu o Constitution of India- VN Shukla |
| Management | o Fundamentals of Management by DeCenzo, Agarwal, Bhattacharya and Robbins o Marketing Management by Philip Kotler o Cost and Management Accounting by MN Arora o Organization Behaviour by Stephen Robbins o Financial Management by Prasanna Chandra |
| Mathematics Books | o Dynamics, Statics and Hydrostatics – M. Ray o Differential Calculus – Shanti Narayan, PK Mittal o Analytic Geometry – Shanti Narayan, DK Jha, HC Sinha and Sharma o Differential equations:- Golden series – NP Bali o Vector Analysis – Shanti Narayan, PK Mittal o Linear Algebra – K.C. Prasad, K B Datta |
| Mechanical Engineering | o Thermodynamics – R Yadav o Theory of Mechanics – S S Rattan o Heat Conversion – Arora and Kundwar o Heat Transfer – Gupta Prakash o Heat and Mass Transfer – R. Yadav o Theory of Mechanism and Mechanics – Jagdish Lal |
| Medical Science | o Human Anatomy—B D Chaurasia o Embryology from I B Singh o Human Physiology– Ganong; Guyton and A.K. Jain book o Biochemistry– by U. Satyanarayana book. o Pathology– Robbins, and Cotran |
| Philosophy Books | o A History of Philosophy by Frank Thilly o Survey of Indian Philosophy by C D Sharma o Existentialism: A Reconstruction by David Cooper o An Introduction to Indian Philosophy- S Chatterjee o A History of Philosophy-Frank Thilly o An Introduction to Political Theory by O P Gauba o Introduction to Religious Philosophy By Y Masih |
| Physics | o Any fundamental book on electrical engineering like B.L Theraja (Vol 1) or Vincent Del Toro o Classical Mechanism -Gupta, Kumar & Sharma – Takewale & Puranik -H. Goldstein o Electricity & Magnetism: D.C. Tayal, B.S. Agarwal, Griffith o Introduction of Electrodynamics – David Griffiths o EM Theory -Chopra & Agarwal/Satya Prakash |
| Political Science & International Relations | o An Introduction To Political Theory- O.P Gauba o Fifty Major Political Thinkers- Ian Adams And R W Dyson o A History Of Political Thought: Plato To Marx – Subrata Mukherjee And Sushila Ramaswamy o An Oxford Companion To Politics In India-niraja Gopal Jayal And Pratap Bhanu Mehta o Foundations Of Indian Political Thought- V.R Mehta |
| Psychology | o Psychology XI & XII Std NCERT o Introduction to Psychology Morgan & King o Systems & Theories of Psychology Krawiec & Chaplin o Psychology by Morgan and King o Psychology by Ciccarelli |
| Public Administration Books | o Administrative Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad o Public Administration: Administrative Theories and Concepts by Fadia & Fadia o Public Administration and Public Affairs 12th Edition – Nicholas Henry o Mohit Bhattacharya- New horizons in Public administration o Mohit Bhattacharya- Pub Ad A new look |
| Sociology Books | o Sociology – Anthony Giddens o Sociological Theory – Ritzer George o Sociology – Haralambos & Holborn o Oxford Dictionary Of Sociology o Sociological Thought – M Francis Abraham and John Henry Morgan |
| Statistics | o An Introduction to Probability Theory & Mathematical Statistics -V K Rohtagi o An Outline of Statistical Theory (2 Vol.) -A M Goon, M K Gupta and B. Dass Gupta o Fundamentals of Applied Statistics- S C Gupta and V K Kapoor o Fundamentals of Mathematical Statistics-A C Gupta and V K Kapoor o Fundamentals of Statistics (2 Vol.)- A M Goon, M K Gupta and B Dass Gupta |
| Zoology | o Modern Zoology by Ramesh Gupta o Organic Evolution (Evolutionary Biology) by Veer Bala Rastogi o Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology o Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology o Cell Biology by CB Powar |
Supplementary Books for UPSC Preparations-
Some of the supplementary study materials from where candidates can prepare their notes for UPSC CSE are listed below.
1. 2nd ARC Report
2. Budget (Latest)
3. Economic Survey (Latest)
4. Niti Aayog Action Agenda
5. Finance Commission Report (Latest)
6. Annual reports by central ministries
7. Current Affairs – The Hindu newspaper, Yojana Magazine, PIB releases, Testbook UPSC Current Affairs, and more.
8. Yearbooks and reference books like India Year Book, Economic Survey, and Manorama Yearbook.
9. Informative videos from You Tube.
Conclusion-
Good and effective notes help you boost preparation of your exam. A candidate must inculcate positive attitude and mindset which is really very necessary before one starts to prepare for an exam. Self discipline is must. One should analyze the topics and syllabus then start the notes making process. It is very necessary to make effective notes so it helps you in scoring better marks and gives you an overall good ALL INDIA RANK. A proper schedule and effective learning can help a person to crack an examination with flying colors. Along with hard work it is very necessary to do smart work. One must not waste time on unnecessary topics or easy topics. Make easy, to the point and crisp notes. Clearing the UPSC exam is not easy but it is also not impossible. Hard work and dedication can help in achieving every dream in life. Also it is very necessary to keep yourself motivated throughout the journey. If you stay focused and prepare thoroughly you will definitely succeed.
We wish you all the very best for examination. Hope you achieve your dream and become an IAS officer one day. Keep hustling you will surely succeed.
