What are some indispensable sources to go through for UPSC CSE Prelims Preparation?
Click on read more to get detailed sources including Syllabus, Previous Years Question Papers and Much More
What are some indispensable sources to go through for UPSC CSE Prelims Preparation?
- Syllabus
Going thoroughly through the syllabus is one of the most important parts of the preparation. It acts as a navigator and provides a certain direction in which the work is supposed to be done. Hence having a good idea about the syllabus saves a lot of time and energy.
- Previous year questions
Another tool that acts as a navigator for the aspirants are the previous year questions that help the aspirant understand the nature of the exam, the way questions are formulated and the techniques that can be used to decode the answers to these questions.
- Newspapers
The importance of daily newspaper reading cannot be overstressed for clearing UPSC CSE. Analyzing the previous year questions provides an insight into the huge weightage of current affairs based questions that are asked in the prelims exam. One can make crisp and relevant notes as and when they read the newspaper.
- NCERTs
It acts as a perfect foundation for the advanced reading later on. NCERT book reading helps to build basic concepts which are provided in a very lucid way. Also many of the questions in the previous year’s prelims examination have been directly taken from these books.
- Advanced books and Value addition material
Although a majority of the preparation for both prelims and mains go together, still here are some prelims specific booklist (i.e. excluding parts of Disaster Management, World History, Ethics etc.) :-
History
- Old NCERT by RS Sharma. [Ancient History]
- Old NCERT by Satish Chandra [Medieval History]
- A Brief history of Modern India- Spectrum Publications [Modern Indian History]
- Indian art and culture notes by Nitin Singhania
- KSGIndia New History study material
Economy
- Macroeconomics – NCERT Class XII
- Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
- Economic Survey [Selective reading for prelims can be done from any coaching’s youtube videos on it]
Geography
- NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus)
- NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus)
- Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong [ Selective reading of important terms related to features of various landforms + a general understanding of climates of the world]
- KSGIndia New Geography study material. [Comprehensive coverage of the entire syllabus. Its also filled with many apt diagrams.]
- Atlas-Maps [ttk publications or Study today publications]
Polity
- Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
- KSGIndia’s New Polity material is a good add-on.
International Relations
- Current Affairs [ Newspaper and monthly compilations]
Environment and Biodiversity
- Shankar IAS book
Current Affairs
- The Hindu and/or The Indian Express
- KSGIndia CurrentConnect for detailed analysis of selective topics important from prelims point of view.
