Best Reference Books for IAS, IPS, IFS and other UPSC Examinations

The best reference books for IAS, IPS, IFS and other UPSC Examinations as recommended by the toppers are given below with online store links. Buy them today and start preparing for the chosen examination at least for one year. Mere having these valuable books in your library is not sufficient. If you are self disciplined person, you can proceed with self-study. Yet, we know, many of us are not self-driven. It is better to choose a neary mentor who can guide you and motivate your regularly.

1. NCERT Text books from STD VI to XII
2. India Year Book for the current affairs.
3. Brief History of Modern India by Rajiv Ahir.
4. Economic Survey by Ministry of India
5. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
6. Certificate Physical and Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
7. Oxford School of Atlas
8. Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
9. Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
10. General Studies Manual Paper II (CSAT) by McGraw Hill
11. TN State Board Books from Class VI to XII

How to read a book and take down notes.

1. We can classify a book into two types: technical and non-technical.
2. Select a topic of interest to you.
3. List the concepts given in the chosen topic. This is called Topic Tree. It helps you as a checklist of concepts.
4. List the key terms and definitions given in the summary of the topic in a flashcard.
5. In case of technical books, you have to include the important formulae or equations.
6. Draw the important diagrams given in the technical books. Convert them into infographics flashcards.
7. Go through each paragraph and underline the important terms.
8. Prepare a concept map by linking these key terms.
9. Note down the bullet notes as Cornell notes.
10. Combine a few concept maps into sketch notes.
11. Prepare a concept wise question bank from the previous year question papers, preferably desctriptive type.
12. Select at least 6 descriptive type questions and build up your answers in the Guided Practice (GP) Notebook. Get your answers validated by your mentor or teacher.
13. Practice Time Managed Test Practice for 6 questions from GP. This is called TP. Your target should be 0.5 mark per minute, that is, you should score 10 /10 for a ten marks question in 20 minutes. If you cannot finish within the time frame, write level-2 or level-3 to finish all questions with centum marks in the given time.
14. Once you finish a chapter completely, write a unit test from the TP questions.
15. You should score Centum within 3 attempts.
16. For all these learning tasks you need a mentor. Join Saitechinfo and crack your Examination.
17. NOTE: Mere joining in any branded coaching centre will not guarantee any pass in the competitive examinations. Your sincere effort, time management, self discipline, your own well-known Mentor and repeated writing are success factors for any examination.