Must Have Books for UPSC IAS Preliminary Exam 2014 ( General Studies + CSAT)

Are you a first timer willing to attempt  CSAT 2014.

You attempt CSAT 12 or CSAT 13 and want to make one last serious attempt of CSAT 2014.

When to start and where to begin with for preparing CSAT 2014?

How many hours do i need to study per day?

Can i prepare along with my job?

Which books should i refer for the CSAT 2014 preparation?

Whats the syllabus for CSAT 2014?

Well guys these are the kind of questions emerging in the minds of all UPSC IAS aspirants.

For all UPSC IAS aspirants for CSAT 2014, the only real mantra for success will be regular studies, time management and right set of books in your hand.Syllabus for CSAT 2014 stands unchanged. Its same as of  CSAT 2012 and CSAT 2013

The books you refer play a very important role in the outcome of your results. No point digging round and round the subject. One must be really very very careful in selection of their books for preparation of UPSC IAS CSAT Exams.We have listed down the set of books for preparation of CSAT 2014 as followed by many successful IAS students and recommended by most of them.

PAPER 1(General Studies)

1) Must have books and Question Bank covering full syllabus for CSAT Paper 1 (2014)

a. General Studies for Civil Services Preliminary Examination Paper - 1 (2014) 1st Edition

This book is a must for ever civil services IAS aspirant and CSAT 2014. Its the well detailed book covering almost entire syllabus with indepth information regarding all topics and most importantly it has topic wise MCQs(Multiple Choice Questions) for practice for every topic. Hence student can check his preparedness along with the studies.

 

b) General Studies: 14000 Plus Objective Questions 3rd Edition by Manohar Pandey

This book is a question bank of more than 14000 MCQs(Multiple Choice Questions). It will give you an edge in better understanding of approaching the questions. All questions are set topic wise. You must cover one topic from your study material and attempt the MCQs from this book, this will bring you more clarity regarding your preparation level and clearing your concepts.

2. Books on Indian History

The syllabus for CSAT prelims covers Indian history only after 1857 till Independence.

Best approach here will be to start with NCERT books and then follow the below prescribed books.

Remember History is a static subject. What has already happened is never going to change and hence its easier to study and remember apart from some other dynamic subjects for which you will need to get updated continuously. We will cover those dynamic subjects and strategies to study them in upcoming posts.Like us on Facebook for regular updates.

a) India's Struggle for Independence  by Bipan Chandra

This book provides with extensive and exhaustive content you need to know for CSAT as well as Mains. This is the kind of book students revise multiple number of times before prelims and mains, and believe me students love reading it. It gives you in depth knowledge about Indian History since 1857. All over its a very good read.

b) NCERT Books: Class 11 and 12th Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India

 3. Geography Books for CSAT 2014

a) Indian and World Geography (Paper-1) by Majid Hussain : 

Covers all topics of the geography syllabus in entirety. Must be repeated multiple times.

b) NCERT books

c) Modern Atlas (Oxford): 
Along with above books the Atlas will prove to be very handy for covering the subject easily.

4) Indian Polity: 

Its the favourite subject of most of the aspirants and if well prepared it will fetch you maximum marks. Thinking of Indian Polity only two books comes into the mind of all successful candidates.

a) Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations by Laxmikanth: 

The author has framed the book with the sole purpose of Civil Services Exams. This book will be very handy for both Prelims and Mains exams. Read it 3 to 4 times at least. Language used is very easy to understand and interesting.

IMPORTANT:For Question Bank on Indian polity one must look for 1000 Plus Questions on Indian Polity: General Studies for Civil Services Preliminary Examination (Paper - 1)Check it Out

b) Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu: 

 One the students who already have gone through above book and still want an edge ahead on Indian polity should go for DD Basu. This is a best book for any Indian Polity enthusiasts and is recommended by multitude of people from different facets of Law Gurus for novices. The language is standard and u may feel bit jittery in the start but once u get the flow you will understand the gem of it. 

5) Indian Economy: 

For economy one must begin with NCERT books(+2 level) and get the regular reading of newspapers along with below prescribed book.

a)Indian Economy : For Civil Services Examinations 5th Edition by Ramesh Singh: 

It covers all the contents of the Indian Economy syllabus. Topic wise explanation in simple and lucid manner is provided by the author.

6) Indian Culture: 

In all Prelims few questions from Indian Culture are definitely included. Moreover Indian Culture has been specifically included in Mains now according to new syllabus. 

a) Facts of Indian Culture by Kalpana Rajaram: 

Be it Religions, Music, Dance, Drama, Architecture etc. the book will suffice your entire need of Indian Culture syllabus both for Prelims and Mains.

Paper 2  CSAT

Paper 2 will test your general mental ability and aptitude, your decision making skills, problem solving skills, risk taking skills and your hold on English.

a) Cracking the CSAT Civil Services Aptitude Test with Solved Papers:

 The one book covers all the aspects of your CSAT paper except English. Also it contains all solved papers of previous CSAT (paper 2) papers so that you can analyze what set of questions get repeated and the pattern of the exam. This one book is more than sufficient for preparing Paper 2.

b) Objective General English 2012 Edition by SP Bakshi

The book is simple and very easy to understand and will cover all English part of your Paper 2.

All above prescribed books are more than sufficient for your preparation of CSAT 2014.

Few things Civil Services Aspirants must remember that just having these books decorated on your table wont fetch you any results. One needs to have dedication and punctuality combined with the passion to become an IAS officer and serving the nation. Your zeal to win is directly proportional to your success. 

We will be coming up with further posts on best strategies to be followed while approaching towards CSAT 2014.

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