General Studies Paper I (Prelims)

History

  • Ancient India – RS Sharma (Old NCERT)
  • Medieval India – Satish Chandra (Old NCERT)
  • Modern India – A Brief History of Modern India by Spectrum Publications
  • India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
  • Art and Culture – An Introduction to Indian Art Part 1 (NCERT) and Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania

Geography

  • Fundamentals of Physical Geography – Class 11 NCERT
  • India: Physical Environment – Class 11 NCERT
  • India: People and Economy – Class 12 NCERT
  • Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G.C. Leong
  • World Atlas – Oxford/Orient BlackSwan Atlas

Polity

  • Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth
  • Introduction to the Constitution of India – D.D. Basu (for additional insights)

Economy

  • Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh
  • Economic Development & Policies in India – NCERTs (Class 11 and 12)
  • Economic Survey and Union Budget – Government of India (latest editions)

Environment & Ecology

  • Environment & Ecology – Vaishali Anand (comprehensive guide for environment topics)
  • Biology (Class 12 NCERT) – for basics on ecology and environmental science
  • Current Affairs – Down to Earth magazine or other environment publications for current issues

Science & Technology

  • NCERT Science Books (Classes 6–10) – for foundational knowledge
  • Ravi P Agrahari Book (Comprehensive coverage from basics to essentials)
  • Newspapers and monthly current affairs for updates on recent developments in science and technology

Current Affairs

  • Newspapers: The Hindu, The Indian Express (for daily news)
  • Magazines: Yojana, Kurukshetra (for issues on rural development, social justice, etc.)

CSAT (Prelims Paper II)

  • Analytical Reasoning – M.K. Pandey
  • Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning – R.S. Aggarwal
  • Practice reading comprehension and basic mathematics using previous years’ question papers.