Books & Strategy for UPSC Optional Subjects

Upsc preparation strategy, upsc optional preparation strategy, books for upsc optional subjects, necessary books for upsc ias, five important books for upsc ias, strategy for optional subject

Books & Strategy for UPSC Optional Subjects

UPSC conducts Civil Services Examination every year for the recruitment of various civil services. It is one of the toughest exams in India to crack. You need to do hard work and you have to be dedicated throughout your preparation.

The most important thing to clear the exam is the correct choice of study material or books. So, in this article, we are going to tell you about the books for various optional subjects.

The optional subject is the only choice you have in your exam. So choose your subject smartly. As optional subject helps you to score well in your overall marks. So, another important thing comes is from where you read the syllabus don’t worry about that. We are going to tell you the books available for various optional subjects.

You can also purchase some of the books by clicking on them.

Also read: The motivational journey of Shalini Duhan 2015 UPSC Topper, Rank 21

Geography

Paper 1:

1. Physical Geography – Majid Hussain/ Savindra Singh
2. Modern Physical Geography – Strahler and Strahler (Optional)
3. Certificate Physical and Human Geography – Goh Cheng Leong
4. Physical Geography Made Simple – Rupa Publication
5. Dictionary of Physical Geography – Penguin
6. Evolution of Geographical Thought – Majid Hussain
7. Economic and Social Geography Made Simple – Rupa Publication
8. Models in Geography – Majid Hussain
9. Dictionary of Human Geography
10. Oxford Student Atlas

Paper 2:

1. India – A Comprehensive Geography – Khullar
2. Regional Planning in India – Mahesh Chand
3. India Year Book – Publication Division
4. Yojana and Kurukshetra Magazines

Public Administration

1. Indian Public Administration – Arora and Goyal
2. Public Administration In India 1st Edition – Maheshwari
3. Public Administration In India – B L Fadia (optional)
4. Public Administration – Laxmikant
5. Administrative Thinkers – Prasad and Prasad
6. New Horizons of Public Administration – Mohit Bhattacharya
7. Public Administration – Fadia and Fadia
8. Public Administration and Public Affairs 12th Edition – Nicholas Henry
9. Essentials Of Organizational Behaviour10th Edition – Robbins, Sanghi, and Judge

History

1. History of Modern India – Shekhar Bandopadhyaya/Bipan Chandra
2. India’s Struggle For Independence – Bipan Chandra and Others
3. India’s Ancient Past – R.S. Sharma
4. The Wonder That Was India – A.L. Basham
5. Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas – Romila Thapar
6. Medieval India: From Sultanat to Mughals – 1- Satish Chandra
7. Medieval India: From Sultanat to Mughals -2 – Satish Chandra
8. Mastering Modern World History – Norman Lowe
9. History of the World – Arjun Dev

Also read: The best way to read The Hindu Newspaper for UPSC CSE.

Sociology

Paper 1:

1. Sociology – Anthony Giddens
2. Sociology – Harlombos and Holborn
3. Sociological Thought – Francis Abraham and John Henry Morgan
4. Political Theory – O P Gauba

Paper 2:

1. Social Change in India – M N Srinivas
2. Modernization of Indian Tradition – Yogendra Singh
3. Handbook of Indian Sociology – Veena Das
4. Indian Society and Culture – Nadeem Hasnain
5. Rural Sociology – Doshi and Jain
6. Social Background of Indian Nationalism – A R Desai
7. Economics

Paper 1:

1. Microeconomics – Ahuja, and Koutsyansis
2. Macroeconomics – Ahuja, and Mankiw
3. International Economics – Salvatore and M.C Vaish
4. Public Finance – Lekhi, Balton, and Bhatia
5. Money and Banking – Gupta and Ahuja
6. RBI Website
7. Growth and Development – Mishra and Puri
8. Debraj Ray – Development Economics

Paper 2:

1. Indian Economy – Mishra and Puri
2. Indian Economy – Dutt and Sundaram
3. Indian Economy – Uma Kapila
4. Economic Survey
5. Any One Business Newspaper:
6. ET
7. The Economist
8. Financial Express

Political Science

1. A History Of Political Thought: Plato To Marx – Mukherjee and Susheela Ramaswamy
2. Introduction to Political Theory – O P Gauba
3. Political Theory – Rajeev Bhargava
4. Politics – Heywood
5. Global Politics – Heywood
6. International Relations -Khanna
7. Foundations of Indian Political Thought – V R Mehta
8. Introduction to the Constitution of India – D D Basu
9. India’s Struggle For Independence – Bipan Chandra
10. Indian Government and Politics – B L Fadi
11. Does The Elephant Dance? Contemporary India Foreign Policy – Malone

Must see: The preparation strategy for Commerce & Accountancy for UPSC Optional

Medical Science

1. Human Anatomy—BD Chaurasia books of Anatomy (all three volumes)
2. Embryology from I B Singh
3. Human Physiology– Ganong Guyton a
4. Biochemistry– by U. Satyanarayan’s book.
5. Pathology– Pathological basis of disease by Robbins and Cotran.
6. Pharmacology– K D Tripathi’s book
7. Microbiology– D R Arora’s book.

Medical parasitology

1. Forensic medicine – Essentials of Forensic medicine and Toxicology by Dr. K S Narayan Reddy.
2. Preventive and social medicine– K Park’s
3. General Medicine – Emergency medicine by SN Chugh.
4. General Surgery – Clinical surgery by S Das.
5. Pediatrics – Essential pediatrics by O P Ghai, Paul and Bagga.
6. Deramatology– Illustrated synopsis of Dermatology and sexually transmitted diseases by Neena Khanna.

Also read: The preparation strategy for Civil Engineering for UPSC Optional

Commerce

Paper 1:

Accounting

Corporate Accounting – Naseem Ahmed
Accounting Standards- D. S. Rawat (Cover AS 1-20, 22 & 26 in detail & practice numerical also).

Cost Accounting

Cost Accounting: Theory & Problems- Maheshwari & Mittal (Selected topics to cover the syllabus of UPSC only).

Auditing

Students’ Guide to Auditing- Aruna Jha (Taxmann) (Selected topics only)

Taxation

Income Tax book by V.K. Singhania
Income Tax book by Girish Ahuja
Income Tax book by Mr. Bhavin Pathak.

Financial Management

Financial Management: Text & Problems- Khan & Jain
Financial Markets & Institutions
Indian Financial System- M.Y. Khan
Financial Institutions & Markets- L.M. Bhole

Paper 2:

Organisation Theory & Behaviour

Organisation Behaviour- L.M. Prasad

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management- C.B.Gupta
Human Resource Management- K. Ashwathapa (Tata McGraw Hill)

Industrial Relations

Industrial Relations- T.N. Chabra & R.K.Suri
Dynamics of Industrial Relations- C.B. Mamoria & Satish Mamoria

Also see: The preparation strategy for Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science for UPSC

5 Important Books for UPSC IAS

Bureaucracy Gets Crazier: IAS Unmasked – M.K.Kaw 

The Honest Always Stand Alone – C.G.Somiah

The Service Of The State: The IAS Reconsidered

Untouchables: My Family’s Triumphant Escape from India’s Caste System – Narendra Jadhav 

An Outsider Everywhere: Revelations By An Insider 

Also read: The preparation strategy for Chemistry for UPSC Optional

Strategies For Choosing Optional Subject

Many candidates cannot decide that what will be the best optional subject for UPSC. It depends on person to person. But the basic strategies behind the optional subject for all the candidates is same. So we are going to tell you that strategy:

Scoring optional.
Most popular optional.
Easy to understand.
Availability of study materials.
The subject which is based on your previous studies.
Optional that gave the best results.

These are some basic things which everyone thought before choosing an optional subject. So, put this in your mind while choosing your optional subject.

Also see: Hear from toppers – The questions asked in UPSC Interview

We hope that now you can easily find study materials for your optional subject and you will also think smartly while choosing an optional subject.