NCERT Books for UPSC: Which Classes, Which Order

UPSC does not prescribe NCERT books; apart from the texts set for the literature optionals, its notice names no books at all. We suggest NCERT's textbooks as a first layer because they explain the basics of history, geography, polity, economy, society and science in plain language, and NCERT puts its textbooks online as PDFs on its own website.

The titles below are exactly as NCERT prints them, checked against NCERT's textbook page and each book's title page on 2 October 2026. The "use it for" column is our own mapping to the UPSC syllabus, not UPSC's.

NCERT has brought out new textbooks for Classes 6 to 9, such as Exploring Society: India and Beyond. Its textbook page no longer lists the older Class 6, 7 and 9 social science books, though some older Class 8 titles are still there. If a booklist you find elsewhere names a book that is not below, check NCERT's site.

Classes 6 to 10: the foundation

Start here if you have not studied a subject since school.

Class	Book	Use it for (our mapping)
6	Exploring Society: India and Beyond (social science)	Basics for history, geography and polity (prelims, GS I, GS II)
7	Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Part 1 and Part 2	As above
8	Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Part 1 and Part 2	As above
9	Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Part 1	As above
6, 7, 8	Curiosity (science)	General science for the prelims
9	Exploration (science)	General science for the prelims
10	India and the Contemporary World – II (history)	History of India and the national movement; world history (prelims, GS I)
10	Contemporary India – II (geography)	Geography of India (prelims, GS I)
10	Democratic Politics – II (political science)	Polity and governance (prelims, GS II)
10	Understanding Economic Development (economics)	Economic development (prelims, GS III)
10	Science	General science (prelims)
10	Mathematics	CSAT numeracy and data interpretation, which the syllabus sets at Class X level

Classes 11 and 12: the core

These are the books we map to most of the General Studies syllabus. If you studied a subject in college, you can start here and go back to the lower classes only for gaps.

Subject and books (class)	Use it for (our mapping)
History: Themes in World History (11); Themes in Indian History, Parts I, II and III (12)	History of India (prelims); Indian heritage and world history (GS I)
Geography: Fundamentals of Physical Geography (11); India Physical Environment (11); Fundamentals of Human Geography (12); India People and Economy (12)	Indian and world geography (prelims, GS I)
Political science: Indian Constitution at Work (11); Political Theory (11); Contemporary World Politics (12); Politics in India since Independence (12)	Polity and international relations (prelims, GS II); post-independence India (GS I)
Economics: Indian Economic Development (11); Introductory Macroeconomics (12)	Economy (prelims, GS III)
Sociology: Introducing Sociology (11); Understanding Society (11); Indian Society (12); Social Change and Development in India (12)	Indian society (GS I)
Fine arts: An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (11); An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II (12)	Indian culture: art forms and architecture (GS I)
Knowledge traditions: Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I (11)	Indian culture (GS I)
Biology: Biology (12)	Its Ecology unit for environment and biodiversity (prelims, GS III); its units on biology in human welfare and biotechnology for science and technology (GS III)

NCERT also lists Class 11 and 12 books in physics, chemistry and mathematics, among others. They matter mainly if you take one of those subjects as your optional.

A suggested reading order

This is our suggestion, not a rule. Adjust it to what you already know.

1. Read the syllabus first. Keep the prelims and mains syllabus beside you, so you know what to take from each chapter.
2. Go subject by subject, not class by class. Finish one subject from its lower-class book to Class 12 before you start the next. We suggest starting with history, polity and geography.
3. Read each book once straight through, then a second time with notes. The first reading gives you the story; the second is for the facts and terms you will need.
4. Test each subject with UPSC's papers. After a subject, try its questions from previous year papers to see what the books did not cover.

Getting the books

NCERT's "Textbooks PDF (I-XII)" page, at ncert.nic.in/textbook.php, lets you pick a class, a subject and a book, and download it chapter by chapter. NCERT also lists Hindi editions of most of these books, for example Bharatiya Itihas ke kuchh Vishay for Themes in Indian History, and Urdu editions of many.

What NCERT books do not cover

• Current events. The prelims syllabus starts with current events, and much of GS II and GS III is about live issues. See how to read the newspaper.
• The economy as it stands. For that, read the Economic Survey and the Budget documents. See the UPSC booklist.
• Ethics, essay and your optional. GS IV, the essay and your optional need their own preparation, starting from their syllabus.