Welcome everyone to this video on the resource list and must read books for UPSC Civil Services Examination. So this is presented by me Akshat1 Saini. I have secured All India Rank 2 in this year's Civil Services Examination.
So I have been getting a lot of queries regarding my book list, my resource list. So this is the video for every one of you who wants to know this. So before moving on, I have a very important announcement to make.
So, I'll be teaching live on the Unacademy Plus platform. So, it is a platform which contains a lot of great courses such as this course on Economy by Mrunal sir, such as courses on Essay Writing and All by Roman Saini sir and other very good courses as well. So, it also contains test series which can be really beneficial to students like you and you can use this referral code Akshat1. So, you can use this referral code Akshat1 here and Through this referral code, you can get a 10% discount on an Academy Plus.
And please remember, I am going to be teaching general courses regarding the general studies, regarding prelims, regarding the interview process. So, you can get access to all such courses and all other great courses as well through this referral code of mine. So, please remember this code Akshat1. Okay, so let us move on to the lesson. Let us move on to our resource list here.
So, first of all, there are these certain points to remember, which I want to highlight. First of all, the syllabus and the previous year questions. These are the first elements of your resource list. Please remember without these two, your resource list cannot start. So, these are the first major elements always have these before yourself before whenever you are reading any topic from any book, please keep both of these things in front of you.
They will help you understand what is to be read and how is to be read. So, these are very important aspects. Second, less is more.
Please remember this less is more. So, keep your resources relevant and to the point limited. Please do not go for each and every resource that is available these days. Please keep that limited because ultimately your limited knowledge will suffice. You do not have to be an expert in each and every subject.
Third, the way of reading how you should proceed with the resource list. First, you should read the NCRTs. Then you should read the advanced books.
For example, Lakshmi, I consider it to be the advanced book for polity, spectrum for history and like that. And finally, you read the value edition material. So, what do we mean by value addition material? Basically, the current affairs magazines, the editorials, any government report. So, these are the value addition materials which add that extra value to your content.
So, this is the order. First, NCRTs, then the advanced books and finally, the value added material. And the fourth point, this is very important.
Once you decide the resource list, please just stick to it. I have seen what happens is that Each and every other day there is a new video on the resource list and people they tend to keep on changing their resource list. So please just decide, take your time, take 2-3 days and then just finalize it and please stick to it once you have decided.
So now let us move on to the exact resources of ours. So first of all GS1 history. So I am going to be telling the resources for the general studies.
First, and then in the end if there are any specific resources for prelims then I will highlight that, but I feel that always the preparation is based on mains. So, it is always main centric. So, that is why I am planning I have given the resources based on this order. So, first of all GS 1 history right.
So, I believe that the new NCRTs they are important for a basic foundation the class 6 to 12 NCRTs. So there is this debate going on about new and old NCRTs. I think you can choose any of them. So I went with the new NCRTs.
Why I am saying any of them? Because I think that NCRTs you just have to do a brief reading for history. Because for history NCRTs are not that important.
Because the main book here like I have put this sign this must read book here is Spectrum for Freedom Struggle. So this is the most important book. So, that is why I am saying just give a brief reading of the NCRTs, then give a very thorough reading of spectrum, the latest version, the latest volume, because I think the latest volume is very good both for prelims as well as mains.
So, please do read this book, I will definitely recommend and then for post independence, I refer to Nitin Sangwan's notes. So, the author has very beautifully summarized the Bipin Chandra's book on this particular topic and I think this topic given the number of questions that are being asked on this I think only such summary would be enough for you. And finally, for world history I refer to the notes of vision IES.
I think that you do not need to refer to extensive books on this particular topic as well as on post-independence India because very minimal questions are being asked and that is why you just go to these summarized notes and that too I believe that even vision IAS notes are a bit long. So, you have to be very brief. Okay.
So, this is regarding history. Next, art and culture. So, art and culture again is a component that confuses many students.
So, I read first of all the class 11th fine arts book which I believe is very important. It is a very good book and it is a small book as well and it contains all the essentials that you need. So, please go through this book. both from a prelims and mains perspective, it is very important. Then Nitin Singhania's Indian Art and Culture.
So everybody has heard about this. So this book I used to use as a supplement. My primary book was the introduction to fine art. And then I supplemented the gaps, my knowledge with this Nitin Singhania's book.
So you can do the same. Also, I refer to these old NCRTs on ancient India, on medieval India by the authors R.S. Sharma and Satish Chandra respectively.
So, I think you can be very brief in their reading because ancient India, medieval India, they are asked in prelims and these two books also contain certain sections on culture, art and culture, which can help you in mains as well. So, just a brief reading and then you can combine these four resources and make notes on that. So, I will be.
taking a separate video on note making but you can you can watch that as to see how to make notes on these resources. Okay, so moving on geography. So, geography is again an integral part of GS1. So, here in this case, NCRTs are very important for geography, especially class 11th and 12th. So, I would recommend that for class 6th and 10th, you just give it a brief reading.
But for class 11th and 12th NCRT, please give a very thorough reading. These are the must read books in case of geography. And these are very important.
Class 11 builds the entire base for physical geography, while class 12th it has that Indian perspective which is again very important. So, these two are the must read books here. For all these other four resources which I have mentioned here, these are to be used for conceptual clarity.
So, wherever you do not understand a particular content, a particular concept from NCRT, then you can refer to these four resources. So, there are these geography videos by Mrs. Rachita Nil, so these are available on Mrunal's website. So these are also good videos for conceptual clarity. Then there is this book on GC Leong.
So I think this is rather this should be used as a supplement and not as a primary book. And then you have this website known as PMF IAS. So again, this is also a good website. And I am just telling you that you need to refer only those topics in which you feel that you need more content or in which you feel that you need conceptual clarity.
So, only for such topics do you refer these three resources and obviously, you need an atlas in geography. So, you can choose any atlas you want, I do not think there is a compulsion to go with one or two. So, generally it is suggested to go with oxford atlas. So, you can choose any one that is fine.
Okay, so moving on all the remaining topics in GS1. So, there are topics like Indian society, women, population, urbanization, then the topics on globalization and then social empowerment and all. So, I did not refer any special material for these topics because I think these topics are very dynamic topics and rather than referring a special material on this what I did was I kind of covered it from the vision IAS current affairs material and test series.
So, the test which I was giving all the questions that were based on these topics I used to just see the model answer and then gather some content on it and make very short notes on these four topics. So, I think that is more than enough for these topics. So, you need not refer special material. Your current affairs knowledge that would be sufficient. Okay.
So, moving on GS2 constitution and polity. The first important element of GS2 is constitution and polity. So, for that obviously you start with the new NCERT's class 6 to 12th. But again be very brief.
These are not the important source for constitution and polity. Okay. Lakshmi Kant is the Bible for this particular segment and I am not the first person to say this.
I am not going to be the last person to say this. This is a very good book and this is the most important book. That is why the star sign for it.
It is a must read book here. So you just be you have to be very brief with NCRTs in this case. Do not give much time to them.
Just read them and then switch to this book, which is the most important book, Lakshmi Khan. And apart from that, this is a very dynamic component. So, that is why current affairs here play a very important role. So, the editorials that you read from newspapers, the current affairs material which you refer, I refer to the vision IES material and then PIB. PIB is a very important resource here in this case.
So, you get to know the government initiatives and all. And another very important resource I believe is PRS. So, PRS is very important when it comes to knowing what the parliament is doing, how the Lok Sabha has functioned, what all bills are pending, what has been the productivity of parliament. So, for that PRS helps a lot. So, I would recommend that these four sources for current affairs that are very very important because this is a dynamic topic.
Then, second ARC. So, in this case, for this particular segment, the sixth report, I believe that is important. So, that is a report on local governance. So, I will be coming to other reports as well, but for this particular segment, I will be coming to other reports as well. particular topic constitution and polity this particular report I referred to and I find that this is good one.
So, you just need to refer to the summary of recommendations. You need not go to the go and read the entire second ARC. So, it has certain good solutions, certain good recommendations which you can use in your answers. And finally, for certain topics like pressure groups, NGOs and all I refer to the vision IAS online notes.
So, I think Just so that I could have enough content on these particular topics, I did that. So, that is up to you to refer whatever topics you have, whatever resources you have. Okay.
So, moving on, governance. So, this is the second most important component of GS2. Okay.
So, here, second ARC reports form the backbone of your study. So, you can look at this. So, just have a look at these reports.
I have numbered them. So, you can just check. So, these all reports are available online. You can easily download them on the site of 2nd ARC. So, I have numbered the reports which I feel are important.
The first report. So, this report is on RTI. So, that is important because if you will see the syllabus RTI is an integral element. Then the fourth report that is ethics and governance and so on. So, I have numbered the reports 1st, 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th.
So, these six reports I feel are must read reports and you just need to have a look at the recommendations. A summary of these would be sufficient, no need to read the entire second ARC. So, you just have to see certain issues that are associated and certain recommendations of the committee to solve those issues.
So, that would be very good and you need to quote. second ARC extensively in your answers when it comes to questions related to governance. Then I referred to vision IS notes wherever I felt that there is certain information gap. So, just these notes are available online. So, I referred to them and then finally current affairs again it is very important.
So, again the same things editorial, vision IS material I referred and PRS and PIB. So, that is the same dynamic component here, but please do give emphasis on second ARC reports for governance. Okay.
So, moving on, there is another topic in GS2 by the name social justice. So, this is again an important topic which includes. Segments like the government policies and interventions, welfare schemes, the social sectors and services related to health, education and finally issues related to poverty and hunger. So these I have taken these words from the syllabus itself.
Right. So these are included in this particular section, social justice. So again, this is a very dynamic section.
So I covered it from current affairs, mostly from the editorials that I read from the current affairs material. Again, I. I followed vision and from PIB. So, because PIB you can get what government is doing with regards to all these particular topics on health, on education.
So, you can PIB has it summarizes all the government initiatives and that is why it is a very good source. And I also referred the NITI Aayog's three year action agenda. So, I referred I did not go through it completely because it is a very bulky document.
But what I did was I referred it on topics like health, on topics like education. So, just to see what solutions Niti Aayog is giving. And I used to note down a few important solutions and then in my answers I used to quote.
I used to say as per Niti Aayog's action agenda, following steps can be taken. So, that is why I think you have to be very selective. Just read 2-3 topics, education, health, skill development is also there in this agenda. So, you can just go through it and just read. the recommendations, read the issues that the Niti Aayog has been pointing out and then use them in your answers.
So, that adds value to your answers. This is the value addition material as I was talking about. There is second ARC and all such materials. And finally, budget and economic survey.
So, these are also very important. Budget and economic survey because they have a lot of initiatives with respect to these all issues, these all topics and their summaries I believe is sufficient. I have never read the entire budget, I have never read the entire economic survey.
I believe that the summaries are more than enough, so that would suffice and there are certain queries regarding whether they should read the previous year budget, previous year economic survey or not. I say please do not, just focus on the survey and the budget of that year in which you are appearing. So, that is more than enough and then you quote from these as per the economic survey following steps can be taken.
As per the budget 2018-2019 the government has taken following steps from with respect to education sector. So, that is how you quote these resources and they add a lot of value to your answer. So, this is about social justice. So, moving on. International relations.
So this is the final part of GS2. And again, this is a very dynamic part. So I did not refer any special book for it.
And also you have to read the editorials because almost every other day there is an editorial on international affairs. So that actually helps you build your own logic, your own opinion. And finally, there's the Ministry of External Affairs website, which you can refer. So it contains PDFs regarding India's relations with other countries, their history. what all areas of cooperation India is involved with respect to other countries and also you can refer to this as well.
But ultimately I believe that in my case the first one was more than enough for questions on international relations. I did not refer any special book. Okay, so now coming to GS3.
So, economy, the first major component and again in this case, the NCRTs are the most important book. The NCRTs of class 11th and 12th specifically. So, I will suggest you read the NCRTs from 9th to 12th. So, below 9, there is no NCRT for economy and these are the must read books for economy. They will help you build that base and I referred Sanjeev Verma's book.
So, you can choose any book I referred Sanjeev Verma because it is comparatively less bulky as compared to Ramesh Singh's book. So, I referred Sanjeev Verma and then current affairs naturally it is very very important for economy. So, I referred the editorials which I used to read, division IS material and again PIB. So, these are very important because it is a highly dynamic subject and finally budget and economic survey.
They are very very important must read again only the budget and economic survey of that year and summaries would suffice. And finally, I also referred online websites like Investopedia, Earthopedia. These websites I referred for conceptual clarity.
So I think they have explained certain economic concepts very beautifully. You can refer to these websites. Okay, so now environment, GS3 other component environment.
So, there are these last four chapters in the NCRT biology class 12th book. So, these chapters are number 13 to 16. So, you can refer them. They will help you build that base in environment which is needed.
Apart from that, I referred the Shankar IAS environment book. So, I will recommend you to be very brief when you are reading it. It is a bulky book, but... You just have to be brief and that is why it is manageable.
And then current affairs again environment is a very dynamic subject. You have to refer to the current affairs. Again the same things nothing else.
So, I refer to these materials and PMFIS that website which I mentioned for geography. It contains topics on environment as well and it can be used for conceptual clarity on topics like say ecotone. on topics like ecological succession. So, these topics sometimes you need that conceptual clarity to understand and that is why this site can help.
Internal security is again an a component of GS3. So, I refer to this book by Ashok Kumar and Vipul Internal Security and Disaster Management is the title of the book. So, that helped me build a base and apart from that again Current Affairs.
So, that would be enough for Internal Security and finally Disaster Management. So, for Disaster Management, there is the second ARC, third report Crisis Management. So, that is very important.
So, you just have to read that, you just go through the summary and also equally important are the NDMA Guidelines. Because UPSC, it has been asking verbatim guidelines from NDMA in the question paper. And these will help you get certain very good recommendations, very good solutions. So, NDMA guidelines, these are available online. I read them.
They are very good. And apart from that, obviously, current affairs. And there's this final component, science and tech, not to forget.
So, I did not do anything special for it. Only the Vision IS current affairs material and only the most important topics. For example, artificial intelligence, big data, these are topics that are very much in the news.
So only that I referred and obviously editorials you can do whichever come on science and tech. And finally, ethics GS4. So for that, this fourth report of ARC, second ARC ethics and governance, that is very, very important. That is must read. You have to extensively quote from this report.
And you can also read the 12th report, citizen centric administration. So, it has certain good solutions so as to improve that public engagement. So, again you can use it for ethics answers. And finally, I also referred to this book on ethics which is by Chronicle.
So, you can choose any book, you can refer to DK Balaji sir's book as well, I refer to Chronicle, choose one. And always remember, whenever you are in need and whenever you think that you do not have adequate content, you could not get the content from the books. Then Google search simple just type the topics name and write UPSA in the end of your search. So you will get content from all these sites.
So you will get from newspapers their websites PIB PRS then unacademy then insights on India Mrunal all these websites YouTube videos. You can refer to whenever you feel there's shortage of content on a topic and finally prelims. So as I said. The basic books remain the same because the syllabus is almost the same.
What I did was apart from that I referred to the PT365 of Vision IES and any compilation on government schemes. So I referred to the insights compilation, you can refer to any compilation. And finally, the previous year papers, they are very important.
And in the end, just about CSAT, I did not prepare specifically. I recommend that you first give a paper. without any preparation on CSAT.
See whether you can clear the cutoff or not. If you can, then no need to study for it. If you cannot, then you can just brush up certain mental ability topics.
So, just give that one test and see where do you stand in CSAT. So, this was about my resource list. So, please do not forget that I will be teaching live on an Academy Plus and I will be teaching each and exact detailed strategy about GS about prelims and all. So, please use this code Akshat1 and you can get a 10 percent off and you can get access to all the other courses on an academy plus all the test everything.
Thank you.