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sg
http://www.jobstreet.com.sg/
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https://www.contactsingapore.sg

http://www.affairscloud.com/current-affairs-march-2016-pdf-capsule/
Start from NCERT 6 to 10th of all the subjects and for 11th, 12th read for Politics and Ancient History
that are like most important thing.
And read Biology chapter No 13 to Chapter 16, Class XII NCERT.

History of India and Indian National Movement

Ref: NCERTs (6th to 12th)
Brief History of Indian Freedom Struggle Bipin Chandra
Spectrum
The Hindu
The questions from Modern History have largely been easy in Prelims and can be easily
answered with above references. As for Ancient and Medieval History, many questions
can be solved using NCERTs. For other questions there is no one standard source
because questions seem to be pooled from a large array of book. Reading all those books
militates against the cost-benefit ratio and can be safely avoided.
As mentioned in earlier blog, many of the questions in so-called static subjects like
History & Culture are also drawn from current events. Remember kalamkari?

#3.Indian and World Geography Physical, Social,

Economic Geography of India and the World
Ref: NCERTs (6th to 12th)
Goh Cheng Leong
An Atlas( Oxford/Orient)

NIOS/IGNOU booklets
The Hindu
This is one section where many of the questions are derived from current affairs. For
example, When a place or a river or a hill range et al make headline locate it in the map.
For example if there is talk of tribal agitation in Niyamgiri Hills then you should locate it
in the map. Similarly if a river makes headline due to a inter-state dispute, trace its path
in the map, locate its point of origin, identify its tributaries, identify the states it
traverses. If a tribe has been in news, find out the state it belongs to. If these has been
articles on industries or minerals, identify their distribution, any change in their
distribution. Right?
Even otherwise, several questions in this section are pooled from map reading. For
example, rivers flowing through Arunachal Pradesh, or the islands separated by Ten
Degree Channel. Such questions can be answered only of you have your map pointing in
place.

#4. Indian Polity and Governance Constitution, Political

System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Ref: NCERTs (6th to 12th)
Laxmikanth
The Hindu
This is one area where, luckily, the questions have been straightforward and simple.
Laxmikanth takes care of all our needs especially for Prelims. But when you read Polity
be very careful about what you are reading because here the examiners are
experimenting with words and phrases only. For example, Head of State vs. Head of
Government. Can these phrases be substituted for each other?

#5. Economic and Social Development Sustainable

Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social
Sector initiatives, etc.
Ref: A national daily

In this section questions are largely from current affairs with very few, if any, from
sources (in my opinion) like India Year Book and Economic Survey.
I believe it was in the year 2005, when one fine examiner decided to raise government
revenues by framing many of the Prelims questions from IYB and since then the sale
have skyrocketed. In fact IYB has added one more season to the list of Indian seasons
i.e. UPSC Prelims Season and the arrival of IYB in the market is seen as its harbinger.
Keep track of the schemes floated by the government, their provisions, the target group,
benefits, implementing agency et al. The Ads that cover the newspapers especially
during the election campaigns give many important details.
Business page provides many a points for framing questions. Initiatives by RBI are a
thing to look for. BE every sure about the economic terms used. Many a times we just
assume that we know their meaning. Fight this habit and actually find out their
meanings from reference books.
International agreements, indexes, reports are tempting areas for framing Prelims
questions.

#6. General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change that do not require subject
specialization
Ref: A national daily
NIOS/IGNOU booklets
Again this is a current affairs driven section. Make a list of international accords,
initiatives etc. Again what all is measured in a report/index, Indias ranking, publishing
authority are a favourite among the examiners.

#7. General Science

Ref: NCERTs (6th to 10th, and few selected chapters from 11th and 12th)
Science and Technology sections of the newspapers, any invention/discovery winning
awards like Nobel should be carefully studies especially their application part.

MustBuy Foundation Books for IAS Prelims Syllabus

NCERT

Basic Readings

Magazines &
Newspapers

History
11th (Ancient Indian History RS
Sharma)
11th (Medieval Indian History
Satish Chandra)
12th (Modern Indian History Bipan
Chandra)

Indian Economy Performance & Policies

Uma Kapila

The Hindu

Geography
6th to 10th Standard Books (Old
Syllabus)
11th to 12th Standard Books (New
Syllabus)

Indian Constitution M Lakshmikantha

The Indian Expres

Economics
11th Standard (Indian Economic
Development)

Marching Ahead With Science NBT

From Government to Government NBT
Future of Indian Agriculture NBT

The Frontline

Indian Polity
9th to 12th Standard Book
The Constitution of India P M Bakshi

Indias Foreign Policy V P Dutt

Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
IGNOU Material
Certificate Physical Geography
G C Leong
Indian Year Book Publication
Division

Yojana

International Relations
12th Standard Book (Contemporary
World Politic)
World Politics
Orient Blackswan Atlas
TTK School Atlas

Constitutional Questions &

Citizen Charter A G Noorani
Economic Development &
Policies in India Jain & Ohri
India and the dynamics of World
Politics Sharma, Goria & Mishra

Roman Saini:
History Modern (Freedom Struggle)

Bipin Chandra

Polity D D BASU, SUBHASH KASHYAP, Laxmikanth (But you may skip Basu and Kashyap.)

Essential IAS Books For UPSC Prelims (Click to Buy Online)

Click to buy India Year Book 2016

1.

History Of Modern India Bipan Chandra. (History)

2.

Indias Struggle For Independence Bipan Chandra. (History)

3.

Indias Ancient Past R.S. Sharma. (History)

4.

History Of Medieval India Satish Chandra. (History)

5.

The Wonder That Was India A.L. Bhasham. (Culture)

6.

Indian Art and Culture Nitin Singhania. (Culture)

7.

Geography of India Majid Husain. (Geography)

8.

Oxford School Atlas Oxford. (Geography)

9.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography Goh Cheng Leong.

(Geography)

10.

Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations M. Laxmikanth. (Polity)

11.

Indian Economy Ramesh Singh. (Economy)

12.

Economic Survey. (Economy)

13.

Science and Technology in India TMH. (Science and Technology)

14.

Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure Rajagopalan. (Environment)

15.

Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains Khuller. (Environment)

16.

India Year Book (Current Affairs)

17.

Manorama Yearbook. (Current Affairs)

18.

CSAT Paper 2 Manual by TMH or CSAT-II Arihant (CSAT Paper 2)

19.

Analytical Reasoning M. K. Pandey (CSAT Paper 2: Analytical

Reasoning)
20.

Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning R. S.Aggarwal (CSAT Paper 2: Reasoning)

Essential IAS Books For UPSC Prelims (Click to Buy Online)

Click to buy India Year Book 2016

1.

History Of Modern India Bipan Chandra. (History)

2.

Indias Struggle For Independence Bipan Chandra. (History)

3.

Indias Ancient Past R.S. Sharma. (History)

4.

History Of Medieval India Satish Chandra. (History)

5.

The Wonder That Was India A.L. Bhasham. (Culture)

6.

Indian Art and Culture Nitin Singhania. (Culture)

7.

Geography of India Majid Husain. (Geography)

8.

Oxford School Atlas Oxford. (Geography)

9.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography Goh Cheng Leong.

(Geography)

10.

Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations M. Laxmikanth. (Polity)

11.

Indian Economy Ramesh Singh. (Economy)

12.

Economic Survey. (Economy)

13.

Science and Technology in India TMH. (Science and Technology)

14.

Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure Rajagopalan. (Environment)

15.

Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains Khuller. (Environment)

16.

India Year Book (Current Affairs)

17.

Manorama Yearbook. (Current Affairs)

18.

CSAT Paper 2 Manual by TMH or CSAT-II Arihant (CSAT Paper 2)

19.

Analytical Reasoning M. K. Pandey (CSAT Paper 2: Analytical

Reasoning)
20.

Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning R. S.Aggarwal (CSAT Paper 2: Reasoning)

Recommended IAS Books for History Civil Services Preliminary Exam

1.

Indias Ancient Past R.S. Sharma. (Ancient History)

2.

History Of Medieval India Satish Chandra. (Medieval History)

3.

History Of Modern India Bipan Chandra. (Modern History)

4.

Indias Struggle For Independence Bipan Chandra. (Modern History)

5.

Indian Art and Culture Nitin Singhania. (Culture)