books to read for essay upsc

Embarking on a transformative journey through six chapters, we traverse India's landscape, exploring pioneering startups and their revolutionary...

• Sustainability
• Agriculture
• Brand Campaigns
• Watch inspiring videos
• Advertise With Us
• Press Coverage

Follow Us On

Download App

Top 20 Books to Help You Crack UPSC Civil Service Exam

Preparing for UPSC CSE? Recommended by IAS toppers, this checklist of 20 books (that you can buy on Amazon) will help you get a good hold on subject fundamentals for Prelims and Mains.

Similar Story

8 Library Cafes Across India to Bookmark For Your Travels

What’s better than freshly brewed coffee? A great book to go with it! Choose from a wide selection of literary works at these library cafes across the country.

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

2. indian art and culture by nitin singhania (culture), 3. international relations: pushpesh pant (international relations), 4. challenge and strategy: rethinking india’s foreign policy by rajiv sikri (international relations).

8 Historic Libraries of India That Every Booklover Should Visit At Least Once

As Albert Einstein once said, "The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” Here is a list of libraries in India that everyone should visit once.

5. Indian Economy For Civil Services by Nitin Singhania (Economy)

6. economic development & policy in india – jain & ohri (economy), 7. oxford school atlas by oxford publishers (geography), 8. geography of india by majid husain (geography), 9. certificate of physical & human geography by gc leong (geography), 10. environmental ecology, bio-diversity, climate change & disaster management – dr ravi agrahari (environment), 11. challenges to internal security of india – ashok kumar and vipul anekant (general studies), 12. ethics, integrity and aptitude for civil services main examination by subba rao and p.n. roy chowdhury (ethics), 13. india’s struggle for independence by bipan chandra, mridula mukherjee, aditya mukherjee, sucheta mahajan, k n panikkar (history), 14. india after independence by bipan chandra, mridula mukherjee, aditya mukherjee (history), 15. a history of medieval india by satish chandra (history), 16. india’s ancient past by rs sharma (history), 17. a brief history of modern india by rajiv ahir (history), 18. mastering modern world history by norman lowe (history), 19. important judgements that transformed india by alex andrews george (polity), 20. ‘facets of indian culture’ by spectrum (culture), this story made me.

Tell Us More

Building a Reading Habit? Here Are 8 Iconic Book Clubs to Join in India

From promoting silent reading to hosting author events, these book clubs across the country are every reader's paradise.

We bring stories straight from the heart of India, to inspire millions and create a wave of impact. Our positive movement is growing bigger everyday, and we would love for you to join it.

Please contribute whatever you can, every little penny helps our team in bringing you more stories that support dreams and spread hope.

Sounds Interesting? Share it now!

1 Architect's 'Beehive' Cooling System is Affordable & Reduces Electricity Bills by 65%

2 Startup Designing Indian Language Fonts for Apple, Google & 300 Others Makes $2 Million/Year

3 Elections 2024: What Makes Voter Ink So Difficult to Remove?

4 'There's No Age Limit For Learning': Started at 63, Woman Earns Lakhs Growing Saffron

5 Doctor Builds School On The Same Land Where He Used to Work As a Daily Wage Labourer

• Get positive stories daily on email
• Join our community of positive ambassadors
• Become a part of the positive movement

• [email protected]
• 898-888-2525

Home / UPSC / UPSC Books – Best IAS Books For UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024

UPSC Books – Best IAS Books For UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024

If you are confused about “What are the best UPSC Books?” for Civil Services Examination, then you’ll get a lot of value out of this list of the best UPSC books for 2024.

IAS Preparation Books for UPSC beginners

Check out the books list below to know the best books for UPSC to refer to while preparing for Civil Services examinations.

• General Studies Books for UPSC Prelims & Mains
• Public Administration Optional Book list
• Sociology Optional Books
• History Optional Book list
• Philosophy Optional Book list
• Maths Optional Book list
• Geography Optional Book list
• Anthropology Optional Book list
• Commerce and Accountancy Optional Book list
• Political Science Optional Book list
• International Relations Optional Book list

Which book is best for preparing UPSC?

To follow up on the upcoming civil services examination, aspirants may check UPSC Calendar on the official UPSC Website . UPSC Civil Services exam is also one of the toughest exams in the country.

Out of the vast amount of study materials available both online and offline. It is crucial that the candidates select the best books for UPSC IAS preparation.

IAS toppers recommend that aspirant start their  UPSC preparation with NCERT books and move on to the standard reference books.

The best IAS books can vary from candidate to candidate depending on their previous expertise and knowledge of the subject matter. However, the books for UPSC recommended by experts are listed in this article subject-wise.

Choosing the right IAS exam books online for different stages of the UPSC exam is quite important. The UPSC Prelims comprises only objective type questions while the IAS Mains contains descriptive essay type question papers.

Not only should the candidates be selective about the UPSC preparation books but also divide the reading list into Prelims and Mains preparation.

• 898-888-2525, 898-888-2626
• 19/2A Shakti Nagar, Nagiya Park Near Delhi University, New Delhi - 110007

Connect With US Socially

© 2024 Vajirao IAS. All rights reserved.

Request Callback

Fill out the form, and we will be in touch shortly.

• IAS Preparation
• 10 Must Read Books For IAS Aspirants For UPSC Exam

Top Books for IAS Preparation

For all IAS Aspirants, looking for Books to be read for UPSC, are in the right place. You can find plenty of “Must-Read Books for IAS Preparation” lists filled with plenty of books if you search around for material to help you start your preparation for UPSC.

But most of them are bloated lists, meant to scare you into thinking there is too much to study!

Here is a shortlist of the books to prepare for the IAS exam which IAS Aspirants must grab first, (and sometimes just download for free!).

Explore The Ultimate Guide to IAS Exam Preparation

Download The E-Book Now!

If you are thinking of making a serious attempt at UPSC preparation these UPSC books should be your first companions. We have listed 10 Must-read books for UPSC Mains & Prelims and briefly described why we think it is a must-read for UPSC exam.

Also, this article gives a brief idea for IAS Aspirants on how to make maximum use of the IAS books. The UPSC Exam preparation books listed in the recommended order in which they should be read once you start your preparation.

Remember: These are the Must-have books for UPSC Exam and are also the Best books for IAS preparation.

Reading these must-have books will impart IAS Aspirants with enough information regarding the topics given in the UPSC syllabus for IAS Exam.

Candidates should practice reading and understanding the depth of the topics properly so that its easier for them to memorize important events, dates, etc.

Important Books

The top 10 must-have books for IAS aspirants preparing for the UPSC Exam are as follows:

1. India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha

Why you must read it: It is not easy to put a lot of things in context in Indian Politics without knowing what has been playing out over the years. Most of our history textbooks stop their chapters after the one on Independence of India.

Guha takes up the story from there and brings it close to modern India we have grown up in. The book will give you a better understanding of how India has changed since Independence and some of the big events that shaped today’s India.

How you should read it: It is close to 900 pages in length, so let us not pretend we can finish it in one sitting. The best approach is to read one chapter a week. This is because our aim is not to just to read the whole book as fast as possible but to read and then remember as much of it as possible. There are some tricks to help you remember all that you learn, as we have seen. What you should do is read one chapter this week and then read around about the incidents from that chapter. Read Wikipedia, read some blogs about it, read newspaper articles about it, think about it. Then make a short summary of the main events/arguments of the chapter from memory . If you want you can send us your chapter summaries and we will publish the best ones – the best summaries (the ones that get published – they need to be at least 1/4th of the chapter’s actual length to be published) will get gift vouchers from Amazon/Flipkart. After this make an outline of the chapter with only some keywords, this time looking through the actual book. Now get your study partner (you should have one, if not contact us and we can arrange for one) or your mentor and explain the chapter to that person – looking only at your key-word notes, and not at the book itself! Do this for each chapter and you will be the Grand Master of Modern Indian History within a few months! Of course, if you want you can speed up the process and make it 1 chapter per 3 days instead of per week – but make sure to engage with each chapter and make it stick! Supplementary Read: India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra

2. NCERT books: The Complete Package

Why you must read it: They should form the basics of your preparation. No matter what coaching you go to or what books you refer to, NCERTs are a must-read for every aspirant. How to Read NCERTs is a separate article. Read it for a comprehensive overview of NCERT study Strategy. Point to note: NCERTs should be read in parallel with the other books we have given here and with the rest of your preparation – do not think you will finish NCERTs first and then read other things. NCERTs are not enough for your preparation. Make sure you read the relevant NCERTs when reading the other books on the list – don’t mix subjects too much in a single day. Give a whole day to polity, for example.

3. Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth

(Must-read book for UPSC – Polity/Laxmikant book for IAS)

Why you must read it: This is one book that is sure to find a place in the IAS aspirants list of books for the UPSC exam. Polity is a tough subject to get into. Unfortunately, Laxmikanth won’t make it easier. However, reading through Laxmikanth is the best way we know to get students attuned to the subject. Laxmikanth alone won’t get you good marks or teach you how to think about the Indian Polity, but if you allocate 3 weeks to Laxmikanth and just finish the book off, you can be confident that at least whatever you read in Polity will make some sense to you.

That is why all IAS Aspirants should read this book very early during preparation. It is one of the best books to prepare for IAS exam.

How you should read it:

Step-by-step:

• First Reading: IAS Aspirants should not make a complete mess of the book by underlining all over the place. Most things in the book should be new to you, so in the first read do not try to make notes. Just underline or highlight everything you think you are not familiar with or you might forget. This might take you 2-3 weeks.
• Second Reading: Wait for a week before you go for a second reading. Just go through the parts you highlighted and see if you are able to recollect things. Go to our practice tests and test your knowledge. Mark in a different colour anything that looks like complete greek to you now! Google things you forgot to see if better explanations are there. Make short notes on those things and stick them to the relevant pages.
• Third Reading: Do this immediately after Second Round. This time read from cover to cover again. If possible get a fresh book to read from. Make chapter summaries of each chapter. (Send them to us and if we publish you can buy your fresh book with the gift voucher!!) make sure chapter summaries include better explanations you found on the web or in the NCERTs.
• Make skeleton notes with only key terms for each chapter too. Go for a walk and try to see if you remember what everything means. Now call your mentor or study partner and try to explain each chapter to them, looking only at your skeleton notes! Ask them to bow to the new Grand Master of Polity!

4. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Why you must read it: Again, not a great book by any shot but it is the most comprehensive in the market. Our tablet students can skip it altogether if they want, but it is advised that you approach Ramesh Singh in the same manner as Laxmikanth above. — SEE ABOVE — This should be the fourth book you read. Aim to finish this too at the earliest so that newspapers will start making good sense.

What you should focus on: One big difference is that here the skeleton notes are already provided for you – the Table of Contents of Ramesh Singh is phenomenal – it is comprehensive and covers everything. If you want to look at only the Table of Contents, have a look here for a downloadable version. It is in a poster format. Download it, print it and stick it up! The ToC is more useful than the book – use it for constant revision once you have read the book at least once. Make sure you get the latest edition. Again, send us chapter summaries to win gift vouchers you can use to purchase new editions, etc.

5. Introduction to the Constitution of India by D.D. Basu

Why you must read it: Once you have the basics of modern history, economy and polity in hand, it is time to go a bit deeper. You can do this by choosing DD Basu. Here things covered in a shallow manner in Laxmikanth is given in more detail. Reading this book will teach you how to think about some of the important constitutional issues and how the constitution itself took shape.

How you should read it: Do not go for a very exhaustive reading here. The focus should be on understanding well. Hence skip directly to making skeleton notes of key points and then explaining to mentor/study partner. Get feedback on how much sense your explanation is making. Start writing mains level questions in our answer practice session. Again, if you want you can make and send us chapter summaries. We will publish them and reward the best ones.

6. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra

Why you must read it: Except for a few books such as the Spectrum books civil services, this is the most structured book on Modern Indian History you can read. Some blogs will ask you to read Spectrum book for IAS but do not do it unless you have no time at all and just want to know the events. BC is essential if you want to learn how things turned out the way they did and able to write informed and well-argued answers to UPSC level questions. That is why this book is always on the list of must-read books for UPSC exam preparation.

What you should focus on: Instead of focusing on dates and names, focus on causes and effects and the various explanations for various events. You should be able to explain why any particular event took place in a very simple and concise manner. You should be able to talk about various theories/explanations for the various big events. You should be able to remember and list of the details of certain bills, provisions, proclamations, etc – such as the 1935 act, for example.

• Go decade by decade. Read the relevant chapters for each decade and then list out all the big events of that decade.
• Try to draw out connections between all the big events and write them down. Also, check for connections from the previous decade or earlier.
• Summarize the entire decade in a nice story like manner, but including details. Try to teach your study partner/mentor and send to us for publishing + feedback.
• After you finish, start writing essays on each big event.
• Attempt UPSC level questions and get feedback at our Answer Writing Practice section.

7. 2nd ARC Reports

Why you must read it: The best way to get deep into the policymaking world. You understand most of the basic concepts now. Time to start thinking about how to change the country. 2nd ARC had thought a lot about it. Go check out what they thought and improve upon them!

What you should focus on: Primarily on the big challenges in each paper. And chapter level recommendations.

• Skim each chapter and try to understand what issues are being discussed
• Try to come up with your own recommendations after you understand the chapter’s concerns
• Read the recommendations – summarize them. Try to make a single statement or two/three which captures the spirit of the recommendations.
• Do this for each chapter in each report
• Summarize entire report in less than 1000 pages after finishing a report. Do not look at the report – look only at your skeleton notes

Read about ARC reports in the linked article.

8. The Wonder That Was India by AL Basham

Why you must read it: There is not much ROI in reading about ancient history. This book, on the other hand, is an easy-to-read classic. It will make you proud to be an Indian. How you should read it:

• Also, buy spectrum culture book and keep it nearby
• Go through spectrum book and mark out the “syllabus areas” and identify where they are covered in AL Basham.
• Focus on the major arts and cultural aspects. Make notes on important items (identified from the spectrum)
• Whenever you reach a topic mentioned in the spectrum as well, make good notes – both from Basham and from Spectrum!
• Again, send summaries/teach, etc.
• Try to draw and practice some simple diagrams of things like gopurams, etc.

9. Majid Hussain – Indian Geography

Why you must read it: More organized than NCERT. Quick Read.

How you should read it: Make detailed notes of all concepts. Make skeleton notes, teach, etc. as above. Practice all the important diagrams. We will be giving you a list of important diagrams to practice for UPSC geography. Practice actual questions. Go through the optional syllabus as well, once. Use google to fill some of those also into your notes. You can send us chapter summaries to get feedback. You can get feedback on your answers over at the answer writing practice section.

10. IGNOU Material on Disaster Management

Why you must read it: It is comprehensive and covers most of the required fields if you read with ARC on the same topic. Free marks if you study it well! Questions do not change in this section much over the years. So good ROI Process: follow similar study processes.

Bonus: I C Dhingra & Uma Kapila

Why you must read it: We are cheating here a bit. These are two extra books, either should be enough. Ramesh Singh will tell you the important topics, but these two books can give you an understanding of how the economy has changed or evolved over time. Uma Kapila is better researched and more scholarly, Dhingra is easier to read and specifically exam-oriented. It is your call which you read.

• Understand each concept as it is introduced, and in a decade by decade manner
• List out major reforms as and when discussed: Summarize the need for the reform and the effects of the reform.
• Make a list of important events, concepts and reform ideas
• Explain each via short notes or chapter summaries or by talking to your mentor/study partner
• Connect concepts to things you read in the newspaper, discuss with your parents, uncles etc if they lived through those reforms and what were the newspaper headlines back then, etc.
• Get extra familiar with all this weird alien stuff!
• Share your chapter summaries and explanations and get feedback from us or mentor/study partner.
• Start giving your Grand Master level opinion pieces on current events such as RBI sticking to the status quo in this MP reviews.
• You can share your opinions on each day’s comprehensive news analysis sections. Best opinion pieces on important policy measures will be published and rewarded with gift vouchers!

Well, that is it. 10 books you should not miss out on once you start your preparation! If you follow the methods given here properly and understand each book well (without neglecting newspapers, of course!), you would be well on your way to mains, interviews and beyond! Get reading!

IAS exam-related queries

How to prepare for UPSC Exam?

All IAS Aspirants should understand the UPSC Exam Syllabus in the first place. The next step is to read the NCERT Books from class 6 to class 12 to build a strong foundation in the subjects. Make short notes from the NCERT books which will be of help during revision.

Subsequently, the IAS Aspirants should prepare a list of standard books required to cover the General Studies syllabus for Prelims as well as Mains and cover the syllabus holistically.

Make revision a ritual. Without regular revision, one cannot crack this examination.

Stick to your booklist and time table. Do not change either your preparation strategy or book list frequently. Doing so will only derail you from making progress.

The UPSC Syllabus is indicative. Stick to the syllabus while preparing for the exam. All the questions in the exam will be well within the framework of the syllabus.

For more such tips, read UPSC Preparation Strategy .

For latest details on UPSC 2023 , refer to the linked article.

How to choose an optional subject for UPSC Exam?

Interest in a subject is the most important factor for choosing an optional for UPSC Mains. However, a few other factors do play a role in determining the rate of success.

Here is a checklist for all IAS Aspirants to go through before choosing an optional subject.

• Is the study material easily available in the market?
• Can the entire syllabus be completed before the exam?
• Are coaching and test series available for that particular optional?
• You can choose one optional that fulfils the above-mentioned criteria from the List of Optional Subjects for UPSC Mains .

Are NCERT books important for UPSC Exam Preparation?

NCERT books are indispensable for IAS Exam preparation. For IAS Aspirants, they provide a solid foundation during the preparation.

Hence it is important to go through all the NCERT books and keep short notes from NCERT books handy for revision. For crisp and concise notes on NCERT Books, refer to NCERT Notes .

Which are the top magazines one should follow for IAS Exam?

Monthly magazines like Yojana and Kurukshetra are widely followed by the aspirants for Civil Services Exam Preparation.

From previous year question papers, it is safe to infer that a few of the questions appearing in the Prelims exam are directly picked up from these magazines.

In addition, fodder points for mains answer writing can be gathered from these magazines. For a summary of the articles refer to :

• Gist of Yojana
• Gist of Kurukshetra .

How to cover daily current affairs for UPSC Exam?

News Paper is the Bible for UPSC Exam preparation. An aspirant has to cover the newspaper thoroughly on a daily basis in order to stay up to date with the Current Affairs.

For relevant information on various issues, IAS aspirants should keep a track of  The Hindu Video Analysis

How to choose UPSC related articles from PIB website?

UPSC aspirants must selectively read from PIB articles and make crisp notes for revision. Only those articles that are relevant for the examination have to be selected for reading.

To save time, you can go through BYJU’s PIB summary and analysis. Find the daily compilation of PIB articles and analysis at Best of PIB .

UPSC Preparation Articles:

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

IAS 2024 - Your dream can come true!

Download the ultimate guide to upsc cse preparation.

• Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

• UPSC IAS Exam Pattern
• UPSC IAS Prelims
• UPSC IAS Mains
• UPSC IAS Interview
• UPSC IAS Optionals
• UPSC Notification
• UPSC Eligibility Criteria
• UPSC Online
• UPSC Admit Card
• UPSC Results
• UPSC Cut-Off
• UPSC Calendar
• Documents Required for UPSC IAS Exam
• UPSC IAS Prelims Syllabus
• General Studies 1
• General Studies 2
• General Studies 3
• General Studies 4
• UPSC IAS Interview Syllabus
• UPSC IAS Optional Syllabus

Top 15 Important books to be read by every UPSC Aspirant

Here are some suggestions for the best books for upsc examinations.

Books play a key role in prepping you for the UPSC exam. Every UPSC aspirant may be looking for the ideal materials to help them achieve their most important aims. On the market, there are thousands of UPSC preparation books for beginners. This makes deciding on the best books for UPSC beginners even more difficult. This broad array of possibilities perplexes every dedicated student when it comes to determining the original UPSC and IAS Prelims books. This article contains the top 15 important books that must be read by every UPSC aspirant.

IAS books are regarded as crucial during the preparation process. IAS toppers and tutors emphasize the need to read the best books available on the market, both online and offline. The core concepts are the same in all books, but how they are applied makes all the difference, which is why some books are regarded as the finest. The most important thing is to choose appropriate or top books for IAS preparation that are both relevant and useful.

On a shaky foundation, no magnificent structure can be built. Building a super-strong infrastructure requires a solid foundation. This applies to those who are prepping for civil service exams. The NCERT books are considered the foundational reading materials for the Civil Services Examination. It covers all major issues and provides us with crystal-clear intellectual clarity. It ensures that aspirants are no longer beginners after thoroughly reading them. As a result, NCERT Books can also be used to assess and enhance one’s performance. However they are insufficient to cover the complete UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains syllabus. Aspirants should study Standard Textbooks in addition to NCERTs. Standard Textbooks are produced by subject specialists in an exam-oriented manner, with each subject/topic in the UPSC CSE syllabus explicitly targeted.

Here are the top 15 book suggestions for the aspirants:

Table of Contents

1. Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar and Vipul Anekant (General Studies)

The goal of this totally rewritten and updated edition is to present comprehensive viewpoints on the topics and challenges surrounding the theme of ‘Indian Internal Security Challenges.’ It is designed in a comprehensive and transparent manner to cover every aspect of the UPSC examination’s Third General Studies Paper. Each syllabus topic has been broken down into twelve chapters to provide a comprehensive theoretical overview. This updated edition includes three annexures that provide a comprehensive overview of government strategies on internal security and challenges.

The book is by Ashok Kumar IPS and Vipul Anekant DANIPS. Ashok Kumar earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi. He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1989 and has worked in UP and Uttarakhand on a variety of demanding tasks. On deputation, he also served with the CRPF and the BSF.

2. Geography of India by Majid Husain (Geography)

The book “Geography of India” is aimed mostly at students studying for competitive exams. The most popular title is now in its ninth edition. The book is a well-known guide and a best-seller in the field. It’s a well-known reference book that covers all aspects of India’s geographical geography in a methodical and thorough manner. Resources of India, various methods of irrigation, Indian farming patterns, transportation and public distribution systems, food security, calamities, and government initiatives are among the themes discussed.

Prof. Majid Husain will be regarded as a legendary Indian academician. Prof. Majid Husain received his early schooling at Manglaur’s Nehru Inter College. He has produced and edited over 4 dozen books and has a remarkable capacity to elucidate difficult subjects in Geography in a straightforward and convincing manner. He was an internationally renowned Indian geographer who made significant contributions to the field of geography through several publications, research projects, and university teaching. His innovative teaching technique enabled students to grasp even the most difficult concepts. He taught the entire optional module of Geography, Geography for Prelims, Environment, and Ecology, and also mentored his students for the personality test.

3. Indian Art and Culture – Nitin Singhania (Culture)

This book is an excellent resource for UPSC aspirants at all levels of the examination: preliminary, mains, and interviews. Nitin Singhania’s new edition of Indian Art & Culture is now available to buy in both online and offline locations. The cultural diversity of India is well-known. The novel by Nitin Singhania eloquently depicts the essence of India’s unique culture. Despite the fact that there are numerous books about Indian culture, Nitin Singhania’s book has captivated UPSC candidates owing to its special presentation.

Nitin Singhania is a member of the Indian Administrative Service’s 2013 class (IAS). He is also a Chartered Accountant. He passed the UPSC Civil Services test with Economics as an elective. He is a member of the IAS 2013 class and currently works for the Government of West Bengal as a Joint Secretary.

4. Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri (International Relations)

The book provides a strategic and policy-oriented look at India’s existing and upcoming foreign policy difficulties. It examines the long-term variables and trends that should influence how the country formulates its foreign policy. If India is to play a key role in the complicated and fast-changing world of the twenty-first century, the author suggests a rethinking of its strategy. The focus of Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy is on India’s immediate and strategic surroundings. It also looks at critical topics including energy security, economic diplomacy, defense-diplomacy interactions, and foreign policy institutions.

Rajiv Sikri served in the Indian Foreign Service for more than 36 years as a career diplomat. He left the Ministry of External Affairs as Secretary in 2006.

The book is unique in that it incorporates the viewpoints of a historian, a diplomat, and a scholar. It contributes significantly to India’s strategic community’s continuing discussion on foreign policy by offering many novel and unconventional thoughts and policy suggestions. Policymakers, diplomats, and foreign policy analysts should read this simple and brief work. It will be of professional interest to the corporate and commercial communities. Students of Indian politics, international relations, defense, and strategic studies, and those interested in India’s foreign policy will find it useful.

5. Oxford School Atlas by Oxford Publishers (Geography)

This is for those who are preparing for a government job exam or university exams. This book provides a wealth of useful thematic maps of India, including 16 maps focusing on Indian climate, 22 maps focusing on Indian agriculture, 23 maps focusing on minerals and industries, 17 maps focusing on demography and human development, and 10 maps focusing on environmental concerns. This book contains the most up-to-date demographic and socioeconomic data from reliable sources.

There are different physical and political maps of India in this book. It includes new and useful India-themed maps. This book covers all of the continents in detail. Facts and Figures is a fresh and interesting area. Since its first publication in 1915, generations of students, researchers, and general readers have relied on The Oxford School Atlas for its accuracy and richness of cartographic data. The atlas includes 235 clear and easy-to-understand maps, including 121 thematic maps of India with accompanying charts and illustrations.

6. Indian Economy for Civil Services by Nitin Singhania (Economy)

In recent years, the Indian economy has seen significant changes, including a series of swings in economic growth and development. Nitin Singhania’s book, Indian Economy, is an attempt to write down economic issues and the necessary actions by stakeholders. The contents have been organized in a logical and conceptually clear manner to allow readers to grasp the material completely and thoroughly. Flowcharts, tables, graphs, pictures, and other visual aids have been used to help students understand and comprehend the concepts in a short length of time.

Nitin Singhania holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics. He is a member of the IAS 2013 class and currently works for the Government of West Bengal as a Joint Secretary. He’s also the author of “Indian Art and Culture,” a best-selling book.

7. International Relations: Pushpesh Pant (International Relations)

The book would be of great use to students studying for the civil services examination as well as specialized courses relating to the subject in universities and colleges, as it is written with an academic tone from a student’s perspective. This UPSC book explores all key events from the creation of sovereign states to current global challenges. It is the favorite of all students who are taking competitive exams.

The Padma Shri-winning author is an academician and historian who retired from Jawaharlal Nehru University as a professor of International Studies. Pushpesh Pant is an academic, cuisine critic, and historian from India. He left Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi as a Professor of International Relations.

8. Environmental Ecology, Bio-Diversity, Climate Change & Disaster Management – Dr Ravi Agrahari (Environment)

This is a stand-out book about environmental ecology, biodiversity, climate change, and disaster management. Each chapter provides a practical technical solution to an existing environmental problem while also covering basic to advanced environmental and disaster management topics in one book. This book provides a quick, relevant, and easy way to achieve exam success by combining both principles and actual suggestions for solutions to deal with a wide and complex syllabus. This is an optimistic, proactive book about the groundbreaking career of a well-known practitioner.

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari, a Ph.D. from IIT Delhi, is a holder of the CSIR’s Junior Research Fellowship and Senior Research Fellowship. He is an energy expert who has published numerous papers in prestigious international journals. Dr. Agrahari is well-known for his knowledge of “Environmental Science” and “Science and Technology,” and has written multiple books for UPSC examinations on the subjects. Dr. Agrahari has been teaching UPSC hopefuls for over 19 years and has worked with over 50 reputable coaching facilities across India. He also works with a number of non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations to help students from underrepresented groups.

9. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh (Economy)

The book has become an “indispensable companion” for Civil Services test candidates. It is one of the most recommended books on the subject and one of the “best-sellers” of all time. It includes all of the fundamental principles as well as the most up-to-date information, all of which are linked to current events in India. All of the concepts and theories are covered in the book to help the reader create a ‘fundamental’ and ‘application-based’ understanding of economics, as well as its subtle links to real-world policy issues and the fields of governance, polity, diplomacy, ethics, technology, and so on, in an interdisciplinary manner — making economics accessible to even those with no prior knowledge of the subject.

Ramesh Singh is a Delhi School of Economics alumnus and an education consultant with more than two decades of expertise advising civil service and other exam candidates. He also contributes to the Publication Division’s Yojana and Kurukshetra periodicals as a columnist. He is a master instructor, capable of clearly and concisely explaining even the most complex economic ideas. His economics courses and essays are well-received around the country. He is a Delhi resident who is involved in a variety of intellectual and social activities.

10. Indian Polity – Civil Services Examinations by M Laxmikanth (Polity)

The book is required reading for hopefuls taking the Civil Services and other State Services examinations. It is designed to meet the needs of not only competitive examination students, but also postgraduates, research scholars, professors, and general readers interested in the country’s political, civic, and constitutional issues. The existing chapters have been completely reworked and updated to reflect current events. This UPSC book, sometimes called the “Bible of Politics,” provides a thorough understanding of the subject. Going over the book several times can help you get good results in both the prelims and mains. One of the most popular UPSC prep books.

M. Laxmikanth is a trainer and author. Apart from this book, Laxmikanth has published Governance in India, Indian Polity, and Public Administration for the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination. In 1989, Laxmikanth received his master’s degree from Osmania University.

11. Important Judgements that Transformed India by Alex Andrews George (Polity)

“Important Judgments that Transformed India” is a book that explains the important court cases that everyone should be aware of. Many of these Supreme Court judgments have influenced the way India’s democracy now operates. It’s fascinating to see how Supreme Court decisions have safeguarded the spirit of the Indian Constitution, improved democracy, and changed the lives of ordinary Indians. This book meets the needs of numerous competitive examinations, including the UPSC Civil Services Examination (Prelims, Mains, and Interview). All academics, legal students, and general readers interested in Indian politics and the constitution will find it useful.

Andrews, Alex George is the creator of the popular ClearIAS.com website. He is a problem-solver with a wide range of expertise and interests, having graduated as an engineer. As an ecopreneur, technologist, blogger, and teacher, he wears many hats. His notes, methods, assistance, and mock examinations have helped thousands of applicants pass various stages of the UPSC Civil Services exam every year as one of the pioneers in online Civil Services exam tutoring.

12. India’s Ancient Past by RS Sharma (History)

The book India’s Ancient Past offers a thorough history of ancient India. From the earliest human beings in India through the early Medieval period, the author of the book investigates the civilizations and social systems that existed in India. There have been several geographical and language backgrounds explored. The author has also looked into certain cultures such as the Harappan Civilization, Neolithic, and Vedic periods.

India’s Ancient Past opens with a chapter on ancient Indian history and its importance, followed by a list of comprehensive maps from the historical periods covered in the book. The book then moves on to the Stone Age and the Neolithic period in the following chapters. People began to produce food throughout the Neolithic period. By that time, animal husbandry had also begun.

Other aspects of India’s ancient past, such as Chalcolithic Cultures and the Harappan Civilization, are highlighted. The author also goes into great length about Aryan culture. The book explains the rise of religions such as Jainism and Buddhism. Invasions by Macedonians and Iranians have also been mentioned. The following chapters go on to detail India’s interactions with various Central Asian kingdoms, the emergence and fall of the Gupta empire, and philosophical advances.

R. S. Sharma, the author of India’s Ancient Past, was a renowned historian who taught at Patna University, the University of Toronto, and Delhi University. During his lifetime, he was able to publish 115 works that were converted into fifteen languages. He was the Head of the History department at Delhi and Patna Universities. His writing was engaging and informative because he was regarded as a specialist in epigraphy, literary texts, and archaeological texts.

13. A History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra (History)

India’s current status is the result of a number of historical events. Satish Chandra’s history book contains a selection of these events. The 1000-year period covered in this book spans the seventh to seventeenth centuries, and it describes the order of events as well as the empires that dominated different parts of the country. With the rise of each new dynasty, there were many flaws that led to their demise, and historian Satish Chandra, who has a comprehensive understanding of historical events, dissects the many reasons for their demise in depth.

Satish Chandra is a well-known historian who specialized in Indian medieval history and taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was also the chairman of India’s University Grants Commission and the president of the Indian History Congress. Satish Chandra is widely regarded as India’s most prominent historian and regarded as the country’s foremost expert on Mughal reign. When his book on medieval Indian history was published as a textbook for schools and colleges, it revolutionized the national curriculum.

14. Certificate of Physical & Human Geography by GC Leong (Geography)

This book contains a lot of the necessary geographical knowledge. For this reason, students taking competitive admission examinations or hoping to pass competitive examinations given by the Union Public Service Commission for several government positions rely heavily on the book (UPSC). The book is split into two parts. The first is on physical geography, and it contains detailed information about existing land masses, oceans, types of winds, rivers, glaciation, mountain types, groundwater, rainfall and its global patterns, and other natural phenomena. The second portion goes over the many climatic zones around the world, including Savanna, Steppe, Mediterranean, Equatorial, and Tropical Monsoon Climate.

Goh Cheng Leong is well-known for his writings on geography and related themes. He has also written Elements of Geography and Human and Economic Geography, in addition to this book.

15. Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe (History)

With the use of underlined words, keywords, and headings throughout the book, the reader is clearly informed about all aspects of Modern World History. The book also includes clear references that the reader will find extremely helpful. International Relations, fascism and communism, international conflicts, decolonization, and other global issues are all covered in this book. The content consists of from 1900 to 2012, a look at international relations and wars, as well as Europe and its history, including the rise and collapse of fascism and communism, the major superpowers’ international affairs – the United States, Russia/USSR, and China – International strife, the Holocaust, 9/11, and Saddam Hussein’s overthrow the rise of political Islam, as well as decolonization and following events in Africa, Climate change, economic crises, population ‘explosion,’ and other global issues There includes mention of historians’ differences and controversies, as well as new interpretations and discoverers.

Norman Lowe has extensive experience teaching history at all levels, serving as Head of History at Nelson and Colne MA26 in Lancashire for 25 years. Mastering Modern British History and Mastering Twentieth-Century Russian History are two of his books.

Some Important Tips for the Aspirants

Apart from these books, there are a few additional things to bear in mind if you want to pass the UPSC exam with excellent grades:

• A deep understanding and grasp of the subject is the most crucial requirement for civil preparation. Despite the Civil Services’ extensive and detailed syllabus, many candidates fail at this stage. Effective preparation requires a full understanding of the syllabus’s nature, clarity, and scope. It might help you decide what to read and what to avoid. Every aspirant is strongly advised to keep a copy of the curriculum with them at all times during the exam. This will assist the candidate in determining whether or not a certain topic should be covered, as well as ensuring that no area or topic is overlooked.
• Aspirants should also review previous years’ question papers. It aids in selecting the type of questions to be asked as well as locating the finest reading material. An examination of prior year’s papers can assist in putting the syllabus into context by showing the areas where more questions have been asked. It may also be useful in finding any trends in the paper. It’s a good idea to break down the syllabus’s contents into subtopics and go over the question papers again. It also aids in understanding the nature of the questions being asked. On the plus side, there’s a chance that certain questions from prior years will be asked again.
• A thorough understanding of the syllabus allows one to connect with what is being read. For example, someone who knows the UPSC curriculum well may be able to tie an article in the newspaper to a section of the syllabus while reading it. It facilitates a smooth and seamless transition from the static syllabus to current events. Current events are the key to passing the Civil Services Examination. One must attempt to connect various stories and ideas seen in newspapers.
• Follow the newest global headlines. Current Affairs is not a distinct subject to be studied, but rather an integral part of the UPSC curriculum. Current events and current problems are, in fact, the most active areas in all of the syllabus topics in terms of the examination. Frequently read a newspaper and a magazine.
• It’s usually a good idea to take notes on everything you read, whether it’s newspapers or current affairs magazines, or the fundamentals of the many courses presented in coaching. Making notes is a good way to remember things. Also, theme-based and structured notes come in assistance when revising the large UPSC syllabus that has been covered over time. Making notes with mind maps, flow charts, short-cut approaches, and other methods aids in quick review and memory.
• Coaching is the most critical part in cracking the Civils. Choosing the right coaching partner is crucial since it will help set the foundation for the Civils’ dream. Concentrate on the lessons being given and create a habit of taking notes. Coaching institutes also provide tests that can be used to determine one’s present level of preparation.
• Beginning your preparation with the fundamentals is always an excellent approach. The best source for acquiring clarity and a good grasp on a variety of subjects is NCERT books. The UPSC does not test for specialist expertise, but rather tests for general knowledge and, more significantly, analytical abilities in the Prelims and writing and presentation skills in the Mains. Civil Services applicants frequently become weighed down with content by consulting many books at once. Concentrate on a few books at a time, including the NCERTs and one or two books per subject recommended by professors. It is more vital to be thorough with the substance than the number of books.
• Cultivate the habit of thinking, in order to make connections between various topics or subjects. During the interviews, there is a lot of cross-questioning, and this strategy aids in being well-prepared on any issue. If a news piece mentions the Public Accounts Committee, for example, it must remind the candidate of the Public Accounts Committee’s position and tasks, which are previously covered in textbooks. Additionally, the candidate must be able to connect the two elements. This strategy also creates a lasting imprint of the subject, making it simple to recall during the exam and interview.
• Many applicants are undecided about the optional subject to pursue. When selecting an optional subject, many people seek advice from others. Instead, the optional subject should be something about which one is both comfortable and confident. Also, do not base your decision on how candidates performed in the subject in past years. Choose an option in which you are confident and can find sufficient reading material as well as assistance. Generally, candidates should choose an option in something they have a strong interest in.
• The internet assists in staying informed about current events. It’s a good way to stay current, especially with the optional subject. It’s also crucial to find a good, “trusted” source and stay with it because referring to ten different sources at once isn’t as effective as referring to one source ten times.
• Aspirants for the civil service should develop a habit of getting up early every day and reading the newspaper first. Do not put off the project until later in the day; even if you have difficulty absorbing the topic at first, it will all fall into place over time. Many people struggle to understand the language or the subject at first, but with repeated attempts, results begin to emerge.
• Reading a newspaper takes about 40 minutes to an hour on average. There may well be days when the paper is light and only takes 30 minutes, so aim for an average of 40 minutes. Sunday might be set aside as a revision day for all of the current problems encountered throughout the previous week. Revision is just as vital as learning new material.
• Appearing for mock tests is an excellent way to supplement your continuing preparation. It introduces the exam format, frequent mistakes to avoid, and scoring systems, among other things. Mock examinations are also a great way to prepare for the final exam. At this level, applicants should focus on the MCQs rather than essay preparation.
• The curriculum is divided into sections, each of which is significant and is covered in the syllabus. If History were the only significant topic, for example, the entire curriculum would be History. As a result, give each subject equal time. Make detailed notes because you may be referring to numerous books on the same topic. In the last phases of exam preparation, a 100-page book could be reduced to 20-25 pages in the form of notes, making it simpler to revise.
• Writing abilities do not improve instantly, but rather over time. Daily writing practice is essential. Pick select a newspaper editorial and rework it in your own words. There may be candidates that have a slow writing speed and are looking for solutions to this problem. Such applicants will benefit from practice tests.
• These practice examinations not only assist all candidates in preparation for the mains, whether they are fast or slow-paced, but also in understanding time management. Even fast-paced applicants with strong writing speed may initially be unable to complete the practice tests within the allotted time, but they ultimately learn to manage their time and thus begin to learn and attempt the tests in their entirety.
• It is not possible for anybody to memorize the book after its first reading. The first reading should be to familiarise oneself with the contents, the second reading should be a remembrance, and the third reading will aid in memory. Also, each one has a different pace when it comes to memorizing, and thus learning must happen at an individual’s specific pace only.
• If you’re short on time, consider using flowcharts instead of text-based solutions. A flowchart can easily summarise the entire answer. Similarly, tables are useful for presenting any type of data. Rather than burying material in the text and making it harder for the examiner to find, use tables to make the answer more appealing.
• Begin the answers with a brief overview of the topic or keyword. In this area, always provide context for the answer. The body of the answer is made up of the answer to the specific question that was posed. Divide the question into sections to give the answer several dimensions. Finally, the ending should always be upbeat and forward-looking.

The above-mentioned information could serve as a beginner’s guide to passing the UPSC civil services test by reading important books. Remember, it’s always about the quality, not the number. Rather than gaining half-knowledge from numerous publications, choose the ideal book and devote your entire attention to it. For any subject, IAS aspirants should avoid using a huge number of books. Only standard books and study materials should be used. Rather than looking for fresh study material, they should concentrate on revising the classic works over and over again. While reading any of the topics, use a pointer to highlight the keywords, paragraphs, and equations for a better and faster understanding. Make it a habit to take notes when preparing from recommended sources, books, or study materials so you can review them quickly. Happy Learning dear aspirants!!

1. FAQ: Why is reading books essential for UPSC preparation?

Answer: Reading books is crucial for UPSC aspirants as it provides in-depth knowledge, diverse perspectives, and a comprehensive understanding of various subjects. It helps candidates develop analytical skills, critical thinking, and a holistic approach to the topics covered in the exam.

2. FAQ: What are the top 15 important books for UPSC preparation?

Answer: The list of essential books for UPSC includes classics like “India’s Struggle for Independence” by Bipan Chandra, “Indian Polity” by M. Laxmikanth, “Economic Survey of India,” and “NCERT textbooks for history, geography, and science.” Additionally, candidates should explore newspapers, government reports, and current affairs magazines for a well-rounded preparation.

3. FAQ: How can I manage time effectively while reading these books?

Answer: Time management is crucial for UPSC preparation. Create a realistic study schedule, allocate specific time slots for each subject, and prioritize based on your strengths and weaknesses. Break down your reading into manageable chunks, and don’t forget to include breaks for relaxation and revision.

4. FAQ: Can I solely rely on online resources and avoid physical books?

Answer: While online resources are valuable, relying solely on them may not be sufficient. Physical books provide in-depth coverage and a tangible reference for revision. Combining both online and offline resources ensures a well-rounded preparation, catering to the diverse nature of the UPSC exam.

5. FAQ: How do I make the most out of the books I read for UPSC preparation?

Answer: Actively engage with the material by taking notes, highlighting key points, and summarizing chapters. Regularly revise the content to reinforce your understanding. Additionally, practice answer writing and solve previous years’ question papers to apply the knowledge gained from the books in a practical exam-oriented manner.

In case you still have your doubts, contact us on 9811333901.  

For UPSC Prelims Resources,  Click here

For Daily Updates and Study Material:

Join our Telegram Channel –  Edukemy for IAS

• 1. Learn through Videos –  here
• 2. Be Exam Ready by Practicing Daily MCQs –  here
• 3. Daily Newsletter – Get all your Current Affairs Covered –  here
• 4. Mains Answer Writing Practice –  here

Visit our YouTube Channel –  here

• Science and Technology – Booklist for UPSC
• Explore the Top Scorers in Geography Optional
• TNPSC Group 1 Syllabus
• Why Choose PSIR Optional: Myths & Reality

Learning to Answer the “WHY”- UPSC History!

Uppsc exam pattern, upsc interview syllabus 2024, cracking upsc in one attempt, shruti sharma, air 1, cse 2021, upsc gs 1 mains syllabus, upsc prelims 2024 – subject wise bullet points – geography, upsc mains syllabus, upsc toppers 2021 – gamini singla rank 3, uppsc eligibility 2024, leave a comment cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies Got it

Keep me signed in until I sign out

Forgot your password?

A new password will be emailed to you.

Have received a new password? Login here

UPSC All India Mock Test – Edukemy Open Mock

Final Result - CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION, 2023.

• UPSC Online
• UPSC offline and Hybrid
• UPSC Optional Coaching
• UPPCS Online
• BPSC Online
• MPSC Online
• MPPSC Online
• WBPSC Online
• OPSC Online
• UPPCS Offline Coaching
• BPSC Offline Coaching
• UPSC Test Series
• State PSC Test Series
• DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS
• SUBJECT WISE CURRENT AFFAIRS
• DAILY EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
• DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ
• Daily Prelims(MCQs) Practice
• Daily Mains Answer Writing
• Free Resources

• Offline Centers
• NCERT Notes
• UDAAN Notes
• UPSC Syllabus
• UPSC Prelims PYQs
• UPSC Mains PYQs
• Prelims Preparation

How to Write an Essay for UPSC

Check the best approach to be followed in essay writing for civil services examination 2023 along with the highly recommended books on this page .

The UPSC Mains exam comprises a total of nine papers which includes essay writing for civil services examination as well. In broader terms, the essay paper in UPSC mains is divided into two sections i.e. section A & section B.

Each section also comprises four UPSC essay topics with a maximum mark of 125 each. Out of these, candidates need to choose one topic from each of the sections and write two UPSC essay papers in about 1000-1200 words each.

Thus, it is important for the aspirants to use the best strategy and practice essay writing for civil services examination thoroughly to maximize their score in the UPSC essay test .

In this blog, we have shared the useful steps to write the essay for the IAS exam including the books, past year IAS essay test topics, and everything that an aspirant must know about UPSC essay writing .

UPSC Essay Writing for Civil Services Examination 2023- Highlights

Some of the major highlights of the essay writing for the civil services exam 2023 are shared below:

• Number of UPSC essay topics : 2
• Maximum Marks: 250 marks (125 each).
• Exam Duration: 3 hours
• Word Limit: 1000-1200 words each

6 Easy Steps on Essay Writing for Civil Services Examination

IAS aspirants should formulate a strategy that aligns with the exam requirements in order to excel in the UPSC essay papers . Hence, we have shared the top six easy steps to be followed in the UPSC essay writing in order to excel in the upcoming IAS CSE 2023 exam .

Pick the UPSC Essay Topic Carefully

The first and foremost strategy of every aspirant is that they should finalize the topic only after reading all the topics carefully. This will also help them to collect sufficient points to write about the UPSC essay topics .

One should go through all the topics carefully in order to avoid switching topics in between as it would lead to a waste of time and unnecessary stress. Hence, it is advisable to read the topics 2-3 times and think about the IAS essay topics carefully.

Recall Important Points

After finalizing the topic, do not rush to write the essay immediately and think about the same for at least 30 minutes. Anyone who commences writing immediately without thinking twice may forget important pointers to be included in the UPSC essay papers .

Hence, it is advised to utilize the first 20-30 minutes to think carefully about the topic, correlate the topic with current events, talk about historical/past events, and jot down all the important points in the sheet.

Moreover, they must also arrange all the points in the proper sequence in order to excel in essay writing for civil services examination .

Formatting of the Essay

The next strategy of the aspirant is that they should follow a proper format in the UPSC essay writing papers. Once they have recalled and noted all the important pointers, the next step is to format it well as elaborated below:

• Introduction
• Background of Topic
• Main Theory
• Correlation with the latest event
• Positive and Negative Sides
• Recommend Changes

Use the Quotes Correctly

To excel in essay writing for civil services examination, candidates must jot down inspiring sentences, and quotations whenever they come across them.

However, it is advised to learn the quotes correctly with the name of the individual who has quoted them. Also, if they are unsure about the quote then they must skip it instead of writing the incorrect one.

Focus on the UPSC Essay Topics

Candidate should be clear with theessay topics for effective essay writing for civil services examination. This approach will allow them to stick around the topic and write relevant content in the essay UPSC test.

With this, they should ensure that they do not criticize any individual or government or mention anything in an offensive way in their UPSC essay writing which is not recommended.

Read More and More

Essay writing for civil services examination requires regular reading of a variety of topics and reference books recommended by mentors/friends/previous toppers.

Thus, the candidates must read the editorial section of the newspaper, and current affairs magazines every day. Moreover, they should watch discussions/debates, and solve previous question papers UPSC essay topics regularly.

Reading books and newspapers will enhance their vocabulary skills, and provide them with all the latest updates and a variety of ideas for using appropriate language in their IAS essay writing.

Best Books and Resources for UPSC Essay Writing

Along with the best preparation strategy, aspirants should also pick expert-recommended books to cover all types of essay topics for the exam. Here, we have compiled the best books and resources that would be helpful in practicing essay writing for civil services examination :

• Monthly Current Affairs Magazines by OnlyIAS
• Only IAS Kurukshetra Magazine
• Only IAS Yogana Magazine
• Only IAS Praarambh Post-Independence India
• Only IAS Praarmabh Indian Society
• The Hindu (editorial articles)

Previous Year Essay Topics for Civil Services Examination

Candidates should check the previous year’s essay topics for the UPSC exam to understand the UPSC IAS syllabus 2023 in a better manner. Hence, it is advisable to practice essay writing on the past year’s topics to determine the level of their preparation.

Thus, we have shared below the last five years’ IAS essay topics to smoothen the preparation of the aspirants.

Frequency Asked Questions (FAQ) 

Q1. How can I write a good essay for UPSC?

Ans. To write a good essay for UPSC, candidates must read the editorial section of the newspaper, and current affairs magazines on a daily basis. With this, they should watch discussions/debates, and solve previous question papers UPSC essay topics regularly.

Q2. What kind of essays are asked in UPSC?

Ans. Going by the trend analysis, most of the UPSC essay topics are related to Indian Democracy and Bureaucracy, Administration, Poverty, Economic Growth, Politics, Judiciary, Education, Indian Culture, Science & Tech, etc.

Q3. How to write introduction for UPSC essay?

Ans. You can start writing the introduction for the IAS essay with a powerful quote and then elaborate on the quote in the rest of the introduction by explaining its relation to the topic.

Q4. Who got highest marks in UPSC essay?

Ans. In 2014, Ira Singhal scored 160 marks on the UPSC essay papers.

Q5. Which is the toughest optional subject in UPSC?

Ans. Geography is considered one of the toughest optional subjects in the UPSC civil services examination.

Our Courses

THE MOST LEARNING PLATFORM

Learn From India's Best Faculty

Our Initiatives

Beginner’s roadmap, quick links.

PW-Only IAS came together specifically to carry their individual visions in a mission mode. Infusing affordability with quality and building a team where maximum members represent their experiences of Mains and Interview Stage and hence, their reliability to better understand and solve student issues.

Subscribe our Newsletter

Sign up now for our exclusive newsletter and be the first to know about our latest Initiatives, Quality Content, and much more.

Contact Details

G-Floor,4-B Pusha Road, New Delhi, 110060

• +91 9920613613
• [email protected]

Download Our App

Biginner's roadmap, suscribe now form, fill the required details to get early access of quality content..

Join Us Now

(Promise! We Will Not Spam You.)

CURRENT AF.

<div class="new-fform">

Select centre Online Mode Hybrid Mode PWonlyIAS Delhi (ORN) PWonlyIAS Delhi (MN) PWonlyIAS Lucknow PWonlyIAS Patna Other

Select course UPSC Online PSC ONline UPSC + PSC ONLINE UPSC Offline PSC Offline UPSC+PSC Offline UPSC Hybrid PSC Hybrid UPSC+PSC Hybrid Other

</div>

• Most Searched Products

Essay books for UPSC exams: Get better at writing essays in exams

Mastering Essay & Answer Writing by Dr. Awdhesh Singh

Essays for civil services and other competitive examinations by pulkit khare, 151 essays for ias/ pcs & other competitive exams by disha experts, kiran’s upsc essays solved papers of 1993 till date, select essays for civil services examination by drishti publications.

UPSC conducted the  Essay Paper , as part of the Civil Services Main Exam 2021 on 07-01-2022.

There were 8 Essay topics, out of which candidates were asked to write on two topics in 3 hours.

Candidates were supposed to answer about 1000 words for each essay (about 10-12 pages).

Table of Contents

Essay Paper UPSC 2021 Instructions

• Total Marks: 250 marks, Time duration: 3 hours.
• The essay must be written in the medium authorized in the admission certificate which must be stated clearly on the cover of this question-cum-answer (QCA) booklet in the space provided.
• No marks will be given for answers written in the medium other than the authorized one.
• Word limit, as specified, should be adhered to.
• Any page or portion of the page left blank, must be struck off clearly.

Essay Question Paper – UPSC Civil Services Main Exam (Written) 2021

Write  two  essays, choosing  one  topic from each of the following Sections A and B, in about 1000-1200 words each:

1. The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.

2. Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.

Admissions Open: Join Prelims cum Mains Course 2025 Now

3. Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.

4. The real is rational and the rational is real.

5. Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

6. What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!

7. History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.

Admissions Open: Join CSAT Course Now

8. There are better practices to “best practices”.

Most of the essays topics this year were philosophical and open to the interpretation of the candidates. However, considering the philosophical base of the questions, most candidates found the questions tricky. It was not easy to write 1000 words on each topic within the time constraints.

UPSC has ensured that the essay topics were much different from the GS questions.

A philosophical theme is clearly evident in most of the essay topics in Section A as well as Section B. This was the case in 2020 as well. However, this year it became much more prominent. It is a clue about what UPSC expects from the essay paper.

Rather than asking candidates to write on topics most aspirants are familiar or trained with, UPSC is now evaluating the essay writing skills of aspirants by providing them with abstract or philosophical topics.

Admissions Open: Join Prelims Test Series Now

The reason for such a shift in the pattern should be the change in the focus of the Commission.

All the 8 topics presented this year will test spontaneous thinking, comprehension, writing skills, and time-management of aspirants.

Repeated questions from previous years

The importance of the previous year UPSC questions cannot be stressed more.

Just like prelims, in mains too many questions came directly repeated from previous year question papers. Also, there were themes you often see in many essay books.

One such question was Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

Thinkers, Philosophers, and their Quotes

Let’s analyse the source of some of the question topics.

Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.

This essay topic was a quote going rounds on the internet. The quote is attributed to “Coach Bobbi” [Bobbi Chegwyn] on Facebook.

Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.

This essay topic was connected with J.K. Mehta’s Theory of Wantlessness!

This has also connections with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy.

The real is rational and the rational is real.

This is a quote by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel .

As per Hegel, something can be real, yet it may not exist. Also, something may not be real, it may still exist. For Hegel, reality does not mean existence.

Among philosophers, Hegel is one whose thought is extremely difficult to understand. Often to understand Hegel’s thoughts, we need to grasp his ideas, not in isolation but together with his dialogue with other philosophers, in particular, Aristotle and Kant.

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World” is a poem by William Ross Wallace that praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change in the world. The poem was first published in 1865 under the title “ What Rules the World “.

What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!

This is a quote by Will Harvey . Will Harvey (born 1967) is an American software developer and Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.

It was Karl Marx who said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.

First, it’s a tragedy because it shouldn’t have happened. Then it’s a farce (joke) because we didn’t learn from our mistakes the first time around. This is Marx’s version of dark humour.

What should aspirants preparing for next year do for an essay paper?

First of all, you should take the essay paper seriously.

Unless properly trained, it is not easy to write 10-12 pages on an abstract or philosophical topic.

You need to polish your comprehension and analytical skills.

Read different kinds of essays – particularly philosophical essays.

Give stress to the thoughts of philosophers like Immanuel Kant, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Friedrich Niche, Karl Marx etc. Start writing essays on famous quotes.

Also, be prepared to write essays touching other areas like society, polity, economy, or technology. UPSC is known for surprises.

Remember that there is nothing like a constant trend with respect to UPSC questions.

What you get by analysing the previous year question papers are clues. And only those are what you need from UPSC questions!

Aim IAS, IPS, or IFS?

About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and social entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training , Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped many aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

January 8, 2022 at 11:36 am

Upsc has chosen right path to evaluate person.one person read, listen ,rember and write in exam.He qualify exam.He is just like computer.worthy less people selected by upsc every year.They are not thinker.so our country is intellectually insolvent.civil services requires thinker to. progess country and welfare of common man.These types of question evaluate intellectual for the welfare of human being.

January 9, 2022 at 1:44 pm

You are putting the quality of a leader and a literate society in such a person who just has to follow his supremes.He/She must be a good analyst. That’s it!!!

June 13, 2022 at 12:41 pm

in the bureaucracy – there is no space for logical thinking.

once you clear the exams and get appointed – you have to follow the “protocol’ or “procedures” – its difficult to be analytical and innovative – bcos the system demands obedience and adherence to the protocol. If you follow the protocol – and even if lot of people are severely affected – you wont be taken to task. But if you are innovative – and even if ONE person gets affected – you will be punished.

January 8, 2022 at 4:02 pm

Yeah!I’ve passed upsc .

January 25, 2022 at 2:21 pm

I have written Essay on three topics..how may I share?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Follow the ClearIAS Prelims cum Mains (PCM) Integrated Approach.

Join ClearIAS PCM Course Now

UPSC Online Preparation

• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
• Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
• Indian Police Service (IPS)
• IAS Exam Eligibility
• UPSC Free Study Materials
• UPSC Exam Guidance
• UPSC Prelims Test Series
• UPSC Syllabus
• UPSC Online
• UPSC Prelims
• UPSC Interview
• UPSC Toppers
• UPSC Previous Year Qns
• UPSC Age Calculator
• UPSC Calendar 2024
• About ClearIAS
• ClearIAS Programs
• ClearIAS Fee Structure
• IAS Coaching
• UPSC Coaching
• UPSC Online Coaching
• ClearIAS Blog
• Important Updates
• Announcements
• Book Review
• ClearIAS App
• Work with us
• Advertise with us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions
• Talk to Your Mentor

Featured on

and many more...

Press ESC to close

5 Non-Fiction Books to Read Before You Even Think of UPSC: Click Here to Know it All

In the period before you start preparing for the UPSC exam in all seriousness, you can try and lay a strong foundation for yourself. Empower yourself with knowledge and skills that will stand you in good stead when you sit for the exam and further in your career.

One very pertinent habit you can inculcate in yourself is of reading varied literature. Read books that will give you an insight into the social and political mores of the world. You must read the erudite writers who have explained and analyzed such issues in their books.

Here in this article, you will find some authors and their works which are recommended by experts. These works are a pragmatic look into Indian polity and the social milieu as it was and as it is. These are all scholars who are recognized around the world. The books will arm you with facts on India and a deep analysis of how our country has shaped and where it can go.

Also Read: Must-Read Books for UPSC IAS Exam as Recommended by Toppers

List of Must-Read Books for UPSC

1. india after gandhi by ramchandra guha.

This book is an account of modern Indian history post its independence, written by the historian Ramchandra Guha is a must-read book for UPSC. He consulted papers of many important figures and newspaper records from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. He particularly found the papers of Mr C Rajagopalachari and Mr P N Haksar very useful. This book won recognition from The Economist, The World Street Journal, The Outlook, and The Sahitya Academy of India, among others.

2. PaxIndica by Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor, a well-known diplomat, author, and politician, speaks of how Indian diplomacy has come of age and talks of where it will need to focus on the new age. He analyses India’s major international relationships, evokes the country’s soft power, and talks of how and why he thinks it is time for India to move from non-alignment to multi-alignment.  He speaks of the global responsibility of India in the connected world of today.

3. Seeing like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon

Nivedita, Professor of Political Thought at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and a writer who addresses women’s issues explore the transforming world with a lens of feminism. How the world is irrevocably being influenced by this world view. Be it the sexual harassment charges against world figures, caste politics challenging feminism or the ban on the veil in France, Menon addresses all of them and explores the world as it changes in light of such movements.

4. Wonder that was India by A L Basham

A L Basham was a historian, Indologist, and author. His book addresses the history of India, its social changes, the confluence of multiple cultures, governance, science, philosophy, literature, and also how the many invasions influenced our country through the centuries. This book is a must-read to understand the Indian culture and the influence of the history of modern India.

Also Read: List of UPSC Mains books for Hindi Medium Students

5. Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen

A Nobel Prize-winning Economist, Amartya Sen has written this insightful book that is a collection of essays on India’s history and identity with a focus on its traditions of public debate and intellectual pluralism. This is one of the must-read books for UPSC. He has attempted to understand contemporary India in light of its tradition of public debates. He feels this is important for the success of India’s democratic tradition, secular politics, and removal of many biases of caste, gender, and community that unfortunately exist even today.

These are just some books that you must read to understand India, as it was, as it is and as it is evolving, and its role in the global scenario. They will help you formulate your own opinions and maybe help chart a path for yourself and your nation, even as a citizen.

Read these and similar books even before you embark upon your preparation. They will help you strengthen your knowledge base, your world view, and challenge your thought processes. They will enhance your analytical abilities and help you reason in light of facts. Exercises which will help you not only to study but also will help you when you walk down those cherished corridors.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Share Article:

About the Author

Shilpa is a professional web content writer and is in deep love with travelling. She completed her mass communication degree and is now dedicatedly playing with words to guide her readers to get the best for themselves. Developing educational content for UPSC, IELTS aspirants from breakthrough research work is her forte. Strongly driven by her zodiac sign Sagittarius, Shilpa loves to live her life on her own notes and completely agrees with the idea of ‘live and let live. Apart from writing and travelling, most of the time she can be seen in the avatar of 'hooman' mom to her pets and street dogs or else you can also catch her wearing the toque blanche and creating magic in the kitchen on weekends.

You might also like

Is UPSC Online Coaching Worth It? Unveiling its Effectiveness

Is UPSC Pathshala Platform Good for UPSC? Your Guide

Which is the Best Pen for Writing UPSC Mains? Your Guide

Other stories, who is the first ias officer in india know biography of satyendranath tagore, physically handicapped criteria for upsc: all about physically handicapped reservations.

Forgot your password?

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login

20 Non-Fiction Books for IAS Preparation

The preparation of upsc civil services is a journey in itself. the beauty of this journey is its scope. upsc exam syllabus is such that you cannot read a list of standard ias preparation books and guides and say that the syllabus is covered. the upsc preparation goes way beyond the reading of standard textbooks and guides., ias preparation books: 20 non-fiction books list.

• 10 Judgments That Changed India by Zia Mody
• Advice and Dissent: My Life in Public Service by Y.V. Reddy
• Battles Half Won: India’s Improbable Democracy by Ashutosh Varshney
• Everybody Loves a Good Drought by P. Sainath
• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
• How India Sees the World: From Kautilya to Modi: Kautilya to the 21st Century written by Shyam Saran
• In Spite Of The Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India by Edward Luce
• India After Gandhi: The History Of The World’s Largest Democracy by Ramachandra Guha
• India Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in Our Time by Shashi Tharoor
• India: Priorities for the Future by Bimal Jalan
• Mistaken Modernity: India between Worlds by Dipankar Gupta
• No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully
• Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century
• Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations by Nandan Nilekani
• Sapiens : by Yuval Noah Harari “ Best in the list ”
• The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity by Amartya Sen
• The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma by Gurcharan Das
• The Sixth Extinction : An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winner
• The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Basham
• Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by James A. Robinson Daron Acemoglu

Please note this IAS Preparation books list of non-fiction books is not an all exhaustive list. There are many other books which are as good as the ones given above. Hope this helps.

Happy Learning!

Free Upsc Premium Channel

Revise yearly current affairs, summaries of vision ias tests, buy books for offer, related posts:.

• What is the Best Study Material for IAS Exam Preparation?
• Get Standard Books
• UPSC IAS Prelims Book List and Links
• Early History of INDIA Penguin Books PDF
• Best Telegram Channels for UPSC Preparation and IAS Preparation
• Standard Books
• History Notes for Civil Services Preparation 2019
• NCERT BOOKS DOWNLOAD

Vision IAS Mains 2018 Test 25 Final [All Tests Completed]

October 30, 2018

Insight IAS Prelims 2019 Test 9 With Solutions

September 5, 2018

Receive the latest articles in your inbox

Email Address

Subscribe Now

Disclaimer:-

freeupscmaterials.org does not own this Materials, Test Series or anything we share, neither created nor scanned. we just providing the links already available on Internet. and also we doesn't Own any trademarks or copyrights of any institute like Vision IAS, Vajiram and Ravi, Gs Score, Insight IAS, IAS Baba, Forum IAS, Shankar IAS and others which we share are purely for Education purpose only and all copyrights and Trademarks lies with the respective Institutes/Comapanies only . We don't intend to either harm or encash your hard work, if any way you feel that our content violates any Copyrights or any privacy laws or if you have any issue, please let us know at [email protected] and we will definitely try to provide possible solution for the same. Thank you.

3 thoughts on “20 Non-Fiction Books for IAS Preparation”

You are doing great job sir ……sir please provide shubhra ranjan mam’s coaching center quality enrichment notes of gs1 to gs4 in question answer format for 2018

A very good List.. Indeed.. Sapiens is the masterpiece. I have already read 6 books from above list. Going to read PAX INDICA by Shashi Tharoor…

Thanks for ur work.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• India Today
• Business Today
• Reader’s Digest
• Harper's Bazaar
• Brides Today
• Cosmopolitan
• Aaj Tak Campus
• India Today Hindi

UPSC 2023 topper Aditya Srivastava's mock essay copy goes viral, internet reacts

Upsc topper 2023 aditya srivastava's essay mock test copy has gone viral, sparking various reactions from the internet..

Listen to Story

• UPSC topper Aditya Srivastava's essay mock test goes viral
• Netizens debate essay's relevance in UPSC
• Lucknow's Aditya Srivastava became UPSC 2023 topper

The UPSC 2023 results were recently announced, with Lucknow's Aditya Srivastava emerging as the IAS topper. As aspirants gear up for UPSC prelims 2024, many are eager to learn from the strategies of Aditya and other toppers. Aditya's essay mock test copy has gone viral, sparking various reactions from netizens. Some are questioning the relevance of the essay in UPSC CSE.

The essay, which begins with a reference to Oppenheimer's idea of the Manhattan Project, discusses the balance between logic and emotion--"A mind all logic is like a knife all blade, it makes the hand bleed that uses it."

IAS Topper Aditya Srivastava CSE AIR-1 Essay Mock Test Copy 👇 A Thread ðŸçµ pic.twitter.com/Y2SjL2Igff — UPSC NOTES (@UPSC_Notes) April 17, 2024

The Internet is giving the viral essay a mixed response. Some like the reference, while some are unhappy with the curation:

"Not at all impressed," a user commented.

"Salute to perfection," another user posted on X.

"Kids, the only thing matters is a good handwriting," another comment reads.

NPR suspends senior editor Uri Berliner after essay accusing outlet of liberal bias

Npr suspended senior editor uri berliner a week after he authored an online essay accusing the outlet of allowing liberal bias in its coverage..

NPR has suspended a senior editor who authored an essay published last week on an online news site in which he argued that the network had "lost America's trust" because of a liberal bias in its coverage, the outlet reported.

Uri Berliner was suspended Friday for five days without pay, NPR reported Tuesday . The revelation came exactly a week after Berliner publicly claimed in an essay for The Free Press, an online news publication, that NPR had allowed a "liberal bent" to influence its coverage, causing the outlet to steadily lose credibility with audiences.

The essay reignited the criticism that many prominent conservatives have long leveled against NPR and prompted newsroom leadership to implement monthly internal reviews of the network's coverage, NPR reported. Berliner's essay also angered many of his colleagues and exposed NPR's new chief executive Katherine Maher to a string of attacks from conservatives over her past social media posts.

In a statement Monday to NPR, Maher refuted Berliner's claims by underscoring NPR's commitment to objective coverage of national issues.

"In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen," Maher said. "What matters is NPR's work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests."

Heat exposure law: Florida joins Texas in banning local heat protections for outdoor workers

Berliner rails against NPR's coverage of COVID-19, diversity efforts

Berliner, a senior business editor who has worked at NPR for 25 years, argued in the Free Press essay that “people at every level of NPR have comfortably coalesced around the progressive worldview.”

While he claimed that NPR has always had a "liberal bent" ever since he was hired at the outlet, he wrote that it has since lost its "open-minded spirit," and, hence, "an audience that reflects America."

The Peabody Award-winning journalist highlighted what he viewed as examples of the network's partisan coverage of several major news events, including the origins of COVID-19 and the war in Gaza . Berliner also lambasted NPR's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies – as reflected both within its newsroom and in its coverage – as making race and identity "paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace.”

"All this reflected a broader movement in the culture of people clustering together based on ideology or a characteristic of birth," he wrote.

Uri Berliner's essay fuels conservative attacks on NPR

In response to the essay, many prominent conservatives and Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, launched renewed attacks at NPR for what they perceive as partisan coverage.

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo in particular targeted Maher for messages she posted to social media years before joining the network – her  first at a news organization . Among the posts singled out were  a 2020 tweet that called Trump racist .

Trump reiterated on his social media platform, Truth Social, his longstanding argument that NPR’s government funding should be rescinded.

NPR issues formal rebuke to Berliner

Berliner provided an NPR reporter with a copy of the formal rebuke for review in which the organization told the editor he had not been approved to write for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists.

NPR also said he publicly released confidential proprietary information about audience demographics, the outlet reported.

Leadership said the letter was a "final warning" for Berliner, who would be fired for future violations of NPR's policies, according to NPR's reporting. Berliner, who is a dues-paying member of NPR's newsroom union, told the NPR reporter that he is not appealing the punishment.

A spokeswoman for NPR said the outlet declined to comment on Berliner's essay or the news of his suspension when reached Tuesday by USA TODAY.

"NPR does not comment on individual personnel matters, including discipline," according to the statement. "We expect all of our employees to comply with NPR policies and procedures, which for our editorial staff includes the NPR Ethics Handbook ."

NPR staffer express dismay; leadership puts coverage reviews in place

According to the NPR article, Berliner's essay also invoked the ire of many of his colleagues and the reporters whose stories he would be responsible for editing.

"Newsrooms run on trust," NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben said in a post last week on social media site X, though he didn't mention Berliner by name. "If you violate everyone's trust by going to another outlet and [expletive] on your colleagues (while doing a bad job journalistically, for that matter), I don't know how you do your job now."

Amid the fallout, NPR reported that NPR's chief news executive Edith Chapin announced to the newsroom late Monday afternoon that Executive Editor Eva Rodriguez would lead monthly meetings to review coverage.

Berliner expressed no regrets about publishing the essay in an interview with NPR, adding that he tried repeatedly to make his concerns over NPR's coverage known to news leaders.

"I love NPR and feel it's a national trust," Berliner says. "We have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they're capable of, this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners."

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

AI Index: State of AI in 13 Charts

In the new report, foundation models dominate, benchmarks fall, prices skyrocket, and on the global stage, the U.S. overshadows.

This year’s AI Index — a 500-page report tracking 2023’s worldwide trends in AI — is out.

The index is an independent initiative at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), led by the AI Index Steering Committee, an interdisciplinary group of experts from across academia and industry. This year’s report covers the rise of multimodal foundation models, major cash investments into generative AI, new performance benchmarks, shifting global opinions, and new major regulations.

Don’t have an afternoon to pore through the findings? Check out the high level here.

A Move Toward Open-Sourced

This past year, organizations released 149 foundation models, more than double the number released in 2022. Of these newly released models, 65.7% were open-source (meaning they can be freely used and modified by anyone), compared with only 44.4% in 2022 and 33.3% in 2021.

But At a Cost of Performance?

Closed-source models still outperform their open-sourced counterparts. On 10 selected benchmarks, closed models achieved a median performance advantage of 24.2%, with differences ranging from as little as 4.0% on mathematical tasks like GSM8K to as much as 317.7% on agentic tasks like AgentBench.

Biggest Players

Industry dominates AI, especially in building and releasing foundation models. This past year Google edged out other industry players in releasing the most models, including Gemini and RT-2. In fact, since 2019, Google has led in releasing the most foundation models, with a total of 40, followed by OpenAI with 20. Academia trails industry: This past year, UC Berkeley released three models and Stanford two.

Industry Dwarfs All

If you needed more striking evidence that corporate AI is the only player in the room right now, this should do it. In 2023, industry accounted for 72% of all new foundation models.

Prices Skyrocket

One of the reasons academia and government have been edged out of the AI race: the exponential increase in cost of training these giant models. Google’s Gemini Ultra cost an estimated $191 million worth of compute to train, while OpenAI’s GPT-4 cost an estimated $78 million. In comparison, in 2017, the original Transformer model, which introduced the architecture that underpins virtually every modern LLM, cost around $900.

What AI Race?

At least in terms of notable machine learning models, the United States vastly outpaced other countries in 2023, developing a total of 61 models in 2023. Since 2019, the U.S. has consistently led in originating the majority of notable models, followed by China and the UK.

Move Over, Human

As of 2023, AI has hit human-level performance on many significant AI benchmarks, from those testing reading comprehension to visual reasoning. Still, it falls just short on some benchmarks like competition-level math. Because AI has been blasting past so many standard benchmarks, AI scholars have had to create new and more difficult challenges. This year’s index also tracked several of these new benchmarks, including those for tasks in coding, advanced reasoning, and agentic behavior.

Private Investment Drops (But We See You, GenAI)

While AI private investment has steadily dropped since 2021, generative AI is gaining steam. In 2023, the sector attracted $25.2 billion, nearly ninefold the investment of 2022 and about 30 times the amount from 2019 (call it the ChatGPT effect). Generative AI accounted for over a quarter of all AI-related private investments in 2023.

U.S. Wins $$ Race

And again, in 2023 the United States dominates in AI private investment. In 2023, the $67.2 billion invested in the U.S. was roughly 8.7 times greater than the amount invested in the next highest country, China, and 17.8 times the amount invested in the United Kingdom. That lineup looks the same when zooming out: Cumulatively since 2013, the United States leads investments at $335.2 billion, followed by China with $103.7 billion, and the United Kingdom at $22.3 billion.

Where is Corporate Adoption?

More companies are implementing AI in some part of their business: In surveys, 55% of organizations said they were using AI in 2023, up from 50% in 2022 and 20% in 2017. Businesses report using AI to automate contact centers, personalize content, and acquire new customers. 

Younger and Wealthier People Worry About Jobs

Globally, most people expect AI to change their jobs, and more than a third expect AI to replace them. Younger generations — Gen Z and millennials — anticipate more substantial effects from AI compared with older generations like Gen X and baby boomers. Specifically, 66% of Gen Z compared with 46% of boomer respondents believe AI will significantly affect their current jobs. Meanwhile, individuals with higher incomes, more education, and decision-making roles foresee AI having a great impact on their employment.

While the Commonwealth Worries About AI Products

When asked in a survey about whether AI products and services make you nervous, 69% of Aussies and 65% of Brits said yes. Japan is the least worried about their AI products at 23%.  

Regulation Rallies

More American regulatory agencies are passing regulations to protect citizens and govern the use of AI tools and data. For example, the Copyright Office and the Library of Congress passed copyright registration guidance concerning works that contained material generated by AI, while the Securities and Exchange Commission developed a cybersecurity risk management strategy, governance, and incident disclosure plan. The agencies to pass the most regulation were the Executive Office of the President and the Commerce Department. 

The AI Index was first created to track AI development. The index collaborates with such organizations as LinkedIn, Quid, McKinsey, Studyportals, the Schwartz Reisman Institute, and the International Federation of Robotics to gather the most current research and feature important insights on the AI ecosystem. 

More News Topics

Call us @ 08069405205

Search Here

• An Introduction to the CSE Exam
• Personality Test
• Annual Calendar by UPSC-2024
• Common Myths about the Exam
• About Insights IAS
• Our Mission, Vision & Values
• Director's Desk
• Meet Our Team
• Our Branches
• Careers at Insights IAS
• Daily Current Affairs+PIB Summary
• Insights into Editorials
• Insta Revision Modules for Prelims
• Current Affairs Quiz
• Static Quiz
• Current Affairs RTM
• Insta-DART(CSAT)
• Insta 75 Days Revision Tests for Prelims 2024
• Secure (Mains Answer writing)
• Secure Synopsis
• Ethics Case Studies
• Insta Ethics
• Weekly Essay Challenge
• Insta Revision Modules-Mains
• Insta 75 Days Revision Tests for Mains
• Secure (Archive)
• Anthropology
• Law Optional
• Kannada Literature
• Public Administration
• English Literature
• Medical Science
• Mathematics
• Commerce & Accountancy
• Monthly Magazine: CURRENT AFFAIRS 30
• Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)
• InstaMaps: Important Places in News
• Weekly CA Magazine
• The PRIME Magazine
• Insta Revision Modules-Prelims
• Insta-DART(CSAT) Quiz
• Insta 75 days Revision Tests for Prelims 2022
• Insights SECURE(Mains Answer Writing)
• Interview Transcripts
• Previous Years' Question Papers-Prelims
• Answer Keys for Prelims PYQs
• Solve Prelims PYQs
• Previous Years' Question Papers-Mains
• UPSC CSE Syllabus
• Toppers from Insights IAS
• Testimonials
• Felicitation
• UPSC Results
• Indian Heritage & Culture
• Ancient Indian History
• Medieval Indian History
• Modern Indian History
• World History
• World Geography
• Indian Geography
• Indian Society
• Social Justice
• International Relations
• Agriculture
• Environment & Ecology
• Disaster Management
• Science & Technology
• Security Issues
• Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

• Indian Heritage & Culture
• Enivornment & Ecology

[COMPILATION] Insights Current Affairs, March 2024

Dear Students,

Our motto has always been to  simplify your UPSC CSE preparation . In pursuance of the above objective, our team decided to improve the magazines further.

The new and improved version of our Monthly CA Magazine: CURRENT AFFAIRS 30 has several features/changes:

• No more bullets in the index (a much-requested feature! Yes, we are always listening to feedback.)
• The  font size has been increased  to make it easier to read
• The layout  has been tweaked and customized to the content. We wanted users who access our website through a mobile phone to be able to read the content easily without any hassles.
• We have incorporated a  lot of tables  (have you noticed the change in our Daily CA too?). Our team wanted to ensure that our Daily CA consists of  relevant and value-packed content . We wanted to make our Daily CA & Magazines an effective study aid that will empower you to revise more effectively.
• InstaGraphics  have been incorporated. They make it easier to study and retain information.
• InstaLinks  have been added
• Prelims and Mains Questions  are included for each topic (including  PYQs  where relevant).
• Mapping : Important Places in News in India and the world have been included. Download it here: [New Release: Monthly Compilation] InstaMaps for UPSC CSE: Important Places in News in India & the World -March 2023 – INSIGHTSIAS (insightsonindia.com)
• Content For Mains Enrichment:  for the extra boost in Mains, especially Essay and Ethics
• Quotes  are included too
• The content is edited in a manner that ensures all important data/information is retained, without compromising on the quality.

Please remember that the length can be attributed to the above features. We wanted to ensure that you can read the content easily.

We hope that you find our Monthly CA Magazine beneficial! Please leave your feedback in the comments. We will improve it further based on what you think and need to prepare for UPSC CSE in an effective manner. Thank you!

Here is a  glimpse of Monthly Current Affairs magazine: CURRENT AFFAIRS 30 for MARCH 2024

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD  THE MARCH 2024 EDITION OF CURRENT AFFAIRS 30 MAGAZINE

• Join our  Official Telegram Channel  HERE for Motivation and Quick Updates
• Subscribe to our  YouTube Channel   HERE

• Our Mission, Vision & Values
• Director’s Desk
• Commerce & Accountancy
• Previous Years’ Question Papers-Prelims
• Previous Years’ Question Papers-Mains
• Environment & Ecology
• Science & Technology

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism

David Folkenflik

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public's trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument. Uri Berliner hide caption

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public's trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument.

NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had "lost America's trust" by approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset.

Berliner's five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday, has not been previously reported.

Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner's essay for the online news site The Free Press . It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network's coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump.

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo is among those now targeting NPR's new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the network. Among others, those posts include a 2020 tweet that called Trump racist and another that appeared to minimize rioting during social justice protests that year. Maher took the job at NPR last month — her first at a news organization .

In a statement Monday about the messages she had posted, Maher praised the integrity of NPR's journalists and underscored the independence of their reporting.

"In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen," she said. "What matters is NPR's work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests."

The network noted that "the CEO is not involved in editorial decisions."

In an interview with me later on Monday, Berliner said the social media posts demonstrated Maher was all but incapable of being the person best poised to direct the organization.

"We're looking for a leader right now who's going to be unifying and bring more people into the tent and have a broader perspective on, sort of, what America is all about," Berliner said. "And this seems to be the opposite of that."

Conservative critics of NPR are now targeting its new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the public radio network last month. Stephen Voss/Stephen Voss hide caption

Conservative critics of NPR are now targeting its new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the public radio network last month.

He said that he tried repeatedly to make his concerns over NPR's coverage known to news leaders and to Maher's predecessor as chief executive before publishing his essay.

Berliner has singled out coverage of several issues dominating the 2020s for criticism, including trans rights, the Israel-Hamas war and COVID. Berliner says he sees the same problems at other news organizations, but argues NPR, as a mission-driven institution, has a greater obligation to fairness.

"I love NPR and feel it's a national trust," Berliner says. "We have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they're capable of, this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners."

A "final warning"

The circumstances surrounding the interview were singular.

Berliner provided me with a copy of the formal rebuke to review. NPR did not confirm or comment upon his suspension for this article.

In presenting Berliner's suspension Thursday afternoon, the organization told the editor he had failed to secure its approval for outside work for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists. It called the letter a "final warning," saying Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR's policy again. Berliner is a dues-paying member of NPR's newsroom union but says he is not appealing the punishment.

The Free Press is a site that has become a haven for journalists who believe that mainstream media outlets have become too liberal. In addition to his essay, Berliner appeared in an episode of its podcast Honestly with Bari Weiss.

A few hours after the essay appeared online, NPR chief business editor Pallavi Gogoi reminded Berliner of the requirement that he secure approval before appearing in outside press, according to a copy of the note provided by Berliner.

In its formal rebuke, NPR did not cite Berliner's appearance on Chris Cuomo's NewsNation program last Tuesday night, for which NPR gave him the green light. (NPR's chief communications officer told Berliner to focus on his own experience and not share proprietary information.) The NPR letter also did not cite his remarks to The New York Times , which ran its article mid-afternoon Thursday, shortly before the reprimand was sent. Berliner says he did not seek approval before talking with the Times .

NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

Berliner says he did not get permission from NPR to speak with me for this story but that he was not worried about the consequences: "Talking to an NPR journalist and being fired for that would be extraordinary, I think."

Berliner is a member of NPR's business desk, as am I, and he has helped to edit many of my stories. He had no involvement in the preparation of this article and did not see it before it was posted publicly.

In rebuking Berliner, NPR said he had also publicly released proprietary information about audience demographics, which it considers confidential. He said those figures "were essentially marketing material. If they had been really good, they probably would have distributed them and sent them out to the world."

Feelings of anger and betrayal inside the newsroom

His essay and subsequent public remarks stirred deep anger and dismay within NPR. Colleagues contend Berliner cherry-picked examples to fit his arguments and challenge the accuracy of his accounts. They also note he did not seek comment from the journalists involved in the work he cited.

Morning Edition host Michel Martin told me some colleagues at the network share Berliner's concerns that coverage is frequently presented through an ideological or idealistic prism that can alienate listeners.

"The way to address that is through training and mentorship," says Martin, herself a veteran of nearly two decades at the network who has also reported for The Wall Street Journal and ABC News. "It's not by blowing the place up, by trashing your colleagues, in full view of people who don't really care about it anyway."

Several NPR journalists told me they are no longer willing to work with Berliner as they no longer have confidence that he will keep private their internal musings about stories as they work through coverage.

"Newsrooms run on trust," NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben tweeted last week, without mentioning Berliner by name. "If you violate everyone's trust by going to another outlet and sh--ing on your colleagues (while doing a bad job journalistically, for that matter), I don't know how you do your job now."

Berliner rejected that critique, saying nothing in his essay or subsequent remarks betrayed private observations or arguments about coverage.

Other newsrooms are also grappling with questions over news judgment and confidentiality. On Monday, New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn announced to his staff that the newspaper's inquiry into who leaked internal dissent over a planned episode of its podcast The Daily to another news outlet proved inconclusive. The episode was to focus on a December report on the use of sexual assault as part of the Hamas attack on Israel in October. Audio staffers aired doubts over how well the reporting stood up to scrutiny.

"We work together with trust and collegiality everyday on everything we produce, and I have every expectation that this incident will prove to be a singular exception to an important rule," Kahn wrote to Times staffers.

At NPR, some of Berliner's colleagues have weighed in online against his claim that the network has focused on diversifying its workforce without a concomitant commitment to diversity of viewpoint. Recently retired Chief Executive John Lansing has referred to this pursuit of diversity within NPR's workforce as its " North Star ," a moral imperative and chief business strategy.

In his essay, Berliner tagged the strategy as a failure, citing the drop in NPR's broadcast audiences and its struggle to attract more Black and Latino listeners in particular.

"During most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding," Berliner writes. "In recent years, however, that has changed."

Berliner writes, "For NPR, which purports to consider all things, it's devastating both for its journalism and its business model."

NPR investigative reporter Chiara Eisner wrote in a comment for this story: "Minorities do not all think the same and do not report the same. Good reporters and editors should know that by now. It's embarrassing to me as a reporter at NPR that a senior editor here missed that point in 2024."

Some colleagues drafted a letter to Maher and NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, seeking greater clarity on NPR's standards for its coverage and the behavior of its journalists — clearly pointed at Berliner.

A plan for "healthy discussion"

On Friday, CEO Maher stood up for the network's mission and the journalism, taking issue with Berliner's critique, though never mentioning him by name. Among her chief issues, she said Berliner's essay offered "a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are."

Berliner took great exception to that, saying she had denigrated him. He said that he supported diversifying NPR's workforce to look more like the U.S. population at large. She did not address that in a subsequent private exchange he shared with me for this story. (An NPR spokesperson declined further comment.)

Late Monday afternoon, Chapin announced to the newsroom that Executive Editor Eva Rodriguez would lead monthly meetings to review coverage.

"Among the questions we'll ask of ourselves each month: Did we capture the diversity of this country — racial, ethnic, religious, economic, political geographic, etc — in all of its complexity and in a way that helped listeners and readers recognize themselves and their communities?" Chapin wrote in the memo. "Did we offer coverage that helped them understand — even if just a bit better — those neighbors with whom they share little in common?"

Berliner said he welcomed the announcement but would withhold judgment until those meetings played out.

In a text for this story, Chapin said such sessions had been discussed since Lansing unified the news and programming divisions under her acting leadership last year.

"Now seemed [the] time to deliver if we were going to do it," Chapin said. "Healthy discussion is something we need more of."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

• Katherine Maher
• uri berliner

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

NPR in Turmoil After It Is Accused of Liberal Bias

An essay from an editor at the broadcaster has generated a firestorm of criticism about the network on social media, especially among conservatives.

By Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson

NPR is facing both internal tumult and a fusillade of attacks by prominent conservatives this week after a senior editor publicly claimed the broadcaster had allowed liberal bias to affect its coverage, risking its trust with audiences.

Uri Berliner, a senior business editor who has worked at NPR for 25 years, wrote in an essay published Tuesday by The Free Press, a popular Substack publication, that “people at every level of NPR have comfortably coalesced around the progressive worldview.”

Mr. Berliner, a Peabody Award-winning journalist, castigated NPR for what he said was a litany of journalistic missteps around coverage of several major news events, including the origins of Covid-19 and the war in Gaza. He also said the internal culture at NPR had placed race and identity as “paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace.”

Mr. Berliner’s essay has ignited a firestorm of criticism of NPR on social media, especially among conservatives who have long accused the network of political bias in its reporting. Former President Donald J. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to argue that NPR’s government funding should be rescinded, an argument he has made in the past.

NPR has forcefully pushed back on Mr. Berliner’s accusations and the criticism.

“We’re proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories,” Edith Chapin, the organization’s editor in chief, said in an email to staff on Tuesday. “We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world.” Some other NPR journalists also criticized the essay publicly, including Eric Deggans, its TV critic, who faulted Mr. Berliner for not giving NPR an opportunity to comment on the piece.

In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Berliner expressed no regrets about publishing the essay, saying he loved NPR and hoped to make it better by airing criticisms that have gone unheeded by leaders for years. He called NPR a “national trust” that people rely on for fair reporting and superb storytelling.

“I decided to go out and publish it in hopes that something would change, and that we get a broader conversation going about how the news is covered,” Mr. Berliner said.

He said he had not been disciplined by managers, though he said he had received a note from his supervisor reminding him that NPR requires employees to clear speaking appearances and media requests with standards and media relations. He said he didn’t run his remarks to The New York Times by network spokespeople.

When the hosts of NPR’s biggest shows, including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” convened on Wednesday afternoon for a long-scheduled meet-and-greet with the network’s new chief executive, Katherine Maher , conversation soon turned to Mr. Berliner’s essay, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting. During the lunch, Ms. Chapin told the hosts that she didn’t want Mr. Berliner to become a “martyr,” the people said.

Mr. Berliner’s essay also sent critical Slack messages whizzing through some of the same employee affinity groups focused on racial and sexual identity that he cited in his essay. In one group, several staff members disputed Mr. Berliner’s points about a lack of ideological diversity and said efforts to recruit more people of color would make NPR’s journalism better.

On Wednesday, staff members from “Morning Edition” convened to discuss the fallout from Mr. Berliner’s essay. During the meeting, an NPR producer took issue with Mr. Berliner’s argument for why NPR’s listenership has fallen off, describing a variety of factors that have contributed to the change.

Mr. Berliner’s remarks prompted vehement pushback from several news executives. Tony Cavin, NPR’s managing editor of standards and practices, said in an interview that he rejected all of Mr. Berliner’s claims of unfairness, adding that his remarks would probably make it harder for NPR journalists to do their jobs.

“The next time one of our people calls up a Republican congressman or something and tries to get an answer from them, they may well say, ‘Oh, I read these stories, you guys aren’t fair, so I’m not going to talk to you,’” Mr. Cavin said.

Some journalists have defended Mr. Berliner’s essay. Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, NPR’s former ombudsman, said Mr. Berliner was “not wrong” on social media. Chuck Holmes, a former managing editor at NPR, called Mr. Berliner’s essay “brave” on Facebook.

Mr. Berliner’s criticism was the latest salvo within NPR, which is no stranger to internal division. In October, Mr. Berliner took part in a lengthy debate over whether NPR should defer to language proposed by the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association while covering the conflict in Gaza.

“We don’t need to rely on an advocacy group’s guidance,” Mr. Berliner wrote, according to a copy of the email exchange viewed by The Times. “Our job is to seek out the facts and report them.” The debate didn’t change NPR’s language guidance, which is made by editors who weren’t part of the discussion. And in a statement on Thursday, the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association said it is a professional association for journalists, not a political advocacy group.

Mr. Berliner’s public criticism has highlighted broader concerns within NPR about the public broadcaster’s mission amid continued financial struggles. Last year, NPR cut 10 percent of its staff and canceled four podcasts, including the popular “Invisibilia,” as it tried to make up for a $30 million budget shortfall. Listeners have drifted away from traditional radio to podcasts, and the advertising market has been unsteady.

In his essay, Mr. Berliner laid some of the blame at the feet of NPR’s former chief executive, John Lansing, who said he was retiring at the end of last year after four years in the role. He was replaced by Ms. Maher, who started on March 25.

During a meeting with employees in her first week, Ms. Maher was asked what she thought about decisions to give a platform to political figures like Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican Party chair whose position as a political analyst at NBC News became untenable after an on-air revolt from hosts who criticized her efforts to undermine the 2020 election.

“I think that this conversation has been one that does not have an easy answer,” Ms. Maher responded.

Benjamin Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact Ben securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or email at [email protected] . More about Benjamin Mullin

Katie Robertson covers the media industry for The Times. Email:  [email protected]   More about Katie Robertson