NCERT Books For UPSC: While UPSC preparation it is said that ‘You Must Begin with NCERT Books’. Is this a myth or reality. When going through the research on ‘Why NCERT Books is important for UPSC’ we found many interesting facts and figures. These findings really justify that aspiants must read NCERT Books during their PSC exam preparation.
The syllabus of NCERT books designed and developed by the Goverment officials who works to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education. As the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India therefore all the central governments exams like UPSC, CDA, NDA, SSC, etc. follows the syllabus and curriculum prescribed by it.
Also, during assessment through national level competitive exams the conducting body refers NCERT Books and materials for vaildatiion if their answers and questions.
Why NCERT Books is important for UPSC
The NCERT books are important for UPSC because it provides
Easy to Understand Language: Information in NCERT books is simple and of the highest quality. The books’ simple style makes it easy to memorise the abundance of information on many important subjects, which eventually helps in laying a solid foundation.
Genuine Information: The NCERT books are written and published by the Government official so the data provided in these books is highly reliable as compared to the other books
Direct Questions: After analyzing the previous year’s papers it is found that almost 10% – 15% of the questions in each paper are directly asked from NCERT.
Easy Availability: The NCERT books are also easily available in the market and each and every student who is preparing for UPSC can easily afford them.
NCERT Based Questions in UPSC Exams:
There are instances in previous years, that UPSC asks direct questions from NCERT books. Based on the data analysis of the UPSC Question paper contains nearly 10 to 15% based on NCERT Books. In 2023, there were on an average 2 questions were asked from NCERT Books. The table below shows the approximate number of questions from NCERT over the years
Year/Subject |
Current Affairs |
History |
Geography |
Polity |
Economics |
Science and Technology |
Environment |
2012 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2013 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
2014 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
2015 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2016 |
3 – 5 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
2017 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2018 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2019 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2020 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2021 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2022 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
2023 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
2 – 3 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
1 – 2 |
The below table shows the analysis of the number of questions asked in different subjects that are asked in UPSC exams over the years
Year/Subject |
Current Affairs |
History |
Geography |
Polity |
Economics |
Science and Technology |
Environment |
2012 |
11 |
19 |
15 |
17 |
15 |
9 |
14 |
2013 |
10 |
14 |
15 |
15 |
17 |
14 |
15 |
2014 |
12 |
19 |
15 |
12 |
10 |
14 |
18 |
2015 |
22 |
16 |
16 |
13 |
14 |
8 |
11 |
2016 |
30 |
15 |
6 |
7 |
17 |
8 |
17 |
2017 |
19 |
14 |
8 |
22 |
18 |
5 |
14 |
2018 |
17 |
20 |
9 |
13 |
19 |
10 |
12 |
2019 |
17 |
16 |
12 |
15 |
16 |
10 |
14 |
2020 |
19 |
19 |
12 |
15 |
14 |
10 |
11 |
2021 |
14 |
20 |
10 |
14 |
15 |
12 |
15 |
2022 |
13 |
9 |
12 |
8 |
17 |
14 |
27 |
2023 |
17 |
15 |
22 |
11 |
15 |
8 |
12 |
NCERT Books from Which Class is Required for UPSC Preparation
As the syllabus of the UPSC exam is very wide finding reliable information from available information can be a very difficult task, especially for beginners. Here in this article, we have listed the important ncert books from classes 6 to 12 which are most important for the UPSC preparation. Below we have also provided the download link to the most important books.
The table below contains the direct link to download NCERT Books