Best books for every exam (2026)

Books ranked in the order you should buy them — syllabus-aligned sets first, then standard references. Choose your exam below.

Most recommended books across exams

Lucent's General Knowledge

Dr. Binay Karna, Manvendra Mishra · Lucent Publications

Recommended for 89 examsCheck price

Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations

R.S. Aggarwal · S. Chand

Recommended for 82 examsCheck price

A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning

R.S. Aggarwal · S. Chand

Recommended for 60 examsCheck price

Objective General English

S.P. Bakshi · Arihant Publications

Recommended for 56 examsCheck price

Indian Polity

M. Laxmikanth · McGraw Hill

Recommended for 30 examsCheck price

Objective Computer Awareness

R. Pillai · Arihant Publications

Recommended for 29 examsCheck price

Indian Economy

Ramesh Singh · McGraw Hill

Recommended for 29 examsCheck price

NCERT Textbooks (Class 6–12)

NCERT · NCERT

Recommended for 28 examsCheck price

A Brief History of Modern India

Rajiv Ahir · Spectrum Books

Recommended for 27 examsCheck price

Certificate Physical and Human Geography

Goh Cheng Leong · Oxford University Press

Recommended for 25 examsCheck price

Lucent's General Science

Ravi Bhushan · Lucent Publications

Recommended for 24 examsCheck price

CSAT Paper II Manual

McGraw Hill Editorial Board · McGraw Hill

Recommended for 24 examsCheck price

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Book FAQs

Which books are common to most government exams?

Lucent's General Knowledge, R.S. Aggarwal's Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning, and S.P. Bakshi's Objective General English are used for SSC, Railway, Banking, Police and State exams. NCERTs (Class 6–12) are the base for UPSC and State PSC general studies.

Should I buy many books for one subject?

No. Pick one standard book per subject and revise it several times, then practise questions. Multiple books for the same topic waste time and cause confusion.

Are old editions okay?

For static subjects (maths, reasoning, polity basics) a recent older edition is fine. For current affairs, economy, yearbooks and exam pattern-specific guides, buy the latest edition.