Best Books for UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) 2026
8 hand-picked, subject-wise books for UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services), aligned to the current Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) syllabus. Read one book per subject, then test yourself with a free UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) mock below — practice beats re-reading.
- Made Easy — ESE GS & Engineering Aptitude (Paper I) and discipline-wise Mains conventional practice books (gold-standard ESE-pattern series, regularly updated)
- IES Master — Discipline-wise theory + objective + conventional books (Civil / Mechanical / Electrical / E&T) plus topic-wise previous-year papers with detailed solutions
- Civil: B.C. Punmia (Surveying, RCC Design, Soil Mechanics & Foundations) · Khurmi (Strength of Materials, Theory of Structures) · S.K. Garg (Environmental Engineering Vol I & II, Irrigation) · Khanna & Justo (Highway Engineering)
- Mechanical: V.B. Bhandari (Design of Machine Elements) · Shigley (Mechanical Engineering Design) · P.K. Nag (Engineering Thermodynamics, Power Plant Engineering) · J.P. Holman (Heat Transfer) · Sadhu Singh (Theory of Machines)
- Electrical: Nagrath & Kothari (Electric Machines, Power System Engineering) · B.L. Theraja Vol I-IV (foundational reference) · A.K. Sawhney (Electrical & Electronic Measurements) · P.S. Bimbhra (Power Electronics) · Nagrath & Gopal (Control Systems)
- Electronics & Telecom: Boylestad & Nashelsky (Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory) · Sanjay Sharma (Communication Systems, Digital Signal Processing) · Schilling & Belove (Electronic Circuits — Discrete and Integrated) · Simon Haykin (Communication Systems) · D.M. Pozar (Microwave Engineering)
- UPSC ESE Previous Year Papers (last 10 years, discipline-wise — Made Easy / IES Master / G.K. Publications topic-wise solved volumes)
- Lucent's General Knowledge + a monthly current-affairs digest (Vision IAS / Insights / PT365) for the GS portion of Paper I; one standard ethics-in-engineering primer for the values & ethics sub-topic
What these books cover
Together these titles cover every section of the UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) syllabus:
UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) books — FAQs
What are the best books for UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) 2026?
Our UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) booklist has 8 expert-recommended, subject-wise titles aligned to the current Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) syllabus — covering each section the exam actually tests.
Do I need to buy all of these UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) books?
No. Pick one book per subject and finish it before adding another — more books rarely means a better score. And you don't need to buy anything to practise: every UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) mock on Kamiyab is free, built from real previous-year questions.
Can I clear UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) with self-study using these books?
Yes. These are the same standard books most self-study toppers rely on. Pair focused reading with regular free UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) mock tests and honest analysis of your mistakes.
Books build the base — mocks build the score.
Practice UPSC ESE/IES (Engineering Services) free →