Some of the best books on Indian History (Ancient and Modern) for the IAS exam are as follows - For Ancient India, read the following to strengthen your base 1. NCERT– Class 11 - Ancient India (Old) - R.S. Sharma 2. NCERT– Class 12 - Themes in Indian History- Part I’ (New)- Chapters 1 to 6 3. Tamil Nadu Edition – Class 11 For Modern India, read the following books to build up your hold on Modern history 1. A Brief History of Modern India-Spectrum History book by Rajiv Ahir 2. NCERT - Our Past - I, II, III - Class 6,7,8 3. NCERT - Themes in Indian History Part I, II, III For Class 12 4. Spectrum Modern India – Rajiv Ahir