NCERT Books for Class 10 — All Subjects, Free PDFs

At a glance

Quick answer. NCERT publishes 6 core textbooks for Class X (Class 10) in the 2025-26 academic year: Mathematics (14 chapters), Science (13 chapters), First Flight + Footprints Without Feet (English), Kshitij II + Sparsh II + Kritika + Sanchayan II (Hindi), Shemushi II + Abhyaswaan Bhav II (Sanskrit), and 4 Social Science volumes (Geography, Economics, Civics, History). Class 10 is the first CBSE board examination year — board paper draws strictly from these NCERT books. Standard admission age is 15 years.

Class 10 is the first CBSE board-exam year. The NCERT Class 10 books drive the entire board syllabus — every question on the CBSE Class 10 paper traces back to these textbooks. After 2022 rationalisation, Class 10 Mathematics has 14 chapters: Real Numbers, Polynomials, Pair of Linear Equations, Quadratic Equations, Arithmetic Progressions, Triangles, Coordinate Geometry, Trigonometry, Some Applications of Trigonometry, Circles, Areas Related to Circles, Surface Areas and Volumes, Statistics, and Probability.

Class 10 Science (one combined volume) has 13 chapters covering Chemical Reactions and Equations, Acids/Bases/Salts, Metals and Non-Metals, Carbon and its Compounds, Life Processes, Control and Coordination, How Do Organisms Reproduce, Heredity and Evolution, Light Reflection and Refraction, Human Eye and Colourful World, Electricity, Magnetic Effects of Current, and Sources of Energy. Social Science continues with four sub-books — India and the Contemporary World - II, Contemporary India - II, Democratic Politics - II, and Understanding Economic Development.

English NCERT at Class 10 covers First Flight (main reader) and Footprints Without Feet (supplementary). Hindi has four corresponding volumes — Kshitij Bhag-2, Sparsh Bhag-2, Kritika Bhag-2, and Sanchayan Bhag-2.

For CBSE Class 10 board preparation, the NCERT books are not just a study aid — they are the definitive syllabus document. Schools may use exemplar problems, RD Sharma, or Lakhmir Singh for additional practice, but the board paper itself sticks to NCERT chapters. All books below are hot-linked from ncert.nic.in for free download.

For board-exam preparation: the CBSE Class 10 board paper is built directly off these NCERT books. Solving the back-of-chapter exercises end-to-end and the NCERT Exemplar Problems (separate volumes for Maths and Science, available free on ncert.nic.in) covers the bulk of board-exam patterns. Coaching institutes typically add only past-paper practice and time-bound mock tests on top — they don't introduce new content beyond NCERT.

Class 10 board exam — what actually matters

The Class 10 CBSE board paper is 80 marks external + 20 marks internal per subject. The external paper is built strictly off the NCERT textbook. Internal assessment combines class tests, project work, and (in some subjects) practical work. The total of 100 per subject is averaged across all subjects taken — typically 5 (Hindi/English + Maths + Science + Social Science + a fifth subject like Sanskrit or Computer Applications).

The single highest-leverage preparation activity is solving every end-of-chapter NCERT exercise plus the corresponding NCERT Exemplar Problems book. Together these cover roughly 85 percent of board-paper question patterns. CBSE publishes annual sample papers around January-February at cbseacademic.nic.in — these mirror the upcoming year's paper format and should be the calibration tool for the final 4-6 weeks.

What does NOT help disproportionately:

• Commercial guidebooks (RD Sharma, Lakhmir Singh, Together with...) — these add problem volume but no new content beyond NCERT. Useful only if you've genuinely solved every NCERT + Exemplar problem first.
• Coaching tuition for Class 10 NCERT material — almost never worth the cost unless your child is genuinely behind and needs structured 1:1 support. The NCERT books are designed to be accessible without coaching.
• Late-night last-minute revision marathons — sleep deprivation in February-March kills board exam performance more than insufficient study.

Stream choice — Class 10 to Class 11 transition

The Class 11 stream choice (Science PCM, Science PCMB, Commerce, Humanities, or vocational tracks) is the single most consequential academic decision Indian students typically make before Class 12 board year. CBSE allows stream switching post-Class-10 only with rare exceptions; once Class 11 enrolment is locked, the path is mostly fixed for the next two years.

Decision framework (used by competent school counsellors):

1. Marks alone don't decide stream. A 95-percenter is not automatically Science material — Science streams demand abstract problem-solving stamina (Maths/Physics) plus memory load (Bio/Chem). A 75-percenter who actually enjoys Maths or Bio will outperform a 95-percenter forced into PCM by parental pressure.
2. Test enthusiasm before deciding. During Class 10 winter break (January), have your child solve a few Class 11 NCERT chapters from each stream — Maths Chapter 1 (Sets, Relations and Functions), Physics Chapter 1 (Units and Measurement), Biology Chapter 1 (The Living World), Accountancy Chapter 1 (Introduction to Accounting), History Chapter 1 (Themes in World History). Whichever sparks engagement is the genuine signal.
3. Career path (medical/engineering/civil services/CA/design) drives stream, not the reverse. Match the desired post-Class-12 entrance exam to the required stream — JEE Main → PCM, NEET → PCMB, CA Foundation → Commerce, CLAT → Humanities (legal aptitude), NIFT/UCEED → any stream + portfolio.
4. Vocational + skill-based tracks at Class 11 (CBSE offers Multimedia, IT, Banking, Healthcare etc.) are legitimate alternatives but usually not on parents' radar. Worth investigating if the child has a clear vocational interest.

We maintain a parent-facing stream-decision guide at /blog — search for 'Class 11 stream choice'.

Common myths about Class 10 NCERT

Myth: NCERT alone isn't enough; you need RD Sharma / RS Aggarwal. Falsified by every CBSE board topper survey since 2015. Every CBSE Class 10 topper interviewed by major Indian outlets has cited NCERT + Exemplar as the primary preparation material. Commercial books are supplementary at best, and a distraction at worst (problem-volume without targeted patterns).

Myth: The 2022 rationalisation made NCERT 'lighter' so I should use older editions for board prep. False. The CBSE board paper is built strictly off the rationalised (current) NCERT. Using a 2021-or-earlier edition will include chapters NCERT has since removed, and will not reflect the current chapter-by-chapter weightage. Use the latest PDFs from ncert.nic.in.

Myth: Coaching tuition is necessary for Class 10 board success. Falsified by ASER and PISA-India studies. CBSE Class 10 board scores correlate more strongly with read-aloud time at home and parental engagement than with coaching enrolment, after controlling for socioeconomic status.

Myth: Mock tests / sample papers don't matter — content mastery does. False. Time management is as important as content mastery in board exams — many students lose 10-15 marks not from incorrect answers but from running out of time. Solve at least 5 full 3-hour papers under timed conditions in the final 6 weeks.

Myth: Hindi-medium NCERT is 'easier' than English-medium. Falsely flattering. The content is identical (Maths/Science are translated word-for-word; Social Sciences may have minor regional emphasis). What differs is the student's processing speed in their stronger language. Use whichever language your child reads faster in — that's the signal.

Find a Class 10 school near you

GetSchoolsInfo's primary database covers 64,000+ Indian K-12 schools sourced from UDISE+ 2024-25. The cards below jump to city / metro search results filtered for CBSE-board schools (most of which follow NCERT for Class 10).

Three ways students and parents use this page

As a study reference. Bookmark it on your phone, share the URL with your child or study group, and refer back during the academic year. The page structure is intentionally stable — same hierarchy, same sources, same labels — so revisiting it weeks later doesn't require re-orienting yourself.

As a verification anchor. When a coaching brochure or third-party education site claims something about NCERT — what's in / what's out / what's coming — cross-check it here. Every claim on this page links back to the official NCERT, CBSE, or NTA source. If a third-party claim contradicts what's here, follow our source link first; we cite the canonical document.

As a navigation hub. Each page links up (to the parent class hub or NCERT root) and across (to adjacent chapters, subjects, or related deletion pages). The hierarchy is designed to support depth-first browsing — start broad, drill down, and pop back up. Use the breadcrumbs at the top of every page to navigate the hierarchy without losing context.

If you're a teacher or counsellor, this page is also designed to print cleanly to a single PDF — no popups, no distracting ads, no required logins.

Beyond NCERT — other free Government of India learning resources

NCERT is the canonical syllabus, but it isn't the only free educational resource the Indian government publishes. Each of the platforms below complements NCERT for a specific use case.

ePathshala (epathshala.nic.in) is the Ministry of Education's digital reader for NCERT books. It hosts the same PDFs as ncert.nic.in but with an enhanced flipbook interface that's easier to read on phones. Use it when you want a screen-friendly reading experience rather than a download. Note: ePathshala does not host any content not also available on ncert.nic.in — both are sourced from the same NCERT-published files.

DIKSHA (diksha.gov.in) is the Ministry of Education's video-and-interactive content platform. It curates chapter-aligned videos (some from NCERT's own YouTube channel, some third-party), interactive quizzes, and 'energised textbook' augmentations — QR codes inside printed NCERT books that link to DIKSHA media. Use DIKSHA when you want video reinforcement of a chapter you've already read; it's not a substitute for the textbook.

Swayam (swayam.gov.in) hosts MOOCs (massive open online courses) from IITs, IIMs, IISc, and other Indian institutions of national importance. Most courses target undergraduates, but some target Class 11-12 with dedicated CBSE-aligned content. Genuinely useful for self-driven Class 11-12 students; the certificates are NPTEL/UGC-recognised.

Swayam Prabha (swayamprabha.gov.in) is a 32-channel DTH education broadcast that runs 24×7. Schedules align with the academic year. Useful for students in low-connectivity areas where streaming video is unreliable.

NCERT Official YouTube (youtube.com/@NCERTOFFICIAL) hosts chapter-aligned video lessons authored by NCERT-empanelled teachers. Free, embeddable, and authoritative — these are the videos we curate on our chapter pages where available.

Editorial policy and how this page is maintained

Every NCERT-related page on GetSchoolsInfo is built from the same editorial policy, summarised here for transparency:

Source-of-truth. All chapter PDFs and rationalisation booklets are hot-linked directly to ncert.nic.in — the official Government of India publisher of NCERT content. We do not host PDFs on our own CDN, we do not redirect through ads, and we do not wrap NCERT links behind a registration wall. If NCERT issues a corrected or updated PDF, the link auto-refreshes from NCERT's CDN — you always get the latest version.

No commercial upsell. We do not sell or promote commercial guidebooks (RD Sharma, Lakhmir Singh, Together with..., Educart, Oswaal, Arihant). For CBSE board preparation, NCERT textbooks plus NCERT Exemplar Problems are sufficient; commercial books are supplementary at best. For JEE / NEET / CUET preparation, coaching modules add problem volume but are not a replacement for NCERT mastery.

Update cadence. Class-level and subject-level pages are reviewed annually before the academic year start (March-April). Chapter-level PDF link health is checked monthly via automated cron. The dateModified field at the bottom of every page reflects the most recent content edit; the inside cover of each NCERT PDF carries the print-edition year.

Verification. Every factual claim on this page can be cross-checked against the official NCERT rationalisation booklet (BookletClass{N}.pdf on ncert.nic.in), the latest CBSE Sample Paper PDF (cbseacademic.nic.in), or the relevant NTA bulletin (NEET/JEE/CUET 2026 syllabus documents). Disagreements between NCERT and NTA are explicitly flagged via our deleted-syllabus reconciliation pages — we do not paper over the gap.

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