NCERT Books for Class 11 — All Subjects, Free PDFs

At a glance

Quick answer. NCERT publishes 14 subjects' worth of textbooks for Class XI (Class 11) in 2025-26, spanning Science streams (PCM/PCMB), Commerce (Acct/BS/Eco), and Humanities (History, Geography, Pol Sci, Sociology, Psychology). Class 11 is the first year of the +2 stage and the foundation for entrance exams (JEE Main 2026, NEET-UG 2026, CUET-UG 2026). The 2022 rationalisation removed ~30 percent of content; several deleted topics still appear in NTA's entrance-exam syllabi — see our deleted-syllabus reconciliation pages. Standard admission age is 16 years.

Class 11 is the inflection year for entrance-exam aspirants. The NCERT Class 11 PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) and PCMB (with Biology) books are the foundational source for JEE Main 2026, JEE Advanced 2026, NEET 2026, and CUET preparation. The 2022 rationalisation removed roughly 30 percent of Class 11 content across subjects — but several deleted topics still appear in the entrance-exam syllabi published by NTA (see /ncert/deleted-syllabus/neet-2026 for the full reconciliation if your child is preparing for medical entrance exams).

Class 11 Mathematics (book code kemh1) covers 14 chapters: Sets, Relations and Functions, Trigonometric Functions, Complex Numbers, Linear Inequalities, Permutations and Combinations, Binomial Theorem, Sequences and Series, Straight Lines, Conic Sections, Three-Dimensional Geometry, Limits and Derivatives, Statistics, and Probability. Mathematical Induction and Mathematical Reasoning were removed in the 2022 rationalisation.

Class 11 Physics (keph1, keph2) totals 14 chapters spanning Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Oscillations, and Waves. Class 11 Chemistry (kech1, kech2) was significantly trimmed — 9 chapters now, down from 14 — but States of Matter, Hydrogen, s-Block, and parts of p-Block remain critical for entrance exams. Class 11 Biology (kebo1) covers 22 chapters across 5 units (Diversity in Living World, Structural Organisation, Cell, Plant Physiology, Human Physiology).

Beyond PCM/PCMB, Class 11 NCERT publishes books for English (Hornbill, Snapshots, Woven Words), Hindi (Aroh Bhag-1, Vitan Bhag-1), History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Accountancy, and Business Studies — all subjects offered by CBSE for Class 11. The full booklist below covers all 14 Class 11 NCERT subjects with PDFs hot-linked from ncert.nic.in.

Strategic priorities for Class 11:

1. For JEE/NEET aspirants: the 2022-rationalised PCM/PCMB books are the current NCERT, but NTA's entrance-exam syllabi were designed against the pre-2022 NCERT. Several removed topics (Mathematical Reasoning, States of Matter equations, Hydrogen s-block details, Reproductive Health subtopics) are still asked in JEE/NEET. Cross-reference our /ncert/deleted-syllabus/neet-2026 and /ncert/deleted-syllabus/jee-2026 pages.

2. For CUET aspirants: CUET-UG follows the latest NCERT closely — the rationalised Class 11 syllabus is the source of truth for CUET 2026.

3. For Commerce/Humanities: subject combinations like Accountancy + Business Studies + Economics, or History + Geography + Political Science, all draw from the rationalised 2022 NCERT books.

Class 11 — entrance prep is now a 24-month project

Class 11 is the first year of the +2 stage and the foundation for all entrance-exam preparation. Until 2022, Class 11 + Class 12 NCERT books were largely identical to NTA's JEE/NEET syllabi. After the 2022 rationalisation, the rationalised NCERT covers roughly 80-85 percent of NTA's 2026 entrance-exam syllabi — leaving 15-20 percent of testable content outside the current NCERT. This is the single most important fact for Class 11 PCM/PCMB aspirants and their parents.

Topics removed from rationalised NCERT but still on NEET/JEE/CUET 2026:

• Physics: Mathematical Reasoning (Maths Cl 11), Heat Engines and Carnot Cycle proofs (Cl 11 Physics), Communication Systems (Cl 12 Physics — still on some state engineering exams)
• Chemistry: States of Matter (Gases and Liquids — full chapter removed Cl 11), Hydrogen (full chapter Cl 11), s-Block detailed periodic chemistry, Polymers (Cl 12), Chemistry in Everyday Life (Cl 12), Surface Chemistry (Cl 12)
• Biology: parts of Reproductive Health (Cl 12), Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production (Cl 12, full chapter)
• Maths: Mathematical Induction (still tested in JEE Advanced)

We maintain chapter-by-chapter reconciliation pages: /ncert/deleted-syllabus-neet-2026, /ncert/deleted-syllabus-jee-2026, /ncert/deleted-syllabus-cuet-2026.

Coaching at Class 11 — what's necessary, what's optional

Coaching enrolment at Class 11 has become near-universal in metro and Tier-1 cities for PCM/PCMB aspirants — roughly 70-80 percent of JEE/NEET-aspiring students at top CBSE schools attend external coaching from Class 11 onwards. Whether your specific child needs coaching depends on three factors:

1. Self-study aptitude. Some students self-study NCERT + Exemplar to JEE Mains rank 5,000-15,000 with no coaching. Most don't. The honest test: does your child solve a difficult NCERT problem on their own without help? If yes, coaching is optional. If they need explanation, coaching is the structured-explanation engine.
2. Peer cohort and pacing. Coaching's biggest value isn't the teaching — it's the cohort. Surrounded by 50 other aspirants writing weekly tests, the pace stays steady. At home, the pace tends to drift.
3. The school's depth. If your child's school already runs JEE/NEET-aligned classes (some Kendriya Vidyalaya, Allen Aakash, Bansal/Resonance partnership schools), external coaching is duplicative. If not, coaching is the structured supplementary path.

Realistic coaching cost in 2026: ₹1.5-3.5 lakh per year for full-day coaching at top Allen / Aakash / FIITJEE / Resonance branches. Doubt-clearing-only or weekend-only programs run ₹50,000-1,20,000. Online programs (Unacademy, Physics Wallah) are ₹15,000-50,000.

What coaching does NOT replace: NCERT mastery, time-management discipline, board-exam writing practice, sleep, parental engagement. Coaching is an addition to NCERT, not a substitute.

CUET vs JEE/NEET — different exam, different prep

CUET-UG 2026 is now the standard route for general undergraduate admission to most central universities (Delhi University, JNU, BHU, JMI, AMU, AUD, etc.). It tests Class 12 NCERT content directly for domain subjects + a general aptitude section — without the deleted-syllabus complications of JEE/NEET. If your child's plan is BA / B.Com / BSc at a central university, CUET is the focal exam, and the rationalised NCERT is the source of truth.

CUET vs JEE/NEET — preparation differences:

CUET is genuinely doable with NCERT + 5-10 official mock papers, no coaching. JEE/NEET demands structured problem-solving practice that coaching provides at scale.

Most realistic outcome map:

• 95+ percent in PCM Class 12 + JEE Main 99 percentile → IIT/NIT shortlist
• 90+ percent + JEE Main 95 percentile → state engineering tier-1
• 85+ percent + CUET top quartile → DU/BHU/JNU general undergraduate
• 80+ percent + CUET top half → state university or Tier-2 private

This is roughly the actual distribution; ignore the ranking-anxiety inflation that coaching marketing produces.

Find a Class 11 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 11).

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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