Karol Bagh | IAS GS Foundation Course | date 26 November | 6 PM Call Us
This just in:

State PCS


Browse Other Optionals

Optional Homepage Hindi Literature Geography
History Philosophy Law
PSIR Sociology Anthropology
Psychology


Syllabus of Public Administration Paper - I


Administration Theory

  1. Introduction: Meaning, scope, and significance of Public Administration, Wilson’s vision of Public Administration, Evolution of the discipline, and its present status. New Public Administration, Public Choice approach; Challenges of liberalization, Privatisation, Globalisation; Good Governance: concept and application; New Public Management.
  2. Administrative Thought: Scientific Management and Scientific Management movement; Classical Theory; Weber’s bureaucratic model its critique and post-Weberian Developments; Dynamic Administration (Mary Parker Follett); Human Relations School (Elton Mayo and others); Functions of the Executive (C.I. Barnard); Simon’s decision-making theory; Participative Management (R. Likert, C. Argyris, D. McGregor.)
  3. Administrative Behaviour: Process and techniques of decision-making; Communication; Morale; Motivation Theories content, process and contemporary; Theories of Leadership: Traditional and Modern.
  4. Organisations: Theories systems, contingency; Structure and forms: Ministries and Departments, Corporations, Companies; Boards and Commissions; Ad hoc, and advisory bodies; Headquarters and Field relationships; Regulatory Authorities; Public-Private Partnerships.
  5. Accountability and Control: Concepts of accountability and control; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial control over administration; Citizen and Administration; Role of media, interest groups, voluntary organizations; Civil society; Citizen’s Charters; Right to Information; Social audit.
  6. Administrative Law: Meaning, scope, and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation; Administrative Tribunals.
  7. Comparative Public Administration: Historical and sociological factors affecting administrative systems; Administration and politics in different countries; Current status of Comparative Public Administration; Ecology and administration; Riggsian models and their critique.
  8. Development Dynamics: Concept of development; Changing profile of development administration; ‘Anti-development thesis’; Bureaucracy and development; Strong state versus the market debate; Impact of liberalisation on administration in developing countries; Women and development the self-help group movement.
  9. Personnel Administration: Importance of human resource development; Recruitment, training, career advancement, position classification, discipline, performance appraisal, promotion, Pay and service conditions; employer-employee relations, grievance redressal mechanism; Code of conduct; Administrative ethics.
  10. Public Policy: Models of policy-making and their critique; Processes of conceptualisation, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review, and their limitations; State theories and public policy formulation.
  11. Techniques of Administrative Improvement: Organisation and methods, Work study and work management; e-governance and information technology; Management aid tools like network analysis, MIS, PERT, CPM.
  12. Financial Administration: Monetary and fiscal policies: Public borrowings and public debt Budgets types and forms; Budgetary process; Financial accountability; Accounts and audit.

Online/Offline Programme Test Series Books
Delhi Buy Now Buy Now

Syllabus of Public Administration Paper - II


Indian Administration 

  1. Evolution of Indian Administration: Kautilya Arthashastra; Mughal administration; Legacy of British rule in politics and administration Indianization of Public services, revenue administration, district Administration, local self Government.
  2. Philosophical and Constitutional framework of Government: Salient features and value premises; Constitutionalism; Political culture; Bureaucracy and democracy; Bureaucracy and development.
  3. Public Sector Undertakings: Public sector in modern India; Forms of Public Sector Undertakings; Problems of autonomy, accountability and control; Impact of liberalization and privatization.
  4. Union Government and Administration: Executive, Parliament, Judiciary-structure, functions, work processes; Recent trends; Intragovernmental relations; Cabinet Secretariat; Prime Minister’s Office; Central Secretariat; Ministries and Departments; Boards; Commissions; Attached offices; Field organizations. 
  5. Plans and Priorities: Machinery of planning; Role, composition and functions of the Planning Commission and the National Development Council; ‘Indicative’ planning; Process of plan formulation at Union and State levels; Constitutional Amendments (1992) and decentralized planning for economic development and social justice.
  6. State Government and Administration: Union-State administrative, legislative and financial relations; Role of the Finance Commission; Governor; Chief Minister; Council of Ministers; Chief Secretary; State Secretariat; Directorates.
  7. District Administration since Independence: Changing role of the Collector; Union-State-local relations; Imperatives of development management and law and order administration; District administration and democratic decentralization.
  8. Civil Services: Constitutional position; Structure, recruitment, training, and capacity building; Good governance initiatives; Code of conduct and discipline; Staff associations; Political rights; Grievance redressal mechanism; Civil service neutrality; Civil service activism.
  9. Financial Management: Budget as a political instrument; Parliamentary control of public expenditure; Role of finance ministry in the monetary and fiscal area; Accounting techniques; Audit; Role of Controller General of Accounts and Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
  10. Administrative Reforms since Independence: Major concerns; Important Committees and Commissions; Reforms in financial management and human resource development; Problems of implementation.
  11. Rural Development: Institutions and agencies since independence; Rural development programmes: foci and strategies; Decentralization and Panchayati Raj; 73rd Constitutional amendment.
  12. Urban Local Government: Municipal governance: main features, structures, finance and problem areas; 74th Constitutional Amendment; Global-local debate; New localism; Development dynamics, politics and administration with special reference to city management.
  13. Law and Order Administration: British legacy; National Police Commission; Investigative agencies; Role of Central and State Agencies including paramilitary forces in maintenance of law and order and countering insurgency and terrorism; Criminalisation of politics and administration; Police-public relations; Reforms in Police.
  14. Significant issues in Indian Administration: Values in public service; Regulatory Commissions; National Human Rights Commission; Problems of administration in coalition regimes; Citizen administration interface; Corruption and administration; Disaster management.

Download Syllabus PDF

Previous Year UPSC Questions

2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
2018 2017
2024 2023 2022 2021
2020 2019 2018 2017

Paper-1


SECTION ‘A’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:
    (a) "Politics-administration dichotomy debate is still alive." Comment.
    (b) "Formal organizations are made up of informal groups." Discuss.
    (c) "Grapevine is a necessary evil." Examine.
    (d) Healthy Headquarters and Field Agencies relationship thrives on effective communication. Comment.
    (e) Media has become more of a societal lens than an institutional lens. Analyse.
  2. (a) McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y provide insights into human motivation at the workplace differently. Examine in detail.
    (b) Good governance adds normative and evaluative attributes to the process of governing. Comment.
    (c) Regulatory authorities are independent and effective for controlling service delivery activities but are subjected to extraneous factors. Do you agree? Give reasons.
  3. (a) Strengthening social audit through appropriate ways will promote inclusive government. Comment.
    (b) The development of administrative law in Welfare State has made administrative tribunals a necessity. Examine.
    (c) Ineffectiveness of legislative control over administration can stem from various factors, hence in ensuring effectiveness, a comprehensive approach is the need of the hour. Discuss.
  4. (a) ERG theory of motivation attempts to reconceptualize the theory of Hierarchy of Needs. Comment.
    (b) Scientific Management and Human Relations theory are two distinct approaches for improving efficiency and production. Explain.
    (c) New Public Governance, an emerging paradigm, is contrasted with market-based approaches of New Public Management. Comment.

SECTION ‘B’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:
    (a) The Anti-Development Thesis is a critical perspective on the traditional development models. Comment.
    (b) Civil Servants should be allowed only to cast votes or to participate in the electoral process of the country. Examine.
    (c) Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project management technique used to plan and manage projects effectively. Discuss.
    (d) Auditing is not about finding faults, it is about ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial information. Analyse.
    (e) The study of Public Administration must include its ecology. Discuss.
  2. (a) A trend to adopt innovative practices in administrative ethics is gaining ground for improving public trust in government. Discuss.
    (b) The future of e-governance is shaped by emerging trends for making government services efficient and accessible. Analyse.
    (c) Undoubtedly, social and historical factors play a significant role in shaping administrative systems, but side by side, understanding of these influences is essential for designing responsive governance structure. Examine.
  3. (a) Riggs' Prismatic Model has been criticized as overly gloomy and technically complex, but it remains a useful starting point for Comparative Public Administration research. Analyse.
    (b) Performance Management and Performance Appraisal are two distinct activities in Public Personnel Administration. Discuss.
    (c) Balancing State intervention and Market freedom is the need of developing countries. Comment.
  4. (a) Bureaucracy in developing countries faces several challenges, and tackling these will make them more responsive, adaptive, and aligned with development needs. Discuss.
    (b) Modern economists think public debt is an essential means of increasing employment and an element of economic policy, but it also shifts the burden to future generations. Analyse.
    (c) Unless there is a sound mechanism for policy evaluation, policy formulation process remains redundant. Examine.

Paper-2


SECTION ‘A’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:
    (a) "Ethics in Public services has been the main concern of Kautilya’s Arthashastra." Examine the statement.
    (b) "The Mughal Administration was by nature centralized." Analyse.
    (c) "Autonomy to Public Undertakings is a myth." Analyse.
    (d) "It should be people’s Prime Minister Office (PMO), it can’t be Prime Minister’s PMO." Comment.
    (e) "Implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has led to a Paradigm shift in the centre-state relations, both financially and politically." Analyse.
  2. (a) The National Data and Analysis Platform (NDAP) of NITI Aayog facilitates a robust ecosystem to promote democratization and inclusivity in development. Discuss.
    (b) Examine the impact on administration in view of changing relations between political and permanent executive.
    (c) Decentralized planning enhances economic development and social justice. Analyse.
  3. (a) “The role of State Finance Commission in distribution of finances between state and local governments is vital.” Discuss.
    (b) "Centre-state relations are undergoing a drastic change." Elaborate.
    (c) "There has been a strain in relations between Governor and State governments in the recent past." Examine.
  4. (a) Public sector undertakings have been the bedrock of welfarism in India for many decades. Evaluate the pros and cons of current disinvestment scenario.
    (b) "The collegium system of appointments to higher judiciary has been the cornerstone of independence of judiciary. It has remained as the subject of debates in the recent past." Discuss.
    (c) The concept of bureaucratic authoritarianism is one of the models of non-democratic rules. Explain.

SECTION ‘B’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:
    (a) The constitutional stature provided to the Public Service Commissions accord them autonomy to work towards fair recruitments. Comment.
    (b) "The neutrality of civil service has become a myth." Comment.
    (c) Examine the role of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in protecting the rights of the consumers.
    (d) "Parliamentary control over public expenditure is declining." Comment.
    (e) The Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization (LPG) has enhanced the participation of private sector in Indian Economy. Comment.
  2. (a) "The success of administrative reforms in a country like India depends upon the political will." Comment.
    (b) The journey of transformation of local governance has been long. Examine the challenges to realise the spirit of gram swaraj.
    (c) What aims and objectives was the Capacity Building Commission established for? Evaluate how far it has come in realising the goals.
  3. (a) The separation of police, investigation, and prosecution has its own benefits and challenges. Analyse in context of recent developments.
    (b) Lack of financial resources and independence in managing local funding is hindering the economic and social development of urban areas. Discuss.
    (c) National Investigation Agency (NIA) is playing an important role in countering terrorism. Comment.
  4. (a) "Police-public relations are poor in India. What measures are required to strengthen these relations?"
    (b) The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and its functioning is away from the public eye. Still it is one of the most important offices under the constitution. Discuss.
    (c) Critically examine the problems of administration in coalition regimes.

Download PYQs PDF

Online/Offline Programme Test Series Books
Delhi Buy Now Buy Now








close
SMS Alerts
Share Page
images-2
images-2