Public Administration Optional
Public Administration Optional
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 Modem:
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 coun-tries; Current status of Comparative Public Administration; Ecology and administration; Riggsian models and their critique.
8. Development Dynamics : Concept of development; Changing profile of develop-ment 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, pray 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.
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 con-trol; Impact of liberalization and privatization.
4. Union Government and Administration : Executive, Parliament, Judiciary-structure, functions, work processes; Recent trends; Intra-governmental 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 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 para military 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.
How to prepare for public administration?
Public administration is one of the optional subjects which is provided by UPSC for the main exam. It is a relevant subject considering the scenario since it is linked with the governance and administration which play a vital role in the functioning of a democratic country. One can fetch good marks by conceptual clarity of the subject. Here are a few strategies which can be used by you during preparation.
1. The first and foremost thing is to understand the syllabus of UPSC for public administration optional. A basic understanding of the syllabus is required in order to know what are the different areas required to be covered during preparation. The best way is to be well versed with the syllabus is to write it down and stick it to the study table where you study on a daily basis. This will act as a reminder of how much syllabus you need to cover and how much you have already covered and require less attention.
2. It requires consistency to cover the entire syllabus before the exam. So it’s better to make a study plan. It will help you to get an idea of what to study and when to study. This will help you to cover the whole syllabus in a systematic way covering all topics. But make sure to follow the study plan with full dedication and determination. In order to ace through the exam, it is necessary to cover everything leaving not a single topic behind. So don’t skip any topic of public administration as you never know what might be asked.
3. Another important aspect is starting your preparation early. As soon as you give the preliminary exams focus on preparing for the mains exam. It requires proper time in order to cover the entire syllabus. So give proper time to the subject in order to avoid last moment preparation and stress. If you will start your preparation late then it will be tough to cover the whole syllabus. Also if you cover the syllabus beforehand then you will have more time left which can be further utilized for the other important topics of the syllabus. Other than that early preparation helps to cover every topic in depth.
4. Most of the time aspirants become worried whether they will be able to crack the exam and score good marks in the subject. But remember to stay confident and have faith in your hard work. Confidence combined with perseverance will help you to ace the exam. During the preparation, the phase doesn’t have a doubt on your abilities. Understand every single topic and clear all your concepts. I am sure no one can stop you from performing well in the exam. Believe that you can do it and you will definitely come out with flying colors in the main exam.
5. Practicing past year paper is one of the most vital factors involved in the preparation. If you practice past year papers then you can an idea of what exactly has been asked in the previous exam. And about what are the important topics through which most of the questions arise in the exam. This helps to plan your preparation in a better way and study properly. If you are well versed with previous exam papers then you get an insight about what is most important from the exam point of view and accordingly you can solve and practice questions for the final examination
6. Most of the students are unable to manage the time during the exam. This happens because many times a candidate spends a lot of time thinking about an answer to particular questions and this leads to a lot of wastage of time. Instead of this one needs to specify and allocate proper time to each and every question. It will help to finish the paper on time. Also, time management is important to avoid any last-minute hassle. When less time is left and there are more questions left to be answered then many times a candidate marks a wrong answer even if he/she knows the correct answer.
7. It is very important to thoroughly study the whole syllabus twice and thrice. And then keep on revising it as many times as possible. Revision helps to absorb the things in a better way. It helps to keep the whole of the syllabus in our brain for a longer duration. If a student keeps on learning and doesn’t revise what he has studied then he tends to forget the thing on the day of the exam. This is because what he/studies didn’t ever get registered in his brain. Thus revision is the key factor to restore things in the brain.
8. The next strategy is to finish the syllabus before a month or a week before the final exam. Clear all your concepts and understand everything by reading the study material again and again. Once you are done with the syllabus make a study plan and revise the syllabus on a regular basis in a systematic manner. By revision, you will gain confidence and better clarity of all topics. Also, you will be able to identify as which are the topics at which you have proper understanding and others at which you are not so good. Accordingly, you can work upon your strong and weak areas of the syllabus.
9. In addition to this, you can solve mock test papers. They will help with time management. You can learn to solve the question paper in a limited time frame. Also, it will help you to identify your mistake. Make sure to do an analysis of the answers of the mock test papers in order to know where you lacked and which all topics require to be studied in depth. A good score in mock test papers will help to boost your confidence and you will be more energetic to perform well in the final exam. If you are scoring badly in mock tests then don’t be discouraged. Try to improve your mistakes and identify topics at which you are performing poor. Clear your doubts about such topics and make sure not commit such mistakes in next mock tests.