Updated Syllabus for Public Administration Optional for UPSC Exam

“Public Administration“

is one of the most scoring and safest optional subjects in the UPSC Civil Services Main Examination. It is one of the popular choices because of its indispensable relevance in the job role of a civil servant.

The beauty of Public Administration as an optional for UPSC Exam is that it satisfies all the determining factors for becoming a Good Administrator, or specifically a Good Civil Servant. The Civil Services Exam is all about recruiting human resources for managing the administrative system of the world’s largest democracy. To understand the functioning of the government, political regime of the country, a system of modern democracy and governance, the concept of welfarism etc., Public Administration as a discipline will encompass all these concepts. UPSC recruits candidates for Public Administration, questions related to this subject are most common and predictable and aspirants can always expect to score more if Public Administration is chosen as an optional. It is learnt that Public Administration is a secular subject and does not carry any academic baggage. For the said reasons, many of students, who are from the non-arts background like- engineers, lawyers, doctors, chartered accountants and management graduates, are able to understand the subject very well and have scored high marks in the mains examination. Also, UPSC aspirants do not require a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration to choose it as an Optional. The subject can be studied in an easy manner and could be mastered with expert guidance. In India, Mr. M. K. Mohanty and Mr. Ashutosh Pandey are regarded as the experts of Public Administration in the field of UPSC Exam preparation. This optional is one of the concept-intensive subjects. So, if you’re not that good in cramming, this subject is for you as it largely entails analysis and conceptual understanding.

Moreover, many of the topics of the UPSC syllabus overlap with General Studies syllabus of the examination.

Public Administration Syllabus for UPSC

Paper 1: Administrative Theory

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
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).
Administrative Behaviour	Process and techniques of decision-making; Communication; Morale; Motivation Theories – content, process and contemporary; Theories of Leadership: Traditional and Modern.
Organizations	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
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

Administrative Law	Meaning, scope, and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation; Administrative Tribunals
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
Development Dynamics	Concept of development; Changing profile of development administration; ‘Anti development thesis’; Bureaucracy and development; Strong state versus the market debate; Impact of liberalization on administration in developing countries; Women and development – the self-help group movement.
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.
Public Policy	Models of policy-making and their critique; Processes of conceptualization, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review, and their limitations; State theories and public policy formulation
Techniques of Administrative Improvement	Organization and methods, Work study and work management; e- governance and information technology; Management aid tools like network analysis, MIS, PERT, CPM.
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

Evolution of Indian Administration	Kautilya’s Arthashastra; Mughal administration; Legacy of British rule in politics and administration – Indianization of public services, revenue administration, district administration, local self- government
Philosophical and Constitutional framework of government	Salient features and value premises; Constitutionalism; Political culture; Bureaucracy and democracy; Bureaucracy and development
Public Sector Undertakings	The public sector in modern India; Forms of Public Sector Undertakings; Problems of autonomy, accountability, and control; Impact of liberalization and privatization
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.
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
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.

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
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
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
Administrative Reforms since Independence	Major concerns; Important Committees and Commissions; Reforms in financial management and human resource development; Problems of implementation.
Rural Development	Institutions and agencies since independence; Rural development programs: foci and strategies; Decentralization and Panchayati Raj; 73rd Constitutional amendment.
Urban Local Government	Municipal governance: main features, structures, finance, and problem areas; 74th Constitutional Amendment; Globallocal debate; New localism; Development dynamics, politics, and administration with special reference to city management.
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.
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