Syllabus Of Public Administration For UPSC: Overview

In the UPSC IAS Exam, Public Administration is one of the 48 optional subjects that candidates can choose in the mains exam. If chosen, candidates have to appear for two papers, namely, Public administration optional papers 1 & 2, each of 250 marks. PA is a popular optional subject and is chosen by many candidates because of its syllabus and relevance to the job role of IAS officer. So, to score well, candidates must get a detailed understanding of the UPSC Public administration optional syllabus. In this article, we have mentioned the complete Public Administration UPSC Syllabus for the optional paper 1 & 2.

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Now that you have an understanding of the important topics of the public administration syllabus, you can proceed further to get clarity on the detailed UPSC syllabus for the public administration optional subject.

Public Administration Optional Syllabus – Paper 1

The UPSC Public Administration syllabus for optional paper 1 consists of a total of 12 topics focused on "Administration Theory". Introduction to Public Administration, Administrative Thought, Administrative Behaviour, Organisations, Accountability & Control, Administrative Law etc are some of the important topics in the public administration syllabus for optional paper 1. Candidates can find below the detailed UPSC Public Administration Syllabus for optional paper 1.

Note: Answers must be written in the medium authorized in Admission Certificate

• 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 decisionmaking 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
• 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.
• 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 liberalisation 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, pray and service conditions; employeremployee relations, grievance redressal mechanism; Code of conduct; Administrative ethics.
• 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.
• Techniques of Adminstrative Improvement: Organisation 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.

Public Administration Optional Syllabus – Paper 2

The Public Administration UPSC syllabus for optional paper 2 consists of a total of 14 topics focused on "Indian Administration". The syllabus is made in such a way that the candidate can get an understanding of the evolution and important aspects of the Indian Administration. Candidates can find below the detailed UPSC Public Administration Syllabus for optional paper 2.

Note: Answers must be written in the medium authorized in Admission Certificate

• 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.
• Philosophical and Constitutional framework of Government: Salient features and value premises; Constitutionalism; Political culture; Bureaucracy and democracy; Bureaucracy and development.
• Public Sector Undertakings: 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; Intra-governmental 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 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 programmes: 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; Global-local 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 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.
• 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.

Check the detailed UPSC Mains Syllabus here.

Public Administration UPSC Syllabus PDF

The UPSC Public Administration syllabus PDF consist of the detailed syllabus for optional paper 1 & 2. Candidates can download a copy of the syllabus of Public Administration for UPSC and keep a PDF copy of the same for the upcoming IAS mains exam.

Public Administration Optional Syllabus – Preparation Tips

Public Administration could be a scoring subject if prepared thoroughly and approached with the right strategy. Candidates from any background can choose public administration as their optional subject.

Generic answers are not expected in this subject, instead, it’s recommended to answer rationally. Optional subjects play an important role in the overall score. So, it should be chosen wisely.

1. One of the prerequisites is to prepare a thorough timetable by distributing topics with respect to time. This would help in covering the syllabus quickly.
2. Having a thorough timetable would be of great benefit. The timetable helps in distributing the time, which ultimately helps in covering the topics more effectively.
3. Before starting with the preparation, candidates must go through the UPSC Public Administration Syllabus in detail to know which topics they have to cover. There are several topics included in the syllabus, candidates must know how to prepare for them wisely and plan out their study.
4. Another necessary thing is to focus more on solving previous years’ question papers and to appear for various mock tests and to attempt the UPSC civil services test series.
5. Reference books play a vital role. So, the aspirants must cling to a few but the best books, this helps in better understanding and efficient learning.
6. Candidates must keep a track of their errors in the test series, analyse their weak points and then must work on it accordingly.
7. Candidates Must try to gain Knowledge by reading newspapers and Editorials to update themselves about relevant facts, figures, and Current happening.

Also, check out the UPSC mains preparation strategy here.

Books For UPSC Public Administration Syllabus

Some of the best books for UPSC to study the complete the Public Administration optional subject are mentioned below:

1. Public Administration and Public Affairs by Nicholas Henry
2. Theories of Administration by D. Ravindra Prasad, V.S. Prasad & P. Satyanarayana
3. Annual Reports of the Department of Social Welfare
4. Public Administration by Awasthi and Maheshwari
5. Administrative History of India by B.N. Puri (Vol. I, II and III)

Get a detailed List of Public Administration Books For UPSC here.

We hope this article on the Public Administration syllabus for UPSC will help you in your IAS exam preparation. You can also download the Testbook App for more information and get access to free mock tests, study materials and much more.