How to prepare for Public Administration optional for UPSC?
When it comes to choosing an optional subject for the UPSC civil services exam, public administration is a popular choice among candidates. Over the years, we have seen a large number of candidates opting for this subject, and there have also been many toppers who have chosen public administration as their optional. In fact, in 2012, almost half of the successful candidates had public administration as their optional subject, which is a significant proportion. This article aims to provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of choosing public administration as your optional subject for the IAS exam. Ultimately, the decision of which optional subject to choose is a personal one, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is essential to carefully consider the pros and cons of each subject before making a decision.
Pros and Cons of Choosing Public Administration as Optional
When it comes to opting for public administration as an optional subject for the UPSC civil services exam, there are several advantages and disadvantages that candidates should consider. In this section, we will discuss some of the pros and cons of selecting this optional.
Advantages of Public Administration Optional:
- One of the most significant advantages of choosing public administration is that the syllabus is relatively concise and easy to understand, compared to other subjects. With proper planning and preparation, one can complete this subject in around three months.
- As future administrators, candidates will find many of the concepts and theories covered in this subject to be useful in their future careers. The subject mainly focuses on administration and governance, which are essential areas for any civil servant.
- There is a lot of overlap between public administration and general studies papers, particularly in topics like governance and the constitution. Studying public administration can also help candidates in the Ethics and Essay papers.
- There is an abundance of study material available for public administration, and the questions asked in this subject are usually straightforward.
- The subject can provide candidates with a good understanding of the functioning of government mechanisms, which is crucial knowledge for future administrators.
UPSC Public administration Optional covers almost 60% of the GS papers.
General Studies Paper II – Topics Overlap with Public Administration:
- Governance
- Indian constitution – evolution, features, amendments, etc.
- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States
- Separation of powers between various organs
- Dispute Redressal Mechanisms and institutions
- Parliament and State Legislatures
- Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and Judiciary
- Ministries and Departments of the Government
- Constitutional, statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies
- Government policies and interventions for development in different sectors
- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections
- Issues relating to poverty and hunger
- Aspects of governance, transparency and accountability
- E-governance
- Role of civil services in a democracy
General Studies Paper III – Topics Overlap with Public Administration:
- Disaster Management, Planning and Budgeting
- Planning issues
- Inclusive growth
- Government budgeting
- Environment
- Disaster management
- Challenges to internal security through communication networks
- Role of media and social networking sites in internal security
- Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
(Ethics) General Studies Paper IV – Topics Related to Public Administration:
- Ethics and Human Interface (foundational concept of administrative values & ethics of Public Administration)
- Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behavior; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
Public Administration and Essay Paper:
There will mostly be an essay topic from ‘Polity, Governance and Democracy’.
Disadvantages of Public Administration Optional:
- In recent years, there has been a perception that public administration is not a scoring subject.
- If candidates do not have an interest in this subject, they may find it challenging and tedious to study.
- The questions in public administration require knowledge of sociology, political science, and management. This can complicate the preparation process.
- It is essential to integrate Paper I and Paper II during preparation and while writing answers. Many of the concepts and theories in Paper I are applied to real-life examples in Paper II. This inter-linking is crucial to scoring good marks in this optional.
- Additionally, candidates must provide international examples of governance in Paper II.
- Some people find the syllabus to be rather vast, and the subject is theoretical, which can be challenging for those with a science background.
- The competition is intense in public administration as many aspirants selects this optional subject.
UPSC Public Administration Optional Strategy
To prioritize your preparation, it’s important to analyze the public administration optional question paper before developing your strategy.
Topic-wise strategy for Public Administration
Paper I
Introduction
- This is one of the most important and scoring sections. This lays down the foundation for public administration and must be thoroughly understood and studied.
- You can use R B Aribam’s Public Administration book for this section.
Administrative Thought
- There are theories of various scholars in this section and all must be read thoroughly as it is also an important section in the paper. When you read about the theories, you should also understand the background. For instance, understand that Max Weber’s theory of bureaucracy was a result of him being under the authoritative German system of the twenties.
- You can refer to Prasad & Prasad for this section or
- Administrative Theories and Management Thought- R.K. Sapru
Administrative Behavior
- Here, there are elementary topics which are relatively easy to understand. This section will also help in the Ethics paper.
- Refer to R B Aribam’s Public Administration book.
Organizations
- This can be covered from R B Aribam easily because it is a short section. Focus on System and Contingency Theories as these can be used in various other answers in this optional.
- Also, focus on Economic section current affairs for Public-Private Partnerships
Accountability and Control
- This section can be related to current affairs. So, when you study, make connections to contemporary events especially centred around India. You can refer to R B Aribam, and also Yojana and Kurukshetra magazines. Chapter 12 of the Second ARC Report titled ‘Citizen-centric Administration’ is also important for this section.
- You can get the gists of Yojana magazines from our Gist of Yojana section.
Administrative Law
You can cover this section from Aribam’s book, where you must read about the differences between American, French and British administrative law. You should also cover Indian tribunals and important Supreme Court judgments relevant to the topics.
Comparative Public Administration
- This section is important because it will help you in answer writing throughout the paper. A good understanding of the concepts in comparative public administration will help you write multi-dimensional answers. Get a good grasp over the evolution of comparative public administration, Riggsian Model and various thinkers.
- Refer to R B Aribam’s Public Administration book.
- ‘Comparative Public Administration’ by Ramesh K Arora is a good book for this section.
Development Dynamics
- Although questions are not asked every year on this section, concepts like anti-development thesis and the bureaucracy versus development debate are useful for writing answers on other topics as well. This section will also aid in the Ethics paper and General Studies Polity section also.
- You can use Aribam’s book for this section.
- This has major overlap with Current Affairs a keen orientation towards various models and its examples must be drawn. Ex: Amartya Sen Vs Bhagawati Model
Personnel Administration
- This is a very important section of the paper because questions are being asked on this for the past few years.
- You can use Aribam’s book for this section.
- You should also read the 9th report of the 2nd ARC Report.
Public Policy
- You should focus on policy implementation and policy evaluation. You should also read articles on this topic which feature in the newspapers and magazines.
- You can use Aribam’s book for this section.
Techniques of Administrative Improvement
- This is a simple topic and so, prepare it well so that the questions can be easily dealt with.
- This section can be prepared from R B Aribam and sources on the internet.
- Mohit Bhattacharya can be an add on.
- Current developments are of importance under this section.
- Pay heed to ARC reports and its examples.
Financial Administration
- This topic figures in both the papers, so try to cover it simultaneously. You must study the different types of accounting and auditing practices and also understand the pros and cons of each. Study this section thoroughly since a lot of questions are asked from here.
- You can use Aribam’s book for this section.
Paper-II
Evolution of Indian Administration
- This is a very scoring section of the syllabus.
- This can be suitably covered from ‘Indian Public Administration’ by Rajini Goyal and Ramesh K Arora.
- Fadia and Fadia can be referred for Mughal Administration
Philosophical and Constitutional Framework of Government
- You should remember to correlate answers in this topic to the Constitution and latest parliamentary legislations.
- You should refer to Goyal and Arora
Public Sector Undertakings
- You can cover this topic Fadia and Fadia’s ‘Public Administration in India’.
Union Government and Administration & State Government and Administration
- You can refer to Fadia and Fadia’s ‘Public Administration in India’ and also newspapers.
Plans and Priorities
- Rajini Goyal and Ramesh K Arora with Current Affairs.
District Administration since Independence
- You can refer to Fadia and Fadia
Civil Services
- This is an important chapter as questions are being asked for the past few years from here.
- The book to be referred to here is Aribam.
- Fadia and Fadia
- For questions from this section, you can refer to ARC recommendations and also reports of relevant committees.
Financial Management
- This section should be studied in combination with the same section in Paper I.
Administrative Reforms since Independence
- For this section, it is important to understand the reports of relevant committees. If you cannot go through the entire report, at least a summary of the reports should be read.
- You can also read a compilation of the reports of various committees from Fadia and Fadia.
Rural Development and Urban Local Government
- These two chapters can be covered from Rajini Goyal and Arora. It is good to correlate with constitutional articles and also if possible, use case studies in your answers.
Law and Order Administration
- You can cover this portion from Fadia and Fadia.
Significant issues in Indian Administration
- Reading material is found in scattered sources for this section.
- IGNOU Material on Disaster Management can be handy.
- You should refer to newspapers, magazines like Frontline, Yojana articles, etc.
Book List for Public Administration Mains
- Public Administration (Paper I) – R B Aribam
- Public Administration (Paper-II) – R B Aribam
- Thinkers – Prasad or Administrative Theories and Management Thought – R K Sapru
- New Horizons of Public Administration – Mohit Bhattacharya
- Public Administration (Paper-II) – Fadia and Fadia
- Second ARC Report – particularly those on Personnel Administration, State and District Administration, Public Order, Disaster Management, Local Government, and Ethics in Governance.
- IGNOU material on Public Administration
Toppers with Public Administration optional
UPSC Public administration optional has been a popular choice among IAS toppers over the years. In 2016, Abhilash Mishra, a mechanical engineer by training, secured the fifth rank with this optional subject. Below is a table listing a few other IAS toppers who chose public administration as their optional.
| Name | Year | Rank |
| S Divyadharshini | 2010 | 1 |
| Shah Faesal | 2009 | 1 |
| Shubhra Saxena | 2008 | 1 |
| Roopa Mishra | 2003 | 1 |
| Iqbal Dhaliwal | 1995 | 1 |
| Srivatsa Krishna | 1994 | 1 |
| Abhilash Mishra | 2016 | 5 |
| Suman Sourav Mohanty | 2016 | 9 |
| Ashish Tiwari | 2015 | 6 |
