Public Administration Preparation Strategy for UPSC

1. What is the basic reason for ‘Public Administration’ becoming so popular among the aspirants of Civil services and State Services?

The basic reason lies in the Interdisciplinary nature and non-technical content of the subject matter. The subject has a lot of practical significance, making it more interesting and understandable even to those students who are completely newcomers in the field of Public Administration. At the same time, every candidate has some basic knowledge of what an administrative system is. Public Administration is pragmatic, also dealing with the Indian Administrative System, which facilitates the success of candidates at every stage of examination, that is, Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. Compared to other social sciences and humanities, Public Administration is more dependable and manageable within a specified period, subject to the condition that a systematic approach is adopted during preparation to meet the examination requirements.
2. What is the best way to understand the contributions of the thinkers in a right perspective?

Learn basic theories and techniques of Management relevant to the subject matter of Public Administration. This is important because most thinkers have been primarily concerned with developing theories to improve the Management of the private sector.

First of all, try to understand the essential ingredients of any theory and also understand the contemporary socio-eco-political conditions prevailing at the time of the crystallization of the theories. After this, the second step should be understanding the contributions of respective thinkers under specific theories.

3. While preparing the subject, to what extend one has to be familiar with Public administration?

Public Administration is an offshoot of political Science but has its own ‘locus’ and ‘focus’. At the same time, the functioning of the administrative system has a direct influence on the prevailing political system. Both these factors make it desirable to have a fundamental understanding of political ideologies and institutions. It has to be kept in mind that a proper grasp of theories governing political ideologies and institutions is a must. In this respect, NCERT books (class XI-XII) Prescribed for Political Science can be useful.

4. What specific suggestions you can offer to prepare the Mains with Public Administration?

(a.) The syllabus comprises two papers, but it is never desirable to prepare the two papers separately. The integrated approach to the completion of the syllabus is always desirable. This saves time and provides an in-depth understanding of the subject matter realistically.

(b.) The main examination is generally considered to be highly subjective. However, through objective preparation, one subjectivity can be reduced to a great extent.

(c.) Conceptual topics, like Theories of Administration, Administrative Behaviour, and Comparative and Development Administration, require extra effort but are scored at the same time.

(d.) Comments, statements and observations by eminent thinkers, scholars and administrators should be analysed with due emphasis to grasp their substantive meaning.

5. How to take care of the current perspective in second paper of the Mains syllabus?

The very nature of the second paper demands familiarity with political and administrative issues of contemporary relevance. For this, I developed a habit of regular study of newspapers, magazines, and newsletters published by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA).

6. The syllabus of Public Administration has not revised for quite some time. It is going to have a bearing on my score?

7. What should be the best way to present answers in the examination?

Upon completion of the textual readings, writing practice is a must. Try to attempt the answers in an orderly, effective and exact expression, combined with due economy of words. In comment-type questions, your attempt should answer well within the prescribed limits. For medium and major questions, the answers should be written in about 150 – 200 words, respectively.

To conclude, it can be suggested that the consultation of authentic standard reference books is crucial in the success-oriented preparation of Public Administration. The growing popularity of the subject should not lead to an impression that satisfactory performance is possible based on general readings and superficial knowledge.

This statement is not to discover the aspirants but to acquaint the prospective candidates with the hard realities that one must accept in earnest. Wishing you all the best.

8. Please suggest some essential readings to prepare Public Administration.

Since preparing Preliminary and main examinations requires different orientations, the suggested reading for the two is illustrated under separate headings. Open Booklist.