Table of Contents
Public administration as a discipline is an intersection between Politics, Economics and Social Welfare, and teaches the administrative craft. As an Optional subject for UPSC Civil Services Examination, it scores high on Popularity Index. S. Ansari scores equally high on the Index and is widely regarded as the best teacher for Public Administration Optional.
The course structure for Public Administration is specially crafted, under the guidance of S. Ansari, to nurture students to not just score good marks in the exam, but to also mould them into an able administrator. S. Ansari teaches the subject in a manner that combines theoretical aspects of the paper with contemporary examples.
The classes will cover holistically Paper-I and Paper-II, with theoretical aspects, administrative thinkers, governance issues with contemporary examples of India and the world, evolution of Indian Administration and Public Policy. Students will be given handwritten class notes, study material, along with a focus on answer writing practice, sectional and mock tests with model answers.
The entire course will help students develop a nuanced understanding of various issues and gain the skills needed to score high marks in the exam. Our track record speaks for itself, as year after year, Public Administration Toppers are from Lukmaan IAS.
Public Administration is one of the most popular Optional subjects for UPSC, with a significant overlap with General Studies Papers. The subject has a practical relevance to governance and quality study material and expert guidance by S. Ansari contribute to its high success ratio.
The Public Administration Optional Course at Lukmaan IAS is provided in both offline and online modes.
Lukmaan IAS provides the best offline/online test series for Public Administration, under the expert guidance of S. Ansari. The Year-Long Test Series consists of 36 Tests divided into three phases —
Lukmaan IAS, led by S. Ansari, is a well-known IAS coaching institute for Public Administration Optional. The institute has the distinction of producing the most number of toppers from Public Administration Optional with top ranks like 03, 05, 11, 14, 17 and many more.
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 liberalisation, 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 Follet); 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.
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 and accountability and control:
Legislative, Executive and Judicial control over administration; citizen and administration, role of media, interest groups, voluntary organisations; 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; ‘Antidevelopment 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, 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 conceptualisation, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review and their limitations; State theories and public policy formulation.
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.
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:
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 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;
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.