References for Public Administration...

PAPER - II

Indian Administration 

As this Paper concerns mostly with the application of principles discussed in paper 1 so to prepare it one must be comfortable and should have command on paper 1 so as to show how principles discussed in theory can be applicable to implementation aspect. Thus it would give a good feedback on examiner that aspirant has not only mugged up the syllabus but also has clearly understood the underpinnings of the discipline and all interconnections within the subject are crystal clear to the aspirant. 

               Especially from the last 2 years paper 2 is designed in such a way that many questions appear to be out of blue and can be approached like a GS paper which will end in mediocre marks and that is the reason that there have been variations in marks scored between the candidates. Secondly you can connect the "GS" type’s ques. to some concepts in PA so it will appear that you can apply the principles in PA even when it is the non-traditional type question.

                The references discussed here are just indicative for those who are appearing for the 1st time with PA as an optional and for those who are going to repeat they can add more but here the point is that one can't go on reading n no. of books or IIPA journals as it does not give "value-for-time" invested and at times can hamper in proper thought making process due to conflicting opinions and facts in different sources.

            Also it is advisable that from ARC reports notes could be made as the voluminous nature of reports makes not be handy for revision. Also in between the reports you have recommendations of several other committees/commissions formed prior to arc -II so those can be referred as UPSC can ask to compare them and tell which one is more pragmatic...one more thing which will be of great utility will be that in the website of DARPG there is given the list of recommendations which govt. has accepted and which have been rejected with reasons there-on off ATR so it can be used to answer why reforms aren't yielding results as per expectations.

Case studies and other documents can be accessed on plenty but remember don't be too much on it and refer only when you need it. Case studies on every issue, research paper, govt. papers and documents are in plenty in it. 

Secondly a new edition of Indian Public Administration-Institutions and Issues by Rajni Goyal and Ramesh Arora has been released which is updated so if you can go for it and for those who have old edition they can check for updated sections.

  

1. 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.

 This part is best covered in Indian public administration (IPA) by Rajni Goyal and Ramesh Arora. It is a book which till date has no match on this unit. Though they have covered in a brief manner. Each sentence of the chapter in the book can be probable questions. no. of ques. is usually 1-2 from this chapter esp. from Kautilya’s and British adm. ,the GoI Acts of subsequent years have to be taken into account with a linkage to their impact on administration in India.

2. Philosophical and Constitutional framework of government:

Salient features and value premises; Constitutionalism; Political culture; Bureaucracy and democracy; Bureaucracy and development. 

Rajni Goyal and Ramesh aurora’s Indian public administration and for political culture you can search from internet and your own views on it with substantial case studies. Search it from Google books directly and read it.

3. Public Sector Undertakings:

Public sector in modern India; Forms of Public Sector Undertakings; Problems of autonomy, accountability and control; Impact of liberalization and privatization.

       Survey of PSU's in India from PIB is a good brief document for updated material and for basic structure of PSU's,their comparison notes and newspaper because we often see some new concepts or issues in PSU's whether its control or mgmt or its performance.

4. 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.

For structure and functions of these bodies ARC-II UNION GOVT.  has explained everything from allocation of business rules to the working of deptt. Still many things are dynamic which arise from day to day functioning of govt. so update it from newspaper Indian Express covers it in good manner which can be seen from its online version for selected articles. Commissions like UPSC, Finance commission and various boards and authorities can be covered from Rajni Goyal and Ramesh Arora or their reports on website.

5. 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.

Not only for this section but for other sections also including few in paper-1 this is best source PCI and for process and 1992 act Rajni Goyal and Ramesh Arora is sufficient.

6. 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.                                                                        

7. 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.                                                  

 The units 6-7 can be prepared in a continuum because they are closely inter-related and even ARC-II has same approach so its 15th report SDA is a sufficient source with additions from Vajiram's class notes.Apart from it reports of  NCRWC and few points from Sarkaria can be seen with support from few landmark judgments of Supreme Court which can Explain dynamics better.             

8. Civil Services:

              Constitutional position; Structure, recruitment, training and capacity-building; Good governance initiatives; Code of conduct and discipline; Staff associations; Political rights; Grievance redressed mechanism; Civil service neutrality; Civil service activism.

                 This report is just meant for this part and every year you can figure out 2-3 questions in mains from the deliberations part Personnel administration Also they discussed NPM and re-engineering govt. in good manner. See the comparison between administrations in USA etc.

9. Financial Management:

Budget as a political instrument; Parliamentary control of public expenditure; Role of finance ministry in monetary and fiscal area; Accounting techniques; Audit; 

               Again ARC-II has treasure in Report on Financial adm. but apart from it visiting CAG is advisable and read related topics. Also go through summary of few latest audit reports and see the finesse of reports prepared. It’s better to refer primary source rather than secondary ones like articles etc.

Role of Controller General of Accounts and Comptroller and Auditor General of India.        Take a look at relationship between CAG and CGA and the complexity of the interaction along with different mandate given to them. 

10. Administrative Reforms since Independence:

Major concerns; Important Committees and Commissions; Reforms in financial management and human resource development; Problems of implementation.   

             Reforms can be covered from report of personnel and financial management and other commission’s recommendations include Hota, ARC-I,NCRWC,Sarkaria, FSLRC etc. problem of implementation is discussed in paper-2 class notes by Vajiram and Ravi (taught by Kiran)

See sections of this ARC-II report on E-Gov as e-governance is reform as well as carrier of reforms in India.

11. Rural Development:

Institutions and agencies since independence; Rural development programmes: foci and strategies; Decentralization and Panchayati Raj;73rd Constitutional amendment. 

            Repetiton of suggested readings for District adm. with focus on rural areas and a brief history of our strategy for rural development and its failure. features of major RD programmes though UPSC  focusses more on analysis rather than details.

12. 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. 

              ARC -II LOCAL GOVERNMENT has to be done in complete manner and to be read with continuum in 73rd C Act. Inferences from city mgmt from USA, France etc will be helpful in bringing complexity in Indian system. this is one of the favorite topic of UPSC from last 2-3 yrs. notes of either Vajiram or Mohanty can be referred for Confidence Building Measure and please refer to Google Books where you have problems.

13. 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; Criminalization of politics and administration; Police-public relations; Reforms in Police.

ARC-II on report 10 public order is necessary but not sufficient material. It has covered every aspect beautifully and case studies as given in Boxes which can give you material to quote. Along with it several reports like Soli Sorabjee, Reibeiro Committee etc and National Police Commission are discussed. Along with it investigative agencies can be seen from India year book for their mandate and structure while dynamic part relating to their working can be done from newspaper editorials. Vajiram's class notes can be covered for confidence building measure.

14. Significant issues in Indian Administration:

Values in public service; Corruption and administration;

          ARC-II report on Ethics in Governance is a brilliant report among all 15 as it has clarified many things and also recommendations are wholesome for all from politics, administration and judiciary.

 Regulatory Commissions;  

          Make a list of such bodies like IRDA ,SEBI, PFRDA,CCI etc and then prepare your own notes from their websites and update notes when any amendment or proposals comes before it.Also a critic of their functioning may be prepared from newspapers.

National Human Rights Commission: - Website and newspaper and its NHRC

Problems of administration in coalition regimes: - 

       make your own notes by gathering inputs from newspaper and several Articles/papers which are published now and then and tilt your argument which have a positive thought as we have arrived in an era of coalition govt and they are pretty stable also. 

Citizen-administration interface: - CCA ARC-II report is more than sufficient and will be useful in interview as well as in GS mains paper.

 Disaster management:-Disaster management ARC-II...is sufficient but connect it with local case studies and international experiences.

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