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HOME PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MARCH 17TH, 2012 244 COMMENTS

For those totally newcomers, wanting to prepare Public Administration in Just 2-3
months.

Public Administration is a very popular optional subject both in UPSC and state public service exams because
The syllabus is relatively short, requires less mugging (compared to geography or history)
Syllabus has a lot of overlapping with topics of general studies and Essay (polity, budget, empowerment, good Governance,
disaster Management etc)
Books, material and question papers of public administration are very easy to find in both English and Hindi medium.
The subject is easy to understand, any graduate from any stream: medical, engineering, science, commerce or arts can get a
good grip over it after to 2-3 months of diligent preparation.
This optional subject is taken in huge number by both English and non-English medium aspirants, so when they get selected
for the interview, the success-rate looks huge compared to Botany and Medicinal science.

Public Administration is an easy subject hence any Tom, Dick or Harry can read the books once and (can manage to)
attempt the questions. So it takes much effort to shine out from the Mains-crowd in terms of answer quality.
Lately UPSC has started asking unconventional question, thus making the life a little more difficult. More about it under
Back-breaking Move sub-topic below
Keep in mind, selecting Public Administration as optional doesnt automatically make you an IAS- hard work and good luck
are essential.

Before a science can develop principles, it must possess concepts Herbert A. Simon

So let us possess some concepts before developing the Principles of Public Administration Preparation Strategy. (PAPS!)
There are two types of questions in Public Administration (Mains) Exam

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They are on the expected lines, directly lifted from the books.
They dont require brain application, in the answer sheet you just have to jot down whatever points youve prepared (or
mugged up.)
For example: Functions of Cabinet Secretary or Functions of O& M office.
Problem: even a 7th standard kid can read the book once and understand what it is all about.
But when you actually answering in 150 words, you have to write down the specific points, you cannot beat around the bush,
like you did in the board and university exams by filling up answersheets by garbage and repeated lines.
And You cannot waste 10-15 minutes in brainstorming or framing an answer for this. You just have to mechanically
reproduce the information from your mind on the piece of paper.
The advantage of a static question is, you write down the points and get full marks (unlike Dynamic questions, where the
examiner may be expecting for a different angle of answer or opinion altogether)
Static questions give competitive advantage to rot-learners. For example if total functions of Cabinet Secretary are ten and you
write down only 6, while others write 9 or 10, you are a gone case.
Thats why always have a crispy key-words note ready for static questions . For example
functions of cabinet secretary:
1. Agenda 4 cabinet
2. Advice PM
3. Newspaper case
4. Conscience keep
5. Chief coordinate
6. Select Jt.secy
7. Conference of C/S

etc.etc.And so on.
^or in the book itself, write down the keywords in the margin of the same page . You can quickly do revision of it. Whenever you
pick up the book for the first-time, just finish the notes making simultaneously.
baad mein kar loonga (Ill do it later) approach is dangerous. Youll have to re-read the entire topic again.

Dynamic questions are not directly from the book. Youve to pause, brainstorm, think and structure an answer before putting it on
paper.
Example:

Kautilyas Arthashatra bears considerable similarity with features of Webers ideal

bureaucratic model. -2009 Mains

Here, First youve to brainstorm the ideas, e.g.

What was Kautilya talking about?

What was weber talking about?
How are their ideas related?

And then you structure a good answer out of it.

same way another question

Explain how McGregor took forward Follets ideas in the context of complex organizations
-2011

Again If youve done proper revision, you can brainstorm the ideas very quickly else youll end up wasting 10-15 minutes in just
trying to recall what was Webers idea?
IF you start writing the answer immediately without thinking, youll end up beating around the bush and then 150 words limit will
be over before you can even touch the actual question.

Dynamic questions are generally derived from some random sentences given in the standard reference books. (SRB)
Readymade guidebook and Printed material from coaching class= only copy paste the chief ideas from SRB but cannot do the

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gem-stone mining.
So whenever you read a book containing some analytical or philosophical idea about the topic, try to dig gemstones from it,
and note it down. Suppose you read 10 books in the span of four months, it is impossible to do another in-depth reading of the
same books before 2 weeks of the mains exam. Besides have to prepare general studies and other optional subject. Thats why
whenever you are reading any book of public administration, after every paragraph,Try to summarise the idea for any key
gemstone in one or two sentences, wherever applicable. Consider this example

Indicate the milestones in the story of development from Nehruvian model to the
Liberalisation Model.
(asked in 2011s Pub Ad.Mains Paper 1)

On the first hand it looks like a static question, just list down changing approaches of five-year plans over the years, then LPG etc.
But (in my opinion) This question is lifted from
Mohit Bhattacharyas New Horizones of Public Administration ,Chapter 10 :Development Administration. Im copy-pasting the
sentence from his book:

In the Fifties, when development set out on its journey, The search was on for goods and
things. Roads, buildings, dams, fertilizer, wheat, rice, these are the targets; development
meant to direct it planned activities to produce or construct these things.

(journey=>milestonesis it clicking your brain? this is indirectly lifted question by UPSC)

(Milestones hinted by Mohit in the same chapter)

1950s: Aeroplane perspective

1970s: Helicopter vision
1980s: Steamroller approach
1990s: Panchayati Raj.

Then you dress it up with Changing approaches in Five years plans etc. and The Impact on examiner, will be totally different.
Another example

Incrementalist paradigm posits a conservative tendency in public policy making.15m (2011

Mains Paper 1)

It is Directly lifted sentence from Nicholas Henrys book: Public Administration and Public Affairs
Chapter 10 : Understanding and improving public Policy.

Note: Some Online question papers have typing mistake : Instrumentalist paradigm. Actually UPSC asked about
Incrementalist paradigm, download the question papers from original site www.UPSC.gov.in only!

A trademark move of UPSC to break the backs of coaching factories and senior players.
UPSC Chairman has an affinity for first timers, as said in an interview. :(
Now what does this mean? If UPSC asks a very routine static question from Taylor, Fayol or Weber, the senior player who has
been in this business (with or without coaching) for 2-3 or more years, has lot of competitive advantage over a newcomer /
first timer.
The strategy adopted by coaching factories of Delhi is something like this:
Heavy emphasis on Static topics of syllabus (Thinkers, Theories, personnel, Financial administration et al) combined with
tonnes of mock-test answer writing preparation. Their preparation is very professional : Ignore Public Policy and
Development administration, you can take it out in options and concentrate heavy on personnel , thinkers etc. Besides their
assumption : examiners dont give enough marks from public policy / DA questions.
For a seasoned veteran out of these factories, routine static question paper= walk in the park, easy 150+/300 marks.
So lately UPSC has stopped giving importance to the static topics or HOT current affairs and started heavy on Development
administration, Public Policy etc. And even from the core topics they are asking very unusual questions.
2009, 2010, 2011 UPSC has increased the intensity of back-breaking move, for both public administration and general studies
paper.

Those small town candidates who themselves dont goto Delhi for coaching but follow their printed postal material and
method of preparation, which they learned from some xyz friend who went to Delhi earlier.
What happens to Innocent Bystander in Action movies? They get killed during the car chase of hero and villain.

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Whether it is Public Administration, or general studies, prelims or mains, innocent bystanders always suffer the most. Some
of you might have first-hand experience of this.

As I said earlier any Tom, Dick or Harry around can attempt 300/300 marks in the question paper, even after reading the books
for only single time. Truckload of Juntaa from the coaching factories of Delhi, mug up the notes of Vajiram, Mohanti, Bhavani
Singh, Sunil Gupta et al and paste everything verbatim from those notes, in the answersheets.
The examiners check dozens of answersheets in few hours, gives below-average marks to these routine so your answers
should be sparkling, unique, must stand out in the crowd, or you will also get average marks= no interview call.
There wont be any MCQs in the mains exam, your marks will depend on the content, quality, width and depth of your
descriptive answers.
Your vocabulary, command over language, way of expressing your idea, your handwriting- everything matters.

Ofcourse Coaching sirs will tell everything that a Customer wants to hear:

Oh you attempted only 10 marks worth questions in CSAT Prelims out of 200 questions?
Dont worry Betaa, cut off will be less than 5 marks! So come join my optional subject
coaching!
Your handwriting is bad? No problem! it doesnt matter.
Command over language doesnt matter, you dont need to maintain notes, you dont need to
remember the thinker-quotes, just read from my printed material.etc. etc. etc.

But think for a moment: a rough estimate (not looking for statistical debates here)
12,000 candidates clear preliminary exam, 5000 would have opted for Public Administration, 2000 of them would be Senior
players whore already dead tired giving attempt after attempt, really hungry for success and have learned from their past
mistakes.
They dont make such excuses, they never shy away from hard work. They keep making and updating their notes from every
possible current affairs source or reference book possible. They keep revising it, they keep practicing mock-answer-writing at
home at regular intervals. They hang charts of quotes, thinkers, factual data in their study table and room. They maintain
separate pocket-diaries for revision of easy to forget points topics such as NPM, PCA etc.
Im talking about THE professionals. If you dont work hard, someone else will and hell become the topper while you fill
the application form for the next years preliminary exam.
When you maintain your own handwritten notes, you are improving your handwriting passively and automatically. Besides in
Mains youve to write for 6 hours each day. (each descriptive paper is of 3hours, and 2 papers per day). The speed and
elegance in handwriting can only come through practice. Ofcourse you dont need to become a calligrapher, but the totally
negative attitude towards improvement that Although Ive really pathetic handwriting but I wont do anything to even
slightly improve it, Yeh Muj se Nahi Hogaa! = know that there is always someone with better handwriting and better
knowledge than yours.

For more in this regard, read my earlier post: 5 Levels of Preparation.

Donot waste your money in postal courses. Each and everyone of them is mere rephrasing and copy pasting the sentences from
IGNOUs booklets and some random data from internet articles here and there- ofcourse they too have a family to feed, I
understand but they demand 7 to 12 thousand rupees and even more, for such postal courses Im against that robbing in broad
day light. I suggest you Better consult the original source itself.

Some of these readymade postal courses and printed class notes, intentionally skip the difficult sounding concepts

for example in Max Weber/ bureaucracy topic, they start directly from The Types of Authority (Traditional, Charismatic, Legal ),
10 characters of bureaucracy in bulleted points and fancy looking tables. The no0b amateur player thinks

Yes I got full command over this topic!! Public Administration is so Easy because of *****
Sirss notes! Ive learned EVERYTHING!!

No you havent. The Real Max Weber starts way before the types of authority: Development of money economy, emergency of
mass-democracy, protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism. This is the reason why youve to read the standard reference
books from well known authors, and not some chopshop coaching class. This is not a board or university exam, You dont have to
get a First class, Youve to get in the merit list. Answers require depth.

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To finish the syllabus and preparation of Public Administration in a limited time period of 2 or 3 months, you will have to do a very
systematic and parallel Topicwise study. First, get the tools ready, because plan requires Simultaneous parallel study and
notesmaking.
Move in this way (Ill provide an elaborate Study-plan later, but here is the brief overview of it:

Always keep Question papers and Syllabus in front of you.

Read M.Laxmikanth > IGNOU->Prasad->Mohit ,Nicholas, Stephen etc, in that order.
Note down the current affairs related to Administration, Government Policy, (the Yearbook stuff)
in paper one (theory): add the examples of paper 2 (Indian Administration)+ current affairs
in paper two (Indian Administration): add the principles of paper one (theory) + current affairs.
For Public Administration Syllabus Click Me
All questions of last 33 years Click Me
To download the Public Administration Notes of previous years Topper Mr.Om Kasera, Click ME

Let me Elaborate about the Books now

Public Administration : For the UPSC by M.Laxmikanth (TataMcGrawhill)

(For Hindi Medium) Lok Prashasan by M.Laxmikanth (TataMcGrawhill)

Yes, it is the same legendary M.Laxmikanth who wrote that book on Indian Polity

Public
Administration 1st
Edi...
List Price: Rs.575
Our Price: Rs.380
Lok Prashasan
List Price: Rs.480
Our Price: Rs.360
In the pre-CSAT era, there was GS+ Optional Subject paper (120 questions worth 300 marks).
M.Laxmikanths book was THE BASE BOOK. You read the book and you get overall idea of
entire public administration.
And from that base, you build up and expand your knowledge and understanding from
IGNOU, Mohit, Nicholas etc.
It helps to link up the topics: readymade quick-revision of all thinkers, and personnel
administration etc static topics can be done from his book.
Donot sit to finish the entire book at once. as I told you: move from Topic to Topic.For
Example
Chapter #3 of Laxmi: Theories of Administration
Finish and Move to
Administration Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad
Finish and Move to
IGNOU MA Booklet MPA_012 Module
Finish and ultimately read the Gita: New Horizones of Public Administration.
Same way
Topic: Introduction, Nature and Scope of Public Administration
Laxmi > Nicholas Henry > IGNOU MPA_011 >Mohit.

They can be downloaded in PDF format, fromfor free after registering a free account using your email id. (Nothing piracy or
scamgame, everything is legit)
Note: IGNOUs Egyankosh.ac.in server is under maintanance, some links are not working but wait for a few days.
Now Why am I recommending IGNOU?

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update July-09-2012: If you want to buy hardcopy (paper booklets instead of PDF files) then read instructions by clicking me

UPSCs syllabus of Public Administration, political science, History etc all lifted fully or partially from IGNOUs respective
BA, MA courses.
Their Distance Learning program coursebooklets, help tremendously in doing self-study at home because
Theyve written it after going through various well known national and international authors by themselves. Thus saving your
time from having to manually go through OG Glen Stahl, Nigro n Nigro, M.J.K. Thavaray, Rumki Basu, RK Sapru etc.
At the end of each topic, demo questions are given and model-answerkey is provided.
You dont need to consult seperate books for public policy, e-governance or disaster Management because all covered under
IGNOUs MA module.
Same way Personnel, Development administration, Indian Administration etc in BA Module.
Besides all these so called famous and expensive postal-courses or printed notes of Mohanty, Sunil Gupta etc are mere
rephrasing of IGNOU coursebooklets. Better use the original source for free.
IGNOU itself provides Gemstone mining for example Question in Mains paper-I, 2009

Taylors contribution was not a set of general principles but a set of operating procedures
that could be employed in each concrete situation to secure their application. -2009 Mains
Paper -I

+
Now where is the set of operating procedure in concrete situation?

IGNOU MPA_012 Unit#4, has the concrete situation specific procedures advocated by Taylor:

A worker Suite to handle pig iron as a regular occupation, should be so stupid and phlegmatic that hes mental make-up
resembles that of an ox.[Selection of Workers]
Influence of group makes a person produce less, the female workers are prone to such personal pressures and they should be
separated from each other in such a way that verbal interaction impossible.[Work must be individual activity, not group
activity.]

Administrative Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad

In Hindi, same book under title Prashasnik Chintak by Prasad and Prasad : .

You must read Prasad and Prasads book multiple times until you know the thinkers, their ideas and their
quotes like the back of your hand. In exams, sometimes they just give you a sentence (Quote) of a thinker
and will ask you to discuss it.
In the beginning, you will find memorising the quotes very difficult, but revision is the key. Always
remember, if you dont do it, someone else will, and get more marks compared to you.
Administrative
Thinkers 1st E...
You dont have to do quotes of all random thinkers appearing everywhere but those in the syllabus:
List Price: Rs.275
especially big-thinkers = Taylor, Fayol, Weber, Wilson, Follet, Mayo, Barnard, Herbert A. Simon.
Our Price: Rs.261 Prasads books provides biography and theory of a thinker. IGNOUs BA booklets will add some more
factual data in it. IGNOUs MA booklets (MPA_012) will provide advanced philosophical and
managerial analysis of a particular theory. And lastly Mohit Bhattacharyas book will give the crux of the
matter like Gita.

For every thinker You should make a personal note out of it, preferably in following order

name of the thinker

books written by him
Quotes
main ideas of his theory
relevance in Current Era

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His critiques
compare and contrast with other thinkers (e.g Taylor vs Follet)

Do not confine the ideas of these thinkers to paper-I only.

For example, Henry Fayol advocated for centralisation, how is it relevant in context of Panchayati
Raj (paper-II)?
Material rewards are ineffective beyond the subsistence level, said Chester Bernard , so try to
relate it with Personnel Management (paper-I), Pay-Commissions (Paper-II) and so on.
Try to think with this mindset and you will be able to frame high-quality answers for the Mains
Prashasnik Chintak exam.
List Price: Rs.227
Our Price: Rs.182 Make sure to read even the Notes and References Given at the end of each chapter in Prasad and Prasad.

For example: Mary Parker Follet gave three ways to solve conflict = (CID) Compromise, Integration and
Domination.
Wait, there is a fourth method too, Crowd Manipulation, given in the Notes at the end of her chapter. ;)
There are few other books with the same theme, for example S.R.Maheshwaris book on Administrative
thinkers
But Prasad is famous, standard, old, time-tested and trusted by Toppers and losers alike.
So use Prasad instead of doing adventures with other books.

New Horizones of Public Administration by Mohit Bhattacharya

same book in Hindi, under title Lok Prashasan Ke Naye Aayam by Mohit Bhattacharya
.

In terms of size, it is the smallest of all Public Administration books but otherwise considered to be the
toughest and most important book for public administration.Mohit for Public Administration, is what D.D.Basu
is for Indian Constitution.

What will be your expression if you started reading Gita without knowing the back-story of Mahabharat?

Gita is a very tough book, It says I cannot be killed by weapon or burned by

fire? But How is it possible? This is so tough. Its not going in my head.
New Horizons of
Public Admini...
Same is the case with Bhattacharyas book. To appreciate the finesse and depth of his ideas, one must be totally
List Price: Rs.357
Our Price: Rs.265 aware (and well versed) in the routine topics of Public Administration syllabus.Thats why always start with
M.Laxmikanths book on Public Administration, then read IGNOU BA booklet, then MA booklets and finally
in the end read the sacred book of Mohit Bhattacharya.

Same way to understand D.D. Basu, one should first go through M.Laxmikanths book on Polity.

Mohits book must be read multiple times after an interval of few weeks, Because everytime you read it, same
lines will give you a totally new viewpoint and gemstone.

In the Pre-CSAT era, it was GS+ Optional Subject paper (120 questions worth 300 marks).
Lok Prashasan Ke
Naye Aayam
And out of those 120 questions, 8-12 used to come out from Mohits book.
List Price: Rs.267
Our Price: Rs.238
In older mains, UPSC would lift statements directly from his book and ask you to comment on it. It was a
sacred book then, it is a sacred book now.

Any JBPS/No0b/Lord Curzon picks up Public Administration as an optional subject after hearing that it is a
scoring subject.
When such juntaa reads Mohit, they find it difficult,

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Juntaa: Yaar kuch samaj mein nahi aa rahaa. Mohit is boring.

Coaching class Sir: koi baat nahi betaa, Forget Mohit. Aa jaao, mera
Rs. 5000/ 7000/ 12000 kaa readymade study-material aur Nazar Suraksha
Kavach ( ) lelo!! Bedaa paar ho jaayegaa.

^A grave Mistake that will lead you to your grave. Mohit Must not be ignored.

Public Administration And Public Affairs by Nicholas Henry Not available in Hindi Medium
but should be read by Hindi aspirants as well.

Nicholas Henrys book covers Evolution of Public Administration, Forces of Organisation, Leadership
theories, Budget Types, Public Policy etc. in a thorough manner. In Pre-CSAT era, serious players would
consult his book specifically for prelim questions about Budget types.
Public Since hes a famous author , Sometimes statements directly lifted from his book example
Administration And
Pub...
Incrementalist paradigm posits a conservative tendency in public policy
List Price: Rs.375
Our Price: Rs.356 making.15m (2011 Mains Paper 1)

You dont have to read his entire book but only the chapters related to our syllabus.
Syllabus is given in official UPSC CSAT-2012 notification. You can download the pdf file link is on the
top navigation bar of my site.

Essentials of organisational behaviour by Stephen Robbins .Not Available in Hindi.

Stephen Robbins is For Administrative Behaviour topics: leadership, communication, motivational

theories etc.
Most of the books even IGNOU booklets stop after Maslow, Herzberges motivational theories and dont
talk much about modern motivational theories.
Essentials Of
Organizational...
But Stephens book covers them with charts, diagrams and examples.
List Price: Rs.499
In Pre-CSAT era prelims, 3-4 questions used to come from his book.
Our Price: Rs.424 His ideas on organisational design, communication, motivation, hierarchy, leadership, performance
appraisal etc. can be applied and linked to other questions in Paper-I and II. so that way it indirectly helps
you to frame better answers.
His book is written in very easy language, barely 350 pages, can be read like a storybook and finished
within 7-10 days.

Apart from this, 2nd ARC report. Reading of Yojana, Kurukshetra Magazines etc.

Can purchase these books online safely with Flipkart by clicking links below, no Credit card needed, pay cash on Delivery only.
Deliery in 2-3 businessdays.

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Public Administrative New Horizons of Public Essentials Of

Administration 1st Thinkers 1st E... Public Admini... Administration And Organizational...
Edi... Pub...
List Price: Rs.275 List Price: Rs.357 List Price: Rs.499
List Price: Rs.575 Our Price: Rs.261 Our Price: Rs.265 List Price: Rs.375 Our Price: Rs.424
Our Price: Rs.380 Our Price: Rs.356

Administrative Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad

Essentials Of Organizational Behavior by Stephen Robbins
Public Administration And Public Affairs by Nicholas Henry
Public Administration : For the UPSC by M.Laxmikanth (TataMcGrawhill)
Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth (TataMacgrawhill)
IGNOUs B.A. Booklets in English (Free Download)
IGNOUs M.A. Booklets in English (FREE Download)
Reports of 2nd Administration Reforms Commission in English (Free Download)
Yojana Magazines in English (free download)
Newspaper (Indian Express/Hindu) for Current affairs related to Public Administration.

Lok Prashasan Ke Naye Aayam (Hindi) by Mohit Bhattacharya

Prashasnik Chintak (Administrative Thinkers) by Prasad and Prasad

Buy Lok Prashasan by M.Laxmikanth (TataMcgrawhill)

IGNOUs B.A. Booklets in Hindi (free download)
IGNOUs M.A. Booklets in Hindi (free download)
Reports of 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission in Hindi
Yojana Magazines in Hindi (free download)
Newspaper (Indian Express/Hindu) for Current affairs related to Public Administration
Following books not available in in the Hindi medium, but should be read and notes made in Hindi language
Public Administration And Public Affairs by Nicholas Henry
Essentials Of Organizational Behavior by Stephen Robbins

(Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu..)

You can download Yojana Magazine in your mother-tounge for free
First You need to build the vocabulary and sentence formation to write formal answers in your language.
For example you cant write Public Administration naa principles in Gujarati fonts in your answersheet. Youve to be specific in
your choice of words, it is Jaaher Vahivat naa siddhanto (
  )

To get the vocabulary, first get some cheap (bogus) readymade guidebooks/ coaching material for State PSC exams for Public
Administration. Read them, understand the language formation and vocabulary. Then read the standard reference books
(Prasad, Mohit etc) in Hindi /English language, and note down the gem stones in your notes, in your mothertounge.
Some Small town candidates studying in isolation- make a mistake. They dont touch the Standard Reference books (SRB) at
all , thinking that theyre only competing with their own Gujarati / Marathi fellows only so they rely only on readymade State
PSC guidebooks and printed material of local coaching classes.
But you must not forget that there are always some senior-players in your own medium and state, who have made notes out
of SRB and writing better answers than yours.
Never underestimate the competition.
Besides your papers will be checked by a university professor who himself would have gone through the SRBs, not some
jholaa-chaap study-material and guidebooks that passes around in State PSC exams hence hed be expecting a certain level

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and depth in your answers for IAS exam.

Mrinalini Sarabhai opened an amphitheatre in Ahmedabad Nat-raani() , saying

Nat-raaj () is everywhere, but I give you Nat-raani.

Same way, On internet, recommended booklist is everywhere, Ill give you a *NOT* recommended booklist.
I mean *that* 15-20 books list, each book worth 600 pages, for each and every topic and by the time youve finished reading those
books, your son or daughter is grown up and giving board exams or auditioning for Indian Idol Season #45.

this Not recommended Booklist includes

Ive already written a post about why these journals are not essential and waste of time. Click me to read it.

Well these are not recommend by me, because of the limited time youve, to prepare Public Administration.

Personnel Administration by OG Glen Stahl,

Development Administration by RK Sapru
Public Administration Theory and Practice by Sharma and Sadana
Indian Administration by S.R. Maheshwari
RK Arora, Rajni Goyal,
Modern Public Administration Nigro and Nigro.
Public Administration :Theory and Concepts by Avasthi Maheshwari,
Indian Administration Avasthi and Avasthi
Fadia and Fadia
District Administration SS Khera
Public Administration Theory and concepts Rumki Basu
Financial administration of India M.J.K. Thavaray
Comparative administration : public administration a comparative perspective Ferrel Heady
State administration J.D. Shukla
District administration S. S. Khera
and so on.

SS Khera wrote book on District Administration in the era of 1970s. So much has changed now. District administration isnt
the same!
M.J.K. Thavaray: goes in too depth for finance including all mathametical stuff, suited for Economics course.
Fadia, Avasthi and Sadana= all of three of them have almost one and same stuff, They contain part theory and part Indian
administration. barely any difference. Still if you want to purchase one of them, I would suggest Indian Administration by
Avasthi and Avasthi. However most of his ideas are covered in BA Indin Administration module.
Fadia had good chapter on Administrative systems of US,UK,France but that topic was in prelims Pub ad.exam and now
optionals are removed from prelims.
I think Arora and Goyal (Indian Administration) is not updated after 1998 and Indian administration has changed thoroughly
by now. Whatever good static topics it had, are already covered in IGNOU, besides nowadays rarely direct questions from
static Indian Administration e.g. functions of PM or Powers of the President/ Governor.
Nigro and Nigro, again lot of overlapping with Nicholas and almost covered under other books.
Comparative Pub.Ad by Ferrel Heady- come on, we dont have to do Ph.D here, besides in CPA UPSC doesnt go in much
depth beyond Fred Riggs and he is already covered well in Laxmi, Mohit, Prasad and IGNOU.
Ofcourse these are renowned authors and if youve 8-10 months in your hand, you could refer to even more books and note
down the gemstones out of it. But if you only have 2,3 or 4 months before the mains and also second optional subject +
infinite General studies preparation, itll be hard to do justice to all these standard reference books.
Im not saying UPSC will not ask any question out of these books.
Remember what Herbert A. Simon said in bounded rationality, quoting from Administrative Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad

The administrative man cannot pursue all possible alternatives, cannot predict all possible

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consequences, he, instead of attempting to arrive at optimal solutions, makes a choice with
with relatively simple rule of thumb that does not make impossible demands upon his
capacity for thought.
Since he cannot maximise, he settles down with Satisficing : the choice of a course of action
which is satisfactory or good enough.

Since youre an Administrative man, you cannot Maximize, youve to settle by satisficing.
Besides most of the gemstones given in them are covered in BA, MA booklets of IGNOU already. To be Continued

[Tech] Shifting from Google Reader to Feedly, How to keep track Hindu & Other
sites important for UPSC
[Job Profile] SSC-CGL: desk jobs, field jobs, CSS, Assistant, auditors, inspectors:
income tax, excise, preventive officer: promotion, posting, job profiles
[Tech] Using Microsoft Onenote to organize your study-notes: Image to text,
Audio notes and more
[Tech] How to read The Hindu Online, Efficiently via Google Reader
[Tech] Mrunals Auto NoteMaker for The Hindu & PDF files: Grab Data by Mouse,
Make Notes without typing!
[Tips] Yojana and Kurukshetra: How to use them for UPSC preparation without
wasting time?
[Pub Ad] Topicwise Mock Questions on Public Policy, PRI and E-Governance (Hindi & English)
[Pub Ad] Fred Riggs Prismatic-Sala Society revisited: Will India remain corrupt forever?
[Pub AD] Disaster Management Practice Questions
[Pub Ad] Lethargy in Decision Making: Why Indian bureaucrates dont take decisions?

244 comments to [Strategy & Studyplan] Public Administration Mains Paper 1 & 2 (Hindi / English)
for UPSC IAS Exam Recommend Booklist

Older Comments 1 2 3 4

Amol
Reply to this comment
Hello Mrunal sir,
I want to share one site http://www.indiabookstore.net/ which compares price of book available at different sites, so we can buy
cheapest book.
Thank you.

krishna kishore
Reply to this comment
Thank you Amol

anirban
Reply to this comment
sir i have already bought the book governance in india by laxmikanth.do i need to buy indian polity by laxmikanth or both the
books are same.

Radha Krishna SInha

Reply to this comment
I am not able to get the paperback 9th edition of NICHOLAS HENRY :Public Administration And Public Affairs .there are
differences in content of 12th and 9th edition.should i go for 12th edition

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rakesh drazon
Reply to this comment
sir can u tell me particular sovled question paper for public administration and sociology.

avinash
Reply to this comment
please give us guidance on preparing PHILOSOPHY
sir give at least recommended book list for
PHILOSOPHY

mansi
Reply to this comment
Sir will u plz tell me how to read a big bundle of arc report..

komal
Reply to this comment
ya i too need sm guidance..on arc

dhrumil
Reply to this comment
how to prepare for paper-2? which book suppose to refer? or only ARC report is enough?

Shrikant Kadam
Reply to this comment
Sir,im engg 3rd yr EnTC student now, and ive started reading NCERT books, My question is -im really confused about selection of
optionals in UPSC..actually as an engg student i dont know if a perticular subject is of interest to me or not??
i font know my interest amog the provided optionals???Please help me on thatwhat should i do to find my interest in a perticular
optional sub????

Shanu
Reply to this comment
Sir my aim is 2014/15 so can i bght this book
Public Administration And Public Affairs by Nicholas Henry
Essentials Of Organizational Behavior by Stephen Robbins

PANDEY JI
Reply to this comment
Hi Mrunal,
Reading books of Pub.Ad is one thing n writing answers in d exam hall of an unexpected paper is another thing.
How 2 tackle this evil ??

mansi
Reply to this comment
@srikanth ..u shud cncntrt on gs part ncert especially there z uncertainity in pattrn also .dnt wrry abt optionl ..
1 more thing evry1 here shud use prper lnguage
ol d bst

Shrikant Kadam
Reply to this comment
thanks a lot mansi!!!And i really apologise for the later thing, it wont happen again.

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suri
Reply to this comment
hello bro,if im thorough wid basu then is dere still need for laxmikanth for pre.thanking u.

jyant gautam
Reply to this comment
hello sir.I need to know whether we should include some counter-argument/against point as well in comment type of question !!

sibprasad
Reply to this comment
Hi, can anyone please provide me contact number of any xerox shop from where i can buy the practice test paper for both mains and
prelims of 2013. This message is for all those candidates from Delhi mainly. Any help will be much appreciated.

Lohit
Reply to this comment
Thank you very much sir for your advise. As, before reading your blog, I was going to proceed with the same strategy ( again
reading coaching institutes notes) using which I failed in my last attempt.

Dharamvirsinh
Reply to this comment
Hi Mrunal!
Sorry to request you repeatedly but I am stuck with my optional Psychology as I have prepared it almost half of the syllabus. Now I
am feeling lack of guidance regarding answer writing. So It will be great help if you post article on strategy of preparing Psychology
as I could not make it up with that toppers recommendation posted.

Aiman Reyaz
Reply to this comment
i too asked the same question to Mr Patal, but he said no idea. Anyways, if you want my opinion then read Baron, both
General and Social and also Ciccarelli. These will be more than enough for paper 1 and for paper 2 read internet as you cannot
buy every book on applications of psychology, ex- on health, terrorism, women, etc

saurabh
Reply to this comment
sir.
failed this time in mains and i really need t0 kn0w h0w t0 make up as i have 0nly tw0 attempts left..i think answer writing need
special attenti0n but i m unable t0 make 0ut what will make my answer m0st acceptable 0neplease give tips.

gowri
Reply to this comment
sir can u provide topic wise i.e as per syllabus for each topic which book in which manner it has to be prepared for bth paper 1 and 2
of pub ad
thank you..

prerna
Reply to this comment
can u provide ignou MA BA notes in a zip folder

saurabh
Reply to this comment
can u please provide another download link(other than egyankosh) for MA public administration (MPA-012),as this book is not
available on egyankosh.

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HENRI
Reply to this comment
I need information reviewing comparative public administration in rumki basus public administration concepts and theories.

Sachin
Reply to this comment
Thanks

Subakumaran
Reply to this comment
Public Administration Theory and concepts Rumki Basu
hello sir ,
can i start with this book for the basics of public administration sir

Mrunal
Reply to this comment
for both Public Administration and polity, use Laxmikanths books as starting point.
you may consult Rumki Basu etc. after that.

Subakumaran
Reply to this comment
thank you sir .. after completing both the books ill ask for guidance sir .. thank you

abhijat srivastava
Reply to this comment
since IGNOU link is not working, could you please give the details of books with their numbers which we should buy

Ari
Reply to this comment
Hi Mrunalji,
In 2012 Mains the public Administration optional was very tough and so many unheard thinkers, and areas are given. The marks also
very low even those score well in previous.
For me I Completed 3/4 syllabus in Both Papers before prelims and not planned to complete It and Read 2nd ARC Reports fully, but
i have confused that time also if the same trend continue?
I try to read Sociology but i was not attract as much PubAd. For alternate i plan to choose Political Science optional but it is new for
me. please suggest me.
Somebody rooming that MOHIT Bhhattachary has reentered into UPSC so only this optional face disaster. please give answer to me
as soon as possible. I was residing in a rural and not able to discuses with any seniors or centers, i believe only internet and books.
Im waiting for ur reply, so that i start preparing for 01june2013 for mains.
Please reply sir.
If you suggest PoliticalSc please give difference b/w both optional and Books and strategy and whether it will completed in 5 months.
Thank You sir.

Ari
Reply to this comment
It is wrongly typed not for Now(Planned to complete)

Hunny Sharma
Reply to this comment

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mrunal sir, going for pub ad. as optional only because it is helpful in other areas, but I have a command over botany, because
questions are straight and easy to answer. Sir please guide me for what optional I should go for

naveena
Reply to this comment
sir the IGNOU links are not working..it says the resource is unavailable..can u help me in downloading IGNOU B.A and M.A
materials for public administration

sam
Reply to this comment
mrunal please elaborate the structure of answers for writing thinkers & paper 2 meant how to built up the answer..
difference b/w critically analysed,elaborate,criticize,elucidiate etc??
reply please
thanx

Rohit
Reply to this comment
Hi Mrunal,
First of all thanks for all your effort and dedication towards helping out civil services aspirants.
Today I came to know that after 16 years pub ad book written by RK Arora, Rajni Goyal, is being revised 2013yr and its out in book
stores, do you think is it worth going for it?
Thanks.

sam
Reply to this comment
anyone please provide the link to IGNOU BA public administration i am unable to find it

Mukul
Reply to this comment
anyone who is interested in writing questions of PubAd, let me know at mukul_goyal2003@yahoo.co.in
We can write together.
my profile: wrote mains in 2012
Only serious aspirants are requested to contact, Please dont mail just for the sake of getting benefit. (no offence)

vikas
Reply to this comment
I a not able o get Eleventh Edition of Nicholas Henry but the 12th edition is available so does 12th edition serves the purpose?

Honey
Reply to this comment
Sir,
Im from a chemical and management background, so after consulting with 2-3 seniors of my college only who are preparing for
Civils and as batches were about to be flooded, I opted for Public Administration as an optional subject for 2014. I found it interesting
and some of the topics are already in knowledge to me. Will covering syllabus from Fadia & Fadia be beneficial or some different
strategies should be used ?

Gone
Reply to this comment
Kis college se ho honey bhai..mujhe lagta hain main tumhe jaanta hoon

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pratyush
Reply to this comment
Mrunal sir your articles are really a great source of study and knowledge for all civil service aspirantsthanx
Sir can you please tell me is there any difference between the sixth and seventh edition of mohit bhattacharyas new horizons of
public administration.? The content of both looked same to me ..

Older Comments 1 2 3 4

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