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UPSC CSE Mains 2020 — Public Administration Questions with Answers
All 56 Public Administration previous-year questions from UPSC CSE Mains 2020, each with the correct answer and a full explanation. Practise them as a free, timed mock test with instant scoring.
Practice Public Administration as a timed test →- Q1.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“The strength of Public Administration is in its exploration of the complexities and nuances of public policy making and implementation.” Discuss.
- Q2.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Principles of analysis and principles of action were not differentiated in Taylor’s scientific management. Comment.
- Q3.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Arbitrariness in the application of rule of law is a primary cause of poor governance.” Discuss.
- Q4.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Departments, Boards and Commissions as forms of organization are dissimilar in the context of accountability and responsibility.” Analyse.
- Q5.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Administrative man bridges the psychological man and the rational man. Explain.
- Q6.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
The movement towards governance as an organizing concept for public administration and management is because the focus of administration has been shifting from the bureaucratic state to the ‘hollow state’ and ‘third-party government’. Critically examine.
- Q7.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Organizations of the future will be organic-adaptive structures but temporary systems.” Discuss how Warren Bennis characterises the new form of organization.
- Q8.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Productivity is not the result of working conditions but the result of emotional response of workers to work performed.” Are Elton Mayo’s findings relevant in contemporary organizations?
- Q9.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Performance information use is a form of organizational behaviour that is influenced by individual, job, organizational and environmental factors.” Critically analyse.
- Q10.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
New Public Service emphasizes democracy and citizenship as the basis for public administration theory and practice. Elucidate.
- Q11.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Accountability under New Public Management has undergone a radical change, although the focus has continued to remain on management.” Comment.
- Q12.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Developments in the field of Administrative Law reflect an increasingly blurred boundary between the state and society, and between justice and administration.” Has administrative law become more constitutional than the Constitution itself? Argue.
- Q13.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“The content and process theories of motivation have the same focus but are different in approaches.” Do you agree? Give reasons.
- Q14.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Thrust on the citizen centricity and Right based approaches, aim to empower the citizens. In the light of the above, has the administrative accountability improved? Justify your argument.
- Q15.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Comparative Public Administration started with no paradigm of its own and developed none.” Comment.
- Q16.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Markets, hierarchies and networks represent modern governing structures in government.” Explain.
- Q17.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Has policy analysis become a major source of legitimation of status quo in political and social order? Discuss.
- Q18.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Fiscal policy should address the issues of inequity, intricacy and obscurantism.” Explain.
- Q19.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Prevention of misconduct requires institutionalization of ethical values at the political and administrative levels.” Justify.
- Q20.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Administrative ideas must be seen in the context of environment in which they develop.” In the light of the above statement, examine the influence of New Public Management and Information and Communication Technologies on comparative study of Public Administration.
- Q21.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Affirmative action in socio-economic development has not altogether eliminated discrimination. Discuss it in the context of women empowerment.
- Q22.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Have political realities thwarted the move towards evidence based policy making? Critically examine.
- Q23.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Globalization is impacting the context of national policy making. The national policy agenda is becoming international.” Explain.
- Q24.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Collaboration and its cognates for public service delivery need to be viewed from the governance lenses.” Comment.
- Q25.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
Administrative reform is “an artificial inducement of administrative transformation against resistance.” (Gerald Caiden). Identify the nature of resistance and inducements required to overcome it.
- Q26.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Disruptive nature of developments in Information Technology has changed the contours of e-governance in the last one decade.” Analyse.
- Q27.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Performance Management Framework enables a clear line of sight between planning, measuring and monitoring performance.” Critically analyse.
- Q28.Public Administration Optional — Paper I
“Objectives of performance budgeting include improving expenditure prioritization, effectiveness and efficiency.” Has performance budgeting worked effectively in governmental system? Argue.
- Q29.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Mughal administration incorporated a combination of Indian and extra-Indian elements. Discuss.
- Q30.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
There is a constant and continuous collision between bureaucratic values and democratic values which adversely affects development. Do you agree? Elaborate.
- Q31.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Parliamentary committees are at the deliberative core of parliamentary work which is crucial for refining legislations. Elucidate.
- Q32.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Considering India’s diversity, the planning pattern of ‘one-size-fits-all’ was discarded in favour of indicative planning. To what extent has it been useful to India?
- Q33.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Even if all the States combine together, they cannot have their way in decision-making in the GST Council, unless the Union agrees to it. Analyse this in the perspective of federalism in India.
- Q34.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
District administration is the most important unit in governance. Most of the Central and State Government schemes and programmes are directed towards the district administration. In this context, discuss the challenges and problems posed to the district administration.
- Q35.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
The structural part of the Constitution of India is to a large extent derived from the Government of India Act, 1935, whereas its philosophical part has many other sources. Discuss the sources of the philosophical part.
- Q36.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
The public services in India are an evolution of the British Raj. Trace the Indianization of the services.
- Q37.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Does the privatization of key public sector bodies augur well for welfarism in India? Discuss with suitable illustrations.
- Q38.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
The spirit of democratic values requires that the independence of judiciary remains absolute. It is high time that the All India Judicial Service (AIJS) was created. Elaborate.
- Q39.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
To strengthen the Election Commission of India and its commissioners is the need of the hour. Suggest measures to make it more independent and impartial.
- Q40.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Examine the National Health Policy in the context of the current pandemic situation. Identify the problems and suggest improvements.
- Q41.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
The Speaker of the State Assembly has assumed a significant role in formations and dissolutions of governments. Examine under the circumstances of coalition governments with examples.
- Q42.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
At the district level, police functions under the overall supervision and control of the District Magistrate. Comment.
- Q43.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Political neutrality of civil servants has been regarded as one of the cardinal principles in democratic governments. Is its sanctity being maintained in practice in India? Elucidate.
- Q44.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Budget is an indicator of financial health of a polity which is reflected in the statement of income and expenditure. Discuss.
- Q45.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Panchayati Raj Institutions are still plagued by State control and domination of bureaucracy. Argue your case.
- Q46.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Urban local governance is perpetually afflicted with lack of financial autonomy and starvation of funds. Elaborate.
- Q47.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
There has been a long-standing demand for separation of police investigation from prosecution. Analyze its merits and demerits.
- Q48.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India stands on the pillar of autonomy. Discuss the major lacunae in the functioning of this constitutional body and also suggest measures for its strengthening.
- Q49.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Implementation of administrative reforms is humongous and arduous. What lacks the push to realize the changes?
- Q50.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Immediate post-retirement appointments of high officers of government have become a new trend. Discuss its pros and cons.
- Q51.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Ward committees in urban local governance have remained more paper tigers. The ideal of realizing effective people’s participation in collaboration with local functionaries is still in the pipeline. Evaluate the gap in theory and practice.
- Q52.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Police needs to be made accountable and freed from the grip of politics. It is a big challenge not only for law and order but also for the development of the country. Critically examine.
- Q53.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Civil servants are trained to follow rules and procedures so much that they become bureaucrazy. Do you agree? Justify.
- Q54.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
“There are adequate legal mechanisms to address corruption and malpractices in administration, but they have failed to curb the menace to any noticeable degree.” In the light of this statement, discuss the efficacy of the institution of Lokayukta in Indian States.
- Q55.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Despite the constitutional provisions for representation, the voice of weaker sections is not having the desired impact in the realms of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Critically examine.
- Q56.Public Administration Optional — Paper II
Ideally citizen-administration interface is supposed to be based on trustworthiness and purposefulness, in reality it is observed to be plagued by suspicion, conflicts, stresses and strains. Do you agree? Elaborate.
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