Public Adminiistration strategy by Jatin Verma Sir
Q1. What should be the rationale behind choosing any optional subject?
Answer. Choosing an optional subject in UPSC requires careful consideration. The rationale behind choosing the optional subject should be overlap with the general studies papers,thereby reducing the need to study separately.
Secondly, the scoring potential of the optional subject should also be weighed in, considering the past results and level of difficulty. A candidate should aim to score 300 plus marks in the optional subject in order to get a decent rank in the merit list.
Thirdly, one’s interest in the subject also matters as without interest, one won’t be able to allocate the required time to gain the subject knowledge.
I have seen many students choosing the optional subject on the basis of “Rank-1” syndrome because of which they choose the subject because last year’s topper had that as his/her optional and end up changing the same after sometime because they loose interest or find it difficult.
Besides the above three factors, other factors like one’s own educational background, availability of study material, right guidance & support and the length of the optional subject should also be considered.
Q2. What are the Pros and Cons of Public Administration as an optional subject?
Answer. Public Administration as an optional subject enthuses many aspirants because of its practical relevance in the career of a civil servant and its overlap with the General Studies Paper-2(Polity & Governance) and Paper-4(Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude).
However, one should weigh in both- pros and cons of choosing Public Administration as optional.
Pros:
1. Overlapping with GS papers: There is a significant overlap between Public Administration and the General Studies (GS) papers, particularly GS Paper II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations) and GS Paper IV, colloquially known as Ethics Paper. By studying Public administration paper-II i.e. Indian Administration, an aspirant gains deeper insights into issues affecting Governance and working of the Indian Polity which makes it easier for him/her to write good answers in GS Paper II. In so far as Ethics paper is concerned, most of the case studies are framed around ethical dilemmas in the career of a Civil Servant, which need to be answered with an administrative bent of mind, for which the knowledge gained from Public administration lands one in good stead.
2. Interesting and Easy to understand : The subject matter of Public administration is easy to understand and lucid in nature, even for those without a background in Public administration. While reading the topics mentioned in the syllabus, one can easily draw the correlation between the text and context of Indian polity and administration, which makes the study interesting. It is this aspect interest aspect which helps one to allocate the time required to gain mastery in the optional to fetch good marks.
3. Spill-over benefits in other sections/stages of exam: As a UPSC CSE aspirant, one is essentially preparing for administrative services- i.e. how to solve the problems of administration while serving the people. To that extent any problem faced by the public, be it social (GS Paper-1) or economic-jobless growth, agrarian crises or Disaster management (GS Paper-3) needs to be a solved within the realm of administration. Having gained the knowledge about the administrative constraints in which public policy is framed, a public administration optional student is in a better position to answer the dynamic questions of GS Papers-1,2,3 and 4.
Besides, this optional also helps in interview stage as one knows the theoretical side of the administrative working, around which many questions are are asked in the Personality test.
Cons:
In nutshell, I would suggest one to start early, focus on understanding the key concepts & frameworks, stay updated with current developments and prepare under the guidance from experts/topper, if possible.
Q3. How to start with Public administration optional preparation?
Answer. If one has made up her mind to choose Public administration as the optional, below is the step by step guide for reference, which can adapted according to one’s academic background and level of preparation.
Step-1: Gaining a good grasp on syllabus:
- Familiarize yourself with the UPSC syllabus for Pub Admin
- Break down the syllabus into manageable topics
Step 2: Build a strong foundation
- Start with basic books:
Step 3: Focus on Indian Administration: For this, apart from conventional books, one should be regular with the newspaper reading to gain an edge in Indian Administration (Paper-2) as the questions are framed out of the statements of Constitutional dignitaries/court judgements/recent issues affecting Indian administration. I always tell my students that the best book for Indian administration is the newspaper!
- Study Indian Administration:
- "Indian Administration" by M.P. Sharma
- "Public Administration in India" by Arora and Goyal
- Understand the evolution, structure, and functions of Indian Administration from books like Arora and Goyal and Maheshwari.
Remember that the books are to be referred keeping in mind the broad heading in the syllabus and it is not required to cover any book from cover to cover.
Step 4: Practice answer writing
- Practice writing answers to previous year's questions
- Focus on developing a clear, concise writing style
- Refer to Topper’s answer copies at periodic intervals
- Learn to apply concepts to case studies and scenarios
- While doing the answer writing practice, do it in a manner that you are also making notes on the same topic, having all the relevant points at one place. This will help you save time while revising next time.
Another important point to keep in mind is-to interlink and integrate the preparation of both the papers
Step 5: Stay updated
- Stay current with recent developments in governance and administration
- Read relevant articles, reports, and books
- Follow government initiatives and policy changes
- If the conventional side of the syllabus is covered, read articles from Indian Journal of Public Administration (IJPA)
Step 6: Join a study group or coaching
- Consider joining a study group or coaching institute for guidance and support
- Interact with peers and mentors to clarify doubts and improve understanding
Step 7: Create a Study & Revision Plan
- Develop a study plan with a timeline and milestones
- Allocate time for each topic and activity
- Regularly review and adjust your plan
Lastly, make sure that you make your own crisp and concise notes for every topic and revise them at least thrice before sitting for the mains.
Q4. After analysing the past years’ questions, what has been the trend in marks and questions in Public administration?
Answer. Like with almost every other optional subject, UPSC is interested in checking the horizontal as well as vertical depth of a candidate’s knowledge and understanding.
For this, every question being asked is being divided into various sub parts, carrying 10 marks each. This way, each optional paper has anywhere between 25-28 questions, thereby giving the examiner enough leeway to test a candidate’s level of preparation.
Coming to the nature of Questions, almost every question has a dynamic side to it, requiring a candidate to cite something of recent/practical relevance from organization/management/case studies/political or administrative affairs, besides conventional static demand of the question.
In so far as marks are concerned, Public administration optional candidates have got glorious ranks in last 5 years, ranging from Rank 17, Mehak Jain (258 Marks, CSE 2021) to Rank 94, Anisha Tomar (281 Marks, CSE 2019). There are many candidates who have scored 300+ marks in Public administration. To cite a few, Anju (333 Marks, CSE 2018), Nupur Goel (302 Marks, Rank 11, CSE 2019).
Another dimension to analyse the pattern of marks is to see how much potential is there to score in Public administration paper-1 and paper-2. As a long term trend, many successful candidates have scored more marks in Paper-2 than in Paper-1, reason being paper-1 is more theoretical in nature and paper-2 is more dynamic and interesting. However, this above analysis should not lead one to give lesser effort in Paper-1 as the grasp over the concepts in Paper-1 is the key to score well in paper-2.
Q5. What are some tips for writing a good answer in Public administration?
Answer. There is no standard way to write an answer when it comes to cracking UPSC CSE. However, a pattern could be discerned based on the analysis of Toppers’ answer copies. Here are some tips to write a good answer in Public administration:
1. Understand the question: Read the question carefully and identify the key concepts, theories, or models being asked.
2. Structure your answer: Use a logical and coherent structure, including an introduction, body, and conclusion. Do not write lengthy introduction or conclusion. Instead give more words to body of the answer where in you directly cater to the demand of the question, instead of beating around the bush!
3. Define key terms: Clearly define key concepts and terms related to the question. Use proper terminology and jargon related to Public Administration. Make list fo such keywords while reading books and newspapers.
4. Focus on analysis and explanation: Go beyond mere description and focus on analysis and explanation of the concepts and theories.
5. Use relevant theories and models, wherever applicable: Apply relevant theories, models, and concepts from Public Administration to answer the question. Ability to recollecting the relevant theories would depend on how organized your notes are and how repetitive your revisions are. Also, integrate the preparation for paper-1 and 2 so as to write better answers.
6. Provide examples: Use relevant examples and case studies to illustrate your points. Newspaper reading would come in handy here.
7. Use diagrams and flowcharts: Use diagrams and flowcharts to explain complex concepts and models. Develop the habit of making your own diagrams and flowcharts while making notes and writing answers.
8. Keep it concise: Keep your answers concise and to the point, within the word limit.
9. Use quotes and references: Use relevant quotes and references from renowned authors and scholars in Public Administration make sure to explain them.
10. Make it legible: Write legibly and use proper handwriting.
Q6. Subscribers’ Questions:
(a) how much time does it take to prepare Public adminiutsration?
Ans. For a fresher with no prior knowledge of Public administration, it takes around 5-6 months to prepare Public administration, allocating around 3-4 hours a day under the right guidance and confining oneself to the headings/keywords given in the syllabus.
(b) What are the essential reading sources other than coaching material that aspirants must read?
Ans. For basic understanding, read Introduction to Public Administration by S.Polinaidu, Administrative Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad.
For the topics that are not holistically covered in the coaching notes, refer Fadia and Fadia. To gain knowledge of historic context of administration, give a reading to select chapters of Goyal and Arora for Paper-II.
Make sure that you update the data/facts from latest reports/findings -NCRB, Ministry of statics and Program Implementation for PPP projects
(c) Can you provide some strategies for Revision?
Ans. Read everything carefully during your first reading. Make notes in your second or third reading, after you have gained enough understanding and can frame the wordings of a concept/thinker in your own words. This might seem very tedious in the beginnig but once you develop the habit, making crisp and concise notes would be a cakewalk. For revision, your own notes made in the above manner would be the best source. Secondly, the answers that you write can be another source for quick revision. Revise the topics covered over a week in the weekend so as to concretise the underlying concepts.
(d) How to approach Paper-1 Administrative Theory?
Ans. Refer the above mentioned books (S. Polinaidu and Prasad and Prasad) to gain clarity over the topics mentioned in the first four units of the Paper-1. Parallelly, glance through the Previous years questions after covering every topic. These four units are considered to be tough by many. To make your journey interesting, try to compare the ideas/theories of one thinker with that of another and try to validate the theories by applying them to the Indian context.
(e) How to approach Paper-2 i.e. Indian Administration?
Ans. In the first stage, gain the knowledge of the Historical context of Indian Administration- Mughal Administration, British Raj etc. Post that, selectively read books like S.P. Maheshwari to gain insights into topics like Indian politics since Independence. After you are done with the above two stages, try to draw the interlinkages between the concepts of Paper-1 and facts of Paper-2. To Illustrate, the knowledge of concepts of Unit-5 of Paper-1 should be interlinked with the dynamic topics of Unit-14 like Corruption and Administration, RTI, Citizens’ charters and their experience in India. Try to make notes out of administration oriented editorial/ news articles on topics like regulatory bodies, CAG, CBI, Jan Soochna Portal and the like.
Q7. Some final mantras on how to have an edge in this optional paper?
Ans. Keep your sources were very minimal, but read these so many times that you can recall them easily. Aim for conceptual clarity in the initial stages. To make a difference, learn the skill and art of interlinking and integrating the preparation of paper-1 (theory) and paper-2 (application). Lastly, do answer writing practice regularly under proper guidance.
(The above are the excerpts of Interview given by Jatin Verma to Indian Express Team)