UPSC Public Administration Optional Syllabus -- Paper II (Indian Administration)
Detailed Paper II (Indian Administration) syllabus for the UPSC Public Administration Optional -- all 14 units with sub-topics.
Paper II at a glance
Paper II: Indian Administration -- UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination, Public Administration Optional. 250 marks. Fourteen units covering the evolution of Indian administration, the Union, State and district machinery, civil services, finance, reforms, rural and urban government, law and order, and current issues. Paper I (Administrative Theory) has its own page.
1. Evolution of Indian Administration
- Kautilya's Arthashastra.
- Mughal administration.
- Legacy of British rule in politics and administration -- Indianisation of public services, revenue administration, district administration, local self-government.
2. Philosophical and Constitutional Framework of Government
- Salient features and value premises.
- Constitutionalism.
- Political culture.
- Bureaucracy and democracy.
- Bureaucracy and development.
3. Public Sector Undertakings
- Public sector in modern India.
- Forms of Public Sector Undertakings.
- Problems of autonomy, accountability and control.
- Impact of liberalisation and privatisation.
4. Union Government and Administration
- Executive, Parliament, Judiciary -- structure, functions, work processes; recent trends; intra-governmental relations.
- Cabinet Secretariat; Prime Minister's Office.
- Central Secretariat; Ministries and Departments.
- Boards; Commissions; attached offices; field organisations.
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 decentralised planning for economic development and social justice.
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 decentralisation.
8. 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.
9. Financial Management
- Budget as a political instrument.
- Parliamentary control of public expenditure.
- Role of the Finance Ministry in the monetary and fiscal area.
- Accounting techniques; audit.
- Role of the Controller General of Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
10. Administrative Reforms since Independence
- Major concerns.
- Important Committees and Commissions.
- Reforms in financial management and human resource development.
- Problems of implementation.
11. Rural Development
- Institutions and agencies since Independence.
- Rural development programmes: foci and strategies.
- Decentralisation and Panchayati Raj.
- 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
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.
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.
- Criminalisation of politics and administration; police-public relations.
- Reforms in the police.
14. 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.
Syllabus as given in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2026 notification (Public Administration, Papers I and II).
π£ Join our community