IAS Mains Previous Years Paper : Public Administration (1994)

PAPER - I
SECTION A
1. Comment on any three of the following in not more than 200 words each:
(a) “Most of the propositions that make up the body of administrative theory today share, unfortunately this defect of proverbs.”
(b) “The postwar formulations of White and Pfeiffer reflect the new ‘public policy’ orientation — the conception of administration as a political process.”
(c) “Taylor’s Scientific Management already offered a ‘humanistic’ theory of motivation, with its democratic and participatory emphases, that was hardly improved on by Elton Mayo and others.”
(d) “Thus the endurance of organization depends upon the quality of leadership.”

2. Explicate the theoretical premises of ‘New Public Administration’ and show how far their concerns were accommodated in Public Administration.

3. (a) “As March and Simon point out, there seems to exist a ‘Gresham’s Law’ of decisionmaking.” Explain.
(b) “The distinction between line authority and professional expertness is also less clear-cut in reality than the abstract concepts of line and staff makes it appear.” Discuss.

4. Bring out the importance of communication in administrative organizations. What are the drawbacks in upward communication?

SECTION B
5. Comment on any three of the following in not more than 200 word each:
(a) “The main distinction between administration in western countries and in under4eveloped countries does not lie in differences in socio-cultural heritage but rather in the respective economic environments.”
(b) “The administrator is a layman rather than a specialist; or at least he has about him something of the qualities of a layman.”
(c) “The entire process of development and nation building hinges on the effectiveness of administrative reforms.”
(d) “The emphasis in most of the writings on comparative bureaucracy appears to be on the interaction between the administrative subsystem and the political system in which it exists.”

6. Examine the view that during the last two decades Programming, Planning and Budgeting system and even Zero Base Budgeting have been driven out by political dissensions.

7. (a) “Administrative law is not a rigid, rule-bound barrier to good management.” Discuss.
(b) “The basic issue of administrative accountability relates to that part of Public Administration which has something concrete to contribute towards not only policy execution but also policy formulation and policy adjudication.” Comment.

8. Elucidate the concept of policy implementation. How does implementation assessment focus on the Operation of a public policy?

PAPER - II
SECTION A
1. Comment upon any three of the following in not more than 200 words each:
(a) “The word ‘socialist’ in the Preamble to our Constitution requires to be defined.”
(b) “The Cabinet is not a constitutional body.”
(c) “The organization of the Planning Commission is in consonance with its expert character.”
(d) “The public sector has to grow. It has a strategic importance.”

2. “In framing a Federal Constitution the Constituent Assembly had many models to draw upon, but it wisely decided to take the Government of India Act, 1935 as the basis on which the new Constitution was to be framed.” Critically examine this statement.

3. (a) “One weakness of the Gopalaswami plan was to identify a ministry with a minister’s charge.” Discuss, in this context, Gopalaswami Ayyangar’s recommendations regarding Secretariat organization.
(b) “Although training in development administration, on the surface, appears to be a straight, simple matter a close hard look reveals its manifold complexities and interrelated problems.” Elucidate the statement.

4. Critically review the constitutional provisions relating to centre-state administrative relations in India during normal times within the framework of a normative federal system.

SECTION B
5. Comment upon any three of the following in not more than 200 words each:
(a) “As an auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s functions and authority are wider and more comprehensive than those exercised by professional auditors.” -
(b) “By virtue of his unique position as head of the official machinery and adviser to the State Council of Ministers, the Chief Secretary has an extremely important role to play in the state administration.”
(c) “Autonomy of local bodies is conditioned by state-local relations and the managerial capability of the local bodies themselves.”
(d) “Corruption has been considered desirable and functional on various grounds.”

6. “Maintenance of law and order is a de facto concurrent subject.” Discuss, in this connection, the roles of the centre and the states in the law-and-order field.

7. (a) “The Bengal pattern of district administration was based on the Zamindari system of land tenure.” Explain.
(b) “The resource base and the social and cultural heritage of our Scheduled Tribe population is getting eroded through a combination of development interventions, commercial exploitation and ineffective legal and administrative systems.” Comment.

8. Discuss the urban anti-poverty programmes launched hi recent times to ameliorate the poverty situation in our urban areas.