UGC-NET – Paper II: Public Administration (Code: 14)
Exam Cycle: June 2026
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COURSE OVERVIEW
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Subject Name: Public Administration
Subject Code: 14
Conducting Body: National Testing Agency (NTA)
Paper Type: Paper-II – Public Administration
Total Marks: 200
Total Questions: 100 MCQs
Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT)
Duration: 3 Hours (Paper I + II combined)
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COMPLETE LIST OF UNITS
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Unit I: Introduction to Public Administration:
Unit II: Administrative Thought:
Unit III: Indian Administration:
Unit IV: State & Local Administration:
Unit V: Comparative and Development Administration:
Unit VI: Economic and Financial Administration:
Unit VII: Social Welfare Administration:
Unit VIII: Public Policy:
Unit IX: Governance and Good Governance:
Unit X: Research Methodology:
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UNIT-WISE DETAILED SYLLABUS
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Unit I: Introduction to Public Administration:
Topic 1: Introduction to Public Administration:
• Public Administration- Meaning, Nature, Scope & Significance
• Evolution and Present Status of the Discipline
• Politics-Administration Dichotomy
• Globalization and Public Administration
• Paradigm shift from Government to Governance
Topic 2: Principles of Organization:
• Division of work
• Hierarchy
• Coordination
• Unity of Command
• Span of Control
• Authority, Power and Responsibility
• Delegation, Centralization and Decentralization
• Line, Staff and Auxiliary Agencies
• Leadership and Supervision
• Decision-making and Communication
Topic 3: Meaning, Nature and Scope of Personnel Administration:
• Classification, Recruitment, Training, Promotion, Compensation and service conditions
• Discipline
• Civil Service Neutrality, Anonymity and Commitment
• Professional Associations and Unionism
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Unit II: Administrative Thought:
Topic 1: Approaches to the study of Public Administration:
• Oriental – Kautilya
• Classical – F W Taylor, Henri Fayol, Max Weber, Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick
• Human Relations – Elton Mayo, Mary Parker Follett
• Behaviouralism – Chester Barnard, Herbert Simon
• Motivation – Abraham Maslow, Fredrick Herzberg, Douglas McGregor
• Organizational Humanism – Chris Argyris, Rensis Likert
Topic 2: Writers on Administration:
• Dwight Waldo, Ferrel Heady, Robert Golembiewski and Peter Drucker
• Minnobrook Perspective, New Public Service and Post Modernism
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Unit III: Indian Administration:
Topic 1: Evolution:
• Ancient, Mughal and British Periods
Topic 2: Constitutional Framework:
• Parliamentary and Federal Features
Topic 3: Union Government:
• President
• Prime Minister & Council of Ministers
• Cabinet Committees
• Central Secretariat
• Cabinet Secretariat
• Prime Minister Office
Topic 4: Election Commission and Electoral Reforms, Union State Relations.
Topic 5: Accountability:
• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial
Topic 6: Citizen Grievance Redressal Mechanism:
• Lok Pal
• Lok Ayukta
• Central Vigilance Commission and Regulatory Authorities
Topic 7: Issue Areas:
• Politician and Civil Servant relations
• Generalists and Specialists debate
• Combating Corruption
Topic 8: Civil Services:
• Classification – All India Services, Central Services and State Services
• Recruitment Agencies – Union Public Service Commission, State Public Service Commissions and other Commissions and Boards
• Capacity Building of Civil Servants and Civil Service Reforms
Topic 9: Planning:
• Planning Commission
• National Development Council
• NITI Aayog
• State Planning Commissions / Boards and Planning Departments
Topic 10: Judiciary:
• Indian Constitution and Independence of Judiciary
• Supreme Court
• High Courts
• Judicial Review and Public Interest Litigation and Judicial Reforms
Topic 11: Police Administration and Reforms.
Topic 12: E- Governance Initiatives in Indian administration.
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Unit IV: State & Local Administration:
Topic 1: Constitutional Framework of State Administration:
• State Legislature
• Governor – Role and Functions
• Chief Minister – Powers and Functions
• Council of Ministers
• Role and Functions of Chief Secretary
• State Secretariat
• Directorates and Commissionerate
Topic 2: District Administration:
• Concept and Evolution
• District Collector – Power, Functions and Changing role
Topic 3: Autonomous District Councils:
• Structure, Powers and Functions
• District Rural Development Agency
Topic 4: Evolution of Local Governance in India.
Topic 5: Local Governance:
• 73rd & 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts
• State Election Commission
• State Finance Commission
• District Planning Committee
Topic 6: Rural Governance:
• Gram Sabha, Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads
• Finance in PRIs
• Personnel administration at local level
• Policies and Programmes of Rural Development – MGNAREGA
Topic 7: Growth of Urbanization, Urban Governance:
• Structure, Composition, Functions of Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Metropolitan Governance
• Sources of Finance
• Personnel Administration
Topic 8: Reforms in Urban Governance:
• Solid Waste Management
• Smart and AMRUT cities
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Unit V: Comparative and Development Administration:
Topic 1: Comparative Public Administration:
• Concept, Nature, Scope and Significance of Comparative Public Administration
• Public Administration and its Environment
Topic 2: Approaches and Methods to the study of Comparative Administration:
• Institutional
• Behavioural
• Structural-Functional
• Ecological
• Systems Approaches
Topic 3: Fred Riggs’s Typology of Societies and Features.
Topic 4: Problems of Comparative Research.
Topic 5: Comparative Studies:
• Influence of Globalization
• Salient Features of the administrative systems of UK, USA, France and Japan
Topic 6: Development Administration:
• Development and its Dimensions
• Development and Modernization
• Approaches to Development – Sustainable Development and Anti-Development
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Topic 7: Development Administration:
• Concept, Nature, Scope, Objectives, Features and Significance
• Ecology of Development Administration
• Contribution of Fred Riggs, Dwight Waldo and Edward Widener
• Role of Bureaucracy in Development
Topic 8: Globalization and Development Administration.
Topic 9: Emergence of Non-State actors in Development Administration.
Topic 10: Public-Private Partnerships.
Topic 11: Corporate Social Responsibility.
Topic 12: Human Development Indicators and Social Audit.
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Unit VI: Economic and Financial Administration:
Topic 1: Economic Policies:
• Mixed Economy to Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG)
• New Economic Policy (NEP)
• Industrial Policy since Independence
Topic 2: Government in Business – Public Enterprises:
• Concept, Growth and Forms of Public Enterprises
• Management
• Problem of Accountability and Autonomy
• Disinvestment Policies
Topic 3: Financial Administration:
• Public Finance – Revenue and Expenditure
• Nature, Scope and Significance of Financial Administration
Topic 4: Budget:
• Meaning, Purpose and Significance
• Budgetary Process – preparation, enactment and execution
• Types of Budget – PPBS, Performance Budget, Zero-Based Budget and Gender Budget
Topic 5: Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA) and Sunset legislation.
Topic 6: Fiscal Federalism:
• Union-State Financial Relations
• Finance Commission
Topic 7: Financial Control:
• Legislature and Executive
• Parliamentary Committees and Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Topic 8: Taxation policies:
• Principles of Taxation -Progressive and Proportional taxation
• Reforms in Taxation policies
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Unit VII: Social Welfare Administration:
Topic 1: Concept of Social Welfare, Social Justice and Social Change.
Topic 2: Concept of Equity and Inclusiveness in Social Justice.
Topic 3: Concept of Affirmative action-Reservations.
Topic 4: Institutional arrangement for Social Welfare & Social Justice Administration.
Topic 5: NGOs, Civil Societies and Voluntary Agencies.
Topic 6: Policies, Programmes and Institutional Framework for the Protection and Welfare of SCs/ STs / OBCs/ Women/ Children, Aged, Differently-abled (Divyang) and Minorities.
Topic 7: Commissions:
• Women, SC/ST, Minority- Role and Functions
Topic 8: Disaster Management:
• Nature and Types of Disaster
• Institutional Arrangements for Disaster Management
• Role of State and Non-State actors
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Unit VIII: Public Policy:
Topic 1: Nature, Scope and Importance of Public Policy.
Topic 2: Evolution of Public Policy and Policy Sciences.
Topic 3: Public Policy and Public Administration.
Topic 4: Approaches to Public Policy:
• Process Approach
• Logical Positivism
• Phenomenological Approach
• Participatory and Normative Approaches
Topic 5: Theories and Models of Policy Making:
• Harold Lasswell
• Charles Lindblom
• Yehezkel Dror
Topic 6: Institutions of Policy Making:
• Legislature
• Executive
• Judiciary
Topic 7: Types of Policy Analysis:
• Empirical
• Normative
• Retrospective and Prospective
• Prescriptive and Descriptive
Topic 8: Policy Implementation, Outcomes and Evaluation.
Topic 9: Constraints on Public Policy:
• Socio-economic
• Political
• Institutional
• Cultural
Topic 10: Role of Media, Public Opinion, Civil Society and Pressure Groups on Policy Making.
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Unit IX: Governance and Good Governance:
Topic 1: Ancient Discourse – Kautilya, Plato and Aristotle on Good Governance.
Topic 2: Elements and Forms of Good Governance.
Topic 3: Theories and Concepts of Governance:
• World Bank and UNDP
• State, Market and Civil Society
• Public Choice Theory
• New Public Management
• Public Value Theory
• Governance as Theory
• Governance and Public Governance
Topic 4: Networking and Collaborative Governance.
Topic 5: Business Process Re-engineering.
Topic 6: ICT and Governance:
• e-Government and e-Governance
• e-Readiness and Digital Divide
Topic 7: Accountability, Openness and Transparency.
Topic 8: Gender and Governance.
Topic 9: Citizen and Governance:
• Civil Society – Role and Limitations
• Citizen Participation
• Right to Information – RTI Act and Administrative Reforms
• National Information Commission
• Citizen Charter – Concept, Objectives and Significance
Topic 10: Ethics and Public Accountability in Governance:
• Rule of Law and Administrative Law
• Delegated Legislation and Administrative Adjudication
Topic 11: Ethical Foundations of Governance:
• Constitutional Values
• Family, Society and Education
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Unit X: Research Methodology:
Topic 1: Social Science Research- Meaning and Significance.
Topic 2: Distinction between Methodology and Method.
Topic 3: Facts and Values in Research.
Topic 4: Role of Research in Theory-Building.
Topic 5: Scientific Method.
Topic 6: Objectivity in Social Research.
Topic 7: Types of Research.
Topic 8: Identification of Research Problem.
Topic 9: Hypotheses and Null-Hypotheses.
Topic 10: Validation of Hypothesis.
Topic 11: Research Design.
Topic 12: Methods of Data Collection- Primary and Secondary sources:
• Observation
• Questionnaire and Interview
• Use of Library and Internet
Topic 13: Sampling and Sampling Techniques.
Topic 14: Scales of Measurement.
Topic 15: Analysis of Data and Use of Computers in Social Science Research-SPSS.
Topic 16: Citation patterns and Ethics of Research.
Topic 17: Bibliography.
Topic 18: Report Writing.
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EXAMINATION STRUCTURE
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Paper-II: Subject Specific Examination
- Total Questions: 100
- Total Marks: 200
- Question Type: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
- Negative Marking: No
- Duration: 3 Hours (Combined with Paper I)
- Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT)
Additional Notes (if any):
- [No additional notes in source]
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SYLLABUS SUMMARY
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Total Units: 10
Total Topics: 71
Subject: Public Administration
Subject Code: 14
Exam Category: UGC-NET Paper-II
Source: Official NTA/UGC Syllabus
Status: “As per latest official syllabus”
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