100 Public Administration Question Bank

1. Who was responsible for encouraging the Local Self-government in India?

(a) Lord Mayo (b) Lord Lytton (c) Lord Canning (d) Lord Rippon (Ans : d)

2. Who conceived the concept of Gram Swaraj?

(a) Jayaprakash Narian (b) Acharya Vinobha Bhave
(c) Mahatma Gandhi (d) Swami Dayanand (Ans : c)

3. Which of the following articles of the Indian Constitution provides security to the office of the collector?
(a) Article 123 (b) Article 301 (c) Article 311 (d) Article 352 (Ans : c)

4. Which committee has recommended creation of a separate office to relive district collector of development
responsibilities?
(a) Balwant Raj Mehta Committee (b) Ashok Mehta Committee
(c) Raj Mannar Committee (d) Sarkaria Commission (Ans : b)

5. Which one of the following does not form a part of Swarna Jayanti Village Self-Employment Scheme?
(a) Lifting up the families living below the poverty line as the rain (b) Rural individual poor as the focus
(c) Prior identification and selection of activities (d) Implementation in the same manner as a project (Ans : b)

6. Which one of the following is a form of urban governance found in India?

(a) Council Mayor (b) Commissionary
(c) Mayor-in-Council (d) Council-Manager (Ans : b)

7. Which of the following is not directly elected by the people?

(a) Gram Pradhan (b) Members of Panchayat Samiti
(c) Chairman of Zila Parishad (d) Members of Zila Parishad (Ans : c)

8. In which part of the Indian Constitution, has the provision for panchayats been made?
(a) IX (b) IV (c) III (d) IX A (Ans : a)

9. In which one of the following states, is provision relating to reservation for Scheduled Castes in panchayats under
73rd Constitutional Amendment not applicable?
(a) Nagaland (b) Mizoram (c) Meghalaya (d) Arunachal Pradesh (Ans : d)

10. Which of the following committee recommended for integration of union, state and local finances?
(a) Taxation enquiry commission (b) Local finance enquiry commission
(c) Rural-urban relationship committee (d) Singhvi committee (Ans : d)

11. In which of the following schedules of the constitution of India is urban local self government-mentional?
(a) Seventh (b) Eighth (c) Eleventh (d) Twelth (Ans : d)

12. Which of the following conducts elections of the urban and rural local bodies in India?
(a) Election commission of India (b) Chief election commissioner
(c) State election commission (d) Chief election officer of the state (Ans : c)

13. Which is the smaller unit of local government in England?

(a) County Borough (b) Borough (c) Parish (d) Urban district (Ans : c)

14. Which one of the following is not a function of the District Collector?
(a) Collection of revenue (b) Realisation of taqavi laons
(c) Hearing of cases in Nayaya Panchayats (d) Maintenance of land records (Ans : c)

15. Which of the following officers of the Agricultural Departments is/are most Prominently associated with the
formulation of policy at the State level?
(a) The Director of Agriculture
(b) The Secretary of the Department concerned
(c) Both the Secretary and the Director of Agriculture
(d) Directors, Joint Directors and District Officers of Agriculture (Ans : c)

16. Which one of the following is not explicitly or implicitly provided for in the Constitution of India?
(a) A minister of State may have the independent charge of a ministry
(b) Civil servants have to observe the principle of political neutrality
(c) There are a number of all India services
(d) The Union may direct a State to maintain a road of national importance (Ans : a)

17. Which one of the following is not a function of the Directorate?

(a) Formulation of the budget of the department (b) Inspection of the execution of work by the field officers
(c) Rendering of technical advice to the minister/secretary (d) Co-ordination of inter-departmental functions (Ans : d)

18. Which one amount the following is not function of the State Secretariat?
(a) To assist the Minister in the formulation of policy
(b) To act as a channel of communication between one Government and another
(c) To prepare drafts of legislation to be introduced in the Assembly
(d) To assist the legislature in its secretariat work (Ans : d)

19. In which one of the following districts has the ‘Files to Field’ programme been introduced?
(a) Sirmour (H.P.) (b) Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
(c) Ahmednagar (Maharashtra) (d) Sambalpur (Orissa) (Ans : c)

20. Which one of the following is not a function of Deputy Commissioner/District Collector?
(a) Maintenance of law and order (b) Survey and Settlement
(c) Trail of cases under IPC (d) Enforcing provision of Cr.P.C. (Ans : c)

21. Which one of the following statements about the duties and responsibilities of the District Collector holds good in
every State?
(a) The State Government is represented by him at the district level
(b) Upward reporting by departmental officers is done through him
(c) Handling of crisis situations is passed on by him to departmental officers
(d) He is the hub of all development activities (Ans : a)

22. The collector performs many functions. Which of the following is not of them?
(a) Collection of revenue
(b) Maintenance of law and order
(c) Direction and coordination of development programmes
(d) Advising Union Government in framing public policies (Ans : d)

23. Who appoints the Governor of a State?

(a) Prime Minister (b) President
(c) Home Minister (d) Central Cabinet (Ans : b)

24. Who is the head of the entire Civil Services of the State?
(a) Joint Secretary (b) Special Secretary
(c) Chief Secretary (d) Home Secretary (Ans : c)

25. Which of the following Departments in a State is headed by a Director?

(a) Sales Tax (b) Civil Supply (c) Police (d) Education (Ans : d)

26. Who is head of the entire Civil Services of the State?

(a) Under Secretary (b) Joint Secretary (c) Chief Secretary (d) Chairman, Revenue Board (Ans : c)

27. The collector has varied functions. Which of the following is not one of them?
(a) Maintenance of law and order (b) Collection of revenue
(c) Direction and fulfillment of development plans
(d) Propagation of policies and programmes of Union Government (Ans : d)

28. Which of the following State Governors does not have the responsivility to ensure that there is a Minister-in-
charge of Trible welfare in the State Government?
(a) Bihar (b) Madhya Pradesh (c) Punjab (d) Orisa (Ans : c)

29. Who among the following is a Constitutional authority for whose removal from office by the President a reference
to the Supreme Court in necessary?
(a) Chairman and Member of the Union Public Service Commission (b) Judge of the Supreme Court
(c) Comtroller and Auditor-General (d) The Chief Election Commissioner (Ans : a)

30. Which one of the following is a Central Service?

(a) Educational Service (b) Agricultural Service
(c) Overseas Communication Service (d) Co-operative Service (Ans : c)

31. Which one of the following is not an objective of Whitley Councils?

(a) Ventilation of grievances through discussions
(b) Providing a forum for securing co-operation between State and civil servants
(c) Proposing legislation on issue relating to civil servants vis-à-vis their employment
(d) Hearing petitions filed by individual civil servants (Ans : d)

32. Which one of the following countries does not have a Civil Services Commission charged with the responsibility
for recruitment of the higher civil service?
(a) Canada (b) USA (c) Britain (d) France (Ans : b)

33. Which of the following is the function of Union Public Service Commission?
(a) Appointing civil servants to various positions in Government Departments
(b) Training of All-India Services
(c) Advising Government regarding recruitment, promotion and disciplinary cases of higher civil services in central
government
(d) Transfer of Central Services Officers (Ans : c)

34. In which year was Central Secretariat Service organized?

(a) 1947 (b) 1950 (c) 1951 (d) 1964 (Ans : c)

35. Which of the following is the principal problem of Personnel Administration?

(a) Recruitment (b) Selection and certification for appointment
(c) promotion (d) All of the above (Ans : d)

36. Which Article of the Constitution provides protection to civil servants?

(a) Article 308 (b) Article 309 (c) Article 310 (d) Article 311 (Ans : d)

37. Which was the first All-India Service created on the basis of Macaulay Report?
(a) Indian Civil Service (b) Indian Police Service
(c) Indian Medical Service (d) Indian Education Service (Ans : a)

38. Who controls All India Services?

(a) Government of India (b) State Government
(c) Union and State Government (d) President of India (Ans : d)

39. In which year the UPSC permitted candidates to write their answers in Hindi and regional languages?
(a) 1949 (b) 1959 (c) 1969 (d) 1979 (Ans : d)

40. Which of the following is not the duty of UPSC?

(a) To conduct examinations for a appointment of Public Service
(b) To advice Government of disciplinary matters
(c) To present as annual report to President of India
(d) To suggest posting and transfer of secretaries and joint secretaries (Ans : d)

41. Who among the following advocated the need for psychological tests in recruitments of the civil services in India?
(a) Paul Appleby (b) A.D. Gorwala (c) Harry W. Blair (d) V. Subramaniam (Ans : b)

42. Which among the following is empowered to create more All-India Services?
(a) Rajya Sabha (b) Union Parliament (c) Lok Sabha (d) Union Cabinet (Ans : b)

43. Which one of the following Commissions recommended functional specialization in the Indian Administrative
Service?
(a) Expenditure Reforms Commission (b) Administrative Reforms Commission
(c) IVth Central Pay Commission (d) Vth Central pay Commission (Ans : b)

44. Which one of the following reports deals with the relations between the specialists and generalists?
(a) Haldane Committee Report (b) Santhanam Committee Report
(c) Fulton Committee Report (d) Kothari Commission Report (Ans : c)

45. Which one of the following agencies is responsible for both recruitment and training of civil servants for the
administrative class?
(a) Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, USA (b) Ecole National d’Administration, France
(c) Civil Service College, UK (d) Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, India (Ans : b)

46. Which one of the following is not a British legacy to the Central Administration in India?
(a) Deputation System in Public Service (b) Committee System
(c) Conduct of general elections by the Election Commission (d) Merit selection by Public Service Commissions
(Ans : c)

47. Which one of the following is not a department in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India?
(a) Department of Economic Affairs (b) Department of Expenditure
(c) Board of Direct Taxes (d) Department of Company Affairs (Ans : c)

48. Which one of the undermentioned cases has affected the power of the Indian parliament?
(a) Sajjan Singh vs. State of Rajasthan (b) Keshwanand Bharti vs. State of Kerala
(c) Shankari Prasad vs. Union of India (d) Golak Nath vs. State of Punjab (Ans : d)

49. Which one of the following is not a pattern of management of Public Enterprises in India?
(a) Department (b) Public Corporation (c) Joint Company (d) Operating Contract (Ans : d)

50. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of Indian administration?

(a) Uniformity (b) Decentralisation (c) Dyarchy (d) Independent Judiciary (Ans : c)

( Next Questions No. 51 to 100 )

- See more at: http://www.allexamgurublog.com/2015/12/100-public-administration-question-
bank.html#sthash.NnGKm4pg.dpuf

51. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India submits three reports to the Parliament/State Legislatures. Which
one of the following reports does not come under that category?
(a) Audit Report on Finance Accounts (b) Audit Report on Appropriation Accounts
(c) Audit Report on Capital Accounts (d) Audit Report on Commercial and Public (Ans : c)

52. Which one of the following is not a characteristics of a government company?

(a) It has an audit board of its own (b) It is a body corporate
(c) It is owned by the State (d) Its employees are not civil servants (Ans : a)

53. Which of the following is not a constitutional commission?

(a) Finance Commission (b) Planning Commission
(c) Election Commission (d) Union Public Service Commission (Ans : b)

54. If the President wants to resign, to whom shall he address his letter of resignation?
(a) Chief Justice of India (b) Prime Minister of India
(c) Vice-President of India (d) Speaker of Lok Sabha (Ans : c)

55. How long can a minister remain in office without being member of parliament?
(a) For one full term of Parliament (b) For two years
(c) For six months (d) For three months (Ans : c)

56. To whom the Cabinet Secretariat does not keep informed of the major activities of the Government of India?
(a) President (b) Vice-President (c) Speaker of Lok Sabha (d) Prime Minister (Ans : c)

57. The Planning Commission was set up in March 1950. Which of the following was not then envisaged as its main
objective?
(a) To raise standard of living (b) To open new opportunities for the people
(c) To raise per capita income (d) To remove disparity between rich and poor (Ans : b)

58. Who allocates the business to various Ministries and Departments in the Government of India?
(a) President’s Secretariat (b) Prime Minister’s Secretariat
(c) Parliament’s Secretariat (d) Cabinet Secretariat (Ans : d)

59. Which one of the following statements about the planning Commission in India is true?
(a) It is a constitutional body (b) It is a statutory body
(c) It has been created by an executive order (d) It is quasi-Judicial in character (Ans : c)

60. Which one of the following is not a function of the Planning Commission in India?
(a) Formulation of Plan (b) Execution of development plan
(c) Appraisal of plan progress (d) Making recommendations on policy and administration (Ans : d)

61. Which of the following is the largest committee of India Parliament?

(a) Committee of Petitions (b) Public Accounts Committee
(c) Estimate Committee (d) Committee on Public Undertakings (Ans : c)

62. To whom the Prime Minister is responsible?

(a) President (b) Lok Sabha (c) Rajya Sabha (d) Speaker of Lok Sabha (Ans : b)

63. Who prepares the Five-year plans at the National level?

(a) Finance Commission (b) State Government
(c) Lok Sabha (d) Planning Commission (Ans : d)

64. Who presides over the meetings of National Development Council?

(a) Prime Minister (b) Planning Minister (c) Vice-President (d) Cabinet Secretary (Ans : a)

65. Who appoints the Chairman and Members of Finance Commission?

(a) Chairman, Rajya Sabha (b) President (c) Finance Minister (d) Finance Secretary (Ans : b)

66. Which of the following is not a pubic enterprise?

(a) Public corporation (b) Departmental undertaking
(c) Government aided voluntary organization (d) Government company (Ans : c)

67. Who among the following has said that ‘company form of public enterprise is a fraud on the Indian Constitution’?
(a) Paul Appleby (b) A.D. Gorwala (c) Morarjee Desai (d) Asok Chanda (Ans : d)

68. Which one of the following recommended the setting up of a Finance Commission Cell in the Planning
Commission?
(a) Administrative reforms Commission (b) Sri Krishna Commission
(c) Sarkari Commission (d) Chhagla Commission (Ans : c)

69. Which one of the following is the function of the Finance Commission?
(a) Preparation of the Central Budget (b) Assessing income-tax proceeds
(c) Determining the principles governing grants-in-aid to States (d) Exercising control over Government expenditure
(Ans : c)

70. Which one of the following is not the functions of NDC?

(a) Review of National Plans (b) Review of Socio-Economic Policies
(c) Suggestions to achieve Plan Targets (d) Review of Union-State Relations (Ans : d)

71. Which one of the following bodies regularly reviews the progress of the Five Year Plans?
(a) National Development Council (b) Planning Commission
(c) Cabinet Secretariat (d) Union Cabinet (Ans : b)

72. Which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India empowers the President to appoint comptroller and
Auditor General of India?
(a) Article 148 (b) Article 149 (c) Article 150 (d) Article 151 (Ans : a)

73. Who discharges the duties of the office of President in case the vice-president as acting president also tenders
his resignation?
(a) The Prime Minister (b) The Chief Justice of India
(c) The Chief Election Commissioner (d) The Attorney General of India (Ans : b)

74. Which one of the following is not the disadvantage of the Line-Item (Traditional) Budget?
(a) It does not help long-term planning (b) It does not relate to physical targets
(c) It encourages unhealthy competition for funds (d) It provides for control of expenditure (Ans : a)

75. Which one of the following is a common objective of the ‘Rule of Lapse’, ‘Sunset Legislation’ and ‘Zero-Based
Budgeting’?
(a) Economy in expenditure (b) Legislative control
(c) Review and reauthorization of expenditures (d) Ensuring achievement of physical targets (Ans : c)

76. Which one of the following is not the occasion for criticising the administration in the Lok Sabha?
(a) General discussion on the budget (b) Voting on demands for grants
(c) Motion of thanks to the President (d) Discussion on the Finance Bill (Ans : c)

77. Which of the following is not true of Audit in India?

(a) It is Constitutional obligation (b) It looks into the question of merites of expenditure
(c) It investigates into the impropriety, wasterfulness or extravagance of expenditure (d) It is governed by an
executive order (Ans : d)

78. Which one of the following does not form a part of the Budget?
(a) Review of public Finance of the previous year (b) Estimates of receipts and expenditure of the current year
(c) The actual receipts and expenditure of the previous three years (d) Proposals for meeting the requirements of the
following year (Ans : c)

79. Which one of the following statements about ‘Audit’ is not correct?
(a) It adopts a fault-finding approach (b) It concerns itself with financial propriety
(c) It is concerned with adherence to rules, regulations and procedures (d) It critically examines income, expenditure
and performance (Ans : a)

80. Which one of the following is not a primary function of the accounting system?
(a) To reveal financial conditions of the or ganisation (b) To protect those who handle funds
(c) To prevent necessary adjustment in expenditure (d) To help auditing (Ans : b)

81. Which Committee of Parliament in India examines the Audit Report of Comptroller and Auditor General?
(a) Estimates Committee (b) Committee on Public Undertakings
(c) Assurance Committee (d) Public Accounts Committee (Ans : d)

82. Dimock ejoins that a soundly conceived budget should have five major qualities. Which of the following does not
find its place among than?
(a) Responsibility (b) Reliability (c) Comprehensiveness (d) Aggressiveness (Ans : d)

83. Which of the following functions is not the responsibility of the Central Budget Agency?
(a) Making adequate resources available (b) Ensuring proper utilization available
(c) Preparing new programmes for achieving governmental objectives (d) Evaluating the targets fixed and achieved
(Ans : d)

84. If the financial administration is to become effective, which of the following principles could be dispensed with
without much disadvantage?
(a) Responsibility (b) Accountability (c) Control (d) Expansion (Ans : d)

85. In which country trade unions are also associated with the work of audit?
(a) United States of America (b) Japan (c) Sweden (d) France (Ans : b)

86. Which Committee of Parliament in India examines the Audit Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General?
(a) Estimates Committee (b) Assurance Committee
(c) Public Accounts Committee (d) Committee on Public Undertakings (Ans : c)

87. Who prepares the ‘Combined Finance and Revenue Accounts’ of the Centre and State Governments?
(a) Public Accounts Committee (b) Comptroller and Auditor General of India
(c) Planning Commission (d) Audit and Accounts Department (Ans : d)

88. Who among the following has defined the civil service as a “Professional body of officials, permanent, paid and
skilled”?
(a) Ogg and Zink (b) Herman Finer (c) L.D. White (d) W.F. Willoughby (Ans : b)

89. Which of the following does not concern the Union Public Services Commission?
(a) Recruitment (b) Classification of Services (c) Disciplinary matters (d) Promotion (Ans : b)

90. Which one of the following explains the concept of ‘Selection from within’?
(a) Selection of candidates through direct recruitment (b) Selection based on merit
(c) Selection through promotions (d) Selection based on seniority (Ans : c)

91. Who among the following said, “There can be no doubt that the standard of administration depends upon the
caliber of civil servants who are appointed to these posts”?
(a) Jawaharlal Nehru (b) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
(c) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (d) Warren Hastings (Ans : a)

92. Which one of the following Committee was appointed by the UPSC in 1974 to go into the issue of recruitment and
selection methods?
(a) A.D. Gorwala Committee (b) D.S. Kothari Committee
(c) Santhanam Committee (d) Joint Committee on Administrative Reforms (Ans : b)

93. Which of the following system is adopted for classification of higher civil services in India?
(a) Rank Classification (b) Position classification
(c) Unified Grading Structure (d) All of these (Ans : a)

94. On what equal basis, positions are grouped under ‘position classification’?
(a) Salary structure (b) Duties and Responsibility
(c) Seniority in services (d) Age (Ans : b)

95. Which one of the following is not a part of formal training?

(a) Prescribed syllabus (b) Lecture in the class
(c) Correspondence programme (d) Learning while working (Ans : d)

96. Which of the following to principles are appropriate for promotion?

(a) Merit and Educational level (b) Merit and Experience
(c) Merit and Seniority (d) Experience and seniority (Ans : c)
97. Which of the following is not an All-India Service?
(a) Indian Foreign Service (b) Indian Administrative Service
(c) Indian Forest Services (d) Indian Polices Service (Ans : a)

98. Who was the Chairman of the Fifth Pay Commission?

(a) Justice C. Rangarajan (b) Justice Pandiayan
(c) Justice Ahemedi (d) Justice Kuldeep Singh (Ans : b)

99. Which is the incorrect base of salary structure?

(a) Equal pay for equal work (b) Capability of the appointee
(c) Living Expenditure (d) Equal pay for all (Ans : d)

100. Which of the following principles is related to salary determination of civil servants?
(a) Demand and Supply (b) Merit
(c) Seniority (d) Merit-cum-Seniority (Ans : a) - See more at: http://www.allexamgurublog.com/2015/12/public-
administration-obj-multiple.html#sthash.lfBqlomg.dpuf

1. In what way does the “Merging” of Ministry of over seas affairs with that of
Ministry of External Affairs help? Comment. (150 Words)
2. Comment on the relevance of Bicameral system. Examine the demand to remove
Rajya Sabha over its continued delay in passing bills. (150 Words)
3. Is there a need for separate ministry of Panchayati Raj or should it be made as
department in the rural development ministry? Comment (250 Words)
4. “Indian Government has so far dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired 13
bureaucrats and imposed pension cut on 45 others for unsatisfactory performance
and delivery in public service” Examine the importance of this decision. (150
Words)
5. Examine the role of regulatory bodies in achieving SDG goal of “Responsible
Consumption and Production” (Hint – with respect to FSSAI and CCI) (150
Words)
6. How Constitutional values of post Independent India are relevant to the countries
like Srilanka and Nepal today. (250 Words)
7. Indian Bureaucracy is a major hindrance to the Make in India, StartUp India
schemes. Do you agree? (250 Words)
8. Classical theorists had been condemned to the extent that they were discarded
only to come back in the form of Neo-Taylorism. Critically comment. (150
Words)
9. Strong value based administration is an essential component of GG. Examine
Corporate governance in the light of morality. (200 Words)
10.Plato’s idealism is in sharp contrast with Kautilya’s realism. Elucidate. (200
Words)
11.Compare and Contrast the performance of PRIs in different states. Examine
how political ideologies affect the performance of PRIs. (150 Words)
12.Over 6 Million people have been displaced in India after its Independence.
Examine how LARR act and PESA would help in development along with
conservation without compromising lives and livelihoods of marginalised
sections especially tribals. (150 Words)
13.Discuss the procedure to ratify an Agreement in the light of recent ratification
of Paris Climate agreement.(150 Words)
14.How does the UPI affect the role of Indian Administration. Examine with
special focus on development administration. (250 Words)
15.Comment on the electoral reforms needed with respect to EC as a bulwark of
democracy. (250 Words)
16.Administrative law is not blind to environmental ethics – comment with respect
to recent NGT verdicts (ex: on issues like Yamuna flood plain, Delhi Banning
vehicles > 2000cc) (250 Words)
17.How is President elected in US? Briefly explain (150 words) (150 Words)
18.India could successfully handle Indus Water dispute with Pakistan. But unable
to solve dispute between its own states. Examine in context on recent Cauvery
issue. Suggest solutions. (250 Words)
19.In light of growing NPAs, privatisation of Public Sector Banks is being
proposed. Examine the suggestion. (150 Words)
 20.“Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) will define the contours of this vital and
uneasy balance of power between Executive and Judiciary” Examine the
“Contours” of in the statement. (250 Words)
21.Comment on the recent suggestion of “Simultaneous elections”. Also comment
on electoral reforms of last decade. (150 Words)
22.”The Current India governance discourse seems more directed towards
‘efficiency’ than strengthening ”democratic governance.” Analyse. (200
Words)
Please Share This Post If You Like It

1. ”The positivist methods of policy analysis have served intentionally or

unintentionally to facilitate and bolster bureaucratic governance.” Fisher .
Analyse. (150 Words)
2. ‘In the era of globalization, the policy making sovereignty of government has
been abdicated.” Explain. (150 Words)
3. “Trying to view organisational effectiveness as a single dimension is much like
trying to visualise a cube without depth perception – result is distortion ”
Analyse(150 Words)
4. “Public administration is not simply kind of technology but a special form of
moral endeavour” comment (150 Words)
5. “Development of bureaucracy greatly favours levelling of social classes ” –
webber. Analyse the statement with regard to gender issue (150 Words)
6. “Good governance is resurrection of classical administrative theory in a new
context ” analyse (150 Words)
7. “Decisions are fret with idiosyncratic problems” comment in the context of Indian
society (150 Words)
8. “Budget is more than a mere estimate of revenues and expenditures ” explain (150
Words)
9. “Pluralist political theory supports fragmentation as opposed to traditional
democratic theory which favours synthesis “. Discuss (150 Words)
10.“Post modernism has demystified bureaucratic rationalism” critically comment
science and reasoning approach of Modernity (150 Words)
11.“In many democracies “Form” has overtaken ” substance ” ” analyse in Indian
context (250 Words)
12.Simon’s work is a combination of disjunctures and continuities impressive in the
evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, character of the views he advance.
Explain. (250 Words)
13.Compare and contrast Economic man, Social man and Organizational man. (200
Words)
14.Fundamental basis for efficiency is Self-Actualization. Most of modern and
contemporary thinkers in management seems to believe so. Elucidate. (250
Words)
15.What is market exchange model of policy making. Explain it with its
critiques. (200 Words)
16.The state services personnel are considered perpetual Vice Presidents in relation
to AIS. (200 Words)
17.Examine the validity of the statement “Scientific decision-making and bias in
decisions cannot go together”. Support your answer with examples. (250 Words)
18.“Man is a non-linear machine; a machine that is programmed with a tape, one
cannot find anywhere; a machine that continually changes its programming
without any prior warning; a machine that may try to out guess one in one’s
attempts to find out what makes the machine tick.” — Comment. (200 Words)
19.Clarify a linear programming model and try to identify the limitations of linear
programming. (250 Words)
Paper 2
1. Recently, the President of India said that the IPC, 1860, requires a thorough
revision to meet the needs of the 21st century. On contemporary relevance or
modernity, what substantial changes does the IPC need? Critically examine (250
Words)
2. Briefly discuss the recommendations of Malimath committee on overhaul of
criminal Justice system. (150 Words)
3. “Prisons are for rehabilitation and reformation. But Indians prisons seem to be
aimed at punishment.” Comments on the need for Prison reforms; Briefly identify
the lacunae in implementing IPC 436A. (150 Words)
4. Judicial activism for “Constitutional supremacy” which is the basic feature of
Indian constitution undermines “Separation of powers” – Illustrate.(150 Words)
5. Medical Council of India needs urgent therapy. Comment on Ranjit Roy
committee recommendations along with Parliamentary standing committee report
in this regard. (150 Words)
6. Identify the changes envisaged by “Time bound delivery of goods and services
and redressal of grievances bill” – Examine its current status. Comment on the
prerequisites for the operation of the bill. (150 Words)
7. Vidyanjali boosts community participation in government schools. Examine
Challenges and opportunities here. Comment on the sectors where Community
participation can complement Indian Administration. (150 Words)
8. Critically examine some of the important points of contention raised by various
stakeholders associated with conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance
Test (NEET). (150 Words)
9. Examine Citizen Centric administration in the light of Swachh Survekshan
2017. (150 Words)
10.Recently NITI Aayog identified land leasing, land titling and the Right To
Education Act as focus areas to engage in. Examine how this will aid in better
administration. (150 Words)
11.Comment on the ethical issues with Electoral trusts – suggest measures to be
adopted in indian administration with respect to elections. (250 Words)
12.Discuss the fiscal challenges which states have to face if 14th FC
recommendations are implemented. (150 Words)
13.Examine history of O&M in India. How do you rate it – Poor, OK, Good or
Excellent? Justify your choice. (250 Words)
14.Public State Approach focuses on Pro-market and Anti-state paradigm while Neo-
Marxism emphasized autonomy of the State sector. Discuss relevance of both the
schools in modern Administrative management.(250 Words)
15.Discuss the Grievance Redressing Mechanism operating in GoI. Also discuss the
challenges and how far it succeeded. (200 Words)
16.What’s accrual based accounting? Illustrate. (200 Words)
17.The Mughal empire became a hopeless failure in eighteenth century though it had
all the resources at its disposal. Substantiate. (200 Words)
18.Under British rule, Indian administration went through continuous innovation &
experimentation even adopting features from Mughal administration. Such
combination of continuity & change has been striking feature of Indian
Administrative legacy. Explain (200 Words)
19.India needs to choose between two paths to get out of systemic deadlock. One
would be emulating the UK which would leave Rajya Sabha voting intact but
reduced powers & another US, which would keep RS veto power but make its
election direct. Analyze. (250 Words)
20.What changes do you foresee in the financial administration of the country with
the coming of Monetary Policy Committee and Insolvency Board?
Examine. (200 Words)
21.“Low Premium Insurances, Interest subvention schemes make this budget just
as fiscally imprudent as the earlier ones”. How is the Budget for this Financial
year different from earlier ones? Argue logically. (150 Words)
22.Examine the recommendations of Mani Shankar Aiyar Committee on
leveraging Panchayat raj institutions. Write your recommendations on the
Subject. (250 Words)
23.Examine Parkinson’s law in the context of Indian Administration. (150 Words)
24.Critically examine recommendations of 7th PC on reforming Indian
Administration – “hierarchy to performance” and “cadre based to position
based”. (250 Words)
25.Discuss Recent Amendments to Prevention of Corruption Act. Are they
adequate? (250 Words)
26.It is argued that Indian criminal justice system needs urgent reforms owing to
its ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Briefly discuss how this system compares
with justice system in other countries such as USA, UK and Australia, and
examine what measures are mooted to reform criminal justice system in
India. (250 Words)
27.“NCRB data suggest that almost 68 percent inmates are undertrials and 70 per
cent of convicts are illiterate” – Comment on SC judgement to release
undertrials. What in your opinion should India do to overcome the problem of
undertrials; (250 Words)
28.“Digital Era Governance is Digital NPM” (150 Words)
29.”A system of annual confidential reports(ACRs) is based on the old
bureaucratic pattern of the colonial days and is primarily a tool of control.’’
Expose ACRs while suggesting alternative performance appraisal. (150
Words)
30.“Administrative Theories are not the product of exigency but more often than
not they are the tools of legitimisation.’’ As a future practitioner of
Administration refute this statement. (150 Words)
31.Principles of Relative autonomy of state opined that there are more than two
class in the society. In that way it is different from original Marxism.
Comment (200 Words)
32.Do you think private sector in India can play an effective role in guarding
Fundamental rights of Indians? Examine with respect to latest digital
technologies. (200 Words)
33.Recently Telangana carved out 21 new districts. Examine the strategy to
improve efficiency, transparency and preparedness. (150 Words)
34.While IT is a boon to the Government to cut down subsidy costs – it may
happen at the cost of exclusion of marginalised sections. Examine. (250
Words)
 35.Comment on the Challenges & Opportunities in Disaster Management in the
era of social media. (150 Words)
36.”The heterogeneity of the service personnel is not conducive to the
development of an espirit de corps so badly needed for a top management
group like IAS.’’ How do you suggest IAS overcome this inelastic
problem. (250 Words)
37.”For street level Bureaucracy, policy is not a grand scheme or abstract principle
but a constant set of small-scale choice in how to deal with specific individuals
in specific things.’’ Examine in the light of localism. (250 Words)
38.”Representative Bureaucracy is contradiction in terms.’’ Critically
comment. (250 Words)
39.”Administrative reform is a problem of dynamic balancing” Examine how
delays in implementing Administrative reforms defeat the very purpose of
reforms. (250 Words)

Rajya Sabha TV: Security Scan – Maritime and coastal Security of

India

With a vast coastline of about 7600 kilometres, island territories on both sides of the
peninsula are sizeable Exclusive Economic Zone and sea borne trade, the greater part
of which moves by ship; there are many strands to India’s composite maritime
security including the safety of major ports plus aircraft carriers and nuclear
submarines at strategic levels. India’s maritime vulnerability came into sharp focus in
November 2008 when Mumbai was the target of an audacious terrorist attack and
many lessons were learnt in that tragic experience.
Analysis:
1. There have been considerable improvements since the Mumbai attack in the
coastal security of India. Bothcapacity and capability has been built across all
the maritime forces especially in the navy and coastguard. There has also been a
structured attempt to improve coordination between these forces.

2. There are some areas where still India needs to work on primarily in the field
of intelligence, coordination among intelligence agencies and in setting up
a structure i.e. a National Apex Maritime Authoritywhich would help to
coordinate policy and to ensure that there is no duplication of effort and iron
out all the differences which do come up. Coastal security involves a host of
organizations and departments of Government of India and it is not an easy task
to coordinate policy among these organizations.

3. The seas are porous. There are no roads or indicators and therefore, the entry to
a port is porous. The port security has improved with the use of biometric
systems at entrance of naval dockyards. There is a much larger awareness in
State Governments post 2008 and in state police forces.

4. As far as marine police is concerned, it came into being after the Coastal
Security Scheme was introduced in 2005-06. The performance of the marine
police in those states which have adequately invested in maritime security has
improved in a significant way like Tamil Nadu. However, there are some states
which do not think there is any kind of threat from the sea and have kind of
neglected the issue such as West Bengal. The marine police have very
important functions but they are in the domain of legal sector plus in patrolling
the coast next to the sea. In these areas, the coastguard is more than adequate
for patrolling and surveillance.
 5. The maritime zones of India or seas adjacent to the coasts cannot be
divided into concrete silos as the nature of threat may be very different.
For example, if there is a threat from submarines, it has to be handled by the
navy even if it is few miles away from the coast. Various organizations have to
deal with various types of threats rather than being compartmentalized by
distance from the coast.

6. The issue of establishing a Central Marine Police Force started when it was
proposed by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and some other states endorsed
this idea as well. This is not a new issue because the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Home Affairs had submitted a Report on Coastal Security in
April 2014 and they had also proposed that the Centre should think about
establishing what was called Marine Indian Reserve Battalion. However, some
of the states are reluctant of all this and believe that the marine police should be
funded by the Centre. The business of state police versus coastal police is
basically a question of funding and money. States find it difficult in
allocating funds for the coastal police set ups.

7. The new Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2015 has not been passed by
the Parliament yet. It says that there would be a convoy system for piracy and
the Indian navy proved that India became piracy free near its coast waters.
There needs to be some sort of registration for every boat and Mumbai police
even ordered for some sort of colours on the boats to recognize this.
Coastguards can be given the overall authority for coastal security.
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, India’s maritime security challenges and opportunities are both
complex and varied. While 2008 Mumbai attack was a dramatic experience, in the
intervening years a concentrated effort has been made to enhance capacity and
coordination among different agencies. Yet there are many wrinkles that need to be
ironed and capacity gaps that call for an effective National Maritime blueprint and
a steady infusion of funds both material and human resources. Despite being
smallest of the three armed forces, the Indian Navy ably complemented by the Indian
Coastguard has acquired a creditable profile in the extended Indian Ocean region.
Whether it is Tsunami 2004 or humanitarian efforts, the Indian Navy has made the
nation proud.
Currently, the achievements in indigenous warship design and building has given the
Navy a distinctive Make in India head start. Nuclear submarine Arihant symbolizes
this determination and steady progress made across the board. Prime Minister Mr.
Narendra Modi had been advocating SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in
the Region) with India as the net security provider. This focus on the maritime
domain is valuable and hopefully marks the beginning of the end of India’s traditional
sea blindness. But still it is a long voyage while sustaining the collective effort.

Insights into Editorial: Regulating the digital payment industry

The government’s recent push towards a digital economy by incentivisation has been
widely appreciated. However, poised at a juncture when people are transforming
payment habits by embracing a particular payment mode, especially the unbanked
segments of society, the digital transaction regulatory framework requires a
comprehensive legal framework assessment.
Concerns:
 The government is pushing very strongly for a cashless society. After the
demonetisation move, several initiatives have been seen to further encourage
going cashless. However, while cashless transactions are a convenience and the
future, it is being pushed without addressing critical concerns.
 The government’s demonetisation move might have warranted an increase in
transaction activity on digital wallets, but measures to ensure the underlying cyber
security parameters for digital payments is still kept largely under the ambit of the
Information Technology Act. India lacks laws to protect consumers if they lose
money during digital.
 The electronic infrastructure space is also still under-developed in India and
technology governance is weak. The e-infrastructure today is woefully inadequate
to serve the people in semi-urban and rural areas. Internet penetration is low at
30%, and smartphone penetration lower at 17%.
 Anomalies also exist in the form of gaps in the regulatory mechanism of credit
and debit cards, and mobile wallets. For instance, the discount rate, charged to a
merchant accepting card payments, and sometimes to consumers, is by the banks
themselves, and not by the regulator — the Reserve Bank of India, in this case.

What needs to be done?

 A legal framework that can identify and set out the rights and obligations of each
payment system participant in the ordinary course of business and in adverse
conditions should be put in place.
 Such framework will have to cover the plethora of instruments and test them for
conflict such as with the new insolvency and banking laws.
 Seamless cooperation between the bodies involved in policy and regulatory
development must be forged so as to oversee consistent application of rules and
regulations governing all participants.
 The playing ground for entrepreneurs must be levelled so as to provide
confidence, stability and integrity in the financial system. This will enable
participants in a payment system to move in their own orbits performing functions
that when interwoven ensure that the country has an efficient, secure and reliable
payment system that reduces the cost of exchanging goods and services.
 Further, in tune with the self-regulated entrepreneurship that the government is
encouraging, the system participant should be encouraged to submit a self-
certification assessing and disclosing the technical risks it faces at an enterprise
level that can balloon into systemic risks.
 The payments terrain should also expand and be enabled by regulations to
accommodate new kinds of participants in the system. This will foster further
innovation that is bound to occur from the disruption caused in the payment
spaces, without the regulator having to play catch-up.

What should the regulator do?

RBI is the sole regulator for the payments industry space and derives its power to
oversee the payments industry from the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (2007)
and its accompanying regulations (2008). Several circulars and guidelines have been
issued for the regulator to govern prepaid instruments, intermediaries and the payment
system operator.
 RBI must now identify certain payment systems as critical and afford them
systemic important status similar to how it identified certain non-banking
financial companies as systemically important. Such singling out will ensure that
their failure in a nascent payment industry does not trigger further disruptions
among system participants and stretch to larger financial markets.
 The regulator must also in the days to come set up an end customer
protection/guarantee fund so she is protected when the largest participant/debtor
in the payment system fails. This allows for the deflection of liquidity crunch, so
settlement system clearances are maintained without the participants knocking on
the doors of clogged courts.
 Mobile wallets and mobile banking can be vulnerable to security breaches given
that most smartphone users have multiple apps installed, and almost all those apps
have access to sensitive user information on the phone. To make digital
transactions truly secure, the Centre needs to look at restricting the information
that mobile apps seek and put a regulatory framework in place.

Way ahead:
Government’s recent move to incentivise digital transactions is only one step towards
a cashless economy. Both front-end and back-end changes are required to spread
awareness and enhance usability of various digital payment modes.
 Special efforts are required to teach both the less tech-savy as well as the
unlettered on how they could use such modes of transaction.
 Infrastructure creation — from networks and connectivity to ensuring last-mile
availability of ATMs and POS machines, specially in the rural areas — needs to
be massively stepped up.
 Ensuring greater acceptability of digital money is also imperative. It is important
to dispel doubts and fears that people have about digital money and the security of
their transactions.
Conclusion:
The digital payment revolution is the best disruption demonetisation has unleashed.
An aspiring economy like India should welcome this brave new world. The Centre
must now wake up to the need to make digital payments more secure.