UPSC Mains 2022 Public Administration Paper I
Explore the complete UPSC Mains Public Administration Paper I question paper from 2022, with every question clearly presented alongside its marks and word limit. Read online or download either PDF edition free.
The official PDF is UPSC’s own bilingual file. The UPSC Gurus edition is a clean English version formatted for easy reading and printing.
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Question Paper Specific Instructions
- There are EIGHT questions divided in TWO SECTIONS.
- Candidate has to attempt FIVE questions in all.
- Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE from each section.
- The number of marks carried by a question / part is indicated against it.
- Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to.
Section A
- 1
Answer the following in about 150 words each:
50marks- 1(a)10marks
Public Management takes 'what' and 'why' from Public Administration and 'how' from Business Management. Elaborate.
- 1(b)10marks
Every human organisation shall start from System-I and ultimately end up with System-IV. Comment on Likert's statement.
- 1(c)10marks
All tribunals are courts, but all courts are not tribunals. Explain.
- 1(d)10marks
Classical Organisation Theory formed the bedrock for the modern organisation theories. Analyse.
- 1(e)10marks
Interaction between the State and Civil society has hitherto been largely neglected, especially in developing countries. Examine.
- 1(a)
- 2
Question 2
50marks- 2(a)20marks
'The administrative state is the creation of a power to bind us, with rules … that are not made by legislature.' Discuss the constitutionality of the administrative state and its future.
- 2(b)15marks
Transformational leadership requires high degree of coordination, communication and cooperation. Explain.
- 2(c)15marks
Human relationists postulate that 'what is important to a worker and what influences his/her productivity level may not be the organisational chart but his or her associations with other workers'. Is it more relevant today?
- 2(a)
- 3
Question 3
50marks- 3(a)20marks
Barnard posits the zone of indifference as the human condition that animates authority relationships and cooperation in modern organisations. Examine.
- 3(b)15marks
New public service celebrates what is distinctive, important and meaningful about public service. Discuss.
- 3(c)15marks
Strategic communication ought to be an agile management process. Discuss the conceptualization of strategic communication for the government actions.
- 3(a)
- 4
Question 4
50marks- 4(a)20marks
'Leadership is seen as dealing with change, whereas administration is viewed as coping with complexity.' In this context, discuss the contextuality of leadership and administration for the success of organisations.
- 4(b)15marks
Regulatory governance frameworks have become essential building blocks of world society. Discuss their potential and impact in fulfilling the hopes and demands.
- 4(c)15marks
Social auditing is not just saving the money, it creates positive impact on governance. Comment.
- 4(a)
Section B
- 5
Answer the following in about 150 words each:
50marks- 5(a)10marks
Development Administration 'embraces the array of new functions assumed by the developing countries'. Explain.
- 5(b)10marks
Policy evaluation contributes fundamentally to sound public governance. Discuss.
- 5(c)10marks
Weber's construct of bureaucracy has served a great heuristic purpose in furthering research in the field of Comparative Public Administration. Do you agree with the statement? Give reasons.
- 5(d)10marks
Standards are the foundation which do not replace regulations but complement them. Comment.
- 5(e)10marks
'Outcome budgeting addresses the weaknesses of performance budgeting.' Elaborate.
- 5(a)
- 6
Question 6
50marks- 6(a)20marks
'The more exogenetic the process of diffraction, the more formalistic and heterogenous its prismatic phase; the more endogenetic, the less formalistic and heterogenous.' Examine this hypothesis of Riggs.
- 6(b)15marks
The environment and situational conditions under which the government operates have an important bearing on its human resource development practices. Examine.
- 6(c)15marks
'Lindblom regarded rational decision-making as an unattainable goal.' In the light of the statement, suggest measures to avoid policy failures.
- 6(a)
- 7
Question 7
50marks- 7(a)20marks
The results of Washington Consensus were far from optimal for transitional economies. In this background, discuss the change of direction towards post-Washington Consensus.
- 7(b)15marks
A sound budgeting system is one which engenders trust among citizens that the government is listening to their concerns. Elaborate this in the context of budgetary governance.
- 7(c)15marks
Performance problems are rarely caused simply by lack of training and rarely can performance be improved by training alone. Critically analyse the statement.
- 7(a)
- 8
Question 8
50marks- 8(a)20marks
The audit function has always been viewed as an integral part of government financial management. Discuss the significance of internal audit in improving the performance of the government sector.
- 8(b)15marks
Most civil service regimes still equate 'Public Sector Ethics' with anti-corruption efforts. Discuss the insufficiency of Ethics-code in this background.
- 8(c)15marks
Failure of public policies has often been attributed to problems of implementation, while implementors question the policy design. Discuss the contestation.
- 8(a)
Evaluation for More Optionals Coming Soon
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Typed by UPSC Gurus from the official UPSC question paper. Spotted an error? Tell us on WhatsApp at 81220 02172.

