Important Books For Public Administration Optional

Public Administration is one of the most popular optionals for UPSC Civil Services - Main Examination and, it has the highest share of successful candidates among all optionals naturally. One of the reasons for its popularity is the limited and well defined syllabus. 

Here are some important books for Public Administration optional,

Public Administration by Laxmikanth

This book gives you the understanding of basic concepts and theories in a very simple and engaging manner. A must read book for grasping the fundamentals of Public Administration.

Indian Public Administration by Arora and Goyal

An excellent book which covers about 70-75 percent of the new Public Administration paper 2 syllabus.The book explains all chapters really well including the Indian polity part and British administration, Mughal era and Kautilya’s theory.

Governance in India by Laxmikanth

Apart from covering Central, State and District Administration in detail, this book also covers Finance and Personnel Administration topics which are listed in the syllabus for Paper 1.

Public Administration by Aribam

Additional Notes :

Personnel Administration Notes of IGNOU

Personnel Administration is a very important chapter from Mains point of view and one question is always asked from it. The IGNOU Pub Ad notes cover this topic quite well. Don’t read all the four volumes, just get this chapter somehow and you’re done.

IJPA Notes

Indian Journal of Public Administration (IJPA) contains many important articles on Indian Public Administration that you can readily use as case studies for Paper 1 and Paper 2 in the exam. A must read to acquaint oneself with the latest developments in Public Administration theory and practice.