How to Prepare Governance for UPSC CSE Mains?

If you too are looking for the right answer to the question, How to prepare governance for UPSC, you have landed on the right page. In this blog post we will discuss how to approach the said topic effectively.

Future IAS officers should be well aware of the Governance section as they will be directly involved in the functioning of the government. It is imperative to gain adequate knowledge of all the aspects of Governance during the UPSC exam preparation.

Governance is a vital part of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) and GS Paper 2 of the Mains syllabus.

UPSC expects all the aspiring Civil Services officers to have their fundamentals clear in regards to:

• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. 
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. 
• Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to poverty and hunger. Important aspects of Governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures. 
• Role of civil services in a democracy.

Moreover, the UPSC notification clearly states that “The questions are likely to test the candidate’s basic understanding of all relevant issues, and ability to analyze, and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers.”  

Hence, you should have a basic understanding of the aforementioned topics and be thorough with all the micro-topics mentioned in the syllabus, such as Pressure groups, SHGs, NGOs, e-governance, etc.

We will discuss a few simple pointers in this article that will help make your preparation for the Governance section effective and eventually help you answer the question, "How to prepare governance for UPSC?"

Also read: Preparation Strategy for GS Paper II- UPSC Mains

Tips to Prepare Governance part of GS Paper 2- UPSC Mains

• Keeping into consideration the dynamic nature of the UPSC Mains syllabus and the Governance part, it is recommended to read Newspapers (The Hindu/The Indian Express) daily. While reading, focus on news or editorials pertaining to the Governance section and add relevant information and data to your Notes.
• Important publications such as ARC report, Economic survey, and selected topics from the India yearbook are valuable resources for Governance preparation. Focus on recommendations of Second ARC for topics like Good Governance, e-governance, transparency and accountability etc.
• In a similar manner, you should focus on the documents and reports released by important government bodies such as NITI Aayog vision documents (NITI Aayog’s Strategy for New India @75 Document) and PIB division updates.
• Crucial updates on Sansad TV are also useful for the preparation of the Governance part. Make notes of the relevant topics from the Perspective Program of Sansad TV.
• Understand and analyze all the relevant government welfare schemes with respect to the vulnerable sections of the society (women, children, elders, transgenders etc).
• While preparing for the vulnerable sections emphasize the constitutional provisions, Government Policies, and schemes. Also, study NHRC, SHRC, NWC, etc in detail to support your answers with suitable examples.
• Prepare short notes for the topics like Citizen Charter, Role of civil services in a democracy, Transparency, Accountability, e-governance etc. for making the revision easy.
• Refer to previous year’s question papers to understand the type of questions asked from the Governance section. It will help you to mould your preparation accordingly.

Watch a detailed video lecture on Citizen Charter, by M.Puri Sir, one of the educators of our DREAM TEAM for UPSC:

Also read: How to Write Good Quality Answers for UPSC Mains

Recommended Sources for Governance Preparation

• Governance in India- M.Laxmikanth (Selective Reading)
• 2nd ARC Reports
• Newspapers
• PIB website and other internet sources.
• NCERTs
• PrepSummary- Complete NCERT Notes

Governance Questions asked in Previous Year’s Papers.

Governance Questions of UPSC Mains 2020

• “Institutional quality is a crucial driver of economic performance”. In this context suggest reforms in Civil Service for strengthening democracy.
• “The emergence of Fourth Industrial Revolution (Digital Revolution) has initiated e-Governance as an integral part of government”. Discuss.

Governance Questions of UPSC Mains 2019

• What are the methods used by the farmer’s organizations to influence the policy-makers in India and how effective are these methods? 
• ‘In the context of the neo-liberal paradigm of developmental planning, multi-level planning is expected to make operations cost-effective and remove many implementation blockages’- Discuss 
• The need for cooperation among various service sectors has been an inherent component of development discourse. Partnership bridges the gap among the sectors. It also sets in motion a culture of ‘collaboration’ and ‘team spirit’. In the light of statements above examine India’s development process.
• Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based projects/programmes usually suffers in terms of certain vital factors. Identify these factors and suggest measures for their effective implementation.
• Performance of welfare schemes that are implemented for vulnerable sections is not so effective due to the absence of their awareness and active involvement at all stages of the policy process. Discuss 

We hope this article will streamline your Governance preparation for the UPSC Mains preparation and will help you to give your best when writing the exam.

Cracking UPSC Mains requires discipline, perseverance, and most importantly assistance of a reliable training partner. For a long time, PrepLadder has proved to be the most productive preparation partner for aspiring Civil servants across the country.

PrepLadder has brought a revolution in the field of UPSC Civil services education. It has everything you require to ace Civil services on one platform, such as concise, effective, and well-planned video lectures by our Dream Team for UPSC, a well-structured and high yield QBank, highly competitive PrepTests based on real exam patterns, and Previous Year Papers in the form of tests. 

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All the best for your exam.

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