Career in Public Administration

Ranjan K Baruah *

This edition, we shall publish information related to a subject which has connection with political science but can be studied independently. This subject is more important for the individuals who would like to work with the government system or governance model and with public for the betterment and transformation. Betterment of the public does not mean working with them but more focus on the management and administrative part and the subject is known as public administration.

Public administration is the implementation of government policy and also an academic discipline that studies this implementation and prepares civil servants for working in the public service. As a “field of inquiry with a diverse scope” its “fundamental goal is to advance management and policies so that government can function.”

Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: management of public programs; translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day; study of government decision making, analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies, etc.

It attempts to explain how decisions in government are made as well as administrating projects to carry out those decisions. A public administration degree prepares students for a career in government or non-profit work. Studying public administration can be an extremely rewarding experience for anyone looking to give back to their community by solving difficult problems.

Public administration is centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behaviour of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct. Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators. Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government.

Many universities in India offers courses related to Public Administration. Graduate mostly from humanities or other stream may become specialist in this subject and work for the betterment of the public as a whole. There are some special institutes which focuses on public administration.

IIPA: Public Administration has always implied Government when ‘public’ actually means community or people. In the post-colonial, post-independence paradigm of the early 1950s, Public Administration really meant providing service to the people by the State apparatus using the ground rules of justice, ethics and fair-play. Indian Institute of Public Administration was established on March 29, 1954.

IIPA takes the reality of Governance in transition into consideration in all its skill-development, research and knowledge management activities. The Institute’s objectives are: to promote and provide for the study of Public Administration and economic and political science with special reference to public administration and the machinery of government and educational purposes incidental thereto; to undertake, organise and facilitate study courses, conferences and lectures and research in matters relating to public administration and the machinery of government, etc.

Scholarships Updates:

Ashok Khurana Scholarship for Indian Students: This scholarship is offered by University of Adelaide for Indian students in Australia. The scholarship is only available for international students with Indian citizenship who are commencing a Master of Education. Each Scholarship recipient will have outstanding leadership qualities and a demonstrated ability to significantly enhance India. Scholarships are provided in the areas of: Education, Agriculture, Health Services, Clean Technology, Environment, Aerospace, Resources, etc.

Swedish Institute Study Scholarships for Developing Countries: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden is inviting applications for Swedish Institute Study Scholarships (SISS). Scholarships are awarded to students from selected countries for full-time master’s level studies in Sweden starting in the autumn semester 2017.

SISS is the Swedish government’s international awards scheme aimed at developing global leaders. It is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden and administered by the Swedish Institute (SI). Aspirants may apply on or before 16th January.