11 Transcript UPSC interview 2014

Name: Abhilasha Kumari Sharma
Date: 17th of April
Attempt: 2nd
Session: Afternoon
Board: Mr. Chattar Singh
Exam Name: CSE 2013
Qualification: Engineer
CHAIRMAN
1. CM-SO YOU ARE ABHILASHA ?
2. CM-TELL ME HAVE YOU READ PUSHP KI
ABHILASHA ?
3. CM-WHO IS THE POET?
4. CM-SHOWED ME MY PHOTO AND ASKED WHO
IS THIS?
5. CM-DO YOU KNOW A STORY TELL ME IN 3
LINES?
6. CM-WHAT ARE THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF A
STORY ?
7. CM-HOW WILL YOUR STORY TELLING HELP IN
DEALING WITH CLIENT IF YOU ARE POSTED AS
SDM OF A DISTRICT?
MEMBER 1
1. M1-DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS AN EARTHQUAKE?
2. M1-HOW IS MAGNITUDE OF EARTHQUAKE
MEASURED?
3. M1-HOW WILL THE MAGNITUDE CHANGE FROM
RICHTER SCALE 6 TO 7?
4. M1-HOW DO RICHTER SCALE MEASURE
EARTHQUAKE?
5 .M1-CAN YOU TELL ME HOW WILL THE ENERGY
RELEASED CHANGE FROM RICHTER SCALE FROM
6 TO 7?
6. M1-WHAT IS EL NINO?
7. M1-DOES IT HAVE ANY EFFECT ON INDIA?
8 .M1-CAN WE PREDICT EL NINO?
MEMBER 2
1. .M2-WHO IS CALLED IRON LADY?
2. M2-YOU ARE COMING FROM JHARKHAND AND
THERE IS PROBLEM OF NAXALISM SAME IS THE
CASE IN NORTH EAST. IROM SHARMILA IS
FIGHTING IN NE AGAINST SOMETHING . WHAT IS
IT?
3. M2-WHAT IS THE PROVISION IN AFSPA
BECAUSE OF WHICH SHE IS FIGHTING AGAINST
THIS ACT?
4. WHAT HAD HAPPENED WITH HER(PERSONAL
CAUSE) BECAUSE OF WHICH SHE IS FIGHTING
AGAINST THIS ACT?
5 .M2-DO YOU KNOW RECOMMENDATION OF
REDDY COMMISSION?
MEMBER 3
1 ..M3-I THROW A BALL OF 10 KG AND 3 KG
FROM TOP OF UPSC BUILDING WHICH WILL
REACH ON GROUND FIRST?
2. M3-JHARKHAND WAS CREATED IN 2000 ALONG
WITH TWO OTHER SMALLER STATE BUT IT IS
LEFT BEHIND AND OTHER TWO HAVE
PROGRESED . GIVE ME REASON 1,2,3,4.
3. M3-WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS OF COAL
MINING IN JHARKHAND?
4. M3-WHY IS PATRATU FAMOUS?
5. M3-AN UMPP IS GOING TO BE SET UP IN
JHARKHAND . TELL ME WHERE?
6. M3-CAN YOU TELL ME WHO IS SETTING THIS
PROJECT?
7. M3-YOU ARE DM OF A DISTRICT AND A SDM
HAS BEEN TAKEN BY NAXALITE AND THEIR
DEMAND IS TO REALEASE FEW DREADED
NAXALITE.THE MORAL OF YOUR SUBORDINATE IS
LOW .WHAT WILL YOU DO?
MEMBER 4
1. .M4-ABHILASHA DO YOU THINK TRAINING IS
NECESSARY?
2. M4-WHAT IS LEARNING BY LEARNING?
3. M4-YOU ARE POSTED AS DM OF A DROUGHT
PRONE AREA AND REQUIRE WATER URGENTLY.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
4. M4-IF YOU ARE POSTED AS DM OF A DISTRICT
AND YOU HAVE TO SET UP A LIBRARY TO
ENHANCE THE READING HABIT OF PEOPLE IN
YOUR DISTRICT. HOW WILL YOU DO THIS?
5 .M4- DO YOU KNOW ABOUT TQM IN JAPAN
WILL IT BE EFFECTIVE ALSO IN INDIA?

10 Transcript UPSC interview 2014

Name: Santosh Pandey
Date: 12th of April
Session: Forenoon
Serial Order: 3rd
Board: A. P. Singh
Qualification: Engineer
CHAIR: why did you leave your bpcl job?
me: i wanted to prepare for civil service exam
CHAIR: but it was a good job, left for uncertain
future
me: I tried preparing while in job fr some month, bt
i realised i was not doing justice either to my goal r
my dream, added this with i was sure and confident
i will clear it. (he looked into my eyes)
C: where are you from reading my address
me: jharkhand
C: originally? i guess r father works there..
me: u r correct sir..i belong to bihar.
C: district
me: arra
M1: BEING AN OUTSIDER how do you see creation
of telangana
me: creation of state just fr the sake of it will nt
solve anything,our goal shud be good and effective
governance. states creation leads to undue cost of
administration whic is bore by people.
M1:BT ppl want state
me: ppl want governance ,transparent ,corruption
free, participation ,etc i feel present constitution
has enough provision to solve backwarness of a
region ,eg ART 371 ,74 ,73 CCA, first implement
them ,give power to ppl, stake holder ,participatory
governance if again there is ademand then look
into creating states
M1:BT telanaga ppl say CM is frm seemandhara
region
me:sir that shud be nt the issue ,,the issue shud be
devolution of power frm CM ro below
level,gandhian view,give power to ppl,
M1: BT no dev in telangaana
me: this is bcz no accountability at the top and
middle,state wud nt bring any new
accountability...etc
M1: YOU MENTIONED u read Swami Vivekananda
work..what was his main idea
me:universal acceptance ,divinity of man and a
novel concept of ""daridranarayan""...sir it means
we can serve god my serving poor...swamiji died
eraly bt gandhiji carried this idea frwd and did
unparalled service to nation and humanity..this
inspires me
M2: OK U worked in bpcl
how much crude produced everyday in world?
me: exact figure i don't know.
m2: WHAT IS OIL PEAK ,WHO COINED IT?
ME: sir, i don't know the name of person bt i knw
the concept...
m2: plz tell
me: explained nicely
m2: will we reached in r life when oil will go out?
me; no sir
m2 : ?
me: bcz new technology and new resources
coming in every day..
m2: what is the share of renewable energy in india
me: sir less that 20%
m2: it is very less than that
me: ok sir,
m2: why do we import crude
me: expl
m2: do we export petroleum ppdt
me: yes
m2: ?
me: because extra refined above our consumption
need
m2: is it beneficial
me: yes bcz it offsets the CAD which increases bcz
of import of crude,we have compititiveness in
refining bcz of labour cos ,etc we must use it.
m2: what is total refining
me: 215mmpta
m2: it is a bit more that that 230
me: ok sir.
m2: how do transport different products in pipeline
me: exp
m2: where does water come frm in mumbai
refinery?
me: no idea sir
m2: is cooking in refinery done on lpg
me: most probably,bt nt sure sir ,i havent been
inside ..
m2: nit warangal is top college, must have got
good rank
me: yes sir..
m2: campus placement r gate..u need to top to get
placed
me: campus placement
m2: looking at my percentages. what r rank
(90,88,85)
me: around 7-10 ..i don't recall exactly
m3: hat is federalism
me: exp in one line
m3: nit v/s rec hat is the change
me: expl
m3: hich list is education
me: concurrent
m3: have you studies pub fin
me: yes a bit
m3: deficit financing ,external brroing expl hich is
better
m2e: expl
m4: do you kn hat is happening to currency in last
to months
me: yes ,,it appreciating, but last to years
depriciatioing
m4: why?
me: cad, otflo of cap, inflation
m4: is it good for economy
me: no
m4: why?
me: we are importing nation
m4: ho?
me: expl
m4: can it happ our currency appr and depr at a
same time
me : yes ,,expl hypothetically taking three
currency ,to deprciating at diif rate comapred to the
third..
m4: haat e did in 1990
me: neoliberal policy, marked led ,private led etc
m4:what excatly it means
me:.......bt wat then he showed with his hand i said
opening up ..
m4 yes..ok
C: why do we celebrate republic day
me: because of constitution..
c: you are correct relied to constitution, but not
exactly, constitution was enforced that day
me : enthusiastically yes sir,
c: tell me FR
me: defined ,ask shall enumerate them
c: yes if you can
me: named few
c :what is dpsp
me: defined and started quoting this time watever
came to my mind then.. after 4 r 5 dpsps i said
uniform civil code,
c : u may go

9. Transcript upsc interview 2014.............

Name: Akash Patel
Date: 5th May 2014
Session: Afternoon
Attempt: 1st Attempt
Board: A. P. Singh
Qualification: Masters in Hindi Literature
My interview was in afternoon shift, so I arrived
there at 1300 hrs. We were devided in groups of 6
each. Fortunately my group was so cheerful and
cool that 90%of my tension was released there
only. :)
I was alloted board of A. P. Singh sir, and was
taken to sit outside the room at 04:05. my
interview started at 04.15 and ended at 04.45,
thats half an hour which was average for my group.
NOTE- my interview actually was in hindi, here I
have translated it to english.
after entering and wishing everyone, here goes the
main thing-
When chairman told me to sit, he was reading my
DAF, and his expressions were like-""why we
members have to go through all this interview
thing. Its too boring man.""
chairman- so akash, you are masters in hindi
literature.
me- yes sir.
C- when did you complete your PG?
Me- in 2012 sir.
C-so what were you doing untill now?
Me- sir I was preparing only.
C- I mean job etc?
Me (confused as there was only 1 year gap)- no
sir.
C-What were your subjects in graduation?
me- sir, hindi lit, geography and med. history.
C- tell me something about international date line.
me (a little uncomfortable)- sir, its a imaginary line
on the globe which goes from north to south
between USA and Russia.
C-Does it go straight south?
me (still uncomfortable)- no sir, it diverts a little
near island of southern pacific ocean.
C- so whats its importance? How the date changes
around this line?
me (with a pause) sir, towards east the date
increase by one day and vice verca,( not so sure),
that is if we go anticlockwise, the date increases (I
wasn't sure what I was talking about).
at this answers chairman looked towards other
members and they all are nodding disapprovingly.
But I was so calm from earlier effect of my group
that I wasn't nervous at all.
then chairman passed the ball to member on his
left.
M1- what is Nsso Akash?
me- sir its an organisation which collects different
kind of data in whole india like employment,
income of people etc.
M1- why is this data collected?
me-sir any policy of govt can be effective only if
we know what is the ground reality. these data
helps govt to form better policies.
M1- So what is HCR, that is used by nsso?
Me- sorry sir I havent heard about that.
M1- are!! head count ratio, hcr?
Me- sir I dont know exactaly bùt I guess it may be
total number of people surveyed.(I havent googled
it yet but I guess most certainly I was wrong)
M1- what is PG, poverty gap?
Me- sorry sir I am not aware.
M1 ok, tell me when the census is done iñ india?
Me-sir every 10 years.
M1- when was the latest census .done?
Me- sir recently in 2011, and its provisional data
were out in I think april 2012, some of the final
data have also been published.
M1- we spend so much money in this, what is the
use?
Me (the same answer)- sir to form bettèr policy we
need to knowwhat are the statistics. and these
policies are important for development, specially in
developing countries, like in india we have a
population pòlicý. in this regard to know clèarly
where we are headed, we need to collect data.
M1- what data are given in census?
me- sir, total population, sex ratio, child sex ratio,
populatiion density etc.
M1- what about language data? How many
languages are spoken in india?
Me- sorry sir I am not aware exactaly how many
languages are there in india.
M1- hmmm, there have been many ammendments
to our constitution, which one do you think was
most important?
Me- sir I think 42nd ammendment at the time of
indira gandhi was very significant as it changed a
lot of articles and is considered a mini constitution
in itself.
M1- tell me some provisions of this ammendment.
Me (a little troubled, its hard to remember things
while in interview room)- sir there was a provision
that if council of ministers passes something,
president will have to give his assent.(I guess there
was something like that, not so sure). After a little
pause- sir I cant remember any more provisions
right now.
M1-how many ammendments have been made till
date?
Me-sir I am not sure, but I heard that 120th
amendment was pending in Parliament recently.
M1 (looking a bit surprised)-you mean to say we
have crossed number of hundred.?
Me (now confused)- repeated the same answer
with different language.
M1- okk, what is biodiversity?
me- sir as far as I remember biodiversity can be
understood at 2 levels, which are species diversity
and gene pool related diversity. species diversity
means existence of difference kind of species of
plants and animals, while gene diversity means rich
gene pool of species.
M1- so why this biodiversity is so much in news,
why do we need to preserve it?
Me-sir we need to preserve biodiversity for several
reasons. Every component of ecosystem has an
important role to play, whether we know it or not,
so if a particular species goes extinct, it will create
imbalance in whole ecosystem. apart from that, as
our research Is growing we are finding many
species useful, be that in health or energy etc. so if
we loose biodiversity we will loose possible
benefits that could be harvested.
M1 (nodding approvingly, and thus raising my
confidence)- so what are the recent initiatives by
the government in this direction?
me- (not able to remember something good)-sir
above all we are signatory of UN convention on
biodiversity, we have created NBA to protect
biodiversity, and recently we have put a
moratorium on GM crops, in order to avert any
possible threat to indigenous species.
M1-hmm. you see there is allopathy, ayurveda,
similarly there is homeopathy. tell me what are the
basic principals of homeopathy.
me (shocked how this question came up)- sir there
are two basic principles of homeopathy. 1. a
person can not suffer from two same diseases at
same time, that means if one has fever, one cant
have another fever at same time. 2. what causes a
disease, also cures the same disease. so sir if one
has fever, in homeopathy, one would me
administered something that would cause a fever
of greater intensity, this induced fever would then
supress the original fever as two fevers cant
coexist.
M1- dont you think vaccinations in allopathy also
works in same way?
me- sir there is is difference. vaccinations
introduce a weakened virous into body and there
after our immune system creates immunity and
tackels thae disease. here the disease dosent
actually develop. while in homeopathy the disease
is treated by DEVELOPING another same disease.
M1- There is a term LPG, what is that?
Me- sir its liquefied petroleum gas.
M1- no no...liberalization.......
Me (interrupting and smiling broadly)- yes sir, thats
liberalization privatization and globalization.
M1- yes, tell me about that.
Me- sir before 90s we had kind of socialist modell
of economy where govt had controll over all
economic activities. In 90s when economic reforms
happened LPG was introduced. If we take them one
by one liberalization meant reducing govt controll
like by license, quota, and tarrif on imports exports
etc. Privatization meant encouraging private
industries while globalization was integration of
indian economy with global economy.
M1- akash I am giving you a situation and I want
your opinion about this. You see, in indian election
the winning candidate is one who gets more votes
against him and less for him. How do you see it,
can we call it democracy?
Me (now confident and comfortable)- sir definitely
this first past the post system is very important
problem of indian democracy. There have been
some suggestions to change it by requirement of
50%+ votes but there are many problems in this.
M1- but this system is running successfully for last
six decades. There must be some positive points.
Me- yes sir, the first positive point that I can think
of is its simplicity. In india where a lot of people
are illiterate, we need simple system which can be
understood by people. Secondly, if we make
mandatory 50%+ votes, there will be a lot of bye
elections, and in a large country like ours we can't
afford many bye elections. So this current system
is running. (Now I think I could answer it way much
better)
M1-now we see a lot of small parties form a
coalition and form government. There is only on
paper a common minimum program, but in practice
they differ in many fronts. Do you think this is good
for us?
Me-sir undoubtedly there are a lot of problems in
coalition politics. Many a times Government cant
take tough decisions, other times decision making
process is slowed down. But still I think coalition
governments are good for a country with great
diversity like ours. Coalition politics ensures that all
kind of people find representation in government,
and administration is run ensuring everyone's
satisfaction.
M1-do you want to say that development is not
your priority but satisfaction of people is?
Me-sir I think I haven't made my point clear. I am
not saying development isn't my priority. Sir in
india, coalition government is the norm for last two
decades, still we are developing rapidly. So we
can't say that coalition government, per se, is anti
development. Sir what I meant to say that it is
better if every faction of people is represented in
govt. If we have a majority govt, it could take
decisions which could disturb some factions of
people.
M1 finally looked satisfied. He then passes to M2.
M2- akash there was held a very important
convention of hindi writers in Lucknow in 1936.tell
me something about that.
me (thanking god)- sir you are talking about
progressive writers association(?????????? ???? ???)
that was chaired by premchand. they followed
marxist ideology and hence declared that the role
of if lliterature is not to entertain but to raise voice
of exploited class. this left a very important
impression on hindi literature.
M2- what iimpression did it leave exactaly?
Me- sir after this a whole new era started in hindi
literature named Pragativaad which raised voice for
betterment of lower and oppressed class. and
though pragativaad ended after a few years as a
mmovement, the tendencies of this movement can
still be seen in contemporary literature as in adam
Gondavi.
M2 (looking satisfied)- was there any clash
between Pragati and prayog?
Me (now happy happy)- sir we can see the
difference of opinion Between these two at 2
levels. One at ideological level and other about
form. At Ideological level pragativaad fully followed
Marxist ideology while prayogvaad was anti
ideology, prayogvadi were of the view that we will
experiment and find our own truth, we will not
follow some pre set ideology. At the level of form,
pragativaad's objective was to convey the message
of poetry in simplest language so that people can
connect with it, hence they didnt give any
importance to outer form of poetry. While
prayogvad regarded poetry as art, and hence form
was very important for them, that's why we see
the""shilp"" of hindi poetry raises is bar in
prayogvad.
M2 (looking satisfied)- there was a very important
poetry collection published in 1943...
Me- sir you talking about ""taar-saptak""..
M2-yes, who was the editor?
Me-sir it was Ajneya.
M2- Ajneya have written novels also.
Me-Yes sir. He has authored shekhar ek jeevni and
nadi k dweep. But I haven't read any of them so I
don't much about them. ( I actually had read
shekhar ek jeevni, but that's too tough a novel to
be attempted, so I left it ;) )
M2- there is a term digital devide, what is that?
Me- sir it is related to access to technology. People
of urban center generally have good access to
technology, while in rural areas the case is
different. Due to this there is a gap between these
two groups, this phenomena is called digital devide.
It affects level of development.
M2- does it also affect education in any way?
Me (thinking)- sir it does indeed. Today's education
is very much technology centered. Education can
also be attained by distance learning by e
education, tele education etc. So those who dont
have access to technology also lag behind in
education.
Now it comes to M3. He was the most ""khoosat""
member, all other 5 candidates of my group were
also tortured by this member.
M3- akash tell me 5 problems of indian economy.
Me- sir can I have 2 minutes to think?
M3-take your time.
Me-Sir can I use pen and paper?
M3- yes please.
(I then started writing points on paper, but it's
really tough to concentrate there, I wrote down 4
points but couldn't find 5th one. And even those 4
weren't that good)
Me- sir, I can think of only four at this time.
M3-no problem go ahead.
Me-Sir firstly in agriculture, its share is decreasing
rapidly in gdp, but still a lot of people depend for
employment on it, this creates problem of hidden
unemployment. Secondly, we have directly jumped
from primary to tertiary sectors, so we havent
created enough jobs and thus facing jobless groth.
Thirdly, due to our international obligations in WTO
etc, we are often forced to take some steps, like
opening our markets even if it harms us. Fourth,
we have a population dividend that can be used for
growth of economy, but due to low education and
lack of skill development, this population can be a
burden on economy as well.
M3- you talked about jobless growth, lack of skill
development, low development of secondary sector
etc. Looks like you are basically talking about
single point.
Me( hairaan-pareshan :D )- sir in agriculture we
also have among lowest productivity per unit land.
(But M3 wasnt impressed)
M3- what is fiscal deficit and current account
deficit?
Me-sir there is always a gap between government's
income and expenditure. This gap is filled by
borrowing money. In genera this borrowed
ammount is called fiscal deficit. CAD is difference
of our imports and exports.....
M3- what kind of imports and exports?
Me- sir it can be both of services and goods. (At
this time I suddenly remembered and added-), and
sir unilateral transfers like remittances etc are also
counted under current account. So CAD means our
imports etc are greater than exports and we are
loosind forex.
M3- how much is our CAD?
Me-Sorry sir but don't know exact figure.
M3-in percentage of GDP?
Me-sir I am not very sure but it is around 2.6% as
per latest data.
M3-how much is indian GDP?
Me-sir I am not sure but it's something like 1.2
trillion$.
M3- how do you think poverty can be eliminated?
Me (again comfortable)- sir, poverty can effectively
be eliminated only by employment generation. So
we have to focus on developing our manufacturing
sector, this will raise their income and we can
tackle poverty.
M3- our economy is growing by less than 5%, is it
any good?
Me- sir after 2007-08 there has been global
recession, so owing to that we can say that this
growth rate is good, but it also true that potential
of developing countries is greater, so india can
manage a better growth rate.
M3-you mean due to prospects of other counties,
growth of some other countries is affected?
Me-Yes sir, specially in export based economies.
India is not that much dependent on export but still
we export specially to US and EU. So when
demand in these regions is low, our exports
decline. (Now I realize I should have taken some
time before answering this question, my answer
could have been much much better)
Now it was the last member.
M4- so akash you are from fatehpur.
Me- yes sir.
M4- who and when named it?
Me- sorry sir but I am not aware.
M4- why is fatehpur popular?
Me- sir its not particularly popular, however there
has been found some sites of archeological interest
like temples of gupta period, and poet sohan laal
dwivedi was from there only who is called rashtra-
kavi.( completely forgot to mention prime mini VP
Singh who was MP from fatehpur)
M4- we are a democracy, a lok tantra, still our
leaders are called raaj-neta, why is that?
Me- sir I think word raaj in raaj neta shouldn't be
related to raaj word in raaj tantra(monarchy), raaj
simply means way of ruling people, and in
democracy leaders rule, but with people's consent.
So I dont see ant contradiction in word raaj neta.
M4 - no no, you are preparing for civil, you would
be called public servent, lok sevak. Why dont we
call them lok neta instead of raaj neta?
Me-sir the word raj neta is popular among people
just because it has been in fashion for long, I think
thats why we still keep using it.
(But he wasnt convinced. I think he had some
particular answer already in his mind and wanted
to listen that only)
M4- ok. If we start calling them lok neta, what
difference would it make?
Me (a little uncomfortable by this question)- sir it
may define a change in mentality, but I am not so
sure if it would bring any real change at functional
level.
Now the circle completed and I was again
addressed by chairman.
C- there is a concept of happiness index. What is
it?
Me- sir this concept is basically of bhutan.
Normally development of any country is measured
by GDP, but bhutan introduced GHI for that
purpose. It measures peoples satisfaction on
mental satisfaction, environmental conservation,
health, education etc.
C- what are the parameters used in it?
Me- sir I dont remember all these parameters, but
theze 4-5 things are there.
C- what is its significance?
Me- sir its a good concept because any
development is fir people's satisfaction only and
GHI measures that. But we cant underestimate GDP
because resources of government depend on GDP
growth, if we dont have enough resources, we wont
be able to invest in health and education etc that
are necessary for people's satisfaction. But
ultimately, the objective of any development is
people's happiness only.
Then they all saw each other, nodded and said
thank you akash. I also thanked them, stood up,
placed properly the paper and pencil that I used
and left.

8 Transcript Upsc Interview 2014

I appeared for the personality test for civil services 2013. Below follows a transcript of my interview along with other related details.

Date: 9th April 2014, Session: Afternoon,Duration: 35 Minutes, Board: Mr. D. K. Dewan,Optional: Economics, Attempt: First,Education: BE, MS (Environmental Engineering), Work Experience: ~ 5 Years (Technology Consulting, Start-up, Teaching and PSU)

I reached UPSC by Noon as I had to submit the attestation form copies at the DoPT in the North Block. This was the first time I was so close to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Glancing at it from India Gate doesn’t come anywhere close to the feeling I got while being there. It sort of motivated me to do my best in the interview. After submitting the attestation form, I reached Dholpur House and entered after showing my call letter. The cell phone was collected in the reception area itself.

I was assigned to table XXII. There were seven groups of six interviewees each. I was the last person to be interviewed by the panel our group was assigned to. The first two members of the group had relatively shorter interviews, the third alright, the fourth seemed to go longer than the others (although it might also seem so because of the long time we had been there by then) and by the time the penultimate person was inside, I could hardly comprehend my surroundings or time.  I was waiting for about seven eight minutes outside the room where interviews were being conducted. By this time my hunger pangs had started (I hadn’t had any lunch) and I was afraid of becoming the irritating self that I do if I don’t get food on time. Just then, I was told to enter. I asked the fellow sitting outside what the time was then. At 5:00 PM, the ordeal began!

There were four panel members (M1, M2, M3, M4) in addition to the chairman (C). there was no female member.

Chairman

What does your husband do? – He has just completed his MBA and will now be working with ABC Company as a XYZ Manager.

Why different paths? Wouldn’t it be difficult? - Sir, I have worked in various different forms of organizations (including a private consulting firm, a start up, a Central Govt. University and a Maharatna PSU) - yes, I can see that on your form - Out of these, I have come to realize that my skills, temperament and attitude are more suited to working in a Govt. job. - but wouldn’t that mean that you would have to live apart. -  Sir, we have already been staying in different states owing to our respective careers and have handled that to our satisfaction. - It is easy in young age lady, it gets tougher as you move up, especially when you start a family. - (Thinking where is this headed and smiling broadly) I shall keep that in mind, sir.

Do you know about Crimea? – Yes sir, Crimea, which was a part of Ukraine, has recently been annexed by Russia.  - Why is EU interfering in Russia’s annexation of Crimea? - Sir, they are worried about possible expansionist tendency of Russia, especially owing to Russian troops being present at Moldova,  Transdniestria. - But why is that an issue with EU? - (feeling a little confused) Sir, US and EU on one hand, and USSR on the other have always had different ideologies. With Ukraine coming closer to EU, the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the most important remain of former USSR, is being seen doubtfully and further military presence at Moldova is adding to these doubts. - But why is that an issue for EU, military presence didn’t occur just like that, it followed a process, do you know what process was followed before annexation of Crimea? - (Now even more confused and visibly fumbled) – Sir, they are worried because of the military presence, the process which was followed… hmmm… - interrupted by M3 but just in time I said -referendum, where a majority supported annexation of Crimea by Russia, - here, M3 again interrupts, says, not majority, 97% supported, - (I was getting visibly nervous by now, what did they want to hear?) Yes sir, 97% (i.e. in overwhelming majority) supported the annexation of Crimea in the referendum, but after that annexation, there is a possibility of civil war as there are conflicts between the ethnic Russians and… -  interrupted again, But what has that got to do anything with EU? –  (By now, I think I finally understood the question), Sir, Crimea has a strategic importance owing to its proximity to Black Sea, the oil & gas pipelines (and immediately thought to myself, what oil pipelines, crap!!) - Oil Pipelines? Are you sure? And do you know which place exactly is of strategic importance and why? - I am sorry sir, I have read about it, but I can’t recall it at the top of my head(Apparently he was asking about Sevastopol, by now, my morale was already down, not being able to answer such a simple, relevant and in news daily question to their satisfaction and mine :( but I braced myself for whatever was to come next)

What is the difference between LPG and CNG - Sir, LPG is liquefied petroleum gas and CNG is compressed natural gas. LPG is used for cooking while CNG is used in vehicles for travelling purpose. - Do we make our own LPG and CNG or import? – Sir, we refine most of it ourselves and import some (Major disaster here, I meant to say extract and not refine) – We refine? Refining is done for oils or for gases? -Sorry sir (My face must be showing my disappointment with myself) - Never mind, What % of Indians do not have access to drinking water and electricity? - Sir, about 40%(actually it’s ~30%) Indians do not have access to electricity. - Are you sure? And water? - No sir, actually I am not very sure and neither very comfortable with hard core data as numbers(and then mumbled something).

Ok, never mind, tell me what are the qualities required of a government servant?Sir, Integrity, Empathy (As soon as I said empathy, he asked me to think of four most important qualities and rank them in order of preference). – Sir, may I take a moments to list them down in that case. - By all means - (I wrote on the paper and ranked for about 20-30 seconds) – Sir, the four most important qualities of Govt. servant in my opinion are -

Motivation for public serviceIntegrityEfficiencyWillingness to learn new things

And now I shall give you my reasons for the same. Sir, we can’t be happy and successful at any job unless we derive work satisfaction from it, therefore motivation for public service becomes first and foremost in the list of desirable qualities. As Govt. servants, we would be dealing with public money and resources, therefore integrity becomes the second most important thing. In a country like India, where there are so many people who would be needing Govt. services, efficiency becomes desirable with effectiveness and lastly, in a diverse country where a Govt. servant might be posted in any region and department, with changing times, willingness to learn new things becomes very important. - That’s all right, I didn’t ask you for the reasons - (Feeling flushed yet not showing so) - And what might be the one biggest disadvantage of being in a government service - Sir, disadvantage? (Pretending to think while I knew what I had to say) – Sir, I think the absolute hierarchical structure in Govt. organizations is a limitation and disadvantage as it leads to unwanted bureaucratic delays but - But that is true for any Govt. service in the world - Yes, sir. - Tell me what is the, ok, not disadvantage, but not so much an advantage of working a Govt. job -(After thinking for a very brief moment), Sorry sir, I can’t think of one at this moment.

At this time, the chairman asked M1 seated on his right to start asking me questions. I realized that I haven’t made a good impression and thus mentally prepared myself to answer whatever came next without any prejudice to what had already passed. 

M1

So you are a Human Rights activist and have done street plays on social issues? (He was reading from my DAF where I had mentioned a training of trainers on Human Rights and listed President, Dramatics Society as my position of responsibility) – Sir, not exactly a Human Rights activist, but yes I have attended the mentioned training on Human Rights and have conducted a number of street plays on social issues.

So, i will ask you of a dilemma regarding human rights – should cell phones be allowed in prison? -  (Finally glad of an opinion based question, confidently answering)Sir, Human Rights are those which are available to a person by the virtue of being human. Though right to communicate might be such, right to own a cell phone is not. My answer may vary for a prisoner in solitary confinement, but in general I do not think that prisoners should have access to cell phones. There are various reasons for the same. Certain prisoners, held due to terrorism cases, may use phones to plot further attacks. Prisoners with sensitive information may leak it outside and so on. Therefore, I don’t think cell phones should be allowed in prison.

Ok, another question in the similar direction, What are your views on capital punishment. Should it be banned? Why? - Sir, my personal opinion is against capital punishment. However in the very training that I had attended on Human Rights mentioned in my form, I had heard some compelling views on the other side. In a country like India, which has so many mouths to feed, is it prudent to spend so much on food and space for prisoners who might have committed heinous crimes and infringed on somebody else’s human rights while doing so. However, I still believe that as long as there is a slightest chance of a person showing reform, capital punishment should not be resorted to as there may be a chance of the person reforming and making himself productive for the society in general and for himself. - So you are sounding like Mother Teresa - Just smiled.

So, you are an environmentalist as well. Why is there so much hype on environmental issues now? Why wasn’t it there before? Sir, the environmental problems have always existed since long time but in current times the impact of these problems have become much more apparent to the general public. If I may take an example of the climate change, any layman can visibly observe the climate change patterns now. In Hyderabad for example, there have been recent news of extreme hot weather and hailstorms at the same time leading to deaths. And since people have become more aware of these issues and their environmental causes, there is more hype on environmental issues now as compared to earlier times as now people want to find out ways of living in a sustainable manner without being impacted much. (The chairman was about to hand over the dialogue to the next member owing to time but M1 said he would ask me one final question, apparently stemming from my previous answer) – So, what do you understand by Sustainable Development? - Sir, sustainable development is holistic development keeping in consideration environmental, economic and social perspectives. It is a means of carrying out any project/ activity in a manner such that our future generations are left with as much if not more resources than us. (I kind of minced a few words here, damn, my linguistic skills weren’t helping that day.)

The chairman then asked the next panel member (M2), who looked a little strict, to continue.

M2

I am going to ask you only two questions. The first one is, tell me Since Independence, which wars has India fought, with whom, when and who were the PMs at that time? –(Took a deep breath and started) - Sir, the first was in 1947-48 with Pakistan with Mr. Nehru as the PM (I was debating with myself about this but then agreed to start at 1947 as mentioned in India after Gandhi), next was in 1962 with China, Mr. Nehru was the PM, then 1965 with Pakistan, Sh. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the PM, 1971 with Pakistan, Smt. Indira Gandhi was the PM and lastly 1999, the Kargil war with Pakistan, where Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayi was the PM. Here the Chairman looked interested (maybe being the Retd. Admiral) and asked, Can we call Kargil war a war? – Sir, actually I recently read an article stating why Kargil can’t be called a war and was an insurgence operation (while thanking my hubby profusely in my head who had forwarded the article in question to me a few days ago); The number of insurgents were merely a few thousand at best with light arms with them against India, the third largest army with tanks and military ammunitions. There were so many casualties only because the enemy was at a height. Chairman – So, why was it called a war then? - Sir, because of the casualties and in addition the political party in power at that time used the insurgence to play upon the patriotic feelings of the nation to declare it a ‘win’ while they were ruling. (quickly realized that I might have made a political blunder here but thankfully nobody pressed on it and the chairman gestured to move the conversation further in a cordial manner)

You are an environmental engineer. Tell me about XYZ report. (I still can’t recall what report he had asked me about.) – Sorry sir, I haven’t heard of this report. – Ok.

The chairman then gestured for the third panel member (M3) to take it forward. M3, a sardar, had been asking environment related questions to others in my group.

M3

Delhi was a very polluted city 15 years ago. What remedial steps did the government take for it? - Sir, the two most important steps that the Govt. took were introduction of CNG and Metro. With a focus on less pollutant emissions from vehicles and introduction of a comfortable public transport medium, the Govt. was able to tackle the fugitive transport related emissions which were a major contributor to pollutants in the city. (Mumbled some more stuff which even I can’t recall now so clearly was useless and should not have been spoken).

What is this Bharat I, Bharat II we hear about? - (My mind went blank for a moment and all I could recall was Euro IV certification given to Nano) – Sir, Bharat I, Bharat II are certification/ standards given to vehicles. For example, Euro IV was given to nano. – That’s fine, but what is this Bharat I/ Bharat II or Euro III/ Euro IV - Sir, these are standards/ certification given to vehicles based on security and environmental (emissions) standards (Realised the repetition I guess) - What is the difference in Bharat I and Bharat II - Sir, hmm.. sir, there are incremental changes in the eligible emissions - (Must have realised that I am at a loss here)- What are vehicular emissions, what do they emit? - Sir, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide - So, it is the concentration of these emissions which vary in the vehicular emissions - Sir, I thought you were asking for specific % changes in different standards, I know that there are incremental changes in concentrations of emissions in successive certifications but I do not know the exact numbers. – (Said something which I can’t recall).

Chairman asked the last panel member (M4) to ask questions. 

M4

What is article 19 of the Indian constitution? - Sir, Freedom of speech. (Then I don’t know why but I asked him if I could think for a moment; to which the chairman said, yes please, have some water if you want, we are here all evening. I smiled and said, thank you sir, and thought for a while) - Sir article 19 is related to fundamental rights and it is either freedom of speech or right to life but I can’t recall which one is it at this moment. - That’s all right, it is freedom of speech. Now, there are more than 100 channels today and as many newspapers. Can we say that freedom of speech is adhered to? -Sir, freedom of speech is subjected to certain restrictions. Even in social media, there were cases of … - I am not asking about social media, I am asking about print and electronic media. – (Thinking for a while) - Sir, freedom of speech is present in letter, but we can’t be so sure in spirit. Many of these channels, media houses and newspapers you mentioned are controlled by corporate or backed by political organization, in which scenario, they are bound to be a little biased. - So, how do you suggest we remove this bias. – (Again thought for while and just to fill the silence said) – Sir, we need to ensure that the journalism is impartial and free from the interference of controlling corporate and political parties. - But How? How can we ensure that freedom of speech is upheld in such a scenario? And I am asking you this because it is an important and relevant issue in current times. - (Still thinking) - Think about how they do it in the west? - Sir, censorship … - Let me tell you right now, there is no censorship in news, there is only one medium which has censorship - Yes sir, films - and we don’t need any censorship in news at all - (Chairman mentions that it is almost time so M4 kindly continues) – we can have a media regulatory board (I cursed myself for not explaining it properly because that is what I meant when I said censorship, but managed somehow and said,) – Sir, actually i did think of it but what held me back was that as you rightly mentioned that there are so many papers and channels so we will need to develop a proper logistical manner in which it can be accomplished and also, who is to say that the regulatory board will not be subjected to the same pressure by corporate and politicians – That means you are questioning every single regulatory body in the country - No sir, I am only thinking about what sort of safeguards and checks can be put in place to ensure that that doesn’t happen - so think, we are running out of time (smiling though) - (thinking for a moment, I was very tired and supremely hungry by this time, somehow I managed a weak smile and said) - Sir, actually it is a very important question and I do not think the few moments in the atmosphere of an interview room are enough to do justice to the problem at hand.

At this everybody smiled and the chairman said – that will be all. You may go now. I individually thanked everyone and came out of the room. The first thing I did was ask the fellow outside for time. And thus at 5:35 PM, this ordeal was over.

Note:
There were no questions from my hobbies, accomplishments, work experience, graduation (there were some environmental questions but they were pretty generic), optional subject or any of the many key words in my DAF.

Though there were many counter questions, the board in general was very cordial and helped me feel at ease.