UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (41)

Name: Prince Garg
Type: Interview

C- Prof. K.S. Chalam
O- Other members

I entered after taken permission…
P- Good afternoon mam, Good afternoon Sir

C- So Prince you are from Delhi.
P- Yes Sir

C- Have you ever visited Noida
P- No Sir

C- Strange you have not visited Noida ever, Have you ever gone to Gurgaon.
P- Yes Sir

C- Thank God
(I was still standing, they had not asked me to sit yet)
C- Oh Prince, have a seat 1st
P- Thank you Sir

O- Mr. Prince while coming from Laxmi Nagr, You would have seen Red Fort
P- No Sir, Autowala brought me from different route.

O (1st member)- No problem, so tell me what's written on RED FORT main gate
P- Sorry Sir, I do not know.

O- So tell me how many times Delhi has been made
P- Its seven times.

O- Name them chronologically, a nd who built them
P- (I could name only 4 times , had 4 gotn chronology)

O- What changes you have seen in infrastructure of East Delhi after CWG.
P- Sir more number of flyovers, roads have been widened.

O- He cut me in b/w and asked how many flyovers to be precise..
P-Sorry sir..

C- Prince, basically you are from Delhi?
P- No Sir, My roots are in HARYANA.

C- Have you ever gone to any village?
P- Yes Sir, I have gone to my village Khanara many times.

C- Ohh Khanara…so tell me what problems you have seen there.
P- Sir 1 biggest problem I have seen is that, women are not considered as human beings there

C- What? What are you saying prince, No women are not human beings.. ha ha, everybody started laughing like hell, they were killing me
P- (I started stammering), Sir I want to request something
C- Ya Please say!
P- Sir I have stammering problem in English, but I can communicate well in Hindi, Can I use some Hindi in between
C- GO Ahead! I have no problem.

O- See Prince, We will ask questions only in English but you can answer in Hindi
P- Sir I can speak English but some where I’l use Hindi, Thanks, Sir in my village I have seen discrimination of women, they are not supposed to study, only work they have to do is: household chores, bearing children and worshipping their husbands
C- ha ha
P- Sir UNDP 2010 report places INDIA at 114th rank in GDI, according to ADB’s report even the Pakistani women are in better position than Indian, in whole South Asia only Afghan women are behind than Indian that too because of Taliban
C- Then why Indian women is so much discriminated, there is no Taliban in India?
P- Sir there are various mini Talibani groups in India
C- ha ha

(He started talking to other members which I was not able to understand)
P- (I cut them in between) Sir, what happened in Manglore two years back

C- What happened? Come on tell me (Again he was laughing)
P- Sir a group of 30 women was beaten because women wanted to enjoy in a pub, they said women should not go out of home after 7 pm., Is n’t it Talibani attitude?
C- Oh come on that was just hyped by media
P- Sir 1st it happened only then it came into news ?

(At this Chalam Sir became restless)
C- Have you ever seen women discrimination? Where tell us. Don’t give us newspaper data.
P- sir I have seen it in my home, my sister was always discriminated vis a vis me in many respects..
( at this Chalam sir became serious and ..)
C- It happened in your house and you are telling me here in front of board?
P- yes sir! Facts are facts.

(At this Chalam stopped, and passed on to other member)
O- Prince, tell me about the problems of Indian defence system,  why we import every  and do not make in country?
P- Sir we are allowing only 26% FDI, It should be at least 74% as recommended by many committees, We can open sum SEZ for this purpose, less expenditure on R&D and we do not have funds to establish such huge arms and industries..
O- But we have to spend even in importing and my dear DRDO has more than 50 labs across country so hw can you say that we do not spend on R&D, (he was not satisfied),

O- (3rd member)- China never imports arms, they build them on their territory, y cant India do that? China exports huge arms to the whole world.. is not it?
P- Sir, at least 70% of Chinese exports come from its huge SEZ, we do not have such big SEZ
(at this , they he became silent but still he was nt satisfied)

C- Prince suppose I give you a land of size of this room, how will you increase your agricultural output there? Can you mention sum problems of farmers?
P- Sir Indian farmers are uneducated, they do not understand novel ideas, size of land is too small to use big machines, credit problems, chemical fertilizers have sucked the fertility of land, bio fertilizers should be used

C- no no, tell me how will you increase fertility in short run, u r telling long run solutions
P- Sir in Punjab, farmers r getting benefited from PPP, a company named PEPSICO hire farmers, company give them credit, fertilizers, irrigation facilities, new methods and farmer just puts its land and labour
(Members were quite convinced and I had a smile of victory. lols)

Again
C- So Prince you have done B.E. from DTU, one of the best technical university of country and still you coming here?
P- Sir frankly speaking I wanted to study humanities after school but my family and friends told me that after B.E. you can earn easily but after humanities you can't earn just after graduation and as my financial position wasn’t good so I opted for B.E., Actually I was forced…but I never enjoyed engineering, It wasn’t my aim, I felt it in college..

C- Oh to tum paise kamane aaye ho yahaa.. (he started talk in to other members, Sir I am telling you this boy wants to earn a lot of money etc etc…)
P- I interrupted them in b/w, Sir I was offered 6 lacks package in DCE campus but I didn’t accept, many friends of mine are in IIMs today and some have been offered Packages of 15-18 lacks, civil services can never fetch me that money..

(At this Chalam again laughed and again started talking to members like ma’am I m telling you this boy want to give a big shot, ek baar me hi kamana chahta ha hahahaha)
O- Prince your hobby is internet surfing, tell me the name of Indian search engine.
P- Sorry Sir, I do not know.

O- Tell me about PARAM
P- Sir its indian supercomputer and was fastest in Asia Two years back now a Chinese has overtaken

O- Tell me difference between Indian super computer and American Super Computer. What's the basic difference in their infrastructure
P- sir US super computer Are faster than Indian, that's all I know. (He wasn’t satisfied)

(Chalam passed on to the last member then)
O ( lady member)- It seems you want to say that men are enemy of women, every time you are saying men discriminate women, but women discriminate the women most, do you know this Prince?
P- You are right mam but that's because women have already been brain washed, unko bachpan se he bol diya jata ha ke pati is parmeshwar (I used these words there)
(At this reply Chalam sir bich me he kood pade)

C- You know madam why he is so much talking about women and all because he has read sociology. ha ha..
Madam laughed 1st time
P- Sir, in my last attempt I wrote mains with Maths, this time I changed Maths and took Sociology, I have never heard of Sociology before ever.. (at this Chalam passed a smile)
(now lady member who seemed to b a Sociologist was determined to screw me)

O (lady member)- What steps will you take for women empowerment if you become collector.
P- Mam I’ll ensure their education and employment, self help groups can be strengthened, once they will be Economically empowered, they will have a say in household decision making (I quoted Karl Marx)
O- No prince, Its not right, even the highly educated, employed women suffer domestic violence..
(I was about to say something but mam stopped me and asked)

Tell me the problems of elder people in India and what can be the solutions?
(I was about to start but Chalam Sir said, just tell us the solutions)
P- Sir parliament made an act in 2007 where elder people can sue their children in court if they do not care them

O (lady member)- oh come on its not a practical solution, how come a 70yrs old woman can go to court?
P- you are right mam but that act can be made more elder people friendly, also like we have a campaign ie BELL BAJAO CAMPAIGN in Delhi 2 counter domestic violence.

(Chalam Sir stopped me and asked)
C- why elders are facing problem today, pehle to aisa nahi hota tha
P- Sir because of diminishing moral values, norms…Sir in joint families elder used to enjoy much more respect but in todays nuclear families
( Chalam cut me in between)
C- oh come on, on one side you want development, industrialization and on the other hand you want moral values, aise nahi hota. Hahahahaha

Finally lady member said.. Prince you are good, you are on the right track but you need further studies.

C- Ok Prince you can go, your interview is over..
P- Thank you very much sir, have a nice day

(When I came out of room my body was completely shivering but I was happy anyways.)

Exam Interview Details :

Subjects Taken:  Sociology, Public Administration
Date: 24-Mar-2011
Time: 12.20pm to 12.50pm
Interview Board : Prof. K.S. Chalam
City : Delhi

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (37)

Name : Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh
Interview Writeup: 31st march 2011, I was the fourth candidate to be interviewed in after noon session. Interview started at 3 45 pm. As soon as I entered even without looking at me KKP Sir told to sit. I was confused as I have not yet greeted them members. However I wished members and took my seat.

Chairmen started (KKP Sir) Dr Bhuvnesh: Whats your name?
ME:  Sir Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh
KKP Sir: Your Roll No
ME:  48756
KKP Sir: Your Date of Birth
ME:  22/7/1983 (by now I was thinking what he is up to taking interview or interrogating me)
KKP Sir: Dr you have worked in ONGC FOR 1 YEAR why did you left it
ME:  Sir, I was on contract there . which got over
KKP Sir: SO, you left ONGC or they left you ??or you left it for preparing
ME:  Sir, As contract period was over so I deciced to leave and
I had to prepare also..
KKP Sir: Your hobbies are Teaching, Writing Hindi Poems, Introspection (he read this in one go). You write what sort of poems.
ME:  Sir, For my friends.
KKP Sir: For friends or about friends? You tease your friends in your poems?
ME:  Sir. I write for my friends. I try to incorporate my emotions in poems.
KKP Sir: and this introspection.. it is same  as diary writing
ME:  Yes Sir, I do write diary also. But since I do introspection often so I have written it as my hobby.
KKP Sir: What you do
ME:  Sir I try to evaluate my behaviour. I think about how I think, I review my decisions, also it sets me right when ever I go wrong. It guides my emotion to do better.
KKP Sir: You are emotional person?
ME:  Yes sir
KKP Sir: An emotional person cannot be practical person and practical person cannot be emotional also. We don’t need such people
ME:  Sir, Shall I take an example
KKP Sir: OK
ME:  Sir, Since I am a doctor and when ever my patient comes to me. I show my emotion and my empathy towards him to accommodate him. But while prescribing the drugs I am the most practical person. I prescribe based on scientific tenets. so I think an emotional person can be practical too.
KKP Sir: Till now his face was wearing mask. He didn’t showed any facial expression and pointed fingers towards 1st member to ask question
ME: member 1 (M1: ) he was sitting left to him
M1:  So Dr. you are from Agra.
ME:  Yes sir.
M1:  Dr I call AGRA as a GUTTER despite it being tourist place it is very dirty.
ME:  Sir, I beg to defer with you here, Sir you are talking about pre 2008 status now Agra has changed a lot.
M1:  Really?
ME:  Yes sir
M1:  Ok tell me what all we can do to tackle such problems in big metropolis.
ME:  Sir we need to educate people, We should strengthen municipality corp, allow them to come up with bonds to ensure their financial instability.
M1:  and in Cities?
ME:  Sir, I am staying in Delhi from past 1 year and I saw that MCD sends their autos and truck to clean the areas. so I think we can copy this plan in other cities like Agra also.
M1:  Who is responsible for all this mess
ME:  Sir, We all!
M1:  How we?
ME:  Sir, We are the one who throw our garbage in roads and there is implementation failure also.
M1:  Government is coming up with courses like BRMS because there is scarcity of doctor and you people instead of working in rural area come and join services. Why are you shifting from your field.
ME:  Sir, An MBBS is just a beginning or a step in medical field and today's era of multi-specialisation (inter disciplinary) I think we can help more and I being doctor I am more well versed with fellow doctors problems and I think I can tackle that through Civil Services. Sir, Recently there was a news that in Maharashtra only 40 % students of 1st year reach 2nd year and I think I understand this problem better.
KKP Sir: Interrupted the M1 and asked M2 (Lady member) to ask.
M2:  Dr what are your views about traditional medicine, should we discard it.
ME:  Mam, Ayurvedahas treated our people from past 2000 year and even till today we all rely on Ayurvedatraditional medicines is deep rooted in us take for example we all eat Chawanprash which is an Ayurveda prep. Mam what I believe that Ayurveda in in its lowest ebb now and allopathic medicine in its peak.. so there is need for more research in this field.
M2:  But we do not have money.
ME:  True mam. But govt is working in this front we have AYUSH dept. we have Homeopathy, Ayurveda college etc.
M2:  Dr do you know about HDI
ME:  Yes mam
M2:  Who measures health component on HDI
ME:  And then I kept quiet for sometime and then she prompted that is national family health survey.
M2:  Do you know what is our ranking in this
ME:  Sorry mam I don’t know.. but I know we are behind srilanka n Bhutan in this
M2:  Yes. But why so?
ME:  Mam may be population pressure.
KKP interrupted mam and told member 3 to ask me was sitting right to me mam wanted to ask more question but she stopped and I gave a smile to her. KKP Sir was listening when I was telling Chawanprash stuff how ever till now KKP Sir and other mebers did not gave any expression.
M3: Dr you told you are emotional,, what is difference between emotional person and impulsive and who is better
ME:  sir, impulsive person takes decision instantaneously while emotional thinks and i believe emotional is better than impulsive
M3: asked one more ques relating to emotion which I have never heard, so I stated that I don’t know sir
M3: Dr do you take interest in foreign afFairs
ME:  Yes Sir, I do
M3: Who is India's best friend
ME:  Sir, in long term relations I it is Russia and recently it is USA
M3: WHY USA needs us, Big brother attitude of USA
ME:  Sir for balance of power with china, its strategic interest, its commercial interest. We are largest consumer of US goods blah..blah…M3: What do you think that doctors are going to USA and not serving nation
ME:  Sir, they do help us gain dollar which we require the most
M3: But dollar is no more an international currency
ME:  True sir, but we import oil which is need of hour and their payment has to be done in dollar terms so dollar is valuable for us
M3: Ok , do you know how much is foreign exchange reserve now
ME:  I was not sure and wanted to play safe so I told Sir I think its more than 250 mn dollars
M3: Ok quiet above this value. He points toward member 4.
M4: Dr as you rightly pointed out that MBBS is just beginning ,but don’t you think that doctors are not at all going to rural area what about health of rural people
ME:  Sir I beg to defer with you here,, (he nodded) Sir infact my friends are working in rural area, my seniors are also working in rural area also Sirwhen I was student during my community medicine postings I have seen doctors working in rural area.. Sirhowever I do agree that there is problem of turn over.
M4: Dr you are from Agra or Karnataka
ME:  Sir Agra
M4: But you have spent your most of time in Karnataka
ME:  Yes sir, but I was sent there.
M4: Sent?
ME:  Yes Sir, Since I had my schooling in military school so I was sent there, But Sir later I started liking that place and infact I learned Kannada also and later on did MBBS from there.
M4: what was your choice for military school
ME:  Sir, I don’t remember (that form was filled when I was in 5th and what I remember my father had filled that form)
M4:  You did MBBS from Bijapur. Bijapur is famous for??
ME:  After a pause Sirits Golgumbaz
M4: Nodding his head .. What it is?
ME:  Sir Mausoleum of Adil Shah
M4: But why it is famous for?
ME:  Second largest dome of world. Sir also one sound resonates for 7 time.
KKP Sir: Interrupts here and looks toward me and says ok go your interview is over. You can go now. I wished them thank you and good day. When I came out it was 4:15 so my interview went for 30 minutes. Dr Paul kept on giving sarcastic look through out interview.

Exam Interview Details : Written
Subjects Taken: Public Administration, Psychology
Interview Date: 31, March 2011
Interview Board : Dr KK Paul
City: Agra

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (36)

Name: M. Rohit
Type: Interview

Me: May I come in Sir.
Me: Good Morning Mam. Good Morning Sir.
PSA: Please have a seat.
Me: Thank You Sir.

PSA: Why Madras has been changed to Chennai but the name of these institutions have not been changed.
Me: These institutions have been kept of any kind of disturbances or distortions in the society.... (PSA was n' t convinced and interrupted me and moved on to next question)

PSA: What do you think about Indian democracy. I have so many of my colleagues which say that Indian democracy it at its worst low and there is a very pessimistic scenario in the country.
Me: Sir, there have been some turbulences and disturbances in short term but Indian democracy will eventually become more stronger and mature in future in a long term.

PSA: Why do you think so?
Me: Sir, India is like an oasis in the Indian subcontinent surrounded by all failed states and it is due to our democracy only. Even TS Krishnamorthy has in his book Miracle of Democracy, India is India because of democracy only. Navin Chawla has also said that if the youth is dynamic, then all the distortions in the system will eventually wither away.
PSA: I'm not interested in others quotes, but more interested in your views.
Me: Sorry Sir,

PSA: So now tell me why do you feel so optimistic.
Me: Sir, our Judiciary has been very proactive in the last couple of years and it will become the biggest bulwark of Indian democracy in the future tomorrow.

PSA: Yes, that is one...what else
Me: Sir, Election commission has been becoming very assertive now and people are also getting empowered and now they know their rights. ( PSA wasn't looking very convinced here...I guess was expecting something better... moves to next question )

PSA: I'm happy that you think optimistically about Indian democracy.
PSA: Rohit, you have been in Chennai for last 6 years or so, If I'am not wrong. Have you picked up some Tamil?
Me: Sir, I know some words and some numbers but I often forget them.

PSA: Why, didn't you felt the necesssity to learn it in Chennai.
Me: Sir, in campus everyone from peon, sweeper, Professor all speak English. Even if one goes out, all autowalas understand English

PSA: You never went out of Chennai?
Me: Sir, I've been to some places like Madurai, Tirupati, etc but everywhere people understand English.
Me: I've a personal feeling that when north Indians go to South India they don't learn south Indian languages but when people come from South India to North India they pick up Hindi very fast. PSA: See, in this board two members are from South India and they know Hindi very well. Don't you think people are very rigid in North India?

PSA: Why do people from South India learn Hindi fast?
Me: Sir, people in South India are more forward...
Me: Sir, I don't think so people are rigid here and people learn it often.

PSA: But your case doesn't suggest so
Me: Sir, If I get posted in Tamil Nadu tomorrow, I'll learn Tamil very soon.

PSA: See, that's it. We learn it when there is necessity and not out of interest.
M1: Rohit, You know about Panchtantra?
Me: Sir, I remember reading about it in school

M1: Ok, so you know about it.
M1: Can you try to recollect what you remember>
Me: (after a pause for 5 seconds) Sir, its a book written by Vishnu Sharma

M1: Can you tell me what is the meaning of the word Panchtantra.
Me: Sir, if you give me permission, I can break the word in Hindi and try to explain it.

M1: Sure, please go ahead.
Me: Sir, Panch means five and tantra means some tactic or tool or technology to get the work done.

M1: Rohit, you are telling about Yantra and not tantra.
Me: Yes Sir, I'm wrong. I'm confused.

M1: Can you tell me about Vedanta?
Me: Sir, I know only about Vedanta Mining group

M1: (confused). PSA interrupts and says he is talking about Vendanta Industries of Orissa.
M1: No I'm talking about the word Vendanta?
Me: Sorrry Sir, I know about word Ved-Puran only.

M1: What do you know about policies towards informal and formal migrants from developing countries to European countries what policies have been taken towards them?
Me: Sorry Sir, I don't know about this aspect?

M1: What about USA?
Me: Sir, post economic recession, USA has taken many protectionist policies and has tightened the visa fees and other terms. It was very relaxed in the Bush regime. This protectionism has harmed countries like India. (He was not convinced...was expecting something else I guess)

M2: These days there have been lot of talks about different regulatory bodies in India like MCI, NCHER, etc. What is your take on it. Should they be merged into one integrated body or they should work as different bodies?
Me: Sir, they should be merged into one integrated body working under one roof. This will promote lot of cross -cultural research in the country. Technologists, managers, etc willbe able to work together and lot of new creative ideas and innovative solutions will come up. It will also reduce the red-tap in the bodies.

M2: Have you heard of IPR.
Me: Sir, do you mean I...P... R?
Me: Yes Sir, I know about IPR.

M2: Can you explain what it is?
Me: Sir, it means Intellectual Property Rights.

M2: Ok, these days lot of new companies are coming and taking up patents in agriculture...have you heard of anything like this?
Me: yes Sir, companies take the patents of seeds, fertilizers, etc and monopolise the market.

M2: what effect does it have.. .?
Me: Sir, it has led to loss of indigeneous technology of production which the farmers have and production suffers.

M2: Can you tell any specific exampple?
M2: (after remaining blank for 3-4 seconds) Sir, I remember about Monsanto case. How it mopolised the market.
M2: (not very convinced) Can you elaborate.
M2: (again not very confident) Sir, It got the patent of Bt Brinjal and there were lot of apprehensioned from people

M2: You have lived in Tamil nadu. Andhra pradesh is near to Tamil Nadu. In AP lot of agricultural universities are working and producing creative agri-models but still there are lot of farmer suicides. What is the reason>
Me: Sir, there is a gap between the research being done in the universities and the actual implementation in the farms.

M2: No, but still there are lot of models being implemented. I want a specific answer why in AP this problem is present.
Me: Sorry, Sir, I don't know any specific reason for such problem in Andhra Pradesh.

M3: Have you heard of Police Act?
Me: Yes Sir, It was passed in 2007

M3: (PSA interrupts, that is what Supreme Court has directed, he is asking something else). When was the original Police Act passed?
Me: Sir 1861

M3: Yes now you are on track. Now tell me why was it passed by the Britishers?
Me: Sir, it was passed to keep the people of India down

M3: Not only that, it was also passed to give the SPs enough powers to collect the revenue from the people and SPs use to work directly under the DMs
M3: Have you heard of Police Commissionarate System?
Me: Yes Sir, it has been started in Jaipur and Jodhpur recently.

M3: What system is in Tonk where you were born and what system is in Chennai.
Me: Sir, I'm not sure but I guess it is SP only.

M3: These days powers of DMs have been diluted and SPs have been granted more powers for law and order. Do you think this relationship be diluted.
Me: Sir, police should have some kind of regulatory body over it and DM is the best person. Otherwise there might be some police officers who have go out of the system and use their extra discretion and then people may suffer

M3: Yes you are correct
(M2 drops in again)
M2: (he explained me about secret ballot system in the Parliament for nearly 6 minutes. Even after listening to him hard I could not make a word out of it what he actually meant and what he wanted from me. I had a horrific expression on my face...He had a Bengali accent)
Me: Sir, could you...(PSA interrupts and takes over after seeing may facial expressions)

PSA: Do you remember when was the no-confidence motion adopted few years back.
Me: Sir, in 2007
PSA: for what purpose...?
Me: (not very confident) Sir, nuclear deal bill

PSA: Yes, in that Congress had 80 MPs and when secret ballot was done no one knew from where extra 18 MPs came out. It remained a mystery. Do you think this system of secret ballot should be removed?
Me: Yes Sir, it should be removed and ful transparency should be brought in the system. Opaqueness should be removed.

PSA: Don't you think it will create lot of uncertainty in the system.
Me: May be Yes Sir, but people have every right to know what decision their representative has taken on the issue. Is that good or bad? Party is secondary and people come first.

M4: Rohit, I'm not from technical background. You have written Robotics as your hobby. Can you explain me what is a Robot?
Me: Sir. Sorry Ma'am Robot is a tool or a device which can do the work which man does it from its own hands.

M4: Do you know about movie Robot?
Me: Yes Ma'am . Rajnikant is working in this movie.

M4: What did you like in the movie?
Me: Sir, Aishwarya Rai is working in that movie. (PSA interrupts and says yes that is the best thing to watch in that movie and the panel bursts into laughter. PSA again says but I haven't wathced it)

M4: I'll tell you what was there in the movie. There was a robot which finally became uncontrollable and than it was difficult to control it.
M4: Do you think such intelligence should be given to Robots?
Me: Sir, Sorry Ma'am intelligence should be given but not to the extent that they sit over man.

M4: You mean man shoud drive the robots and robots shoudl not drive man.
Me: Yes ma'am

M4: Can you tell how can Robots can be useful to society? Can you give some examples?
Me: Ma'am few days back there was nuclear meltdown in Japan and 50 odd workers are fighting there to cool down the reactor. If we can produce 50 robots in their place who can cool the reactor than that will be a wonderful contribution to the humanity. Our soldiers take enemy bullets in the war zones, if we can replace them with robots or in Naxal affected areas if we can produce Unmanned vehicles, Unmanned Ground Vehicles to detect the landmines many lives of police people will be saved.
(Interview abruptly ends here)

PSA: Thank You
Me: I was clueless and was expecting it to go some more long.

PSA: Rohit you may go now.
Me: Thank You Sir, Thank You Ma'am . Thank You Sir.

Exam Interview Details

Subjects Taken : Geography and Public Administration
Date: 26-Mar-2011
Interview Board : Purushottam Agarwal

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (35)

Name of Examiner : Gautam Singh Chaudhary

Attempt: 1st Attempt

"Board consisted of 5 members including Alka Sirohi, 4 male members.( 2 on my left side may have been proffs and the 2 on right hand side were from administrative side because of there dressing and question asking. style).

As I entered the room the board greeted me and asked me to sit. straight away they started asking questions.

Question : 1. Do you know about financial meltdown that happened in the world?

Answer: I told about the current meltdown that happened in usa.

Question : 2. What was the underlying cause?

Answer : Sub Prime crisis told.... but they asked another question.

Question : 3. Tell us earliers meltdown you remember?

Answer: Asian, us 1930's meltdown told.

Question : 4. What is the difference between the come back of 1930's meltdown and today's meltdown.

Answer : Abut India and China being the growth stories.

Question : 5. What is the difference between Indian and Chinese economy?

Answer: About Chinese being export led economy whilst India being much of self consuming economy.

Question: 6. Do you really think India Does not export much?

Answer: It Does Specially in IT, gems and stones, textiles and Parma, but not in manufacturing industry.

Question: 7. why india is lagging behind in this sector?

Answer: Labour laws (asked later Q 15 ), electricity crunch, economies of scale, govt support, exchange rates control.

ma'am passes to another member

Question : 8. Gautam Singh you have lived in border districts, specially in bikaner (skooling), barmer ( working cairn energy), what are the problems related to communication?

Answer : Jamming of mobile networks, and TV relays of other countries channels being aired.( Did 'nt understand the question much)

Question: 9. Your Birthplace is Pali, Rajasthan. Tell us about the famous Temple there?

Answer : Ranakpur Temple.

Question : 10. How many pillars are there?

Answer : 1444

member 1 (professor type)

Question : You have been involved in blood donation camps? tell us universal donors and acceptors? why you cant give just any blood?
antigens and everything answered.

member 2 (proffesor lyk)

Question :  has private players coming into oil exploration helpd india? what developments specially in barmer are going on... after this discovery?
local empowerment - 25% -- to barmer citizens. 25%-- to rajasthan ppl 25% -- to indians 25%-- world
the hiring policy of the company justified??
yes as highly skilled labour from anywhere in the world.
local residents get unskilled job... but in few years with education can change the scenario.

Question : Cairn energy stakes right now? is vedanta deal beneficial?

Question : India-iran pipeline status? what is TAPI?

member 3

Question : Labours laws in India should be there or not?

Question : In india lots of iron ore is extracted, why then the chinese import of steel costs less compared to indian counterparts?

Question : what is personal marketing?- Amway and all

Question : What is ponzi scheme?

member 4 ( senior official types).

Question : sam dam dandh bhed--- explain?

Question : willl you use dem all after you become an ias?

Question : in todays scenario is indian democracy liberal?
had no clue..... waited and asked ma'am to repeat...

Question : (reframed) right to dissent ... is being missused? argue

Question : do you know about argumentative Indian ?
yes... told about the book.

Exam Interview Details:

Interview Marks: 225
Qualified Rank: 297
Total Marks : 1130
Interview Board: Alka Sirohi Board
Date:29th March 2012
Place: Rajni Razdan (Jaipur)

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (30)

Name of Examiner : Gautam Singh Chaudhary

Attempt: 1st Attempt

"Board consisted of 5 members including Alka Sirohi, 4 male members.( 2 on my left side may have been proffs and the 2 on right hand side were from administrative side because of there dressing and question asking. style).

As I entered the room the board greeted me and asked me to sit. straight away they started asking questions.

Question : 1. Do you know about financial meltdown that happened in the world?

Answer: I told about the current meltdown that happened in usa.

Question : 2. What was the underlying cause?

Answer : Sub Prime crisis told.... but they asked another question.

Question : 3. Tell us earliers meltdown you remember?

Answer: Asian, us 1930's meltdown told.

Question : 4. What is the difference between the come back of 1930's meltdown and today's meltdown.

Answer : Abut India and China being the growth stories.

Question : 5. What is the difference between Indian and Chinese economy?

Answer: About Chinese being export led economy whilst India being much of self consuming economy.

Question: 6. Do you really think India Does not export much?

Answer: It Does Specially in IT, gems and stones, textiles and Parma, but not in manufacturing industry.

Question: 7. why india is lagging behind in this sector?

Answer: Labour laws (asked later Q 15 ), electricity crunch, economies of scale, govt support, exchange rates control.

ma'am passes to another member

Question : 8. Gautam Singh you have lived in border districts, specially in bikaner (skooling), barmer ( working cairn energy), what are the problems related to communication?

Answer : Jamming of mobile networks, and TV relays of other countries channels being aired.( Did 'nt understand the question much)

Question: 9. Your Birthplace is Pali, Rajasthan. Tell us about the famous Temple there?

Answer : Ranakpur Temple.

Question : 10. How many pillars are there?

Answer : 1444

member 1 (professor type)

Question : You have been involved in blood donation camps? tell us universal donors and acceptors? why you cant give just any blood?
antigens and everything answered.

member 2 (proffesor lyk)

Question :  has private players coming into oil exploration helpd india? what developments specially in barmer are going on... after this discovery?
local empowerment - 25% -- to barmer citizens. 25%-- to rajasthan ppl 25% -- to indians 25%-- world
the hiring policy of the company justified??
yes as highly skilled labour from anywhere in the world.
local residents get unskilled job... but in few years with education can change the scenario.

Question : Cairn energy stakes right now? is vedanta deal beneficial?

Question : India-iran pipeline status? what is TAPI?

member 3

Question : Labours laws in India should be there or not?

Question : In india lots of iron ore is extracted, why then the chinese import of steel costs less compared to indian counterparts?

Question : what is personal marketing?- Amway and all

Question : What is ponzi scheme?

member 4 ( senior official types).

Question : sam dam dandh bhed--- explain?

Question : willl you use dem all after you become an ias?

Question : in todays scenario is indian democracy liberal?
had no clue..... waited and asked ma'am to repeat...

Question : (reframed) right to dissent ... is being missused? argue

Question : do you know about argumentative Indian ?
yes... told about the book.

Exam Interview Details:

Interview Marks: 225
Qualified Rank: 297
Total Marks : 1130
Interview Board: Alka Sirohi Board
Date:29th March 2012
Place: Rajni Razdan (Jaipur)

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (28)

Name of Examiner : MAMTA GUPTA

AIR 413 CSE - 2011

Attempt No. : 4th Attempt

"This was my 3rd interview in UPSC. Last year I had got 413 rank and had been allocated IRS (C&CE). I was less nervous this time but really wanted to do well in the interview as I had not got good marks in last 2 interviews.

It was then Board of Madam Alka Sirohi, new member in UPSC. This was the first time I had got board of a lady member.

(cp: chair-person, M1, M2, M3, M4: members of board)

I entered into the room after taking permission.

M1: What is the difference between AM and FM.(Being an engineer, this question was reasonable for me but in the past some time, I was not in touch with technical things so became a bit uncomfortable)

Me: AM stands for Amplitude modulation and FM for Frequency modulation.

M1: Which one is better.

Me: FM.

M1:Why it is so.

Me: Sir, I am not able to recall(Chairperson madam interrupted and explained that because more amplitude results in more interference so in FM, there is less interference)

M1: Can you send a signal from Delhi to Chandigarh using FM.

Me: Yes

M1: How and do you need to put antennas in between. What is the range of FM signals.

Me: (I was not very sure) Yes. can be sent using FM. About range, I am not very sure.

(The member now felt that I was not feeling very comfortable with technical questions, he said that lets move away from technical things. But then next questions was again technical)

M1: you have heard of terms like VLSI, Embedded system. What are these and what are the differences.

Me. Sir, VLSI stands for very large scale integration.

M1: There is some law related to it. Which law it is.

Me: Moore's law.

M1: Explain it.

Me: In every next year, number of transistors in unit area gets doubled.

M1: The period is 18 months not one year.

Me: Sorry Sir.

M1: Being an engineer, you should know things things very clearly.

(There were some other technical terms he asked me to explain which I had not heard of. The member was very surprised that why I don't know these terms.)

M2: Given a choice, what will you choose, Benevolent autocracy or Anarchic democracy.

Me: (I thought for a second). Sir, Anarchic democracy. Democracy in any form is better than autocracy. People will be happy only when they have freedom and it is possible only in democracy. Also as the society develops, there are more heterogeneity and an autocratic ruler may not be able to understand needs of everyone.

M2: What is machinery for Disaster Management at different levels in the government.

Me. At the national level, we have National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) established by Disaster Management Act, 2005. At the state level, we have SDMA. At District level, District Collector is the final authority in this matter. We also have NDRF.

M2: Is there any international organisation also working for this.

Me: Sorry sir, I am not able to recall.

cp: Like UNESCO or UNEP. She gave some hint that it has some colour related to it.(Chairperson madam was helping me throughout the interview. She was giving me small hints so that I can try to give an answer)

Me: Red Cross

cp: Does Red Cross work for disaster management.

Me: I am not sure mam.

M3: What is the difference between Judicial activism and judicial overreach.

Me: These both are almost same things. First one is a positive concept and other one is negative. Recently judiciary has interfered in some matters such as PDS, environment issues where government could not take timely and right decision. Some people are considering it as undue interfere in legislative powers so term as judicial overreach.

M3 : So this is right.

Me.: In short term, yes. But then government has to realize and take the proper action and then there wont be any need for the judiciary to interfere.

M3: So is it happening in India.

Me: Sir, this is a new phenomenon in India and definitely it will have an positive impact in the future.

M4: Reading Biography is your hobby. What have you read recently.

Me: Mother Teresa's biography.

M4: What you found inspiring about her.

Me: She started her work alone and did what she wanted to do. She took the initiatives and devoted her life to help poor and sick people.

M4: But she was an nun and they do these works.

Me: Yes. She initially joined the church but later she felt that she needs to do something for poorest of the poor and then she started her separate work where in the start, she was all alone. She felt that God has ordered this to her.

M4: Do you think such things happen like God's order. You are a Science student and then you believe in these things.

Me: Sir, its a belief. one can term it God's order or inner voice or strong wish.

cp: What are the layers in the atmosphere. Also tell their uses.

Me: First is Troposphere. Here rain, clouds take place. Above the Troposphere, there is Stratosphere. Here aeroplanes fly.

cp: It also protects us from some rays. which rays

Me: Yes. It has ozone. I am able to recall name of the rays.

cp: Try once again.Think and then answer.

Me: Sorry Mam.

cp: It is UV rays which are harmful for us. So which is the next layer.

Me: It is Ionosphere.

cp: Are you forgetting some layer in between.

Me: Sorry mam. I am not able to recall.

cp: It is Mesosphere. Ok so what is the use of Ionosphere. It is related to your electronics.

Me: Yes mam. It has free ions and signal from Earth are reflected from this layer.

cp: Why tides come on Earth.

Me: Due to gravitational force of Sun and Moon.

cp: Which gravitational force is more.

Me: Moon because it is near to the Earth even though its size is smaller than Sun.

cp: Your interview is over. You can leave now.

Me: Thank you mam. thank you sir.

I came out of the room.

Date of Interview: 9/4/2012
IAS Interview Board : Madam Alka Sirohi
Your Native City : Jaipur 

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (27)

Name of Examiner : Rajesh Meena
IAS Interview Board : Mr. K.K. Paul 
Your Native City : Dausa (Rajasthan)
Attempt No. : 2nd Attempt

"Hi, I am Rajesh Meena. I got AIR 316. My interview was on 23 April 2012, morning half. The interview panel was that of Mr. K.K. Paul. I have tried to keep it as original as possible so that the aspirants can get a clear idea.

CH Chairman (Mr. K.K.Paul). Members - M1, M2, M3, M4 (lady). CH sir was more serous of them all, rarely giving a smile.

CH: What is your roll number?

Me: Sir, 303441.

CH: Date of Birth?

Me: Sir, 15 August 1987.

CH: (Smiling) so you were born on a very great day?

Me: (Smiling) yes sir (other members were also sporting smile on their faces)

CH: So, your hobby is stamp collection. What stamp collection is known as?

Me: Sir, Philately.

CH: What is the oldest stamp that you have?

Me: (After long thinking) Sir, it is a 10 paise stamp which was released many decades back....emm...after independence (I was not confident in this answer as I was not able to recall the year, but when I came back home I saw that those stamp at that time didn’t bear year of release, hence I was foxed.)

CH: After 1957?

Me: (Puzzled)..emm,,,yes sir, I think it was after 1957.

CH: Why 1957 is famous in philately.....?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, I don’t know.

CH: .........or for that matter any reason?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, I am unable to recall. (I was beginning to lose confidence by now as the starting was not that good. :( )

CH: OK..(He was not looking very satisfied). In 1957 government of India shifted from the ana system to decimal system.

Me: (Nodding) thankyou sir.

CH: Do you know what is the happiness index?

Me: Sir, it the index which measures the happiness level of the people of a country.

CH: So how it is calculated?

Me: I don’t know exactly sir.

CH: If you leave this interview hall with very good feelings, what will be your happiness index?

Me: (Smiling) sir, it will be very high.

CH: How HDI is calculated?

Me: Sir, it is calculated by taking an average of three components like literacy level.....emm education....

CH: ...(interrupting) Why then we haven’t adopted happiness index instead of HDI?

Me: Sir, I think HDI is a much broad index and it include happiness index in itself. Hence it is also a reflective of happiness level of the people.

CH: Which country has adopted happiness index?

Me: Sir, Bhutan.

CH: (Nodding.....now he was looking little satisfied and passes it to the M1)

M1 was more friendly than the CH.

M1: Recently a bill is in the parliament...the Pensions Bill...can you tell what are its provisions?

Me- (Thinking) I m sorry sir, I don’t know.

M1: Do you know what is a Param computer?

Me: Sir, It is a super computer, which can perform very fast calculations, hence can be used in many places like defence, research etc...........like SAGA 220 which was developed by DRDO..(Actaully it was developed by ISRO :( )

M1: Can they be used in remote sensing?

Me: Yes sir, they can be used, because in remote sensing huge amount of data has to be processed and analysed.

M1: OK..how can it be used in the Agriculture?

Me: Sir, in Agriculture, they can be used for weather monitoring, crops monitoring, giving warnings etc, so that farmers can be provided early and timely information. Hence they can play a great role in increasing agriculture production.

M1: OK....(and passes the baton to M2. He looked satisfied with my answers.)

M2 was also a little bit extra serious, but his questions were simple.

M2: What is the difference between DRDO and ISRO?

Me: Sir, they are the two most important institutes in the field of Defence and Space research. DRDO looks after the defence of the country while ISRO manages the department of Space....

M2- (Interrupting)...so why do we need two bodies for them....can’t a single body do it?

Me: Sir, both the departments are very large and critical for our country, hence if one institute looks after one department, they can give specific attention. (he looks satisfied now)

M2: You are from Allahabad, so what places are there near Allahabad?

Me: Sir, there is the most famous Sangam...other places are Anand Bhavan, Alfred park etc.....in the vicinity of Allahabad there is chitrakoot at the border of uttar Pradesh and madhaya Pradesh.

M: Hmm (and passes on to M3)

M3 was more happy with himself and was enjoying in imparting knowledge not only to me but to the entire panel.

M3: As we were discussing about Allahabad.....what is the name of your college?

Me: Sir, it is NIT Allahabad.

M3: So it seems that its name has been changed? When did it was changed?

Me: Sir, earlier it was a Regional Engineering College....and in 2002 it was made a National Institute of Technology...

M3: .....(interrupts)what is this MNNIT then?

Me: Sir, It stands for Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology. Earler it was called Motilal Nehru regional engg college and now it is called motilal Nehru national institute of technology.

M3: So this motilal name was from earlier time?

Me: Yes sir, actually it was the name given to it by Jawaharlal Nehru after Motilal Nehru who lived in Allahabad for a long time and made it his home.

M3: What are other educational institutes in Allahabad?

Me: Sir, IIIT, Medical college, Allahabad University etc.

M3: ok...so why IIIT is famous for?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, it is also a very good technical college of India, but it gives degree only in computer science and IT.

M3: (With a victorious smile) no no it is something to do with nobel prizes.

Me: (After mechanical thinking) Sorry sir, I don’t know.

M3: (Highly delighted)...it is the only college of the city ...infact one of the few colleges in the entire country which attracts nobel laureates......there is somethings special about it (and kept on imparting this knowledge to the entire panel)

Me: Thank you sir.

M3: Recently some person from allahabad was in news...who was it?

Me: (after thinking) sir very recently?

M3: Yes, very recently (smiling)

Me: (Again thinking) sorry sir, I am unable to recall.

M3: (Highly delighted again).there is a girl from Allahabad who has won this years pantaloons famina miss India.

Me: Oh..thank you sir.

M3 satisfied with himself...and passes the baton to the lady member. She was very cheerful and always had an encouraging smile on her face which helped me in my interview.

M4: Rajesh what are these 2G, 3G, LTE etc, which are so famous nowadays?

Me: Mam they are the generations of telecommunications which are being used recently. For example 2G means second generation of telecommunications, 3G means third generation of telecommunications. 4G has also been launched in India very recently.

M4: What are the advantages of 4G over 3G?

Me: Mam, the most important is the speed of operation, in 4G it will be about 20mpbs where as in 3G it was only 2mbps. Hence it means that downloading, video chatting, video conferencing etc will be much faster in 4G.

M4: You mean data streaming will be very fast.....

Me: Yes mam...(actually this was the term I slipped and used ‘speed of operation’ instead....she did notice it)

M4: What is so special about the 2G? which was also in the news for so long?

Me: Mam in 2G, there was a significant amount of spectrum which was sold by the government at very low prices, hence it resulted in to huge loss of revenue to the government.

M4: No no ...what is the special thing about 2G...you know..which was in the media for quite a long time?

Me: (Thinking), I don’t know mam.

M4: It was that it helped in transmission of voice and data...(bla bla bla.....i was not getting what she was saying....she was actually trying to know the technical speciality of 2G, but maybe I misunderstood the question...but still she looked satisfied with my answers)

M4: Rajesh what do you do in your leisure time?

Me: Mam I do read novels, I also read and write poems.

M4: You also write poems?

Me: Yes mam...(with a broad smile)

M4: What type of poem you generally write?

Me: Mam I write poems which are rich in Veer ras and Karunya ras.

M4: (Delighted and admiringly)..Karunya ras!!! Good!!

(She happily handed it over to CH, I was more happy then her by now.)

CH: (With a little smile)There are increasing news about eve teasing in the northern states in comparison to the southern states...what do you think is the reason?

Me: Sir, I think the level of education has to do a lot with this. The literacy rate in northern states is less in comparison with the southern states....

CH: ....but even the well educated people are also indulging in these activities?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, I think administration has not taken sufficient steps towards this direction.....

CH: (Interrupts...seems little annoyed) .......do you think we should deploy a policeman with every female members on the road?

Me: (In a damage controlling mode) no sir, what I feel is that if strong punishment is given to somebody involved in this act, then it will act as reminder to the other people, hence it may play a great role.

CH: (Nodding)...OK rajesh....(he looks towards other members)...your interview is over you can go.

Me: Thank you sir.