UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (33)

my interview is with KK PAUL board.

my biodata optional 1. animal husbandary and veterinary science 2. anthropology

state- bihar

studied in Indian veterinary research institute IVRI, Bareilly

hobbies- newspaper article collection, blogging, farm animal care

sports- playing chess

CH. What is your name?

CH. Your roll number?

CH. Date of birth?

A. 15 jan 1982.

CH. then what is on 15 th jan, any thing

A. sir, army day

CH. why so.

A. sir I don’t know.

Ch. It is K M kariyapas birth day

Ch. News paper article collection is your hobby.

A. yes sir

Ch. Which type of article you collect?

A. issue related with environment and article related with animal husbandary and veterinary science

Ch. You have also given horse riding?

A. Yes sir

Ch. You ride it frequently or not?

A. sir, now a days I m not riding

ch. What are different types of horse pace?

A. sir it is walk, trot, cantor and gallop

Ch. What are different types of trot?

A. sir I don’t know

Ch. What is after trot is?

A. cantor

Ch. What is speed of gallop?

A. sir it is 40 – 50 km per hour

Ch 40-50 miles or km

A. km per hour

Ch. Ya it is right, but little more (he opined)

Ch. Do you know shompan

A. tribe of Africa (actually I misunderstood with similar tribe with African)

Ch. No it is andmans and nicobars tribe

This is of my mistake, I disappointed little bit, perhaps he misunderstood that I was bluffing.

Ch. Do you know hammendrof

A yes sir, he was anthropologist

Ch what is his contribution

A. he done work in india, study on tribles, written many monographs of tribes, many case studies,

Q. tell me some specific contribution

A. sir I don’t know

Ch. He worked on Madhya Pradesh

a. yes sir

ch. Do you know verrier elvin

A. sir, he was anthropologist, worked in Madhya Pradesh, helped Nehru to prepare tribal panchsheel,

Ch. Yes yes, he was very close to Nehru

Ch. What was his approach

A. sir, he favoured tribals to protected from out side, he suggested some short of tribal sanctuary to protect them

Ch. Did india followed his advice

A. no sir, after 1960, india followed policy of tribal development, gave the modern and western education, and road rails etc created

Ch. Yes yes

Passed to first member

M1. Have you heard of iim

A. yes sir, it is Indian institute of management

M1. Why they are charging more fees, govt is providing subsidy to them…

A. pardon sir I am not getting your point

Explains in detail..

A. sir they are hiring good faculty of foreign, good infrastructure, other things as well like more operating cost…(interrupts)

M1. No no, they are getting subsidy by government

A. I again told same thing, added that subsidy of govt may less than they require

M1. Govt should curb this practice, (talks with chair man) after coming out student getting 10- 12 lakh package

I was helpless only nodding. All was unexpected and I was unable to understand what is going on means chairman asking very specific in anthropology and M1 irrelevant question to me

Passed to next member, he was Dr MP Yadav (ex director of IVRI). I later known about him from Ravi sir

M2. I have heard human right, what is animal right

A. sir, it is some basic rights to animals.. like not beating excessively, mutilating.. Just a human treatment on certain principles…(interrupts)

M2. Yes yes.. what government is doing

A. sire govent done legislation and (intruppts)

M2. What is

A. prevention to cruelty to animals act 1060-61

M2. Yes yes.. any organization working for this not of govt

A. society for prevention of animal

M2. What is water born disease?

A. sir diseases that are transmitted by water

M2. Name some of disease?

A. cholera, diphtheria, diarrhea… (I did not remembered more)

M2 other

A. sir not able to recall

M2 hepetitis

A  yes sir
M2 what is cause of antibiotic resistance
A    due to indiscriminate use of AB
what govt is doing to prevent
 i told about clinical establishment bill

Chairman then asked other member ask.. a lady member..

M3. She talked me lot about bihar itself finally asked about the agriculture in bihar. What govt is doing.

A. Prepared answer I tell in details with confidence.. told all things.. cabinet committee on agr, agr road map, organic farming, increase in productivity, rainbow revolution

M3 what is rainbow revolution

A. sir, increase in agriculture production with help of organic farming, sustainable agriculture so that not comprising productivity in past. Like use of dhaicha..

M3. yes yes..migration in bihar cause?

A. in bihar 85-90 % people dependent on agriculture and it is marred by various disasters like flood,

drought, and dependence on monsoon

Q. bihar having so many learnt personality, what is status of the literacy or education

A. bihar is among bottom of all the states. (Chair man said some thing regarding)  literacy of bihar is only 63-64 percent and women is still low only 53 percent

Chairman passes to next male member

M4. You talked about disasters tell me what are the disasters of the Bihar.

A. sir flood, draught, hailstorm, fire in villages in summer, and sir earthquack.

M4. Can you classify

A. (I did not understand how to classify but I told) flood and drought are related to monsoon and river, earthquack to geological activity..

M4. No no something different, tell difference between dought and earth quack

A. sir draught occur due to less precepation..(interrupts)

M4. Tell me on preparance point of view

A. sir earthquack affect a large area in quick time, drought occurs progressively and limited area.. (chairman nods and said more devastation in fraction of second in earthquack) I said--- yes

M4. Yes what strategy for disaster

A. long term short term medium term… (interrupts)

M4. Tell me what govt is doing

A. sir, govt estb dept of disaster mgt, state disaster mgt authority, NDRF near patna, SNDRF, formulating standard operating procedures for drought flood earthquack etc

M4 what for flood

A. treaty with Nepal, evacuation of people, boats and equipments, food packets, shelters, planting of tree in encatchment area, embackments..(interrupts)

M4. Yes yes, tell what is the demerits of embackment

A. sir, it causes water logging, if broken causes more devastation, (interrupts)

M4 tell me specific regarding silting

A sir, causes more accumulation of the silt and further adds in the flood

CHAIRMAN said ok, you may go now.

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (32)

It has been an extremely gruelling phase with as yet uncertain outcome. It was taxing – physically, mentally and emotionally. For a few days before the interview, I had been a nervous wreck. The most I have ever been in my life.

Till the final minute, I was trying to make sure that nothing, absolutely nothing goes wrong with my preparation and things seemed to be falling in place until I entered the interview room.

Surprisingly, while I was waiting outside the room, I was not nervous at all. I was confident and cheerful.

When I entered the room, the setting seemed a little too dominating. The lavish furniture, neat arrangements, immaculately dressed officers and suave chairperson. I was in awe.

The chairperson seemed a serious, no-nonsense personality. The other member looked highly experienced and learned.

Brief introduction for strangers:

Profile:

B.E.(Hons) Computer Science, BITS, Pilani.

State: Rajasthan

Optional Subjects: Psychology, Public Administration.

Board: Rajni Razdan (RR).

And here is what happened inside:

————————————————————————————————————————————-

V: May I Come in, Ma’am, Sirs?

RR: Please come in. Have a seat.

V: Good Morning ma’am, Sirs.

(They didn’t seem to care at all. I carefully pulled my chair, got settled and thanked them.)

RR: Your Name?

RR: Your Roll Number?

RR: Your DoB?

RR: (Showing me my photo) Is this you?

V: (Smiling) Yes Ma’am.

RR: What is scrapbooking? (My hobby. Explained.)

RR: Why do you want to shift from engineering to civil services?

(Responded but gave an impression that I quit because I was bored with my job. Another member would later tear me apart on this issue.)

RR: You chose Psychology. Give me examples of Neurosis.

V: Ma’am, Cyber neurosis is one.

RR: This is very new. Anything else?

V: Ma’am, neuroticism. I can not recollect others.

RR: (Moving on) Who authored ‘A theory of conditioning’?

V: Ma’am, Pavlov, But I am not sure.

(A google search, later on, did not give an answer either. There seemed to be no such book.)

RR: What was the medium of his research?

V: Ma’am, he conducted his research on dogs.

RR: Ok. (Passes on to the next member.)

——————————————————————-

M1: What is the difference between Psychosis and Neurosis?

V: (Blabbered something.)

M1: Which is more amenable to behavioural therapy?

V: Neurosis.

(M1 gave me a puzzled look. )

M1: What are your strengths?

V: 1. Dedicated towards the goal. 2. Adequate experience of both rural and urban conditions.

(The second point dictated the rest of my interview.)

M1: How can we develop rural areas?

V: Sir, while we focus on urbanisation and rural development, we should also try to reduce migration by providing more amenities and services in rural areas by running schemes like PURA.

(M1 did not press on. But another member would later pick on this thread.)

M1: Do you not think honesty and integrity are important in a civil servant?

V: They are paramount, sir.

M1: But you did not mention these in your strengths?

V: Sir, these are general traits. All people usually claim to possess them.

M1: If that were so, why would there be so much corruption?

V: Sir that is because, some of these people, later on, try to take short cuts for personal gains.

(M1 did not look happy with the answer. I could have used my words in a better way.)

M1: You have been a treasurer and a secretary in your college. Did your position offer challenges to your integrity?

V: (I explained about my role as a treasurer) I did not give anyone any opportunity to question my honesty or integrity.

(M1 looked somewhat satisfied with my conviction and even said ‘good’, only time that happened during my interview!)

M1: Okay. How do you see India’s position evolving towards international water issues? Take three examples.

V: Sir, we have a well-functioning Indus Water treaty with Pakistan. While lack of adequate framework, still hampers resolution of issues with Bangladesh and Nepal. Moreover,  We also need to resolve our domestic political issues to solve these international problems.

M1: What do you mean by domestic political issues? Give me an example.

V: Sir, while we wanted to sign the Teesta water sharing agreement, our domestic political environment did not allow that.

M1: Any water issues with China?

V: Yes sir. There have been reports that China is trying to divert the water of Brahmputra river but both the countries have denied this and China claims that they are constructing only run of the river projects.

M1: Are they diverting waters from Tibetan rivers?

V: Sir, there have been reports that China is diverting water of its southern rivers towards the water-deprived northern areas.

(M1 looked satisfied and passed on to M2.)

M2: Regarding water, what do you think is the fundamental hurdle behind inter-linking of rivers?

V: Sir, we are yet to resolve various inter-state river disputes. The inter-linking project may not be technically feasible..(interrupted.)

M2: I am sure we have brilliant engineers who will figure all this out. You discuss the main issue. I will give you a hint, why would somebody share water..

V: (Emphatically agreeing) Yes sir indeed. (Though I had already mentioned it in form of inter-state disputes) Surplus water states would not be willing to share water with the deficit states.

(M2 now looked satisfied.)

M2: What are the challenges before Rajasthan?

V: Sir, there is desertification. Then there is, lack of water resources…(interrupted)

M2: What are the causes of desertification?

V: Sir the main causes are: one, indiscriminate mining, two deforestation, and three, lack of irrigation.

(M2 passes on to M3.)

————————————————

M3: You said, you want to prevent migration?

V: No sir, what I meant was that we need to follow both the strategies: reduce migration as well as promote urbanisation.

M3: Can you give me an example of a society which has a higher share of rural population, yet is called developed?

V: (After thinking for a few seconds) Sorry sir, I cannot recollect any.

M3: That is because, there is none. So isn’t urbanisation important?

V: Yes sir, as I have said, it is as important as providing services to rural areas.

M3: What is the competitiveness problem that the big urban-rural divide is presenting India with?

V: (I wasn’t able to appreciate the question much yet decided to respond) Sir, I think the rural talent is not being utilised effectively. The rural youth and energy could be better used by training them.

M3: So you want to link them to towns?

V: Probably yes sir.

(He seemed satisfied.)

M3: Okay you have two options to develop rural areas. Either connect them with internet or spread highways. What will you choose?

V: Sir, in fact, we need both of them.

M3: There is no right answer here. Do not answer diplomatically. I want you to think and then reply.

V: (Paused) Sir, in that case, I would choose internet over highways.

M3: Why?

V: Sir, highways take a long time to develop. It may be too late by then.

(M3 looked satisfied.)

M3: Okay. You told ma’am, that you left your job after 19 months because it was boring. That way, you will also leave civil services.

V: (Smiling) No sir, I wanted to convey that I did not find my job content as impressive as I had imagined it to be. I was not bored with it. Civil services match my aptitude.

M3: What do you understand civil servants do?

V: Sir, they handle the entire functioning of the country.

M3: What did your computer science education teach you?

V: Sir, computer sciences teaches us to test, implement, evaluate and modify our programs, this methodology is also applicable to governmental projects.

M3: How do you think your education can be used in administration?

V: Sir, governments at various levels are increasingly using technology. At national, state and even district level, we are implementing various e-governance initiatives. Most departments use technology. We also have dedicated departments for IT etc.

M3: What is our flagship initiative in e-governance?

V: Sir, it is National e-Governance Plan, under which we run 27 mission mode projects.

M3: Any examples of such initiatives, at national, state or district level?

V: Yes sir. e-Sanchar and e-Mitra projects of Rajasthan government. (Explained both.)

M3: Okay, can you identify any two areas where we could implement e-governance but are not already doing it?

V: (Paused and thought) Sir, we can deliver basic services like birth and death certificates in digital form which can be printed by the customers/clients.

M3: But some states are already doing it?

V: Yes sir. We can have such initiatives at national level.

(I also proposed another initiative which I can’t recollect now. However, M3 did not look adequately satisfied with this answer.)

M3: Okay. Tell me one social and one economic challenge our country is facing today.

V: Sir, in social area: Malnutrition (I had the twelfth plan in mind).

M3: Social…malnutrition…okay… (I continue now.)

V: In economic area: I see inflation as a challenge.

(Chairperson seemed flabbergasted and even suggested poverty and unemployment. I was trying to present an answer thinking of ‘current’ challenge. I may have miscalculated here and I did not get an opportunity to defend it.)

———————————————————————

M4: So you are a product of Birla institute.. (I replied affirmatively and smiled, drew no response)..what have they taught you.

(I blabbered about the virtues of college education.)

M4: What is the structure of a district.

V: District. Block. Villages.

M4: What is the role of DC?

(I replied but did not include PRIs.)

M4: What about PRIs? Is DC above Zila Panchayats?

V: (It seemed to be an incorrectly framed question, yet I responded.) Sir, the structure varies state by state.

(M4 did not seem pleased and said thank you.)

RR: Thank you.

(I thanked them and strolled out.)

UPSC IAS INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE (31)

UPSC Interview By Dr. Purushottam Agarwal

 

My interview was on 28 April 2011 in morning session at Dholpur House, UPSC. I appeared before the panel with Dr. Purushottam Agarwal as Chairman. I was 4^th in line for appearing before board. Here I would like to share with you interesting thing. When I entered the Historic dome ceiling waiting hall for interview candidates I was assigned the same round table no. 13 that I was assigned in 2009 interview. So I got strange feeling that this interview also I will perform fairly and may miss selection narrowly like last year. But I remembered almighty and prayed for the best…cheered myself.. and started rushing through newspapers..

Interviews started at around 10.20 am.. when 3^rd candidate went in after some time I was taken to corridors and asked to sit on chair outside interview room. I was feeling my impounding heartbeats and finally candidate came out of room. I saw towards his face.. he was normal..n he smiled little. I felt confidant and got up from chair it was 11.45 am...attendant  opened the door and I entered the room and wished good morning sir , good morning madam..( chairman was at center and 2 members on each side including 1 lady member.)

Dr. Purushottam Agarwal ( chairman):

Yes prashant and he nodded his head and raised his hand towards chair . I sat down.

Q1) prashant where are you working as tehsildar?
(A) Sir I am working as tehsildar of vikramgad taluqa of Thane district in Maharashtra…( chairman asked for how long?) I said , I am working as tehsildar since November 2009.( again he asked where is Thane district). I said, sir Thane is located in northern konkan coastal belt bordering Gujarat.

Q2) what are problems of your tehsil?
(A) Sir since my tehsil is having predominant tribal population malnutrition , unemployment and inaccessibility are major problems

Q3) Do you know the name of adjoining district in Gujrat?
(A) ( I took few seconds to recollect..) sir Vapi district is adjoining Thane

Q4) Who is the District Collector of Vapi?
(A) ( again I gave confused looks..) sorry sir I don’t know
( chairman laughed and said to me how you will coordinate relief operations in disaster if you don’t know even name of collectors.?)
( I felt little low but I smiled ..i wanted to say something but next question came.)

Q5) what new activity you have undertaken in your tehsil for development? And please don’t tell those government programs
(A) Sir my collector has started program of increasing area under floriculture so as to provide employment round the year to underemployed tribal farmers and I have worked on this program.
I along with taluqa agriculture officer gave government subsidy for one to two acre plot for plantation of exotic varieties of flowers like Carnesium and Jalbera in green houses. Sir each flower is sold for eight to twelve rupees in markets of Mumbai..so each day tribal farmer gets income of rs. 1000. sir this scheme has helped to increase income and standard of living of about 35 beneficiary farmers

Q6) Does scheme help floriculture farmers in marketing?
(A) No sir, flower vendors in Mumbai arrange for transportation and pay farmers cash on there fields.

Q7) You are an engineer. So isn’t your knowledge wasted in non technical service?
(A) No sir. I think as a civil engineer I can monitor civil infrastructure projects like road, water supply, sewage treatment in a better manner. Since major public expenditure is on civil works like in Jawaharlal Nehru urban renewal mission my technical knowledge will help me to execute projects in time bound way with good quality control.

Q8) Why do you want to join IAS because you will have to leave your state, when you are serving as S.D.M. in our own state and serving your own people?
(A) Sir working as District Collector offers opportunity and more autonomy of decision making to implement developmental schemes for benefit of larger population than as a S.D.M. sir IAS offers opportunity to work with different departments of Government with rich job profile and exposure that is not available for state services.
Sir and although I may have to go outside my state anywhere in India , ultimately I will serve the people of my country

MEMBER 2:

Q1) What is meant by G.E.R?
(A) Sir G.E.R. means gross enrollment ratio.( member and all other members laugh…member said that I mean define it?) Sorry sir I don’t know definition of GER

Q2) can you tell me how much percent of students that are enrolled at primary school complete graduation?
(A) Sir I am not aware of this figure. Sir with your permission I can guess it..( member immediately nodded his head) I said sir around 15 percent students that are enrolled at primary school complete degree .
( and I was looking at members face for his reaction whether it is right or wrong…and I simply member didn’t react..now I deciced not to take chances by disastrous guessing.)

MEMBER 3:

Q1) What do you know of I.N.A.?
(A) Sir , Indian National Army was formed in singapore under leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose during second world war, with aim to liberate India from British Raj with the help of Japenese forces.

Q2) Who called M.K.Gandhi as Mahatma?
(A) I thought for many seconds..and said..) Sorry sir I am not able to recollect it. ( member answered it as Subhas Chandra Bose). I smiled slightly an said thank you sir

Q3) Do you support demand for separate Vidarbha state? If yes or no explain it?
(A) Sir, I don’t support demand Vidarbha statehood. Although there is little discontent among the people of Vidharbha majority of population want development under the statehood of Maharashtra

Q4) Do you support the creation of small states Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand?
(A) Sir creation of new states should be based local conditions, prospects of growth and financial feasibility of the new state. Since Chattisgarh has unique problem of interior location, predominant tribal population with underdevelopment and naxalism. And Jharkhand with rich mineral base has good prospects of economic growth and uttarakhand having problem of mountainous terrain., separate statehood will give impetus to the development of these states. Hence I support formation of these states

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 (29)

Name: KUMAR ASHISH
Interview Date: 19th March 2012
AIR 363 CSE-2011

Dr. K. K. Paul Sir’s Board

KKP: What’s your name? Is it Ashish Kumar or Kumar Ashish?
Me: Sir, my name is Kumar Ashish…

KKP: Why it is Kumar Ashish? Are you also inspired by Saas-Bahu Serials having a fascination about “K” letter?
Me: No Sir, it isn’t inspired by any serial. Please allow me to quote that my Father is a big fan of Rajendra Kumar, yesteryears Hero of Bollywood. He is having a son named “Kumar Gaurav” and the year when I was born, a new film of his was in the market “Love-story”. So, I think taking inspiration from his name, my Father put my name as “Kumar” first, then “Ashish” (Everybody laughed at this juncture except KKP sir)

KKP: your optional are Geography and French Literature, right?
Me: Yes Sir, but I have read them only for UPSC preparation, while I have read French Lit., culture, civilization, history in my Graduation years.

KKP: Ok, do you know Siachen? Which are the two rivers who get melted water from Siachen glacier?
Me: Sir, I am not very sure about them.

KKP: which is the biggest river in that area?
Me: Sir, its Indus.

KKP: and what are the two major tributaries of Indus in that region?
Me: Sir, they are Shyok and Nubra.

KKP: So they are those two rivers. Have you heard about Ganga? Name its tributaries from North, sequence wise from west to east.
Me: thank you Sir. Yes sir, I have heard about Ganga River. Her tributaries from west to east are: Ramganga, Rapti, Sharda, Kali, Gomati, Gandak, Baghmati, Kosi….

KKP: Ghaghra is there?
Me: yes Sir, Ghaghra is also there.

KKP: one more is there…. 
Me: Sir, I am unable to recall it now.

KKP: what is Fault Line+ Double trap+ 2-3 more topics..? 
Me: I do not remember it now sir…

KKP: what are L-waves? 
Me: Sir, this is the third wave-type generated during a seismic activity. It runs through the surface and causes huge destruction.

KKP: what are other waves? What are the characteristics of these waves? 
Me: Sir, they are P-wave, S-wave and then L-wave. P-wave (Primary wave) originates at the focus and travels with a speed more than 7-8km. While S-wave (Secondary wave) comes later at almost half speed of that of P-wave. It can’t cross any liquid or molten area. The main destructive activities are caused by L-wave (Love wave) on the surface. 

KKP: why L-wave causes destruction on surface? Any particular reasons? 
Me: hmmm… I don’t know Sir…

KKP: How an earth quake is measured? 
Me: sir, on Richter scale and Mercailli Scale. 

KKP: Do you know the difference between them?  
Me: Yes Sir. One measures the magnitude while the other measures the intensity of an Earth-quake. 

KKP: you are from Bihar. Tell me what is the reason behind high Floods occurring in North Bihar? 
Me: Sir, its high rain in Himalayas, siltation in rivers… (Cut short by interruption…)

KKP: What’s being done for that? 
Me: Process of siltation removing is being done. Besides we have Hanumannagar Barrage to prevent the Floods…

KKP: what is difference between a Dam and a Barrage? 
Me: Hmm, Sir, I don’t know…

KKP: name the tributaries of Brahmputra River. 
Me: Sir, they are Lohit, Sankosh, Tista……hmm… (I was not ready to make any guess)

KKP: There are some more. Ok. You have written “Travelling” as your Hobby. Which places have you visited so far? 
Me: Sir, I have visited India and abroad also. I went to France and adjoining western European Countries… (Cut short by interruption…)

KKP: tell me about places in India. 
Me: Ok sir, in India, I have gone to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand... (Cut short by interruption…)

KKP: Which places in Himachal? 
Me: SHimla, Kullu, Manali, Rohtang Pass…

KKP: What is the height of Rohtang Pass? 
Me: to the best of my knowledge, Sir, it is 4250M.

KKP: No! It’s not so.  It is lesser than that. 
Me: Sir, I am not sure about it…

KKP: how did u go there? 
Me: we hired a cab from Manali, Sir.

KKP: Ok, tell me the names of villages that come in the way from Manali to Rohtang Pass. 
Me: Sir, I am unable to recall them now…

KKP: normally when you visit a place, you tend to know about the local village names, local food and local specialty. 
Me: Sorry Sir…

(Then, he passes on to a lady sitting just right to him).

Lady1: you have French Lit. as optional. Do you know who Jean Paul Sartre is? What was his philosophy? Can you explain that? 
Me:  Yes M’am. His philosophy is known as Existentialism. In this, he argues that it is our existence which precedes essence, i.e. any type of moral-social values. It’s our existence which decides how we are going to lead our life. Nothing is pre-determined and everything can be changed according to existence. There are no moral-social values which can define a life. It is our sole discretion to decide what to do and what not to do in our life…

Lady 1: any other work by Sartre 
Me: Nausea, les mots, the Dirty hands …. (cut short by interruption…)

Lady1: tell me about the basic idea of the Nausea. 
Me: Nausea is a story about a person called “Rotenger” who thinks life is absurd. He is aghast to any positive thinking and so fed up with life that he even gets the feeling of nausea at seeing a stone. He picks up a stone, perceives it and got the nausea. Basically it talks about the idea of Existentialism- no reason of being; one is condemned to live a life. 

Lady1: was that his original philosophy? 
Me: No M’aam! He borrowed that Idea from Soren Kierkegaard and elaborated that up to new height.

Lady1: Do you know any other French author who wrote in the same line? 
Me: Sir, it was Camus, Albert Camus.

Lady1: but he was not French? 
Me: yes m’am, he was a born Algerian but later naturalized in France and became French…

Lady 1: Name some of his works. 
Me: The Stranger, Man, Caligula……

Lady1: tell me about the dilemma through which the protagonist of “the Stranger” was going through. 
Me: M’aam, the dilemma which is faced by the protagonist was that he is totally neutral to any feeling, idea or anything. He is quite emotionless when he hears about the death of his mother. He….. (Cut short by lady 1)

Lady1: what was his feeling at the end? Was he sad? Happy? Why? 
Me: M’am, he was neither sad nor happy. He was not remorseful for whatever he has done. He refuses to meet the priest as he doesn’t believe in religious affairs. He did not apologize for his act…

Lady1: Have you seen some French Cinema? What is the main difference between French and Indian Cinema? 
Me: Yes M’aam. The main difference between them is that French Cinema started Shooting in outdoor in 1960s on a greater canvas. The concept of closed door shooting and film making was broken by French cinema and…(cut short by interruption…)

Lady1: can you name some prominent French Movie Directors of that time? 
Me: Yes M’aam. They are Francois Truffaut, Godard, Alain Resnais….

Lady1: Good…

(Then, she passes on to a Member sitting just left to me)

M1: can you tell what is going in Afghanistan? 
Me: Sir, in Afghanistan, pro-talebani forces are on rise and they are trying to capture the power with the help of anguished local people who are now coming to confront the US soldiers. Just we have seen recently that 16 US soldiers were killed. Afghani people are now fed up with US occupation and they are trying to overcome of this problem as soon as possible. Earlier, it was US who created some terrorist outfits there for its own sake and now these “Bhasmasurs” are against the US. They want to establish their Talebani regime.

M1: Ok, what is going on in Pakistan? How it is going to affect the US interests in that region? 
Me: Sir, Pakistan is facing the some sort of internal war in which the pro-talibani forces like Tahrik-e-Taliban et al are trying to capture a good hold in Pakistan. They are against the presence of US soldiers in Pakistan and want them to leave their land immediately. US has a lot of interests in this region as Pakistan provides them with a Military Base which quite essential for the US to keep its stronghold in the Middle-east region from where it can have a vigil on India, Iran and China as well.

(Then, he passes on to a lady sitting just right to me)

Lady 2: You have done BA, MA, Mphil. You must be continuing your Ph.D? 
Me: Yes M’aam.

L2: I would ask from where Sir (KK Paul) has left you in geography. What do you know about Interlinking of Rivers? Why this project was being delayed so far? What are their implications?

(Till now, I started sweating and was obliged to take permission from KK Paul to wipe out my sweats. He was kind enough to put on the AC which he had switched off when I have entered in the room…)

Me: (after wiping out my sweats with my hanky), M’aam, it is project regarding linking all the major rivers of India in order to make the water resources available to the drought prone areas especially where rainfall is very less. For this purpose, some projects of linking are being dealt upon. It will provide us with potable water, increased irrigation facility, better transportation and hydro-power generation as well.  As far as the delay is concerned, mainly it was delayed due to States objection, ecological problems which may arise by linking different river-valleys and a huge sum of investment was required…

L2: one last question from my side, which site from India was recently recommended for World Heritage site? What is the current status?  
Me: M’aam, it was Western Ghats Mountains. But it got rejected to get that…

L2: good…

(Then, she passes on to a Member 2 sitting just right to her and left to KK Paul sir).

M2: How many world Heritage sites are there in India? Who recognizes that status to any site? 
Me: Hmm…I don’t know about the exact no. of world heritage sites in India Sir. It’s … UNESCO who recognizes that status to any sites.

M2: Ok… how many world heritage sites you have visited in India? 
Me: Sir, Taj-Mahal…recently sir I have visited the Mahabalipuram Group of temples. (Cut short by interruption…)

M2: but that is not a world heritage site…is it? 
Me: yes sir, it is one of the very first World heritage site recognized in India in 1983 with Taj-Mahal. 

M2: Ok Mr. Ashish. You have written in your Form that you were Hostel President in JNU. Tell me who was the Provost at that time in JNU? 
Me: (surprised a bit), Pardon me Sir, are you asking about the Dean of Students at that time?

M2: No no, tell me who was the Provost at that time? Can you name the person? 
Me: hmm, sir, it was Sachchidanand Sinha Sir…

M2: ok, if your provost tells you that you are a man of Integrity and your fellow students call you as a man of credibility, what does that mean? What is difference between these two? Can you explain?
Me: Yes Sir. According to me, a Man of Integrity is person who fulfills whatever he promises or says. While in the other case, a person who fulfills his duties enjoys the trust of his fellow students, is a Man of credibility. He is entrusted by his peers…

M2: ok.

Then KK Paul again took the charge.

KKP: Elections have been finished recently in some states. Tell me how the election symbols are allotted to political parties? And what are the criteria for being qualified as a National Political Party?
Me: Sir, symbols are allotted by the Election Commission of India. And to the best of my knowledge Sir, in order to qualify as a National Political Party, a party needs to secure at least 6% vote in 4 states during national elections or at least 4 seats in 4 states legislative assemblies…

KKP: in India, there are only two west flowing rivers… who are they? 
Me: Sir Narmada and Tapti…

KKP: ok, tell what is that phenomenon under which they flow westward? 
Me: Sir, they flow in rift valleys.

KKP: only rift-valleys? Is there any other thing related? Why they flow westward?  
Me: Sorry sir, I don’t know…

KKP: Ok, That’s all. (Wondering it happened so fast… I was about to get up then at once KKP again strikes…)

KKP: By the way, can you name the girlfriend of Jean Paul Sartre? (Everybody started smiling at this question)
Me: (Smiling) Sir, it was Simone de Beauvoir…

KKP: and what was the name of the Café where he used to write his philosophy?
Me: Sorry Sir, I am unable to recall it now…

KKP: Ok.  
Me: Thank you sirs, m’aam.

Exam Interview Details:

Date:19-Mar-2012
Interview Board: Dr. K. K. Paul Sir’s Board
Result of Interview: Qualified