Tips to improve UPSC Interview

Even though the interview carries 300 marks with no minimum

qualifying marks, it is the deciding factor at many times of your being
within the services or out of it and in the least matters in which service
you get. However since the interview is so personal and variable it is
most desirable to do very well in the written mains. But an Interview
can make or break you so take your personality development rather
seriously and make sure to attend some mock interviews at leading
institutes.
Tips to improve performance at the Interview
• There are generally 5 members at the board with the
Chairperson seated at the center. Enter confidently and greet the
Chairperson, who will probably welcome you, and pleasantly nod
at other members. Wait till you are asked to sit.
• Intelligent listing is the mantra, and for this maintaining eye
contact is very important. You should not glare but all the same
appear attentive and do not glance at other members, it can be
very distracting for the interviewer. However if some other
member asks you anything, look at that member and answer and
turn back to the first - this is what we do in normal attentive
listening.
• Do not fidget or throw your hands around, or shake your head.
Less amount of movement does not mean you should sit
unnaturally stiff. Your posture should be attentive and relaxed at
the same time. Do not crouch/bend forward or place your hands
on the table.
• Cut your answer short to the required patience shown by the
member talking to you. They usually like to talk more, so listen
carefully and think for a few seconds before you start answering
the question. This will show that you are organising your
thoughts in mind before starting to speak.
• Leave some room for difference in opinion. Do take a stand, but
do not look adamant or unwilling to appreciate the board's
opinion.
• Use couple of words from the question while answering any
question. It shows you have listened to the question carefully.
But at the same time limit the use the technical jargon.
• Listen very carefully. Come to the central issue of the enquiry
immediately. Wild guessing or speculation are a complete no no.
• Do not start evaluating your performance while still inthe
interview. Even if you have committed mistakes in the beginning,
do not think that you have already lost the game. They are
looking for warm, sensitive respectful and attentive youngsters.
They know you are good or you would not have come so far.
 • Talk humbly about your achievements and hobbies. You may
have mentioned some hobbies in the form without serious
background in them, but before the interview it would be useful
to pick up some basic info on the hobby.
• Say less to convey more. Less is more these days as per the
minimalist creed. Argue logically and generalise correctly. Do not
try to read too much between the lines.
• Remember, while answering any question, what is easy to see is
easy to miss. We often tend to miss the obvious and go for some
non-crucial aspect of the subject.
• Get up to leave only when the chairperson asks you to, not
because you think everyone has asked a question. Similarly,
even if someone has not asked a question and the chairperson
asks you to leave then please leave. Some members do not ask
questions at all, due to various reasons like limited time.
• Before leaving politely thank the chairperson and nod at the
others politely. Avoid saying "Have a good day sir". A "Thank you
Sir/Madam" is enough.

Some useful tips for a successful interview at UPSC are:

1. To have a positive body language
2. To have a good personal turnout and ensuring the right posture
3. To answer questions clearly and confidently
4. Try to remain calm and composed even when faced with
provocative questions
5. Try not getting into long winded explanations and answer to the
point.
Things To Be Avoided at the UPSC Interview
• Avoid the expression, 'I am sorry.'
• Avoid conversational cliches, like: 'as you know', 'that's correct',
'of course', 'indeed', 'obviously', etc.
• Avoid technical jargon. However, if a member continues to probe
you in any technical field, you can use technical expressions.
• Maintain a cheerful disposition. Now and then you can appear
serious; but most of the time keep smiling or look cheerful and
composed. One caution here: if the board laughs, you should
only smile. It is only when you maintain some amount of distance
that the board begins to wonder about the depth of your
personality.
• Do not give long introductions. Come straight to the heart of the
matter.
• Show human concern whenever possible in your answers.
• You should be logically consistent and analyse things rationally
while talking. You are supposed to defend what you say, but with
due respect to the views of the board. Stop trying to defend an
answer if it becomes difficult to do so logically and fairly.
 • Do not make hasty or sweeping generalisations.
According to UPSC report, it has been observed that from 1979
onwards, 90 percent of the candidates who qualify for interview hover
around the minimal percentage of 55 percent that is prescribed for the
test. However to be assured of a Class I service, one has to generally
obtain about 58 percent marks. It has been noticed that only those,
securing 60 percent and above are sure of getting a service of their
own choice. The figures clearly reveal that the marks in the interview
test play a determining role in final selection of candidates.
Types of questions asked at the UPSC interview.
• Relating to name. Any famous personality who has a similar or
same name or surname.
• Career choice. Why you want to opt for the civil services.
• Hobbies. Why you pursue such a hobby or questions related to
your hobby. So research well on your hobby.
• Hot topics of recent days like the Bird Flu and Tamiflu,
Office of Profit, Sahara airlines deal and the growing
airlines, Terror attacks in India, India US Nuclear deal,
Commonwealth games, Saurav Ganguly etc. Keep reading
and watching the news. If the recent headlines have something
to do with your subject then specially revise those portions. For
example if you are a veterinary doctor, Bird flu may go on to
other animal diseases that can infect men. If you are an MBBS,
then you might be asked about human to human spread of
epidemics or any other epidemics and precautions etc. You may
even be asked about the influence of MNC or drug manufacturers
responsible for the spread of fear etc. If you are from an
economy background, the same topic will veer towards the
economic implications of the Bird flu.
• How you are going to use your specific knowledge(like if
you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer etc) in the services.
• Situational questions. Like If you were the collector/SP of
Varanasi, what would you do after the Bomb Blast?
• Choice of services. The order of your choice of services can
raise questions too.
• About your institution and related. If you have studies at IIM
you may be asked about the rising salaries, if from IGNOU then
even about Indira Gandhi and so on.
• From your form. You must go through the form you have filled
because most questions will arise from there. If you have
changed subjects, mentioned anything out of the way, watch out
for questions on them. Interviewers take cue from the form you
have filled.
Some actual questions asked of UPSC candidates.
• Don't you think you can serve your country better by
remaining a doctor and treating poor patients? Why do
 you want to be a civil servant?"
It would be best to answer this question very practically rather
than emotionally saying you want to serve the country, because
even a doctor serves the people. A doctor from Kerala was asked
this Question and her reply was - "Because I want to treat the
primary malady that afflicts our country, that creates so many
poor in India. As a doctor I can treat only secondary maladies."
She even came up with exact statistics and suggestions on a
rubber plantation for poverty alleviation indicating that she had
spent considerable time and thoughts on her future plans. She
was awarded a score of 85 per cent.
• "What are the problems faced by wheat cultivators in
your state?" an M.Sc. (Agriculture) student from Palanpur was
once asked. "The problem is not so much to do with agronomy
but with the lack of a seed bank in Palanpur," came the reply and
the candidate walked away with an 80 per cent score.
• "Is there a law in physics, which is relevant to
administration?" a law graduate was prompted. "Yes. Newton's
third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction." He scored a cool 80 per cent.
The above questions can give you an idea of how relevant
questions are asked from your subjects even as they are not
directly from the syllabus.
An activity considered hobby must comprise three aspects:
~ creative
~ pleasure driven
~ routine (daily) activity
I must suggest that let "listening to music" remain your
interest to may be unwind/ relax etc.
"Loving nature" . . . how do you do this?

How to give the civil service exam interview?

Now, if you have got though all the 9 papers of the mains exam well,
you should get your interview call by about March or April. In the
interview, your confidence, personality and understanding of the world
is judged.
The interview is quite subjective. We cannot give any definite advise
about how you can prepare for it. It would definitely be good if you
read some book about how to prepare and deliver an interview.
Here we have provided for you a huge compilation of “tips” given by
civil service exam toppers like Mr.Sorabh Babu Maheshwari, Ms. Manju
Rajpal, Mr. Santosh Kumar Misra etc.
Here is what they think about the interview and how they think you
should deal with it:
"Questions posed before a candidate by the interviewing board are
very well framed and answers to them should be made taking into
consideration all possible views and a balanced approach is expected
from a candidate."
"One should prepare for the interview with a group of 3-4 people as the
preparation for Interview cannot be done in isolation. Personality is a
life-time asset and expecting miraculous changes in personality in a
span of a few days or weeks is not possible. Yet, efforts can be made to
overcome major deficiency and polishing of views and opinions."
"Remember, non-awareness of something should be admitted with
politeness. It is okay to not know something!"
"If at any point of time, you could show that your approach is
flexible the world is yours."
"It is better to say 'No' than to bluff around. Those interviewing are
highly experienced persons and know much better than us."
"If the question put is not clear to you, politely ask for more
information. It is not the factual knowledge but your views which are
on test in the interview."
"Always observe interview etiquette and be honest, polite, convincing
an modest. Arrogance, rigidity, flicking round the issue should be
avoided."
"When preparing for the interview, keep in mind that no Training
institute can improve your personality! Some of these institutes can be
helpful if they conduct Group Discussions and Mock Interviews"

"General Do's & Don'ts for the Interview:

1. Be utmost respectful to the board. They are usually very senior
and learned people.
2. Have no biases for any Board . Don't go by any stories doing
rounds in your campus corridors.
3. Never make any sweeping statement
4. Accept your mistakes boldly."
"Interview preparation does not require one to stuff oneself with facts,
ability to analyse and to critically examine an issue is what actually
counts."
"Speak honestly, truthfully and with modesty. Understand the
questions before answering them and clarify the points if you did not
understand them. Many a time what happens is that your answer is
misinterpreted, so do not hesitate in clarifying it."
"Framing your own questions and answering them (especially
recording them on to a tape and listening them) is a very useful
technique, if you don't feel confident. Otherwise also it is extremely
helpful in making a correct choice of words while answering a
question."
"Reach the Exam centre well in time, so some deep breathing to
maintain your cool and be charming during the interview."
 "Interview preparation is not just a matter of a few days - your whole
personality counts. Still you must acquaint yourself with your home
State, district your college, your hobbies, general concepts of Public
Administration, etc. also you can brush up the Mains GS material like
Polity, Economy, History, etc."
"Interview is more of a psychological test than just content based. But
along with good communication skills and self-confidence, good
knowledge base gives you an upper hand."
"For the Interview read as many newspapers and as many magazine as
possible. Discuss with your friends. Take mock-interviews. Try to find
loop-holes in your arguments and plug them. Form your views on
various subjects in a very logical and rational manner supported by
data whenever necessary. Do not get nervous."
"Do not get nervous before the Interviews. Improve your
communications skills by giving mock-interviews. These will also open
you up. Ask your friends to grill you, so that you can face pressure
from the Board easily."
"Always pause a bit before answering even if you know the answer. Do
not give a hasty reply. Answer in an orderly and logical fashion an
always look into the eyes of the interviewer while answering. Be polite
and courteous."
"Don't be argumentative. Be consistent in your views, i.e. just don't
change your views because of the fact that the Board is differing with
you. Remember that they are only testing you and often even try to
provoke you. Give balanced answers and avoid taking extremes."
"The most important thing to know about the Interview is that it is not
a question-answer session and what they are looking out for is
different aspects of one's personality. As far as possible, the answer
given should reveal a particular aspect of one's personality and
attempts should not be made to present a make-up appearance or
politically correct answers. There is no harm in taking extreme views if
one is able to justify them."
That is the complete compilation of all the tips on facing the interview
provided by the IAS toppers. Now, finally, let us look at a sample study
plan as suggested by an IAS topper…
Nagrajan’s Tips 2004
Que : How did you prepare for Personality Test this time?
Ans : In the previous attempts my preparations were haphazard. I was
rushing through coaching classes. More thinking about personality and
Bio-data are required rather than trying to know more about current-
affairs. This time, I asked myself why I wanted to join civil services? Why
did I leave a good engineering career and joined Railways? Why do I
want to leave Railways and go to IAS loosing three years of service?
Then I worked on my Bio-data and tried to generate as far away
questions as possible. Almost the entire interview was what I thought of.
Que : What was your personal experience of Interview Board?
Ans : The interview depends upon with what frame of mind one appears
before the Interview Board. This year I was very confident of my
selection. I performed very well as a Railway officer. Second thing is that
interview itself is a purposeful conversation rather than a strict
question-answer session. Keeping it in mind I conversed confidently with
the Board members. Had I kept answering tersely to the question they
would have not even got a chance to find whether I was worth enough
to the service.
Mr. Vikas Kumar, 2005
My interview was taken by the panel of Ms. Arundhati Ghosh Yes,
the same Arundhati Ghoshof the “Not Now, Not Ever” fame. On
August 8, 1996, she made this statement and became a hero of the
nation. I remember reading about her then and wondering about
diplomats for the first time. Needless to say, ever since I found out that
she is a member of the UPSC, I was praying to clear the mains and be
interviewed by her panel. The intensity of my prayers increased once I
actually cleared the mains. All this despite the fact that she had the
most fearsome reputation for stress interviews and at times, of
virtually throwing out the candidates if they did not meet her
standards. She doesn’t waste time, I was told. Here is one such horror
story that was narrated to me:
The candidate had put “gardening” as one of his hobbies. The first
question was to name the botanical names of 5 plans in his garden. He
couldn’t. Ms. Ghose took him out of the room to the potted plants
outside and told him their botanical names. Then, she told him that the
interview was over.
I don’t know if this was true or not. But I know of other people (first
hand accounts) who actually trembled in front of her. One candidate
was so nervous that he picked up papers from the table (which did not
belong to him, but to Ms. Ghose) while leaving when the interview got
over. There are lots and lots of such stories.
While my sympathies were with these victims, in my heart I knew that
these people really did not deserve good marks. If you can’t stand
pressure in an interview, how will you take it when you are posted as a
senior police officer or a district magistrate or an ambassador later in
your life? Anyway, I wanted her panel. No matter what the marks. If
the circumstances were any different, I could even have asked for her
autograph!!!
Anyway, the day of my interview arrived. I was at the UPSC waiting hall
and was informed that the table at which I was designated to wait
belonged to some other panel in the morning session. My heart sank.
There were 3 other people with me for the same panel. I was going to
be the third candidate to be interviewed. Later, only 2 of us cleared.
One lady was already in some other service and she continued with it.
One person probably went back to prepare for next attempt (he was
the first to be interviewed).
The interviews were to start at 2:00 PM. At 1:55 PM, a peon came to
our table and said, “madam ka panel hai” (You are with The Madam’s
panel). There was no mistaking who The Madam was. You can’t
imagine the number of heartbeats my heart skipped. Wow! All the
other people waiting at other tables heaved a collective sigh of relief.
Apparantly, nobody wanted this panel. Except me.
First man went in at 2:00 sharp and came out sweating at 2:30. He
made a mess of it. Ms. Ghose was very unhappy with him. The
reputation was coming true. The lady candidate was next in. She went
in at 2:35 and came out at 3:05. She spent half her interview trying to
justify some triviality in her form. I was next at 3:10 PM.
There were 5 people on the panel. Lets call the members M1, M2, M3
and M4. Sitting right in the middle was Ms. Arundhati Ghose (AG),
smoking a cigarette (Marlborough Lights, my guess). I wished her first
(being the chairperson, as well as the only lady member there)
according to protocol and then the other members collectively. I
waited to be asked to be seated and took my seat when she asked me
to.
She put out the cigarette and scanned my resume form (standardised
UPSC format).
AG: Mr. Kumar, you passed out of IIT recently.. oh no, in 2002. This is
April 2004. What have you been doing all this time?
VK: Ma’am, till November 2003, I had been preparing and appearing
for the successive stages of the civil services examination. After that, I
joined a telecom software startup started by some of my friends from
IIT Bombay here in Delhi. I am there in an..
AG: Wait. Why are you speaking so quickly? Are you nervous? Just
relax and take it easy. Speak slowly.
VK: Yes ma’am, I am nervous. This is my first, and hopefully the last,
interview (smiles, trembles inwardly but doesn’t show it).
AG: Good, so proceed. What did you do at this startup?
VK: Ma’am, I am there in an informal capacity and do not draw any
salary except the expenses and I help them out in any way possible.
But by and large I deal with initiating contact with foreign telecom
companies who might be interested in buying our software. I find out
the companies, look for a key person, initiate contact, see if they would
be willing to buy something. Once I get something positive, I hand it
over to my Boss.
AG: So, you actually talk to these companies.. the foreigners?
VK: Yes.
AG: Have you succeeded somewhere? Which country?
VK: Ma’am I initiated the first deal that we made, in Brunei.
AG: Okay. You have given IFS as your first preference, despite your
father being in the Police. Why?
VK: There are 2 reasons ma’am. Firstly, I have always wanted to
represent India. To have that India tag on me. There is this feeling of
pride I can’t explain. And secondly, I see more and more challenges
ahead for the IFS in an increasingly globalised world. It seems exciting
and I want to be where the action is.
AG: What is the biggest issue in the US presidential elections?
VK: Lots of them actually. Afghanistan, Outsourcing…
AG: No, the biggest issue.
VK: The Iraq War?
AG: Yes. Now, can you update me on the Indo-US relations?
(VK launches into an answer explaining things and bringing the Indo-
Pak-US triangle into focus).
AG: You were talking about pride. But this is the government, you
would have to do as your boss tell you to. Right?
VK: Yes, ma’am.
AG: Now, suppose you are in an Indian Embassy in some capacity
below the rank of Ambassador. You get a direct order from Delhi, which
you think is contary to our National Interests. Would you still carry it
out?
VK: As you said ma’am, I probably would have to.
AG: (adopts a very nice tone) No! You must never do that. You should
try and talk to the Ambassador and get him on your side. Once that is
done, you can negotiate with New Delhi.
VK: But ma’am I was assuming that all this had been tried before. The
order can not come out of the blue. The matter must have been under
consideration for some time and I would have discussed it with the
Ambassador already.
AG: Even then, you must not give up. The only guiding principle for
you would be India’s National Interest. Nothing else. If you think
something is wrong, refuse to carry out the order. The national interest
must never be compromised.
VK: Yes ma’am. I’ll try my best to do that.
AG: Okay, you mentiom science fiction as your hobby. Name a few
writers.
(VK names a few)
AG: All this fiction is fine, but has any of it ever come to reality?
(VK says yes and names a few things)
AG: Do you stay updated with science facts as well?
VK: Yes.
AG: Tell me about the Mars Mission.
(VK proceeds to talk about it. Can not name the vehicle. Discussion
ensues around the table on the name and ends when Ms. Ghose brings
it to an end)
AG: Okay, enough. Now the others can ask questions.
M1: You say listening to music in one of your hobbies. What kind of
music?
VK: All kinds, Sir. Depends on my mood. I listen to pretty much
everything.
M1: Even classical?
VK: Yes.
M1: Name some kinds of music.
(VK names 12-13 genres or so and is interrupted mid-sentence)
M1: The criminalization of politics is such a big problem. Why do
criminals win elections?
VK: Because the elections are never fought on those lines. No matter
what the national media says, down in the constituency, the issues are
extremely local and mostly based on caste equations and local politics.
So, unless there is a big wave, everything national is actually very
local. Criminal backgrounds do not decide voters’ choices. Except
perhaps the urban few, who do not vote anyway.
M1: So, what is the solution?
VK: Perhaps to stop them from contesting. Stricter legislation to
prevent them from contesting and a more transparent information
system. At the same time, efforts need to be continued to educate the
people about the importance of these reforms.
M2: Mr. Kumar, what is this BPO thing? How does it work?
VK: Business Process Outsourcing Sir. (explains the BPO phenomena)
M2: Do you thing it will last?
VK: For the short-term, yes. But other developing countries will start
catching up. Besides, there is the issue of growth of the BPO company
and the professional growth of people working there.
M2: Meaning?
VK: An individual whose only skill is to answer calls would probably
find it hard to find another job 5-6 years down the line. Not all of them
can become managers. Besides, there are pressures of the lifestyle.
M2: You mean the health hazards of people in call centres. Elaborate.
VK: Only yesterday, there was a report in newspapers about a study
that found the incidence of stress related disorders, drinking and
(pauses, looks at Ms. Ghose, who had lit a cigarette a few minutes ago,
and smiles)… smoking.
AG: (burtsts out laughing).. what did you say?
VK: Smoking ma’am. People working in call centres have been found
to be more prone to smoking and they obviously expose themselves to
the related health hazards.
(AG laughs some more and puts the cigarette out in an ash-tray which
resembles an agricultural field growing cigarettes)
M3: You are a chemical engineer from IIT Bombay. Why did you opt for
Philosophy and Public Administration?
VK: Philosophy because I have always been interested in the subject
matter. My father named me after Swami Vivekanand and I have been
reading material on Indian Philosophy ever since I started reading.
Public Administration because I thought that if I have to do
administration in life, I might as well learn something about it. Plus, the
guidance was easily available.
M3: If a foreigner, during your posting abroad, asks you about the
sociological impact of schools of Indian philosphy on life in India, what
would you say?
VK: I’m sorry Sir, but my study has been restricted to the content of
these philosphies. I have’t studied their impact.
M3: But you are interested in the subject. Would you continue reading
more on the subject?
VK: Of course Sir. I find the subject fascinating.
M4: Mr. Kumar, a little while ago, while discussing Indo-Pak relations,
you mentioned that India need not comment on every little thing that
happens in the world. I say, we have no need to even talk to Pakistan.
Do we have something in common with them. I say nothing. Nothing at
all. Do you think there is anything we have in common with them?
VK: At least 2 things Sir. Firstly, the common history we share. We
were practically one country barely 50 years ago. And… (interrupted
by M4)
M4: No. We have no need to talk to them.. (repeats the same question
again after a long monologue)
(VK starts answering again, and is interrupted again, M4 starts the
same monologue)
AG: (sounds very angry and upset with M4) Enough M4! This is his
interview. Why don’t you shut up and let him speak? Vivek, you answer
the same question to me and ignore him completely.
VK: As I was saying ma’am, firstly there is the shared history and
heritage. And secondly, both countries have claims on Kashmir. And no
matter what we say, it keeps coming up again and again everywhere.
It is an issue that we do share, though uncomfortably.
AG: You have held several positions at IITB.. Election Officer,
Placement Representative etc. You have also won a few awards from
your hostel for “organisation”. What is all this?
(VK explains the positions held at IITB and the awards from Hostel-3).
AG: Any last questions (looks around at all members)?
M4: May I ask one last question?
AG: Sure. Go ahead.
M4: You played hockey for your hostel for a while. What is the future of
India hockey.
VK: Looks reasonably bright to me, Sir. At least the prospects are
good. Youngsters are coming up, sponsors are also pitching in.
Coaching seems to have improved.
M4: Do you think Dhanraj Pillay is good enough for the Indian team.
Should he play?
VK: Well Sir, he is the most experienced and he is absolutely fit. He is
the best player we have…
M4: No no.. just say Yes or No. Should he be in the team?
VK: Yes.
AG: Okay. The interview is over. You may leave Mr. Kumar. Thank you.
(VK thanks her and all the members and walks out without turning
back)
I went straight to the waiting room and sipped some cold water. Phew!
Time? 4:05 PM. I had lasted over 50 minutes!!! Incredible!
The conversation is more or less exact. But of course, some
approximations have been made. I have also forgotten a few points.
The highlight of the interview for me was the fact that she actually
asked a member to shut up and let me speak. And the fact that she
could understand the joke I tried about smoking being bad for health.
It was such a relief to know that it was over. I was swamped in the
waiting hall by other people and the next candidate.
I came out of the UPSC campus and walked to Rajasthan House
where my uncle was staying.
I analysed my performance to be worth atleast 200 marks (out of 300).
This was one hell of a satisfying interview. I didn’t sweat. My voice
didn’t shake. I made Ms. Ghose laugh several times. She asked a
member to shut up for me. And… she was explaining things to me as if
I was already in the IFS. Surely, that couldn’t be a bad sign.
As it happened, I got 225 in the interview :)
She has retired now. I am in the service. A lot of my prayers were
answered around that time. Thank God. Thanks Ms. Ghose :
IAS 2007 1st ranker MUTHYALA RAJU...word by word
Interview took place on 17th april in New Delhi for 35 mins
Raju: May I come in Sir?
Chairman: Yes, please.
Raju: Good morning, Sir. Good morning, Madam. Good morning, Sirs.
Chairman: You are Mr...
Raju: (Still in standing position), Matyalaraju Revu Sir.
(Chairman is writing something. Other members are keenly watching
the candidate.)
Member 2: Please take your seat.
Raju: Thank you, sir.
Chairman: Mr. Revu, You did B.Tech from REC Warangal, ME from IISc,
Bangalore. But why did you do diploma?
Raju: Sir, After completion of my 10th class, based on my financial
background, my father joined me in polytechnic. After completion of
polytechnic, we do get jobs. Also, since I will get scholarship, the
amount of money spent on me is less.
Chairman: That means you will get job after diploma.
Raju: Yes Sir, I got a private job. Company is Cain energy limited.
Chairman: Then, why did you join B.Tech?
Raju: Sir, After completion of my diploma, I wrote ECET and I got state
1st rank. So I convinced my father that I will join REC which is a
premier Engineering institute in our state.
Chairman: Then, you joined ME because your father insisted on that?
Raju: No Sir, It is based on my project guide Õ³ suggestion.
Sir, infact there are two streams to enter into B.Tech. One through
EAMCET after Intermediate and other is through ECET. After ECET...
Chairman: What question I have asked?
Raju: Sorry Sir, you have asked me why I joined ME after B.Tech.
Chairman: OK. Then stick on to the question.
Raju: Sir, I am explaining it.
Chairman: Be specific.
Raju: OK sir, during my final year I got all India rank 3 in Gate. My
guide on knowing this result suggested me to join IISc. He further told
that this is the golden opportunity for me. Ô‰f you miss it you will not
get it again! Õ he told sir. Then, I informed about my career option as
civil services. He then convinced me by saying that I can write civil
services after M.E. also.
Chairman: That means you are preparing for civil services while you
are in IISc?
Raju: I beg to differ with you sir. I started my preparation only after
completion of M.E.
Chairman: You have written that you joined Railways in September
2004. That is of which exam?
Raju: Sir, This is based on IES-2003.
Chairman: That means you are in IISc.
Raju: Sir, I completed my second semester at that time.
Chairman: That means you have prepared for IES in IISc.
Raju: Sir, I have given IES in my own background i.e., Electrical
Engineering. Hence I need not prepare much for this exam. I just gave
the exam.
Chairman: For how many years you are in Railways?
Raju: Sir, I joined Railways on September 2004. Then I took leave for 1
year, i.e., leave on loss of pay.
Chairman: What did you do in that year?
Raju: Sir, I have prepared for this exam.
Chairman: How many months you are in Railways?
Raju: Sir, roughly 5 months.
Chairman: That means you are in Railways till February.
Raju: Sir, I am in Railways till the result of civil services exam 2005 was
out. I was given leave for interview preparation in March.
Chairman: Then what did you do after the declaration of the result?
Raju: Sir, Once the result of out, I came to know that I will get IPS. So, I
convinced my director for leave to appear civil services again. My
director gave me leave.
Chairman: When did you join IPS?
Raju: Sir, I joined IPS on December 18, 2006.
Chairman: Which part of training you missed?
Raju: Sir, I missed foundation training in Mussorie. At SVPNPA, training
started on December 18, 2006. So, I haven Õ´ missed any training at
Hyderabad.
Chairman: How many days you have taken leave for interview?
Raju: Sir, 4 days.
Member 2: How was your IPS training?
Raju: Sir, training is good and we are enjoying every aspect of training.
member 2: What are you learning in training?
Raju: Sir, our training is divided into two parts. Indoor and outdoor. In
indoor, we have subjects like police in modern India, criminology and
law subjects like IE Act, CrPC, IPC and other subjects.
Member 2: You are in IPS for 4 months. So I can ask some questions.
Raju: Yes, sir.
Member 2: Do you aware that the confession admitted to police is not
allowed as witness. Why?
Raju: Yes sir. Confession admitted to police is not allowed as witness.
Since there is always a possibility of getting the confession in the way
the police like, law doesn Õ´ allow it.
Member 2: What is Res gestae?
Raju: Sir, All the circumstances leading to the same transaction are
allowable as evidence.
Member 2: You are on the line. Could you explain more?
Raju: (after 2-3 seconds), If some people wanted to commit dacoity
and in the process if they theft a vehicle, eventhough theft of vehicle is
not connected with dacoity but it is admissible as it forms the
circumstance leading to dacoity.
Member 2: Could you tell me the section which deals with Res gestae?
Raju: Sorry sir, I could not remember the exact section.
Member 2: Then how sections you were taught in IE Act?
Raju: Sir, In our academy our sirs are not teaching according to
sections. They are teaching the sections which are more useful for the
police at first.
Member 2: Do you aware of RTI?
Raju: Yes. Sir. It is Right to Information Act.
Member 2: What are the provisions in RTI?
Raju: Sir, According to provisions of RTI, every government department
has to nominate one officer as information commissioner to give
information about duties, responsibilities and functions of various
officers working in those departments...
Member 2: Then what is the benefit to common man?
Raju: Sir, Common man can know the functions, duties &
responsibilities of various officers. They can know the status of their
applications. This also increases transparency and accountability of
officers. Hence reduces corruption.
Member 2: How can you say that people will get required information?
Raju: Sir, There is a provision in RTI that any one who refuses to give
information or delays 30 days for giving information, they are liable for
cut in salary.
Member 2: How much salary cut?
Raju: Sir, I think it is 250 Rs./ day.
Member 2: It is not cut from salary. It is separately cut.
Raju: Thank you Sir.
Member 2: Can you tell me what is the maximum limit?
Raju: Sorry sir, I don Õ´ know.
Chairman: Your hobbies are meditation, motivating others and Indian
Mythology. Don Õ´ you think that all are inward looking?
Raju: Sir, Whenever possible I play cricket in addition my hobbies,
which is a team game.
Member 2: Tell me which countries will reach final in the present world
cup?
Raju: Sir, I think Australia and Srilanka.
Member 2: Already two countries reached semifinals i.e., Sri Lanka &
Newzealand. What do you think about other two?
Raju: Sir, I beg to differ with you. Actually three countries i.e., Srilanka,
New Zealand and Australia reached semifinals. 4th team depends on
the outcome of the today Õ³ match between England & South Africa.
Member 2: Do you know about fly ash?
Raju: Sir, Thermal power stations produce fly ash while generating
electrical power.
Member 2: Which state is using it more? Definitely it is not Haryana,
My own state.
Raju: Sorry Sir, I don Õ´ know.
Member 3 : (X-A) (X-B) has highest X power of 2. Do you agree?
Raju: Yes, Sir.
Member 3: (X-A) (X-B) (X-C) has highest X power...
Raju: 3, Sir.
Member 3: Then, tell me. What is the answer for (X-A) (X-B).... (X-Z).
Raju: (after 3-4 seconds), It must be Zero. Sir, because of the presence
of the term (X-X).
Member 3: Whom do you think a greatest mathematician of all times?
Raju: Sir, Srinivasa Ramanujan, because even though he lived for only
33 years, he contributed more to mathematics in the areas like
Numerical methods, Solution of algebraic equations, number theory
like prime numbers etc.
Member 3: Can you tell me the formula for prime numbers?
Raju: Sir, exactly I don Õ´ know but recently IIT, Kanpur professor
along with his students wrote a software program which gives whether
a number is prime or not within less time.
Member 3: You are an electrical engineer. Tell me where prime
numbers are used?
Raju: Sir, they are used in coding.
Member 3: I am asking a question in your engineering only. Tell me
how prime numbers are used in coding?
Raju: Sir, exactly I don Õ´ know. But to the best of my knowledge, if
the code length is prime, decoding and encoding are easy.
Member 3: You are on the line, but not exact answer.
Member 1: Your hobbies are meditation, motivating others and Indian
Mythology. What you do in motivation?
Raju: Madam, many of classmates and Juniors came to me for clearing
their doubts in subjects as I am the toper of my class. I usually listen to
their problems regarding their understanding of concepts as many
have problems either in one or many subjects. I tell them that every
subject is easy if knew the concepts clear and we should like the
subject what we are studying...
Madam: Do your response same for all?
Raju: Madam, I usually spend more time with those who are very much
lagging. I take classes to clear their doubts.
Madam: Then do you call it motivation or strategic learning?
Raju: Madam, strategic learning may be the correct term.
Madam: What is the difference between these two?
Raju: Madam, motivation is a general term which includes not only
academic motivation but also others like psychological, etc., Madam, I
don Õ´ know exactly the meaning of strategic learning.
Madam: Which books you read in Indian Mythology?
Raju: Madam, I read Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Madam: Since your hobbies are motivating others and Indian
Mythology, tell me how Krishna motivated Arjuna?
Raju: Madam, When Arjuna refused to fight with friends, teachers,
Krishna told him that it is the duty of the king to protect Dharma and
fight wars for protecting it. We should not move away from our duty.
Since soul is immortal and of which is born, death is certain, of which
death happened, birth is certain. Hence you should not think that you
are committing crime. Also he motivated him by saying that we should
do our work only. We should not think about the results of our actions.
Otherwise, attachment to the results will occur which is a major reason
for unhappiness.
Madam: Do you practise it?
Raju: Madam, It is very difficult to practise.
Madam: Why?
Raju: Madam, for example, if we are about to play a cricket match, we
will think about the winning of the match which is actually the result of
the playing that match.
Madam: One last question. What kind of training our team got during
our last year world cup?
Raju: Madam, exactly I am not able to recollect it. But it is like Ò·e can
do it this time Ó¼ /span>
Madam: Sorry, It is not last year world cup but it is 2003 world cup. The
team was given psychological training.
Raju: Yes, Madam
Member 4: You studied your B.Tech. from REC Warangal and M.E. from
IISc Bangalore. Do you proud of your institutions like IISc?
Raju: Sir, I am proud that I have studied in a great institution like IISc,
which according UNESCO survey conducted in 1997 was in 18th place
among world universities. Recently a Chinese university conducted a
survey in which IISc was placed at around 250th position.
Member 4: Do you think that 250th position is a good position?
Raju: Sir, even though it is not a good position, the position depended
on the parameters they have taken into consideration like no. of nobel
laureates present, no. of research papers presented, etc.
Member 4: Who are nobel laureate present in IISc?
Raju: Sir, now there is no nobel laureate in IISc. Earlier Sir C.V.Raman
worked in IISc. Now, there are two internationally reputed professors
working there.
Member 4: Last year government proposed to stop B.Tech entry into
IITs. Do you support that?
Raju: Sir, I support it. Sir, due to hectic schedule, the professors of IITs
are not able to concentrate much on research. Once the B.Tech entry
is stopped, they will get more time for research and quality of research
will increase.
Member 4: Don Õ´ you think the quality of B.Tech students will reduce
as IITs are known for better professors?
Raju: Sir, those students who are earlier eligible for entry into IITs, they
will join NITs. Since they are the core students I don Õ´ think the
quality will reduce. But the professors in other institutes should get
sufficient training to reach the level of IIT professors.
Member 4: You agree to that proposal. But the government has
withdrawn the proposal due to very good argument against it. Can you
tell me?
Raju: Sorry sir, I don Õ´ know.
Member 4: What do you think is responsible for reduction in research?
Raju: Sir, IISc is not able to retain those students who completed M.E.
and other courses there. One reason is brain drain, Sir. Second one is
that research is not attractive in India, Sir. For example, in our batch
out of 230 students who completed M.E. only 2 joined for Ph.D. in IISc.
At the end of our M.E. we got campus placements. The minimum salary
is around 6 lakhs/ annum. It is attracting most of us. Those who are
really interested in research, they are going abroad as they will get
more money and research is attractive there. Here, a Ph.D. student
gets 12,000 - 15,000 Rs per month. Also material considerations have
risen these days, sir. We have to include some compulsory courses in
morale & ethics to stop this.
Member 4: Instead of choosing job or research, why did you choose
services as career option?
Raju: Sir, The incident that took place in my village in November 2000,
when I am in 3rd year of B.Tech, has changed my career options.
Nearby Engineering college students came to our village for picnic as
our village has excellent beach. 7 of them drowned in the Bay of
Bengal and all of them has taken sand into their lungs in addition to
water. Since our village is an island, there are no transportation,
medical & meagre educational facilities, it took 2 hours to reach
nearest town which is 16 Km away from my village. By that time, 6 out
7 were died, Sir.
Chairman: You are telling about an incident in your village. In that case
who will respond first?
Raju: (3-4 seconds silence)
Chairman: Whether it is Block development officer, Doctor, or Police.
Raju: Sir, It is the police to respond first.
Chairman: Then, you are in IPS. Why did you come?
Raju: Sir, even for police it took 2 hours to reach that place as there is
not enough transportation facilities.
Chairman: Thank you.
Raju: Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Madam. Thank you, Sirs.
Remya J - 17th Rank
Dr.Bhure Lal
Here is a rough transcript of iview
Lasted 35 minutes….
C’Person: Welcome, Remya, Sit Down.
Me: Thank You Sir
C’person: So you are an MBA?
Me:Yes, Sir
C’person: Are you working now?
Me: No, sir I am self-employed.
CP: I see, what do you do?
Me: I run an online business.
CP: Oh, do tell me about it
Me: (Explained the details)
CP: I really need to learn about these online things. Can I join you?
(Laughs)
Me: definitely Sir.
CP: So, Remya, your Optional is Public Administration, tell me about
the 73rd and 74th amendment acts.
mukesh
Dr.Bhure lal,'s board
1.why do you want to switch over from medical field to civils?
2.what is h5n1?
3.india ki imr(infant mortality)who figures
4.malnutrition rate
5.tb prevalence and mortality from it.
he asked only factual questions.
baaki general questions are
6.views on mpd 2021
7.vision 2020(specific points)
8.how can budget lead to more transparency and accountability
9.why should we choose you and not others?
10.complementarity btw thw subjects you have chosen?
11.should hiv+ individuals be purged from the army?
rest were on state and place of schooling,not fact based but
general.interview lasted for about 20 mins.and can anyone also tell me
how is dr.bhure lal with marks?
gaurav
my interview on 2nd april-part1
Hii all there!
My interview was on 2nd April morning session.Board was of Dr.
Bhure Lal.
I went in around 11:55 am
Chairman(CM):Welcome Gaurav.Plz sit
Me:Thank you sir.
CM: How u are feeling?
Me: Sir I am feeling great.
(There was some confusion regarding my title Pundir.And one member
and CM talks abt it among themselves not with me.)
CM: How is Ghaziabad(My home distt.)
Me: Sir, GZB is fine.
CM: So ur optional is Hindi.
(I think he was looking for my presence of mind.hindi is my indian
language paper.)
Me: No sir.That is my indian language paper.
CM: Till what level u read Hindi?
Me: Sir, upto class 10th only.
CM: Oh! You actually belong to aligarh.
(Again he was testing my presence of mind or was there an actual goof
up...I don't know...)
Me: No sir.My home town is Modinagar.Aligarh is my mother's native
place.
CM: How is Varanasi?
(Since I graduated from IT-BHU so that question I was expecting.)
Me: Sir, VNS is also fine.
CM: What for VNS is famous.
ME: Ganges, ghats and BHU and KV temple.
(I missed banarasi sareers...)
CM:Morning scene at ghats.
(I described scenic beauty but then he himself was interested in the
pollution in the river.)
CM: ur optional is maths.
ME: yes sir.
CM: So u must be good in maths.Let me ask one question.Write 2 three
times so as to generate highest no.
ME: i bluntly said 222.
(there was a goof up by me here)
CM: what do u think about 2 raise to power 22.
(then he laughed aloud and said that don't worry this question was not
for marks.I also smiled on my goof up but remained composed.)
CM:How Tsunami occur?
(Optional Geography)
ME: I described the whole process.
CM: there was a tsunami in dec 2004 and another one a month
later.Why there was a big difference
in the extent of damage done by them?The earthquake was of same
intensity in both cases.
ME:Sir, Difference was due to extent of coastline.
CM: No.
ME: Sir , the areas would have been differently populated.
CM: I think u are not able to reach the exact point.
(I tried to hazard lot f guesses.And he kept on similing.)
CM: actually one was deep sea earthquake and another shallow.
(Since i was not thru with tsuanmi so i couldn't reply satisfactorily.)
(At this stage, he commented that "feel at home at take your
time".May be he might be thinking that I am under stress.)
Mem-1:How earthquake occurs.Number of tectonic plates.
Mem-1: What if a earthquake occurs in Delhi?
ME: Sir, it ll lead to extensive loss of life and property.
Mem-1: Why?
Me- there is lot of congestion in the city.
Mem-1: What is congestion doing here?
ME: Well sir,majority of the buildings in the city are not designed in
conformity with the
earthquake standards.That ld be the reason of damage.
(He appeared satisfied on the reply.)
Mem-1: Ground water pollution and ground water management.
Mem-1: what do u think is the issue-ground water shortage or
management.
Me:Sir, i think it is the management not shortage as such.
Mem-1:You are given 2 options:Block the sewarage and contamination
of gnd water VS dumping the sewarage into river.
ME: sir, I think both options are not viable.Neither we can afford to
contaminate our gnd water nor we can pollute the river. We should go
for the middle way.
Mem-1: What is the middle way.
ME: Sir, We should ensure that our effluent/sewarage be treated 100%.
Mem-1: You spent considerable time in Calcutta.What is typical
pollution problem in the city.
(I had no clue f the answer.)
Me- Sir, I couldn't recall exactly.
Mem-1: It is arsenic pollution.Do you have any idea why it occur?
Me- No sir.
Mem-2: Tell us about cyber crimes.....steps to prevent them.
Mem-2: e-commerce, e-banking, e-procurement.
Mem-2: Your hooby is diary writing.Have u read anybody else's diary?
Me: No madam.
Mem-2: why?
Me: Madam, I cultivated it as a very personal hobby and never felt like
getting inspiration from anyone else.
Mem-2:What do you think about this year's budget?Is it anti-poor or
anti-rich.
Me: I don't think that it is anti-poor in any way.Outlays for all the
flagship program f UPA govt
have been increased.Scholarships/SSA etc.
Mem-3: Tell us about SSA(Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan).
Mem-3: Green revolution.
Mem-3: EDUSAT.
Mem-3: two terms used in it. SIT and ROT.What r they?
Me: Sir, I couldn't recall.
Mem-3: Ok. I ll expand them for you. Satellite Interactive terminal and
recieve only terminal.
(Then I explained them out of my wisdom.)
Mem-3: public speaking is your hobby.what r the qualities f good public
speakers?\
Me: mobilisation and motivation of masses.
Mem-3: Hw do u motivate?it is a difficult task these days.
ME: Sir, I harp on the gains that the other persons would accrue after
associating or listening to me.
Mem-4: Well Gaurav, country has spent lot f money on ur education
and it is now ur turn to pay back.What is ur vision for the nation?
Me:Sir, I wanted to give a meaning ful contribution to society.
(I was deliberately measured in my response to this very open
question.)
Mem-4: But what is that meaningful contribution.You have any specific
agenda in hand?
Me: I harped on e-governance and my edge in the field as a
technocrat.
(He appeared satisfied.)
Mem-5:There are lot of terrorist activities in the country.What do u
think can be done to curb them?
Me:Sir, intelligence beef-up.Formation of core group at centre with
wide powers to tackle such issues on exclusive basis.Better
coordination among all agencies.
Mem-5:No, but what as an administrator u can do?
(I don't know.Earlier he asked about what can be done.Then next he
said i asked what u can do?A deliberate goof-up to test my wits.?)
Me- Sir, it has been observed that the terrorists use the vicinty of the
area to stay and acclaimatise.So i ld ensure that there better
survellience and steps like tenant verification on a massive scale and
regular basis.
CM: Thank you Gaurav.You may go.
ME: Thank you sirs.

vikram
Interview with Dr. Bhurelals Board
Interview date: 2nd April '07
Optionals. Geog & Psycho
Dr. Bhurelal
Q1. In a pre-war situation how will u defeat the opponent without using
arms and ammunitions(related to computer engg.)
supp Q: Name of the 17 yr boy who hacked pentagon?
Q2. What is the economy of ur place(U.T. of D&N H )
supp Q: What all crops?
supp Q: What is accessibility to this place?
Q3. How will knowledge of psychology help u in administration?
Member 1
Q4: What are deccan traps?
supp Q: how many flows of lava?
supp Q: how will u find water in deccan trap region?
supp Q: Imp mineral industry of pune?
Q5. How will remote sensing help u in administration?
Q6. What r flash floods? how r they caused? where does the water go?
Member 2
Q7. What is money laundering?
supp Q: what r the sources of black money?
Member 3
Q8. Name the tribal communities and tell about their culture?
supp Q: how r these tribes diff from mainstream?
supp Q: what is EDP programme for tribals?
Q9. Rajsing Dungarpur made a statement that no indian is fit to coach
the indian team... ur views?
supp Q: whats wrong with Indian cricket?
supp Q: whats wrong with indian sports?
Member 4
Q10. How will u handle a potential communal situation as an IPS in ur
district?
supp Q: what if ur seniors orders are contrary to what u think is right?
Thank you, you may go :-)
Niti shekhar
nthng wrth mentioning.. ...lasted for 15-20
minutes..... ..Dr.Bhure lal board.....too relaxed...
sm qusteions asked...
1.states of north east
2.tribals of north east
3.naga problem
4.states affected by naga problem
5.do mainland indians consider nagas as there own
6.diff. and similarity between bangalore and patna
7.BIMARU states with more population have more seats in
LS than sothern deveoped states like
kerala.....comments
8.why are hindu gods are mostly from ganga belt
9.difference between seam and swing bowling
10.do allowing bowlers to keep the bowl on one side
smooth and other rough so that it can swing is ethical
11.why indian movies are always larger than life
12.difference between imaginary and imaginative
13.difference between continuosly and continually
15.what is zero devide by minus 10,zero devided by
zero .......blah blah
16.difference between station master and teacher
17.lagest ship building industry is located in which
state
18.full form of ONGC and it's headquarter. ..
Juz Chilling....
Dr.Bhure Lal's board!!
the chairman was a nice person!!!
chairman!!
why do u want to come to civil service after CA??
what is money laundering
link between terrorism and money laundering
three stages of money laundering
duties of CA under prevention of mo.laun'g act
how much is india's forex reserve and are we secured??
stock market volatility!!how do u manipulate stock market!!
M2
under-invoicing and over invoicing in foreign trade
does india need to acceprt foreign aid.whats ur opinion on that?
legislation tht regulates foreign aid and its relevance
M3
what is mafia.who are its constituents
discussion on organised crime
what kind of issues u write on ur blog
indian psyche!!adulteration in india
M4
why do we have myths in life(these qns had nothing do with my
optionals:commerce and pubad)
"churning milk out of sea"what do u interpret
some qns on my hometown
relationship between reading and culture
why film stars are raised to levels of god in south india??
M5
what is the island in arabian sea:its total surface area!
why did British come to India!! what was tht incidence that prompted
them to rule India!!
it was a good interview. i was able to answer most of the qns!!
i know,u guys will be surprised to see that there weren't any qns on
current affairs!!!
gugan!!
======================================
Ankesh
Interview with Dr. Bhurelal's Board
Interview date: 2nd April '07
Optionals. Geog & Psycho
Dr. Bhurelal
Q1. In a pre-war situation how will u defeat the opponent without using
arms and ammunitions(related to computer engg.)
suppQ: Name of the 17 yr boy who hacked pentagon?
Q2. What is the economy of ur place(U.T. of D&N H )
supp Q: What all crops?
supp Q: What is accessibility to this place?
Q3. How will knowledge of psychology help u in administration?
Member 1
Q4: What are deccan traps?
supp Q: how many flows of lava?
supp Q: how will u find water in deccan trap region?
supp Q: Imp mineral industry of pune?
Q5. How will remote sensing help u in administration?
Q6. What r flash floods? how r they caused? where does the water go?
Member 2
Q7. What is money laundering?
supp Q: what r the sources of black money?
Member 3
Q8. Name the tribal communities and tell about their culture?
supp Q: how r these tribes diff from mainstream?
supp Q: what is EDP programme for tribals?
Q9. Rajsing Dungarpur made a statement that no indian is fit to coach
the indian team... ur views?
supp Q: whats wrong with Indian cricket?
supp Q: whats wrong with indian sports?
Member 4
Q10. How will u handle a potential communal situation as an IPS in ur
district?
supp Q: what if ur seniors orders are contrary to what u think is right?
pallavi
24 april in Mr.Bhurelal Board.
questions were like firing......
when i entered chaiman welcomed me n tell me to sit.then the firing
started.
Q1.why the shift frm B.Sc to M.A Hindi
Q2.what is pds system who r the categories which r befited.
Q3.what is the rate in antyoday anna yojna.
Q4.i use to say'shayad'as i was not very conform then the chairman
asked me ki shayad kyu bolti ho?
Q5.then the next member asked what is poverty line n wat is the
criteria n standards.
Q.wat is per capita income of up,what is standard of poverty line in up.
Q.wat do u understand by PPP.wat is difference on poverty concept
betweeb india n usa.
Q.u hv studied hindi literature.then 'abla jeevan hi tumhari yahi
kahani'who hv written this.then they started confusing me.but i was
dermined on my answer.
Q.surdas kis ras ke kavi hai..
ANS.i replied..vatsalya n shringar..then they say that ki tumhe shringar
kaha dikhta hai..i replied ki surdas ka bhramargeet aur gopi uddhav
prasang viyog shringar ka sarvottam udaharan hai.
Q.veer ras ki kavita.and prithviraj.then they asked me abt the place
where the battle of tarayi take place.i replied it is near delhi then they
argued that it is in afghanistan then i stick to my ans that this place is
near dehi as i dont know the exact location.
Q.what is krishi beema yojna.wat is major flaw in this .how will u use
right to information in it.
Qwhat is major hazzard in use of rti.
Q.what is major reason of suicide of garmers in vidarbh.
Q.abt chandra babu naidu....n his failure in election.
Q.abt bhumi program of karnatka n i said sorry as i didnt knew abt this
program.
Q.then the lady member took me n asked abt varanasi n ustad
bismillah khan.n said me that if i dont know the exact answer abt why
he is called as the momento of hindu muslim ekta i would not hv to
reply..thenn i replied abt mangla arti n music of ustad during that arti.
Q.then again chairman asked me that while u were sitting outside what
did u saw.what is the no.of his room.
then again mr. chairman asked me that whose room is located beside
his room.....this was the most interesting part of my interview.....as i
was luckly observing these things when i was waiting outside.
Q.then again madam took me n asked abt reservation n controversy
abt it ,the view of supreme court.wat is my view n wat is view on
women reservation.
Q.then again abt varanasi.she asked me ki agar main vns aaoo to aap
hume kaha ghomayengi.
then they said me to go.
n this is how i faced their firing n bombarding.
==========================================
=====================

Ganesan
In my post last I had discussed about the 13th of April, the day that
was fixed for my interview. First, I was thinking if I should sit here in
front of the computer and type the entire details about it. Then for the
sake of record I decided to do that. Here’s the transcript. (please leave
your comments)
I was put under Dr. Bhure Lal’s panel. And I was the third person to
go in the group of 5 candidates. I was waiting for my turn outside when
the second candidate was being interviewed. He was out and said the
panel members were very cordial. He wished me best of luck and left. I
asked the attendant for some water before I was to go in. As luck
would have it, there was no water there and he had to go to fill the
bottle. Meanwhile the door was opened for me by another attendant
there. I did not wait for the water and delay the process that was to
begin. So I entered the room with mouth almost run dry.
There was a lady member among the 5 panel members,including the
chairman.
First I wished the lady member and then others.
I was asked to take the seat by the chairman.
Chairman (CM): hello! Guganesan. How are you??
Me: I am very fine, sir.
CM: (he looks at the form again) G ganesan (and just moved his body
forward)
(I sensed here that he was in a good mood)
Me: ( I just smile at him) yes sir, Guganesan.
CM: So, you are a chartered Accountant.
Me: yes sir!!
CM: why do you want to come to civil service after CA?
Me: sir, I had decided to join civil service even before doing CA. In fact
after clearing my CA I came for civil services preparation immediately.
CM: What is money laundering?
I explain that to him
CM: What is the link between terrorism and money laundering?
I tell him about how terrorism is funded, about drug deal and all that.
CM : what are the three stages involved in money laundering???
I started explaining. There he stopped me and asked “do u know the
stages or not”
Me: No sir. This is all I know
Then he explained me the stages with its specific names (this was
moreover close to what I said, except for the jargons he used)
CM: What are the duties of CA under prevention of money laundering
Act?
Me: sir, I’m not aware of any provisions under the Act.
CM: oh, I though they’ll teach u all that in CA.
CM: how much is our Forex reserve?
Me: sir, its 199 billion dollars.
CM: ok, that’s fairly 200 billion dollars. Do you think we are secured?
Me: yes sir. It is said we have so much of reserve that it can fund 13
months of our imports.
CM: I don’t feel secured.
Me: (after giving serious thought) May I ask you why, sir.
(Both the chairman and the lady member bursted in to laughter)
CM: Yes. You have every right to ask me.
(He explained me the reason to which I almost agreed)
CM: How do you manipulate stock market?
I explained him about insider trading, one of the manipulative
practices.
CM: why there’s so much of volatility in the stock market now?
I gave two reasons and explained them.1. hike in interest rate. 2.
Appreciation of Japanese yen.
Then the chairman showed sign for the lady member to ask questions.
Member 2 (M2): Guganesan, explain over invoicing and under
invoicing in foreign trade.
I explained her about that transfer pricing practices which related
companies follow.
M2: ok. That relates to transfer pricing . Tell me in general. Suppose
I’m an exporter in Tiruppur and you’re my client. I’m billing you at a
price less that what it actually is.
I explained how it affects India and said the balance proceeds can be
siphoned off to someother countries ( I guess she was looking for that
word ‘siphon off’. After I said that she seemed more convinced)
M2: do you think India should accept foreign aid? I want your opinion
on that.
Me: Yes Ma’am. I feel India should accept foreign aid. Although India is
a developing country and sitting on huge forex reserve it needs so
much of fund to finance our infrastructure needs.
M2: Ok. What is the legislation that regulates foreign aid.
Me: (think for a while) Ma’am ,its foreign contribution regulations Act.
M2: that’s. right. But do you think we need such kind of legislation.
You know, NGO’s accept lots of foreign aid . do you think it needs to be
regulated?
Me:Ma’am I’m not aware of the detailed provisions under the Act. But I
know that NGO’s are under an obligation to file some kind of return
with RBI after the receipt of the aid. I feel we should have these kind of
regulations. B’coz some accountability is ensured on that part of NGO’s
. It ensures that money is spent for the said purpose.
M2: But that’s between NGO and the foreign agency why should govt
get involved.
Me: yes ma’am. Its true that its only between NGO and foreign agency
.but NGO’s involve in social sector projects. So I think that it concern
the government. So there is need for regulation.
M2: Ok.what are the preferences u’ve given?
Me: Ma’am I’ve given IAS as my first preference and IFS -2nd, 3rd-IPS
and 4Th IRS.
M2: (she just smiled and nodded her head )ok, thank you. (she showed
her hand to the third member) I just thanked her and looked in to the
eyes of the third member.
M3: who are mafia?
I just gave an vague explanation.
M3: can we call phoolan Devi mafia?
Me: No sir. Mafia operate as network. They are widespread. Whereas
Phoolan Devi just had a set of people.
M3: tell me who are the constituents of this Mafia.
Me; (I think for a while. Couldn’t really make out where the discussion
is heading) sir, mafia would have set of musclemen.
M3: ok. They’re field staff. But what it takes to organize a crime?
Me: they need a proper plan before anytning is to be committed. And
they collude with people on the other side.
M3: who are this people on the other side?
Me: sir, it’s the officials of the government.
M3: do you know chartered accountants play a major part in legalizing
their money?
(here I realized why he started this discussion. So much of grudges
against CAs, I thought)
Me: sir, there would be very few chartered accountants who are
involved in such activities.
M3: Very few? (he looks at the papers in front of him) u’ve given
reading as your hobby. What kind of books you read?
I answer that. (both fiction and non fiction)
M3: Have you read this book called “Sacred game” by Vikram
Chandra.?
Me: No sir, I haven’t read that.
M3: Read that book. It talks about how chartered accountants involve
in legalizing the mafia’s money. They’re even called counselors.
Me: ok sir I’ll read that.
M3: what is the legislation that exclusively covers organized crime?
Me: no sir, I’m not aware of any specific legislation.
M3: ok. Blogging is your other hobby. On what kind of issues you write.
Me: sir, I have not restricted myself to any field. I write on anything
that is interesting . It could be something interesting that happened in
my life.
M4:like?
Me: once I wrote about the rag picker boy in my street. (I explained
what I wrote in that post. The lady member seemed to be interested
too although I dint make any eye contact with her)
M3: So you are interested in human behaviour?
Me: yes sir, u can say that.
M3:ok, now looking at the psyche of Indian people. Why there’s so
much of adulteration in our country. Its not found much in other
countries. Why only this subcontinent?u know, law allows some qty of
stone in rice. There’s adulteration in drugs. Why is it so.
Me: sir, its because of the erosion of values among people in our
country. India is a country where so many movies made every year. I
think people pick such things from these movies.
M3: but adulteration has been there even before the movies came.
Me: yes sir. That’s true. But after movies these things increased in
numbers.
M3: but where do we learn all this. Does historical books and religious
books teach us?
Me: no sir. Our religious books and historical book don’t teach us these
practices. I think its people’s desire to make easy money. They come
out with new ideas and get involved in such things. I think its all about
money, sir,
M3: suppose there’s a shop keeper who mixes stones in rice. One day
his son falls sick. He buys medicine which is adulterated and his son
dies. Do you think he’ll change.
Me: sir, it depends on the person. If he’s really learnt a lesson from
this incident I think he’d change.
M3: I don’t think he’ll change.
(he thanked me and put me onto the 4th member)
M4: so you are from kancheepuram. What’s the name of the famous
temple in your town.
Me: sir, its kamakshi amman temple.
M4: what is the name of the legendary who laid the statue there?
Me: I’m sorry sir. I’m not sure of the name.
M4: its adi shankara. How far is that temple from your house.
Me: sir, its 2-3 kms from my house.
M4: oh, so close and still u haven’t bothered to find out that. What is
the relationship between culture and reading?
Me: sir, If one person had been unaware of his culture, he can know
them by reading any books. That way one can come to know about
one’s culture and get them imbibed in his life.
M4: what is culture?
Me: sir, culture is one’s way of life. One’s way of dressing, food habits
etc. It covers these many things.
M4: why do we have so many myths in our life?
I explain him something.
M4: no,no. u have not really understood what is myth. U know we
celebrate diwali. someone killed someone.
Me: (having got the flash in mind) yes sir. We have these kind of
festival in life. Although they are based on myths they bring our
families together. We celebrate and stay happy. It even disciplines our
lives.
M4: “churning milk out of sea” what do you interpret on this.
Me: (almost puzzled) its like getting the best out of something which is
in abundance.
M4: how education has churned u?
ME: (having no clue how to address) sir, eduction has helped to meet
people from different background. I have learnt to interact with them.
And also I’ve been able to understand the values in their life and tried
to take it if they are good.
M4: why filmstars are raised to the level of god in tamilnadu?
(M3 interrupts and says even temples have been built)
I explain something.
M4: that’s there’s everywhere. There’s one particular reason. What is
it?
Me:no sir. I can’t think of any particular reason.
M4: ok, think on ur way back u’ll get it.
(He thanked me and passed onto the 5th person)
M5: I’ll just ask you few questions. (I was happy to hear tht)
How do you classify land?
Me: sir, agricultural land and non-agricultural land.
M5: ok. That’s one way of saying. U know, u can classify it as mainland
and hinterland. (I uttered the word ‘hinterland “along with him, as he
was very slowly talking)
And we have islands. Tell me the name of an island in Arabian Sea.
Me: sir. Its lakshadweep.
M5: what is the total surface area?
Me: no sir, I’m not aware of that.
M5: ok, I thought since u were staying close to that place u might
know that. Ok. Why British came to India, first?
Me: Sir, they came for trade.
M5: but there’s one incident that prompted them to rule India. What is
it?
(Here this member was very vague in framing this question. Then the
M3 explained it in a better way for me.)
Me: (after serioulsly thinking) no sir, I have never come across any
such incident.
M5: now I’ll give u a topic. I want you to deliberate on this and speak
for and against. “All people who come for civil service preparation
should not do that”.
(I know it sounds confusing)
I spoke about why people want to come to civil service. Reasons like
public service, improving the functions of govt. For against the topic I
said theres so much o f corruption and abuse of power. Said “civil
service is even considered first resort of scoundrel “
(only after coming home I realized that what I spoke under: For” was
actually “against” and vice versa.)
M5: do you really think people come for service?
Me: yes sir. There are many people who come for preparation with the
public services in mind. In fact, I’m one such person myself.
(then M5 looked at the chairman. )
CM: guganesan, you interview is over. you can leave.
I thanked everyone and left the room. Wow. What a relief when I came
out. Now I have to wait for the results. That could be anytime during
the second week of May.

MY INTERVIEW 3rd May, Afternoon session

I was the third to be interviewed in the afternoon..
Board: Bhure Lal
C’Person: Welcome, Remya, Sit Down.
Me: Thank You Sir
C’person: So you are an MBA?
Me:Yes, Sir
C’person: Are you working now?
Me: No, sir I am self-employed.
CP: I see, what do you do?
Me: I run an online business.
CP: Oh, do tell me about it.
Me: (Explained the details)
CP: I really need to learn about these online things. Can I join you?
(Laughs)
Me: definitely Sir.
CP: So, Remya, your Optional is Public Administration, tell me about
the 73rd and 74th amendment acts.
Me: I explain
CP: You say you write on womens issues as a free lance journalist.
What are the provisions in these acts for women?
CP: Speaking of reservation for women, what is your stand on the
issue?
Me: I am personally against it(explained my reasons)
CP: do not let the ladies hear you(laughs)
CP: So ,if not reservation, then what else can empower women, how
would you go about it?
I explained a three-pronged systematic approach for the same.
CP: What are the three categories of the ration system?
Me: APL, BPL and I do not recollect the 3rd, sir
CP: It is antyodaya…do you know what antyodaya means?
Me: The poorest of the poor
CP: explains the term in detail.So what in your view can be done is a
state like Punjab which is very different from a place like yours
(kerala).
Me: I explained the low sex ratio in Punjab, causes of the same and
ways to tackle it.
CP: Is kerala self-sufficient in food grains?
Me: No, kerala is a consumerist state, food grains are grown only on a
small scale.The main crops of kerala are cash crops like cashew,
rubber, pepper etc.
M1: Who is the president of India?
How is the president elected?
What value do the votes of the MP’s/MLA’s of different states have in
the presidential election?
Does the value of the vote of an MLA from UP and Kerala have the
same weightage?
How can the president be impeached?
How is the vice-president elected?
M2: Kerala is so forward on most indices of human development, but
there are temples where women are not allowed, why?
I spoke about the problems at sabarimala, where recently a
controversy erupted on the issue.
What kind of music does Mr.Yesudas sing? classical or
Hindustani?
Why do Christians in kerala have a grudge against him?
M3: name 3 women leaders of the world.
I named Ellen Johnson sirleaf, Portia simpson miller and Helen
Clarke
M3: what about women in our neighbourhood?
I names Khaleda Zia
M3: the developing world has had so many women leaders.why
is it that a powerhouse such as the USA doesn’t have a president
yet? sociological reasons?
M3: there is a view that prostitution must be legalized.what is
your view?
I mentioned that I had written many articles in the media
regarding the topic and I was against legalization.i mentioned
the failure of the experiment in Sweden and reasons for the
same.
M3: What is the reason for high unemployment is kerala? How
would you tacke it as a govt official?
M4: What are the indiced of underdevelopment? What is HDI?
Components of HDI? He explained the additional aspects of
underdevelopment to me.
M4: What are the qualities you would look for in your subordinate
as an officer?
I mentioned two qualities: sensitivity to needs of beneficiary and
efficiency
M4: suppose you have two subordinates: one efficient and
corrupt, other inefficient and honest, wich one would you keep
and why? If you had to deal with both, then how would you do it?
CM: ok, Remya. I hope you are not planning to become a
politician…
Me: Not at the moment, sir..
Everybody laughs..
CM: You will make a very good leader…
Me: Thank You sir…
=======================================
========================
Neha
Interview- Mr. K. Roy Paul’s board
chairman:
1. both ur parents are doctors and u urself are a doctor, why the shift?
2.why MBBS?
3.what is spicmacay, ur role as the student representative of spic
macay?
4.what kind of music do u listen to?
5.do u listen to western classical? (i said no)
6. who was mozart? what country?
7.have u seen sound of music? (i said no)
8. similarity between mozart and sound of music?
9.current problem of indian economy?
10. causes of inflation?
11. why increase interest rates to control it?
12. why make sectors like real estate, construction suffer to control
inflation?
13. ideal rate of inflation for india?
14. what is overheating of economy?
M1:
1.how to control pop growth in india?
2.what method is best- forceful, incentives, disincentives?
3.would disincentives not impinge on right to equality?
4.how to empower women?
5.relevance of saarc?
6. role of india as a big brother in south asia?
M2:
1. why do u want to leave serving ppl for power?
2. what attracts u about civil services?
3.problems of an administrator?
4.ur experience of a govt office? process of getting license made
5 why govt offices are inefficient?
6. does govt not project its positive image?
7. is media unfair to govt?
M3:
1.what is creative writing?
2.poor, illiterate in india have more children than affluent, educated
and every one has one vote..so wd india be ruled by idiots soon?
3.how have the discoveries and inventions in med sci changed the face
of med sci?
4. is gene therapy available in govt hospitals in india?
5. father of genetics? what country?
M4:
1.recommendations of student union elections committee?
2.how to reduce violence in college elections?
3.1 min for n against women reservation?
4.why the arbitrary figure of 33%?
5.what is the procedure followed in america?
pallavi
intv :mr k. roy paul(204/300)
it was a criss cross kind of intv so i wont b posting it memberwise
1.why did u go back to patna..
sir,due to certain personal and unavoidable reasons ,i had to go back
2.wat r differences u noticed
sir,it was mainly in terms of infrastructure...cited few examples like...sir
thou lib is dere bt d same old books doot provide incentive to d
students...
3.tell me smthin abt political geog of bihar...
sir,agriculture
intp...no no...tell me smthing abt pol geog...i kept trying bt cudnt
answer to his satisfaction
4.tell me abt d eco of bihar
sir ,its mainly dependent on agri....thou new aspects r gradually being
explored
5.wats happening in pakistan
sir,waziristan issue
try smthin else?
sir,removal of d chief justice
yes bt ve u heard of hafsa
yes sir...i ve heard bt not fully aware on d issue
6.wats happening in bangladesh
i narrated
wat is d third force behind all d arrests
since d political activity has been bannd...
no..no tell me abt d third force ...sorry sir im not aware....(rest nex
time)
~~~ neha
I was on Mr.K.Paul Roy board. the board members were very very
cordial and accomodating.. i was most pleasantly surprised...
the chairperson began by asking me which is the *last book i read? and
*two latest economic developments...which brought sensex's fall in to
pic and he asked me *what i thought brought about the sudden fall? he
further asked me to explain the *repo rate and *the reasons for the
inflationary trends
the next board member asked me if i followed any sports? then asked
me to *explain the foreign ploicy of india and *what makes india a
candidate for permanent seat for UN security council?
*and if we should consider permanent membership without veto?
the next board person asked me * what problems does a common man
face while dealing with govt. servants and sarkari babus...* whther it
was justifies to grease the palm to get a work done?
he asked me *if i knew who moily was? and what were the
recommendations of *the administrative reform committee, and
*police reform committee...
the next board member asked me to name *some german literary
figures and if i have read faust of goethe? and asked me why i want to
switch over to civil services from teaching?

the last board member asked me *if india is justified in spending so

much money on having a nuclear programme when millions go
foodless and *whats the rationale behind having a space
programme...*and how can we call india developed when so many
people are below the poverty line??
in the end the chairperson showed me a painting with mother teresa's
silhouette drawn and asked me to identify the figure...and asked me if i
could guess who the painter was?
Saptarishi
Parveen talha's board
1>do u support the killing of street dogs and why?
2>whats ur academic background?why do u want 2 join the civil
services?dont u think u'll waste ur knowledge?
3>which part of tea is plucked?what do u know about tea processing?
4>from ur studies in school level only can u tell the results of world
war 2?
5>wats "struggle for existence" how do u justify your statement that
animalsshould be protected not killed as we are the most superior and
the inferior animals thus have failed in the struggle.
6>wats ur mental state after india's early exit frm the world cup?
7>dont u think harbhajan singh should retire?
8>when did india win the last gold in football in asian games?
9>wats d capital of canada?
10>wats ur daily routine?why do u sleep so much?
11>which tv programmes u like and why?
12>what is a "song"?
13>whats is the function of EU?
14>why do u eat fish or chicken when u r yourself against killing of
animals?
15>why did u go 4 veterinary sciences in your academics?
16>after completion of education what did u do in the last 3 years?
17>wat should b our reaction to the indian cricket team......
this much i can remember as of now.
Parveen Talha
1) Place of Birth?
2) Cabinet Secretary in School? Where do u want to get in? So u
already have ur eyes set on the top post? What after u get in?
3) difference between Middle East and West Asia? related questions.
4) What's happening in Saudi Arabia? Who is the King? Recent
statement made by him?
5) What's happening in Palestine?
6) What's the situation in Israel? Specifics?
SECOND MEMBER
1)What have u gained by being an arts student through out?
2)What are liberal arts?
3) Your not an outdoor person? not part of NCC, NSS?
4)Reasons for Indian cricket teams failure at the world cup?
5) what do u read and the latest book that u have read?
THIRD MEMBER
1) What are the general publics expectations from an administrator?
2) Family's expectations? common walking on a road and his
expectations?
3) Chief Minister's expectations from an administrator?
4) What kind of books do u read?
5) The book that u have liked the most?
6) Increasing indiscipline among students': reasons?
FOURTH MEMBER
1) Why dont u read non fiction?
2) Did u hear about Sherlock Holmes? Agatha Christie? About the Da
vinci Code?
3) By highlighting advantages of arts students' u said that Sciences
students' are at a disadvantage? Mathematics students' and their
accuracy?
4) How about failure of our batsmen in the world cup? Three with more
than 10,000 runs?
5) Bob Woolmer poisoned or murdered?
6) Core thing that is attracting attention in West Asia?
7) alternate energy resources?
8) Nuclear Technology in India? Do we have it or is it developing?
9) Difference between Philosophy - Metaphysics - Physics?
FIFTH MEMBER
1) Should Sachin Tendulkar retire like Kumble? What if he aska for ur
opinion?
1) Are u doing M.Phil? procedure after submission of the dissertation?
2) My M.Phil topic?
3) What is happening in Iran? specifics? Nuclear reprocessing?
4) what is happening in Afghanistan?
5) Advantages with Afghanistan in SAARC?
Sitharamaraju
my interview at Parvin Talha's Board
Hi , I had interview on 9th April morning session. The following are the
details.
Talha:
Tell me some thing about AP Geography.
supQ: tell me only about Telangana
supQ: what are deccan traps?
supQ: Till what area deccan traps covers.
SEZ - Issues: Tell me about SEZ in a single sentence.
supQ: Did it live upto its expectations.
supQ: What are the controversies regarding them?
supQ: How do you give developmental benefits to people?
supQ: What about the farmer-land relationship?
supQ: scrap all the agriculture then..
supQ: how will you develop agriculture.
1st member:
What are the qualities needed to deal with computers and People?
what else needed to deal with people ?
did you heard about E.Q and other S.Q ?
did you heard about E-choupal system ?
2nd member:
What is E-governance ? Mention the states that are doing good in
E-governance intiatives?
What are the schemes developed by the Karnataka?
What is BangaloreOne ?
What about Andhra Pradesh ?
Tell me about the recent developments in the field of SuperComputers.
There is a direct relationship between State size and the administrative
efficiency? Give your opinion especially in the context of A.P?
3rd Member:
What is most important National Interests or Democratic wishes ?
What about NE states ?
In reality what all other interests in dealing with this problem?
4th Member:
Why IAS after this much Technical knowledge ?
How will you use your technical skills in the administration ?
Talha: Ok Sitharamaraju.. your interview is over.
Hmm.. from the middle of the interview, ms. Talha looks uninterested
in the conversation. And in a hurry, answered first question incorrectly.
but other than that, I am comfortable. But in retrospection, I should
have taken more time to think before answering. Anyways keeping my
fingers crossed. For others, all the best boys..

Vikas 2007
Mr.DP Agarwal
My interview was scheduled in the fore noon session of 3rd of April
2007. The conversation started with Prof. D.P. Agrawal
DPA (Work related)
Vikas tell me about your present company?
How many years weather data you take?
Where did you do your pilot projects for weather insurance?
Is it for rain fed areas or irrigated areas?
So you collect weather data from the field?
Does Hardoi have a weather statation?
Do you think the farmers will understand your questionnaire?
What questions do you ask?
How many questions are there in the questionnaire?
Tell me the important questions?
So, on a 10 point scale how do you rate plant growth?
What discussion do you have with the district officials?
What is a crop cutting experiment?
M1 (IRMA)
What is PRM?
Why rural management? I never heard of Urban Management
Why so many IIMs and so few Rural management? Should the
government not open many rural management institutes?
Is the government doing enough for rural sector?
What is the concept of PURA?
Did you ever live in rural areas?
What did you do in Kutch?
DPA:What subjects you had at IRMA? How were they different from
normal B-schools?
Did you study about health sector?
What is the health structure in India?
Do you know of any health schemes?
Do you know of any education schemes?
What earlier schemes have been merged in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan?
M2 (Literature)
Who has got the Nobel Prize in literature from India? What was his
contribution?
Have you heard of Osama bin Laden? why is he so antagonistic to
America?
How are you creative in your writing?
What knowledge do you have about painting styles?
DPA: Don’t you know of any painting styles? Name famous Indian
painters
What was Raja Ravi Verma’s painting style?
What is SUPW? Isn’t it compulsory in schools? How is it extra curricular
activity?
M3 (Administration)
What is the reason of backwardness of Jharkhand despite rich resource
endowment?
But what about corruption? What is the definition of corruption?
What is the effect of corruption?
Who is a public servant? Is he a servant of the people?
If a person from public comes and directs you to allocate resources
what will be your response?
Suppose he is an MLA/MP?
What if a cabinet minister of a different ministry asks you to transfer
people of your department?
What if your senior officer orders you to do something which your
conscience does not allow?
Why do you want to join IAS?
You can have diverse experience elsewhere also, why specifically IAS?
What posts will you get as an IAS officer?
What role will you have as an SDM?
M4
Which two nations are the most recent members to join Eurpean
Union?
What problems did you come across in your study in Kutch?
How are these problems being overcome?
Do you think blogs will replace mainstream media?
What do you blog about?
DPA
Tell us one personal experience of yours which can motivate the youth
to come forward for rural development?
Why did you criticize the relief and rehabilitation work of Kutch as a
reflex action?
What disaster has been predicted by India’s disaster management cell?
If you can not predict a disaster, won't relief always be a reflex action?
Which agency re-built the houses in kutch? I think it was a successful
example of Rehabilitation, wasn't it?
What will you do if you don’t get into administrative services?
Will you be able to contribute to rural development if you are
placed in some department other than the rural development
department?
DPA:Vikas, Your interview is over.
=======================================
========================
ravikumar
my interview
13th april with D.P.Agarwal sir
after i took the seat .
dpa:1, have you seen blood
2, have you ever touched a body floating in blood after an accident
i told about a incident in my college life and my participation
immediately after gujarat earthquake.
3,how long you participated in gujarat.
4,tell me about mata amritandhamayi(as i did my engineering from her
college)
5,what is the difference between production and mechanical
engineering(as iam a production engineering)
6,what were you doing after your engineering (i gave a satisfying reply
and he was cool)
m1-tell me the different landforms(he asked each and every landform)
after i explained he told good.
why you have chosen pub ad and geography as optionals and related
with my hobby.
(when i was answering, dpa entered in the middle telling "excellent
"and asked when you bought globe first in your life and where you
bought that,i recollected and told him the year and where i bought)
m2:what is your opinion about lean govt.
what are all the things we can give to private sector in a municipal
corporation(i told from solid waste mgmt, electricity distribution due to
large scale power theft,roads and bridges etc)
more questions about psu's , i told from why it was called temples of
modern india to what is the necessity of private sector(dpa asked
questions in the middle and i gave a convincing reply as iam strong in
this area.
tell me the list of services you have preferred?
what are all the different services which can be given to private sector
in law and order( i told that l&o is the prime function of a state but few
peripheral things like dna fingerprinting private sector can be in
volved)
what are all the benefits of dna fingerprinting.
what is a dna.
why when we are climbing a mountain we feel the chillness although
we are going near the sun(i told about normal lapse rate in
troposphere etc)
m3: what is the difference between social security and social welfare
what about nrega?
no space
tell me about right to incrimination(sorry sir i dont know,this was the
question first i told dont know)
tell me about up elections?(as i had tracking political events as one of
my hobby)
what is the latest issue in up election(i told about communal cd)
what is your opinion about the cd issue(i told hatredness should not be
spreaded against any section of the society)
when is the second phase of polling?
election scenario in up( i never mentioned any community or party
anywhere upto now?(i just told about the tough competition between 3
alliances?
who is the coalition partner of bjp?
m4:you are a production engineer tell me what you will do when
workers lay down their tool, i told about the things
2,(to make the situation complex )he asked: no workers wants to speak
to you and they dont have genuine grievances what you will do( i told
no human is unique and atleast i can speak to few persons.
he told"you are so positive"(i told yes)
3,how you will motivate your workers in a shop floor.
( i told about everything and i told my fifth point as money and m4 told
"yes that is the primary motivator" and i told performance based pay
can be given)
he got tired and asked anything else"i told about fan shaped
organisation or google kind of org to motivate the sub ordinates(i used
my pub ad knowledge here)he was not able to hear as he was too old
and asked what kind of org and dpa explained by showing the fan to
the member.
m4: what is the alternative of this kind of org(i told about
hierarchy,proper span of control) hegot satisfied(dpa also asked few
questions)
m4:entered in to my hobby again by asking questions on philately
i was asked more situational and issue based questions.due to lack of
space i have given only 50% of the questions.i was confident and kept
a smiling face upto the last.
Bhupendra
D P Agarwal
What kind of a job is yours? (Audit, PCS)
Why did you opt for IPS when you were already in CRPF earlier?
If you find that someone has committed embezzlement , what steps
would you take?
Which section if IPC would be applicable in case of embzzlement?
What is the situation of Panchayati Raj in UP?
How are woman participating through Panchayati Raj institutions?
Which railway stations fall between Jhansi(place of present posting)
and Delhi?
Who, from Dholpur family, is also a chief minister?
Have you read any article today? (Rupee appriciation)
Discuss its point...
What is Malthus law?
How many number of species are there on earth?
What is the cause of their extinction?
Name two vernaculars of UP?

Which has the largest circulation?

Where is Amar Ujala published from? (I said Meerut, He said Agra!)
Vaishali
DP AGARWAL : 10th APRIL
________________________
DP started with my Engg college (NSIT,ND), entrance procedure and
that I competed in outsiders' 15% seats, year of establishemnt.
What are u doing now ?
- I m working in NGas sectors
so lot of ques related to it n asked me to discuss sector with another
member
-he bombarded ..had indepth knowlegde ..
DP and other members in between ..one or two Que..

One member ..what is this whole issue of women empowerment

lot of Que ..regarding do women really need empowerment
in our society they have status of Devi , in family girls/grand daughters
more pampered one etc
all members one thing or other abt living their g daughters
- i gave points /
measures were asked govt n community level
constitutional provisions ..
property rights
wat are Frs ..hw diff frm legal rights n writ jurisdictions in respect of
both

then DP asked me about Karate( I got gold at school level) and to

discuss with one member
lot of que which all forms of martial art , famous personality,
do i knw about local Indian martial arts
evolution/ history/ uses / do I am in practise etc
DP suddenly asked me to name forts of India ..then when i was thinkin'
- he said two each frm N/S/E/W
Que related ..details of Gwalior for and why I named it giving
preference to other more famnous ones
- Gwl is my home town ..i said so
lot of ques / legends related to Gwl fort

while i was still answering in between DP asked me which all places I

went to
- I cautiously mentioned few urban places i went to ..not knowing wat
is due
then was asked wat prob i saw n soloution
lot of Q realted to solid waste mgmt
three things frm budget
tax provision fpr education
education cess
hw much do u knw India
5 dances from NE
and that is it ..though that was not it .. so easily !!
** About Natural Gas Sector
% of Imports/ Capacity of India/NG & PG/
ONGC/OIL capacity role etc
NG for domestic ./ commercial users etc/

Gud luck to all !

Vikas
DPA Board 10th April
dpa ON 10TH
I TOO HAD DPA's bOARD ON THE 10TH OF APRIL
WAS THE FIRST TO BE INTERVIEWED ON THE 10TH
Me a CA and had commerce n Psycho as my optionals.
HOBBY : SPREADING AWARENESS ON CONSUMER RIGHTS
no ques on psycho WERE ASKED FROM ME.
It all started from my name and college. MY JOB N WAT I WAS DOIN.
He asked me about wat i had been doin in the last few years as i was
practising as a CA n joined MTNL in 2005.
He asked me why did i joined MTNL.
Then he started with my hobby (Spreading awareness on consumer
rights)
Who's a consumer? ne monetary limit. he substantiated that in US
there is sum monetary limit.
How do u pursue ur hobby.
how u let ppl kno their rights.
wat r the diff in demands of middle aged n old aged persons.
he said that he purchases only two shirts a year.
what kind of ppl i meet wen i go for the morning walk.
he asked me to gave a demo for my hobby. how do i start talkin to ppl
for their consumer rights.
M1: Did u vote in delhi elections.
wat r d powers given to MCD.
how will u deal with solid waste management.
he asked me sumthin relating to recyclable waste.
another member asked me about ne instance where i have helped ppl
in consumer awareness.
M3 asked me sumthin relating to My area of specialisation ie. CA.
lifting of the corporate veil.
doctrine of ultra vires.
EXCEPTIONS TO THAT.
doctrine of indoor management
protection to investors under the companies act,1956
I GAVE 3-4 BUT they r very keen to get the answer they have in their
mind.
M4 asked me sumthin relating to my job.
the facts regarding MTNL.
poor customer satisfaction
reasons???
wat u hv done.
asked about the customer base of MTNL n its bifurcation.
sum suggestions to improve the services.
then it was DPA's turn to say thanx n d torture was over.
DPA has the habit to intervene in each n every ques n pretends that he
is doin sum oder work where as he has his full attention on d ans.
IT ALL LASTED FOR 35-40 MINS
ne body needin ne suggestions pls feel free.
Naren
Mr. DP Agrawal's Board
In my Board, there were all 5 male members and the questions were:
1. Do you think if one is coming for an IAS interview the person shd be
wearing a tie (as I wasn't wearing)
2. My prior work experience and the work profile
3. What is governance and e-governance
4. Give any practical example of e-gov
5. use of e-gov
5. what is e-business
6. urban problems
7. how you will solve the problems of traffic and civil amenities
8. Views on the company mergers and effects on Indian economy...
9. problem of global warming, causes and consequences
10. ozone delpetion
11. Alternative sources of energy
12. diff beween IT and Computer science
13. Can you recite any peom and explain the meaning ( poetry is not
my hobby)
14. Can you explain the meaning of Jana-gana-mana
15. what all places you have visited
16. Diff between 2-stroke and 4-stroke engine
17 Favourite singers
I found Mr. Agrawal bit rude and unsatisfied sometime but I am not
sure whether it was with me or he reacts the same way with others ..
Please let me know the experience of others who were interviewed by
the same board...

Monica
Air marshal inamdar's board
board interviewing me.....on the 3rd in d morning.....very
cordial..n..pleasant.....most of it was based on my hobbies...read
sports....n ...educational background.....asked me very few fact based
questions...mainly from d newspaper that day.made me feel extremely
comfortable...no grilling of any sort.asked me to give feedback on how
good they were at interviewing me!!! at d end of it.lighthearted
talk....hope they took me seriously...quite not like wat i had expected it
to be....good luck to all..
Kumar saurabh
air marshal inamdar's board
1) who is don bosco
2)after iit why civil services
3)what is the role of market vis a vis state in india today
4)basic problems of indian economy?
5)difference between social security net and social welfare.
6)what is transgenics. give some example. what is DNA. explain
7)what is the relation between economic growth and inflation.
8)what is sustainable development. give some examples where we fail
to have sustainable development.
9) sustainable cities.
10)who said "we are borrowing from future generation. we have not
inherited from previous generation"
11) what is migration, emigration, transmigration, tranfat
12) if kashmir problem is solved, will there be peace between india and
pakistan
13)what is the meaning of your name.
14) any suggesstions for improving civil services examination.
thank you, your interview is over.

Siddharth
chairperson- Mr. S.G. Inamdar
My tryst with destiny- 9th april at 11 a.m.(fatal combo of 9/11..!)
on the forenoon session, i was d first to be interviewed...
my interview(i.v.) began wth my roll no n birth date.
the other Qs are as under:-
1.whr u livin n since whn?
2. wts ur native place?- patan(guj).
-> do u know abt the archeological excavations tht took place b4 some
7-8 yrs?
3. wt r u stdyin rght now?- LL.B.
->full form of LL.B.
4. wt r d problems of ahmedabad(coz i'm livin here for d last 20 yrs)
->i said pollution, transport, health facilities, basic infra. etc.
->then frm pollution they took me towards CFCs, ozone depletion,acid
rain, global warming, kyoto protocol, montreal protocol n so on....
5. wt'll be ur priorities for solvin d problems of ahmedabad?
6. infrastructural changes needed in which areas in our country,
physical n social infra, ur priorities...
->i emphasised a bit more on education.
7. wts d level of female literacy in gujrat?
hw ll u raise the level? tell me atleast 1 innovative step u will take in
ths direction.
8.wt is women empowerment? (only definition)
9.do u know abt SEZ? wats d controversyn problems? which r d
disputed areas? tell us the new policy declared by gove in ths regard.
10. do u know anything abt surat?
->y ws it in news some 10-15 years ago. ans-plague
->hw did it break out? who ws d officer who completely
metamorphosised surat since then?
11. tell me abt d latest scientific inventions.
12. in cricket, who s an allrounder?defintn?a famous one frm guj in
past?
13. do u travel in railway? which r d new things or changes u found in
recent times? hws railway makin such a huge profits? is mr lalu solely
responsible for tht?
14. diff betn PIL n anglo-sexian jurisprudence.(on my sub-law)
15. name any non developin economy? i said none. then he asked hw
India is diff frm other developin countries? ans- Ind s 'rapidly' developin
country.
16. do u know 'Thakkarbapa'? his works?(my surname is Thakkar)
-> he ws a social worker durin 1920s n 30s.
Mr inamdar began the i.v. with the word 'beso' (gujarati of pls seat) n
ended it wth the word 'avjo' (bye bye in guj). this s so coz he is frm
maharashtra n probably worked in guj fr a long period.
n most importantly, it wsa 0 stress interview ... they were unbelievably
cordial. they din try to grill me or put me in stress even once...
P.S.-Though having a very good interview, i somehow cud not
clear this time..
Tirumala
MY IAS INTERVIEW
Air Marshal (Retd.) Satish Govind Inamdar's Board on 2nd of
April 2007. I was scheduled to be interviewed in the afternoon session
and was called to report at 1.15 PM. My interview started at 5. 30 PM in
the evening and I was the fourth candidate to be interviewed that
afternoon. It lasted for a little more than half an hour (in contrast to
previous candidates who were interviewed for 45 or more minutes
each).
I was wearing standard formal dress. A navy blue pant, white shirt with
a bluish tinge and was sporting a half Windsor knot on my tie to give a
confident look. My shoes were shining and my hairs and nails were
neatly cut. In short, a perfectly conventional look for the job I aspired
for. While waiting outside I remembered all the Gods that I have come
across in my life. I did a bit of 'Baba Ramdev' brand pranayam too.
That cooled me down a lot. The previous candidate came out and was
wearing a sad look. I asked him what happened. He told me that the
board is asking a lot of useless factual questions. In fact they asked
him the per capita income of Russia (I came to know later that this guy
was doing PhD on Russia). The bell rang and the peon indicated me to
go in. I opened the door gently and before I finished my standard 'May
I come in Sir?", the chairman called me in.
The room was quite big and the table was almost round and majestic.
There were five people seated around it with one chair was empty (for
me!). I walked with a smile and long steps. The table was around 7
steps from the door. The chairman told me to take the seat as I was
walking down but I stood near my chair, saw that one of the members
is a lady, wished her first and then wished the others and only then
took my seat. (I speak loud and my voice boomed in this room or so I
felt under pressure.) The chairman looked quite younger than what I
had thought. He should be around 64 years as per websites but he
looked not a day older than 50. He had quite a presence on the table
and had a dominating appearance.
(for the sake of simplicity, CM stands for chairman, M1 is the lady
member, M2, M3 and M4 are other male members)
CM: So you are Tirumala
Tiru: Yes Sir.
CM: Date of Birth?
Tiru: 23 Dec 78 sir
CM: Place?
Tiru: Shimoga sir
CM: Good.
CM: Tiru or Thiru?
Tiru: Tiru sir.
CM: What's the difference?
Tiru: Sir, It is not 'tha' but 'ta' (the pronunciation was in Hindi script)
and my name being with 'ti' and not 'thi'
M1: OK, but how does TTD spell it?
Tiru: Sir they call it Tiru and not Thiru.
CM: What were you doing in Dhanbad?
Tiru: Sir, My father was in Central Industrial Security force and hence
liable to be transferred all over India. As we stayed with him...X (I was
stopped here)
CM: Oh, CISF?
Tiru: Yes Sir
CM: You are an Engineer then why do you want to be a Civil Servant?
Tiru: Sir, given an opportunity the best will move towards the best. (I
had heard it from senior candidate) Moreover, the depth and breadth
of experience that a person gets in civil services cannot be matched by
any other job. One also gets an opportunity to serve the society in an
effective way and that's why I want to become a civil servant.
CM: Do you say that non Engineers are not fit to be civil servants?
Tiru: No sir
CM: So you mean to say that non Engineers too can become civil
servants?
Tiru: Sure Sir.
CM: But in order to be an Engineer, you have taken a seat which would
have otherwise gone to someone else and he would have served the
industry whereas you have decided to leave it? what do you say?
Tiru: Sir, In Karnataka, many seats remain vacant every year in many
colleges and as such I don't think I have taken any one's share.
CM: You mean to say that the number of candidates are less than the
number of seats in Karnataka?
Tiru: yes sir, it is so even in Tamil Nadu.
(Another member was nodding the head in affirmative while I said this
and CM looked at him and understood that I am not lying)
CM: You passed out in 2002. This is 2007. What were you doing all
these days?
Tiru: Sir, I was campus selected into Wipro fluid power in bangalore
while in college and after college I worked with Wipro for two years and
then changed my job and worked with Eaton Industries in Pune for 1
and half years. In Nov 2005 I quit that job and came to Delhi to prepare
for civil services.
CM: Why Delhi?
Tiru: Sir, it is because in Delhi one get good material for stu...X (X
symbol will mean that i was stopped at that point)
CM: Material?
Tiru: Yes sir, study material like books, magazines etc.
CM: Fine. (Looks towards the members and gestures them to ask
questions)
M1 (lady member): I see that you had psychology as one of your
optionals. How did you find it? Was in interesting?
Tiru: yes mam, it was very interesting.
M1: How many papers you had in psychology?
Tiru: 2 papers mam
M1: What were they?
Tiru: The first paper was on principles and theories of psychology and
the second paper was on applied psychology.
M1: How will you apply psychology in administration?
Tiru: Mam applied psychology deals extensively in organizational
behavior. The knowledge will come in handy to run any part of the
administrative setup. The knowledge of various motivation theories will
give me a chance to motivate my team to perform better. I also know
community psychology. It is the application of psychological principles
to solve social problems so that people can grow and realize their
potential....X
M1: Why did you leave your job? Do you think you were a misfit there
and that's why you want to move to civil services?
Tiru: No mam, in fact i was doing very well. I was a certified green belt
in Six Sigma and my roles and responsibilities were growing every
day...X
M1: What's your first option?
Tiru: IAS mam
M1: Why not IFS?
Tiru: (thinking for two seconds). Mam, to tell it in engineering terms, it
all boils down to the leverage effect. An IAS (i lift my hands and place
one finger of one hand on another finger of other hand to form a see
saw lever) officer has a bigger leverage to work for society compared
to IFS. The fulcrum position is better in his case. And mam, though I
am proud to represent my country as an IFS, still I would prefer IAS due
to this reason. However, it doesn't mean that I look down upon IFS. I
consider both equally respectful. However the canvas to paint for an
IAS is much bigger in scope due to the breadth and depth of the
job.....X
CM: what is this breadth, depth and such terms? Did they teach you
this in mock interviews or is it your own words? You know, coaching
institutes and such places.
Tiru: (Smiling), Sir I don't believe in mocks or coaching as they are run
now. These words are very much my own. In fact even to understand
psychology I went to a reputed professor in Delhi University rather
than going to run of the mill institutes. (The CM was looking at me as if
he was expecting some more words on it but I kept quiet. I felt I had
already spoken too much. He looked towards M2 and M2 takes over)
M2: So Tirumala, I saw that you said you can serve the society in an
'effective' way. What do you mean by that. What is effective?
Tiru: Sir, as an engineer I have a scientific approach towards any issue.
As I said sir, I am a green belt in six sigma and that gives me a very
effective tool to tackle processes....X
M2: Do you know anything about inflatable solar collector?
Tiru: I am sorry sir, I don't know.
M2: It's OK. Do you know about C A D and C A M. Can you tell me what
is the advantages by using it?
Tiru: Sir, CAD stands for computer aided design and CAM stands for
computer aided manufacturing but the latest buzz is CIM which stands
for computer integrated manufacturing. It utilizes the synergies of CAD
and CAM with an automated manufacturing setup. One can make a
model using a CAD tool like Unigraphics and can readily export it after
converting it to NC codes which is an inbuilt feature of the regular CAD
tools and it goes to manufacturing....X
M2: You are explaining the process. I know it, can you tell me the
advantages?
Tiru: yes sir, the errors comes down as the NC programming is
automatic, that's number one. Number two, the total time from design
to manufacturing comes down in such a setup and number three,
because of these two the turnover time decreases and customer
satisfaction increases.
M2: Good.
Tiru: thank you sir.
(when i was answering i was looking at all the members one by one
and when i looked at the chairman, he indicated by hand to look at the
member who asked the question and i devoted more time to M2 while
answering his question)
M2: Tirumala, Rajiv Gandhi once said that out of every rupee allotted
for the schemes, only 17 paise reaches the intended and remaining is
wasted. What is your take on this sentence?
Tiru: Sir, When Raviv Gandhi said that, he was talking about our
system. What he meant was that the system is so huge that the inertia
and friction itself takes up so much money. He was not talking of
corruption here but about the size of the system, the salaries to be
given to people in it, the money that goes in maintaining files etc...X
M2: Don't call it system, call it delivery mechanism...and yes you are
correct there but do you have any suggestions to bypass this
mechanism so that this wastage is not there?
(I took a moment to think...around 2 seconds)
M2: Don't worry, you can take your own time...write it down if you
wish..
Tiru: Thank you sir, I think decentralization is one answer. Sir, the
funds can be directly allotted to grass root level panchayats. They can
directly work on the schemes. That's one solution. Apart from that, one
can also think of funding the NGOs who are working directly with
people.
M2: Good.
Tiru: thank you sir.
M2: How can you apply IT in governance or in administration. And tell
me very specifically how can it reduce wastage, time and corruption?
Tiru: Sir, IT as a process can be an integral part of administration. To
answer corruption, in India corruption is basically what one calls speed
money. The files goes into the system, one doesn't know where the file
is, or how to move it and hence pays money to move the file or to
know the status. Once the process is computerised, the whole process
can be tracked online e.g. our passport system where a number is
given and the status can be tracked online. That might weed out
corruption. Coming to wastage, as the complete data is online it saves
a lot of paperwork and trees and also the manual labor of calculations.
Due to these two, the efficiency increases and will certainly lead to
decrease in total turnover time for customers.
M2: How can you improve the process?
Tiru: Sir, if the process is already established one like our
administrative setup, then one can use tools like DMAIC from six sigma
which stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The
process has to be studied in detail, to start with customers have to be
identified which in this case might be the citizens using the
services....X
M2: The customers are well known here.
Tiru: That's good sir. Now the Critical to quality issues for customers
have to identified which....X
M2: Ok, how much time do you think will take to improve the whole
system....is two or three years sufficient?
Tiru...mmmmmm in fact sir, I believe the system is too huge to change
in one go, in say two or three years, it would take time.
M2: Look at your whole career or say 30 to 35 years...would that the
enough?
Tiru: Certainly sir, that's quite enough time to completely overhaul the
system but it has to be a joint effort by all.
M2: Good
Tiru: thank you sir.
(Till this point the interview was dominated by me...or so I felt, as i was
talking aloud, in clear tone and the board members were very
supportive. From this point onwards, they tested my composure in
adverse conditions. My voice didn't change and i didn't waver. But yes,
it was really tough to maintain my poise as situation took a turn for
worse)
M3: OK, Tirumala there is some issue with currency exchange rate,
something to do with dollar to rupee and things like that...any idea
what is it?
Tiru: yes sir, the rupee is appreciating with respect to dollar and that is
a cause for concern for exporters and at the same time a good news
for importers. And sir, I am not sure how it works but I read that it
would also bring down inflation.
M3: No, no...this is not what I meant....Tell me specifically, how would it
affect IT industry?
Tiru: Sir, the IT industry bills their overseas customers in dollars or in
Euros and hence for the same amount of euros or dollars coming in,
they will have less rupees after conversion. That would decrease their
margin.
M3: And what would happen to Auto industry?
Tiru: Sir, using the same logic the Auto exporters too will take a hit.
M3: No, that is wrong. Think like a mechanical engineer, the auto
industry has anicilliary and main makers etc...can you now tell?
Tiru: I am extremely sorry sir but I don't know the answer.
M3: Ok leave it. There is some issue with petrol and diesel and there is
some arguments going on..what is it?
Tiru: Sir the petrol and diesel prices are going up.
M3: No no, I mean there is some other issue. Using it in automobiles
etc..think in that line.
Tiru: Sir the last century was oil century and this would be gas century.
We will have more use of gases in automobiles and less and less petrol
and diesel as we go along.
M3: No no. that won't happen for next thirty years. Think in lines of
pollution.
Tiru: Yes sir, both are polluting in nature as they produce....X
M3: No no, you are a mechanical engineer, think in terms of the
engines.
Tiru: Sir, in past thirty years or so, diesel technology has made a lot of
progress due to improvement in fuel injection technology and they
have become silent and hence all major car manufacturers are now
releasing a diesel versions...X
M3: No no...i was not asking that. OK, leave it. Do you have any idea as
to how many cars India produces each year?
Tiru: Sorry sir, I don't have the figures.
M3: Do you have any idea how big is our auto industry?
Tiru: I am sorry sir, I don't know.
M3: Looks like you don't know anything about industries. Tell me which
industry do you know about.
Tiru: Sir, I have worked in hydraulic industry for more than 3 and half
years. You can ask about that.
M3: (he had a pencil in hand all the time which he put it down now as if
giving up): I don't know anything about hydraulic industry.
(I was quite relieved)
M4: Tirumala, I see that you do bodybuilding. Do you still do
bodybuilding?
Tiru: No sir, that was during college days. I now concentrate more on
maintaining my fitness.
M4: So you go to gym?
Tiru: Yes sir.
M4: How much weight do you lift?
Tiru: 90 kgs in bench press. 80 kgs in squats and 130 kgs in dead lift
sir.
M4: What is the world record in olympics?
Tiru: Sir, powerlifting is not an olympic sport.
M4: Ok, in commonwealth?
Tiru: Not ever here sir but there are competitions at other places and
in dead lifts people are lifting around 700 pounds and that works out
around 320 kgs.
CM: What is difference between bodybuilding and powerlifting?
Tiru: Sir, powerlifting is all about strength and bodybuilding is about
beauty of muscles. In powerlifting one has to perform squat, deadlift
and benchpress and the combined total weight is taken to judge the
strength and in bodybuilding one has to pose and show his muscles.
CM: You do blogging? What is it? What do you do?
Tiru: Sir, blogs are online diaries which can be used to express one's
thoughts or events. Even to share points of view on issues of general
nature. I maintain three blog sites sir.
CM: What kind of books do you read?
Tiru: Sir I read any book as long as it is interesting which I judge by
reading first few pages. If you ask what i am reading right now, I am
reading Malgudi days by R K Narayan and before that I was reading
Foundation by Isaac Asimov which is a science fiction and before that I
read The inscrutable americans by anurag mathur and before that
mritunjaya by shivaji savant and and few novels by John Grisham...X
M4: Ok, tirumala have you seen the roads and the highways?
Tiru: yes sir,
M4: How are they?
Tiru: good sir.
M4: No I mean, what is the shape, convex, concave or straight...how
does it look like. (makes shapes with hands and shows)
Tiru: (I make my hands convex and show the shape): Sir it is convex.
M4: What's that called?
Tiru: Banking....no sir, it is not banking....I am sorry I don't know.
M4: It is called camber.
Tiru: thank you sir.
M4: Now tell me, why is this camber there?
Tiru: I am not sure sir.
M4: Take a guess.
Tiru: Maybe sir because the wheels give loads on ends of the roads and
over a period of time....X
M4: No no that's not the reason.
Tiru: I am sorry sir, I don't know.
M4: It is for drainage purposes. That way, the water will flow sidewards
and not collect at the centre.
Tiru: yes sir, that's logical. Thank you sir.
M4: Why is banking given on turns?
Tiru: To avoid vehicles from toppling over or skidding while taking a
turn.
M4: and why does vehicle topple or skid?
Tiru: Sir the centrifugal force acting on the vehicle makes them do so.
The reaction force tries to balance the centrifugal force acting inwards
and when centrifugal force is more the vehicle topples.
M4: Centrigual force acts inwards?
Tiru: mmmmm...
M4: How does the vehicle topple?
Tiru: Outwards
M4: Then how should the centrifugal force act?
Tiru: yes sir, I was wrong, it actually acts outwards and in fact
centripetal is the one acting inwards.
M4: Think again. I think you were right earlier.
Tiru: (I was really confused now...and though i knew i was wrong
earlier but i took a moment here. All the members on the board broke
into smiles and started laughing slowly. I too looked at them and we all
laughed): Sir...X
M4: So you are confused.
Tiru: Sir I accept that I am confused.
CM: But you should know this. This is basic.
Tiru: yes sir, I accept I should know this. I agree.
CM: Do you know about the differential gears used in two wheelers?
Tiru: Sir as per my knowledge they are used in four wheelers.
CM: yes yes, wahi wahi. Tell me why is it used?
Tiru: sir when a vehicle takes a turn the radius of turn for the outer
wheels is more than that for inner wheels due to which the number of
effective turns required for the outer wheels is more than that required
for inner wheels....X
CM: Why do engineers speak so technically. Tell me what will happen?
Tiru: Sir the tyres will wear faster.
CM: That's all? What's the major effect? That's just a minor effect.
Tiru: I am sorry sir, I can't recall any other effect.
CM: The axle will break. Remember the horse drawn carriages? Have
you seen bailgadis? (Bailgadi = bullock cart)
Tiru: yes sir, bailgadis don't have differentials.
(I don't know why but when i said that all members in the board
laughed.)
CM: Ok, tell me what differential mechanism do they use in trains.
Tiru: I am not sure sir.
CM: Think again. Don't you think they need differentials?
Tiru: To take a guess sir, the effective turning radius is very big for
trains and they may not need them.
CM: But the load is very high. So they do need them.
Tiru: yes sir, that's logical.
CM: Ok, then take a guess. There are many types of differentials.
Hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical etc. What type they are using?
Tiru: I am afraid sir, I don't have any idea. However it sounds
interesting to me and next time I am on a train, I will make it a point to
bend down and see what differential mechanism they are using.
CM smiles at me.
CM: Tirumala, your interview is now over. Good. Do you have any
suggestions for the board?
Tiru: No sir.
CM: Do you have any suggestions for the exam system?
Tiru: No sir.
CM: You may leave now. Thank you.
Tiru: Thank you sirs. thank you mam.
I get up from the chair. Take two steps back. Turn around and walk out
of the door.
I come out. I meet the last candidate who is waiting outside the room. I
wish him all the best and come out of UPSC. Now I am waiting for the
results. It all depends on how much I score in mains and in this
interview. Hopefully things will work out well. Fingers crossed till then.
The results are expected around Mid May.
Tiru
(I got 180 marks out of 300 for this interview. Refer the marks details
in another blog above)
==========================================
=====================
August 10, 2007 by sudhanshu shekhar

So, the service is now allocated. I have finally got what I wanted. Yes,
ladies and gentlemen, I have got Indian Revenue Service(Income Tax).
I would like to write something about the service. It is one of the most
prestigious civil service in our country which has got a very important
role in driving country’s economy. It can easily be desribed as the
wheels of the economy. It deals with administration of direct taxes in
our country. It deals with income tax, corporate tax etc. All of which
are direct taxes. The apex authority of direct taxes is Central Board of
Direct Taxes(CBDT).
As regards the kind of posting and promotions which I will be getting, I
would be posted first as Assistant Commissioner. Thereafter, the
hierarchy goes as,Deputy,Joint and Additional Commissioner. Then, the
posts of Commissioner and Chief Commissioner come. The Chief
Commissioner if the highest field posting. Some fortunate Chief
Commissioners then get promoted as Member, CBDT and some super
fortunate member becomes Chairman, CBDT. Usually, an IRS remains
as chairman,CBDT only for a few months because he/she is generally
on the verge of retirement.
Now, comes a strange thing, which exemplifies how IAS is the premier
service in country. This gentleman, the senior most IRS,chairman of
CBDT works under the DIRECT control of Revenue Secretary, an IAS. To
exacerbate the problems, this IAS is usually junior to him. Thus,
wherever IRS and IAS meet, IAS reigns supreme.But, well, I am happy
with what I have got.
Strange UPSC
June 1, 2007 by sudhanshu shekhar
So finally I got through Civil Services. It was my second attempt and I
got 193 rank. I don’t know what service I am going to get but one thing
is sure, it will be a good service.
Two days before, my marks in CSE was announced and I came to
understand why UPSC is strange. I am putting up my marks..
Maths..178 and 176
Mech Engg..149 and 157
Essay..120
Interview..198
General studies paper1..174
and now comes the unbelieveable, most shocking, most strange thing
in the universe…my marks in GS paper2.. 64 out of 300. This paper,
in which 40 marks are asked as statistics (which I did correctly),
science tech, international affairs etc..let me down. I should have
easily gotten 164. I don’t know what has happened. I am taking up
available recourses.
My result was a shock to me. I was expecting a very good rank.
Anyway, 193 is also good.
Indian Forest Service
May 7, 2007 by sudhanshu shekhar
Now that I have been selected for IFS and got AIR of 5, I feel that it will
be good if I post my interview of IFS as well. It was 26th of March and
the forenoon session. I was4th candidate in a group of five. It was my
1st interview at UPSC.When I reached inside Dholpur House and
completed all formalities, I was informed that it was Air Marshal(Retd.)
Satish Govind Inamdar’s board. I knew that something strange was
going to happen to me, for Mr. Inamdar is known to give less marks in
Civil Sevices Examination (We didn’t have his records for IFS though). I
started looking here and there and enquired the gardener about the
kind of flowers which were there( these can be asked in IFS interview,
that which flowers did you see while sitting outside). Anyway, the
peon, named Kameshwar from Darbhanga, came and told me to wait
outside Mr. Inamdar’s room. I sat thereon and talked a bit to
Kameshwarji. I asked him whether any lady member was also there. I
saw the watch, it was 12:15 and I decided to say ‘Good Afternoon’ in
stead of ‘Good Morning’.
Suddenly the bell rang and peon opened the door for me. It was a long
way to Chairman’s table. I went with a smiling face and said ‘Good
afternoon sirs’. Before I could complete, Mr. Inamdar started tlking in
Hindi…good afternoon Sudhanshuji, आइए आइए चाए वाए िलये… हा सर ले िलए ….नाशता
वाशता िकए …..हा सर हो गया …..अचछा, कहा िकए…… कैनटीन मे सर …..कया िमला वहा ……गये थे
सर लेिकन कुछ िमला नही …..अरे तो कुछ नही िलये सुबह से …..नही सर, चाय िलये है ….अचछा बैिठये
बैिठये कहा के रहने वाले है आप ……( till now, I have been standing and didn’t sit
until he told me to sit, a normal courtsey)..सर िबहार के….
Hereafter, the communication started in English.
CM: Sudhanshu, use the back rest of chair and dont lean forward
during interview. Please take water.
S: Sir, I have taken water outside.
CM:Anyway, this water is for you. What is your background.
S: Sir, I am from Purnea in Bihar and have done my 10th from Zila
School,Saharsa, Intermediate from B.N.College,Patna and graduation
from IIT Kanpur.
CM:You are from IIT, why do you want to come to IFS.
S: Because of the nature of work, sir. It is a very challenging job and
huge diversity is there….(interrupts)
CM: What is the challenge.
S:Sir, here I will be both the custodian as well as the manager of
forests..wildlife management and solving the challenging problems like
environment-development trade-off….(interrupts)
CM: What is this.
S:Sir, as the development process takes place it has its negative effect
on environment. As an IFS I will have to solve this problem to ensure
development while keeping environment in good health.
CM:When did you decide to come to IFS.
S:In last year of my graduation, sir, when I decided to join govt.
service.
CM:Why govt. service.
S: Because I want to contribute directly to the development of my
nation.
CM:But in a pvt. service, you can contribute more.
S:Sir, contributing directly is also important.
CM:Yes, but which is more important, contributing more or contributing
directly.
S: Sir, both are impt.
CM:Given a choice..
S: Sir, I will go for contributing more.
CM:Then…
S:………
CM:Okay, have a look at the photograph, tell me what is this..(points to
a picture of fighter aircraft).
S:Sorry sir, I don’t know.
CM: Make a guess,what is this, a helicopter, space shuttle….what is
this.
S:Sir, it seems to be a fighter aircraft.
CM:Yes, a reasonably good guess. It is a fighter aircraft. Now, tell me
where is its propeller, or the engineer has forgotten to put it.
S:Sorry sir, I have no idea, where the propeller is.
CM:Make a guess, it is in front of the aircraft or in the back or is there
any propeller at all.
S:I think it is at the front or may be at the back.Sorry sir, I am unable to
figure out.
CM:Okay, don’t worry.
S:Sir, may I take water.
CM:Yes,yes..this is for you. Whenever you want to take it, feel free to
take.
S: Thank you sir.( I take water and during the interview, I take water
for six seven times.)
CM:You have worked in Tata Motors.
S:Yes sir.
CM:What was it called earlier.
S:TELCO.Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company, sir.
CM:Why did they change the name.
S: Sir, in international market, one has to be very specific with their
core competence. Tata Motors no longer produces Locomotives and
hence TELCO name was redundant.
CM: What is a locomotive.
S:Railway engine is known as locomotive,sir.
CM:What is locomotion.
S:Sorry sir, I don’t know.
CM:How does locomotive work.
S:Sir, it uses coal and by that it works.
CM:So, we burn coal and train moves.
S: No sir, coal is burnt and then water is boiled. Vapour produced then
runs the piston and thus engine moves forward.
CM:What is it called.
S:….
CM:Coal locomotive or vapour locomotive..what is it called.
S:….sir, we generally know it by the name,locomotive only.
CM:Haven’t you heard of steam locomotive.
S: Yes sir, but it didn’t come at the moment.
CM:you are a Mechanical Engineer, you should know these things.
S: Sir, I accept that I am expected to know these things, yet somehow,
I don’t know.These things are not even taught.
CM: So, if something is not taught, you won’t learn that. These are
general awareness. Is there any legal ban on knowing this.
S:Yes sir.
CM:Yes??
S:Sir, I mean, there is no ban, and I should know these.
CM:Please continue M1.
M1: Have you heard of JFM.
S:Yes sir, JFM is Joint Forest Management and it is an initiative of govt
where govt and local communities jointly manage the forests and the
benefits accruing are distributed..( I gave a typical bookish answer
which was 100% correct, that I don’t remember now.)
CM:What is Global Warming..forestry..

Simardeep
My interview was on 17th april in Ms. chokila board.
Optionals: Geog & Psycho.
B.E.(Comp Sc.)
I am posting some of the ques that I can recall...
M-1: (chokila mam)
Why did u leave your job in C-DoT?
Have you heard abt NPT.
What is it??
Has india signed NPT?
Why hasn't india signed NPT?
We all have heard abt the 1st green revolution, do u have any idea
what is this 2nd green revolution?
M-2: (a lady member)
Tell me something abt mechanisation. Why is there less mechanisation
in india?
How can u increase mechanisation in the country?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of mechanisation?
So u think full-fledged mechanisation is possible in a country like india?
Do u think that mechanisation will have a negative impact on
employment generation?
Since there have been so many rural youth you have been coming
over to the urban areas in search of employment etc, what efforts can
u do in order to keep them in the rural areas only i.e. how can u
provide adequate employment opportunities to them in rural areas
only?
How do u visualise punjab in the coming years?
M-3:
First of all he asked me abt my height(in a lighter vein)
i said 6'4''.
Then again in a lighter vein he said that "People who are short like me
have to look up to you" (then the whole board started smiling including
me).
Then he said,"Now I will also talk abt a tall indian - not in the physical
sense but in a metaphorical sense - abt mahatma gandhi. Do you think
that he made any contribution to the country? Speak something on
this."
Now, pick an Indian leader of your choice who you think can be as tall
as mahatma gandhi?
Suppose u r a Cultural Secretary and u have to assign some topics for
elocution to be presented in front of school and college children. Give
me any 6 topics that u will decide upon.
M-4: (a prof. likely frm comp.science field)
What do u know abt parallel processing?
((Any idea of a parallel processing computer of india?
How does this supercomputer compare with the others in the world?))
Where can parallel processing be used?
Where it cannot be used?
What are its uses in nuclear field?(he led me to the answer by dropping
a hint,"Do u know why US does not conduct nuclear tests" then i
recalled the concept of simulation and the use of parallel processors)
What are its uses in space technology?
What is quantum computing? (and then abt quantum mechanics etc
when i cud not answer, then again he led me to the answer)
M-5:(99% he was a psychologist)
He gave me a sheet of paper on which were listed arnd 14 qualities
that a civil servant shud possess. He asked me to read out those
qualities aloud so that each of the members can hear them.
He asked me to single out a quality that u tink s the most imp. of
these.
Then he asked me to add a couple of more qualities that were not
present in the list.
Then the final question, do u think that if a person is learned and very
good in studies and if he does not possess good ethics and value
education that he can be a good civil servant?

Arjun Sibal.....
my interview
Ms.Chokila
y ias,
how will it give u satisfaction,
what will u do for ur dist
how will u go about it
what is right to education
what r the weaknesses in ssa
m1
diff between fund n human rights
diff betweeen dir n fundamental rights
3 things that make u optimistic n 3 that make u pessimistic abt india
n so on
m2
lot son pol sc(was unsat in most of em lol.....had to say i havent
brushed it up in a while still was asked repeatedly on pol sc....but i dint
bother
was budha selfish in abandoning his fam?
why did ram mohan try to remove sati?etc
m3
diff between usa n indian federal features
is centre justified in curbing state rights for planing?
what happens to funds not used for planning?
name 5 painings u like
etc
m4
lots of quest on village,infrastucture,lucknow,sahara's infra in
lucknow,raja of mehmoodabad,etc.
thats sm of the qyest i rmebered.there were lots.......m too damn tired
lol......so will post more later
wont say my answers though,so as not to put anyone in any mental
set....also....pls dont ask my contact no. as i wont give it to u if i dont
know u
overall the interview was cool cuz i was myself in totality.used a lot of
hand gestures,was completley honest)to the point of being blunt at
times,had made certain to avoid doing everything that the pathetic
institutes like vaji tell us too
my advise.....be ur self....and please dont wear blue shirt n black
ties.....cuz 60% wore it any1 cld spot they had come from coaching
institues
Mrs Chokila iyer
I had my interview on 13th of april.I got up early in the morning at 5 o
clock.My god i was feeling sick.I had a bad stomach and i thought that
number 13 is working at full throttle.Anyhow i gulped down few pills
and everthing got fine.I wore a white shirt,blue trouser and a matching
tie.I reached at upsc 15 mins before 9.As i entered the waiting
room,candidates already sitting there gave me a gud news that i will
be the first one to be interviewed.My heart was racing faster than F1
cars.However i started interacting with the candidates and and became
normal.Soon i was told that i will be interviewed by Mrs Chokila
iyer.Few minutes later call of destiny came and i followed the peon.He
aked me to wait outside the room.While i was waiting outside i was
trying to get familiar with the surroundings.Then the bell rang and i
went inside.The lady sitting as the chairman gave a benign look and
smiled a bit. I greeted her first and then the other members.I sat on
the chair when asked by madam.
ch-ok,mr jyoti ,is cooking ur hobby
j- yes mam c-what do u cook
j-north indian vegeterian food
c-what is the status of food processing industries in india
j-food pr ind are in nascent stage and they are taking up .in our
country only 1.3% of total produce is getting processed whereas in
developed countries it is around 80%
c-is food pr essential
j-yes mam
c-why
j-because in our country 25% of total produce is getting wasted .fp can
help in reducing the wastage and it will also enhance the nutritional
aspects of food.
c-can u tell me something about wheat procurement by private players
j-mam,in states like punjab and rajasthan APMC act has been modified
which allows the private players to procure directly from the
farmers.Many companies like itc,cargill,glencore are already procuring
wheat from farmers.Farmers are getting better prices.
c-has it also improved the quality of wheat production?
j-yes mam
mam tells other member to start
m1-jyoti,do u play cricket
j-no sir,i used to play
m1-why
j-sir,i do not get enough time
m1-what do u do
j-sir i study
m1-ok in today’s newspaper a news has come about inflation
j-yes sir,govt has allowed import of 1.5 mt of pulses to contain
inflation.
m1- good,what other measures have been taken
j- i sited all the measures..demand,fiscal and supply
m1-how repo rates contain inflation
j- sir increase in repo rate mops up extra liqidity from the market and it
leads to reduction in demand as cost of money increases.
m1-there was something about wto in todays newpaper
j-yes sir,g4 countries,us eu india and brazil have decided to conclude
doha talks by year end.
m1-was it g4 or g6
j-sir times of india was mentioning g4 whereas in hindu it was g6
m1-ok ok,what are the major issues of talk
j-agricultural subsidies and nama
m1-what is full form of nama
j-non agricultural market access
m1- does india subsidise its agriculture
j-yes sir
m1-why we always accuse US not india for giving subsidies
j-sir in wto there is a aggrement on agriculture which allows us to
subsidise our agri upto 10% of total agri production while for US it is
5%.our subsidy is around 3-4% while in case of US it is around 25-
30%.thatswhy it is an issue in context of US.
m2-are subsidies justified
j-yes sir but they should be better targeted.those people who actually
need it ,they are not getting at upto an extent they are expected to
get.
m2-but subsidy is a drain on exche..
j-sir,govt also has a social responsibility
m2-what is the subsidy on cooking gas
j-sir if u allow me ,i can make a guess
m2-guess
j-90
m2-its more than that.why govt is giving subsidy on coking gas
j-sir govt is targetting poor
m2-but rich are also getting it
j-sir the more a person is poor more of his income is spent on food.thus
this affects poor in a big way.
m2-have u heard about corporate social responsibilty
j-yes ir
m2-what is it
j-sir,corporates have a social responsibilty and they should spend a
part of their profit towards social development.
m2-give some examples
j-tatas have opened hospitals in different parts of our country
m2-give some other example
j-sir i was working with eicher motors and they have opened a school in
alwar.they are also running an eye hospital named as shroff
eye hospital in delhi.
m2-tell me about river interlinking
j-i answered in detail(asked about env impact)
m2-what are life style diseases
j-cardiovascular diseases,hypertension,cancer
m2-how cancer
j-sir carcionogens in our food can induce cancer.further
smoking,chewing tobbacco can cause cancer.
m3-he asked a lot of factual objective type questions on geography
most of which were answered by me.however he was interrupted in
between by mrs chokila iyer after which 4th member started asking
questions
m4-tell me about three diseases caused by mosquitos in india
j-malaria,dengue,chikungunya which recently broke out in southern
states
m4-do we have any malaria eradication programme
j-yes sir
m4-what are the major components
j-sir i am not aware about all the components but one major
component is spraying ddt to conatin mosquito breeding
m4-what are the ill effects of ddt
j-biomagnification,it enters in our food chain and adversely affect our
health.
m4-is use of ddt justified
j-sir we should strike a balance between its useful and harmful
effects.Further we can use innovative methods to contain mosquito
breeding.I read somewhere that in us they have bred a mosquito which
is impoten.such biological methods can be used to contain mosquito
breeding.
m4-is it so
m4-why sachin was in news for reasons other than cricket
j-sorry sir,i am not aware
(he gave me a hint.i was not able to recall.ch says,he may not have
read.)
m4-ok why narayan murthi was in news
j- i explained
m4-ok in which campus did this happen,was it bangalore
j-sorry sir i am not aware
m4-tell me about tata corus deal
j- i explained but did a mistake.i told that after merger tata has
become second largest steel producer.
m4-u are using tata.which company of tata has acquired corus
j-sir tata sons
m4-it is tata steel,how much steel does it produce
j- if u allow me i can make a guess
m4-sure
j-12mmt
m4-no its less than that.how much steel does india produce
j-around 35 mmt
m4- and china
j- around 300 mmt
m4- compare indian and chinese economy
j-both are growing at decent rates .indian economy is more open in
comparision to china.china has been able to improve its infrastructure
however infrastructure remains a bottleneck for our economy.
china has also done well in manu sector where we are still lagging.
m4- tell about quantum of fdi in china and india
j-it is $60 bn for china and $5 bn per annum for india.sezs have
performed very well in china
m4-ok if india has to catch up china ,what should we do
j-massive development of infrastructure
m4-what are the components of infrastructue
j- power-we are facing a serious power crisis
telecom-we are on the right path
roads
ports
dams
m4-ok jyoti ,your interview is over
ch- thank you mr jyoti,(with a big smile)
my best wishes are with you
i stood up,stepped back,greeted the board and walked out with
confidence
Manish
my interview on 16th April-Chokila Iyer
*Engineering background, working in steel industry
ch-
1.being an enginner, why do you want to become IAS?
2.about present work
3. status and future of indian steel industry
4. about Tata-Corus deal
M-1
1.should govt remain in business of production
2.view about governence today? why public perception bad? what is
the solution?
3. importance of agriculture in indian economy?
M-2
1. what is ambition?are you ambitious?
2. technocrats Vs Bureaucrats?
3. how would you use technology in administration?
4.how would you use your expertise of present job in administration?
5.difference between managing material resources and human
resource?
6. has creation of jharkhand has improved its condition vis-a-vis bihar?
M-3
1. what is e-governence?
2. any specific technology to be used in administration?
3. should india remain in WTO?
M-4
1. what it your greatest achievement uptill now?
2. problem of present indian education system in india? what needs to
be done?
3. value education?
Surprisingly, there were no questions on optionals, home-state and
hobbies. Interview lasted for about 20-25 minutes.

Prashanth
From the horse's mouth
Run by a group of wisdom seekers trying to spread awareness among
the people
Thursday, April 12, 2007
On the D-day

Thought it will be useful to atleast some!!!

Chairman :: Do u have an idea about Physics?
Yes sir, but basics
Have nt u studied it in graduation?
Yes sir, but it is only minimum ,, say one subject
Is it not upto graduation level?
No
OK now tell me how u differentiate a mountainous area
... Height?
I think 1800m
It s wrong
convert it into feet
around 5400 feet sir
Its also wrong
do u know landslides?
Why do they occur
?
Sir, Due to pressure exerted by upper rocks/material and when lower
ones cant sustain it
dont u know that they occur due to river cutting, deforestation etc
Yes Sir
you are a student from science background ,, tell me scientific reason
Sir, Due to mismatch b/n Gravitational force and friction
:-)))) Wrong man ,, repeats the same answer given By him above,, river
-- cutting
What happens when we go to a moutain?
Sir, First we feel dizzy and blood comes out of nose and ears due to
less atmospheric pressure
NO, anything more
Oxygen level is less sir
MORe..
I dont know
OK , do u know about PDS? How many categories are there?
Mention the 3 categories
Sir, 1. APL 2. BPL 3. I dont know
He explains it
Dont u know this?
I heard about it sir
Ok ,, no 1st member
some questions about optionals(y,..) and y civils
last week investors have lost crores , what is the reason behind that ?
(hobby stocks)
Due to both domestic and internatinal factors madam
RBi rate hike CRR ,, repo then rising YEN falling Dollar
ok fine,, how much time u spend on this dails
daily*
IT depends on the free time I had Madam,, sometimes half an hour
sometimes 1 or 2 hours
k DO u know about charting
k
Madam, I am not an expert
Its just a hobby
k fine. 2nd Member
problems of kadapa
1 power 2 agriculture 3 political rivalry
why dont u mention factionism?
Sir, by political rivalry I meant the same
tell me why it startedd
Sir ,, due to existence of independent village headsmen during
VIjayanagara empire
I am talking about 21 st century
That continued sir even now.
NO
where did naxalism start in AP before Naxalbari
I think guntur
NO its nalgonda
Ok sir
do u think naxalism is there in rayalaseema
No sir its minimum
have u ever heard about kurnool ,, athmakur
ok Where was cb naidu attacked ?
near tirupati Sir.
It s in Rayalaseema only. u have said its not there in Rayalseems
Sir I mean its very less
ok fine what is happeningh in Kadapa latesty
Sir ,, A few irrigation projects are coming up RIMS medical institute ,, IT
park in kadapa etc
ok
3rd member
What is the difference between good and THE BAD
I tried to explain in societal values ,,,
U r wrong ,, Good is an adjective THE BAD is a noun
smiless
no tell me what do u mean by a repressive state apparatus
?
Explained police human rights link .
NO its suppression,, now give me the difference between the two.
I dont know SIR.
k now tell me the similarity between EDUCATION and cultivation
Sir the last sylabelle is same in both -- tion
Try something more ,...
I tried but of no use
ok Is ur name a rising or falling sentence?
Its normal
No wrong
its a falling one
ok 4 th member
y did u join JNTU ? U did not get any other college?
I joined wilingly sir
what is EAMCET?
Eng and MEd common entrance test
ok Did u write IIT jee?
I am not aware sir
so I did not
NOt aware?
Sir at that point of time ( during my intermediate days )
ok FIne
chairman:: Thank You YOu can go..
All the best
Mr. Subir Dutta's Board
What do you like to read?(i had reading as a hobby)
what is the last book u read?
Why have you chosen psycho and socio?
how do you rate your interview skills?
Why have you chosen IFS as your second preference?
which foreign lang would you like to learn?
What should be done in iraq?
what is the difference between shias and sunnis?
what is sociology?
what is anthropology?
how does one study sociology?
What is the problem in sri lanka?
do u think india has been consistent in its policy towards sri lanka?
What is co-ordinated patrolling?
what steps have been taken to curb inflation?
what is transparency international?
what is non-practising allowance for doctors?
why do doctors only get it?
what are the problems facing the rural health sector?
how will you rectify them?
what should be done against govt doctors found indulging in pvt
practice?
what was green revolution?
which came first: HYV of rice/wheat?
how will you eliminate malaria?
name the country that has made significant strides in this respect.
What has been done in the insurance sector?
what is the criminal justice system?what are its problems?
how can they be rectified?
how can tax compliance be increased?
Do you think the EC is acting as a parallel power centre in UP?
hi! had mr. subir dutta's board. here were the ques...
what do you like to read?(i had reading as a hobby)
what is the last book u read?
why have you chosen psycho and socio?
how do you rate your interview skills?
why have you chosen IFS as your second preference?
which foreign lang would you like to learn?
what should be done in iraq?
what is the difference between shias and sunnis?
what is sociology?
what is anthropology?
how does one study sociology?
what is the problem in sri lanka?
do u think india has been consistent in its policy towards sri lanka?
what is co-ordinated patrolling?
what steps have been taken to curb inflation?
what is transparency international?
what is non-practising allowance for doctors?
why do doctors only get it?
what are the problems facing the rural health sector?
how will you rectify them?
what should be done against govt doctors found indulging in pvt
practice?
what was green revolution?
which came first: HYV of rice/wheat?
how will you eliminate malaria?
name the country that has made significant strides in this respect.
what has been done in the insurance sector?
what is the criminal justice system?what are its problems?
how can they be rectified?
how can tax compliance be increased?
do you think the EC is acting as a parallel power centre in UP?
..........i have listed close to 90% of the ques asked to me.hope it is of
some use to you guys.

Satyadeep
My interview was with Subir Dutta’s board on 11th april. I was the
first one 2 b interviewed on that day.
1) is balasore town (my place of birth) 2 d north or south of orissa n
what is it’s strategic significance?
2) Why is a 110 volts electric supply used in US whereas a 220v supply
is used in India 4 domestic purposes n what is the advantage of using
high voltage in electric systems?
3) U have done ur engg in Manipal Institute of Technology, isn’t it one
of those “donation colleges”… (I had 2 tell them that I got my seat thru
the Karnataka common entrance test & not by paying donation)
4) The Manipal group was the first 2 commercialise technical education
in India. What r ur views on the privatization of education??
5) U have stated photography as ur hobby. Do u use a digital camera
or one which uses a roll.
6) Will the change of name of Bangalore 2 Bengalooru (my hometown)
have any effect on FDI inflow into Karnataka? Name 3 other towns in
Karnataka whose names have been changed.
7) U have taken political science as ur optional. Do u prefer a
monolithic party-system or a coalition govt. n why?
8) Would u consider china a threat 2 india or is there scope 4 hindi-
chini bhai-bhai?
9) Though u have stayed in Karnataka most of ur life, u must have
tried 2 explore ur roots (orissa). Can u tell me the social significance of
the Jagannath rath-yatra?
10) U have stated traveling as one of ur hobbies. Can u tell us the
significance of Raghurajpur in orissa?
11) What is poverty line? What is the current poverty line of India?
12) What r ur service-preferences? (I had given IPS as 1st option) .
what r the qualities required of a good police officer??
13) What r ur views on migration from backward states 2 d developed
states. How can this be stopped?
14) When u look into a mirror, why is there only lateral inversion. Why
don’t u appear upside-down?
chase
my interview
i had Subir Dutta board and i was last person to go in afternoon
session,i had no formalities questions like wats ur name,where u r
from.it was more like rapid fire questions
chairman
1.why did u studied in anna university
2.is governement tackling northeast insurency and naxals in same
manner.if so y,if not y(this is the questions i made mistake,he told me
that u hav not understood question,leave it)
3.hav u ever used ur knowledge u got in ur university
m1
1.how do u stduy psychology
2.in which stage of stage ur in erickson developement stage
3.what is conflicts resolution
4.how to test personality of the person
have answered nicely for the first 2 and next two i said do not know
m2.
1.hw do we elect president/
2.what are restrictions on fundamental rights
m3.
1.what do u like more in ur university
2.full questons on my degree
m4.
1.hw do enhance better movement of file
2.hw do u plan for promotion of football in india
3.why criminasalition of politics
4.why in india we are poor in quality of goods
5.is it about population and mps number,i didnot understand the
question,he got fed up and said i dont know how to explain
my interview finished.can anyone tell me the range that dutta gives
mark.because i felt question on naxalism was important,but i could not
give him good reply,chariman was very unhappy about my answer.
Interview
"My Interview was in the afternoon session.
I reached UPSC at around 1 pm. It was really a proud moment when I
entered the UPSC hall. It was my final attempt with the UPSC and
the first opportunity to appear in the interview. Predictably I was a
bit nervous but on my way to the Commission my fiancée and my
friend helped me to be confident. Inside the hall I got to know
that I was to be interviewed by Subir Dutta's board.
There were five members in the board, including the chairman.
The third member was a lady. After entering the room, I wished the
ma'm first and then to the other members. My interview started as I
took the seat.
CM: So, You are an electronics engg.?
Me: Yes Sir.
CM: What's the difference between electronics engg and electrical
engg.?
Me: Sir,In electronics,we deal with very less ammount of current
in the circuit.
CM: that's very technical..how do you explain it to a layman?
Me: I faltered..tried to explain something but he was not convinced.
CM: Ok what is the magnitude of the current in an electronics
circuit?
Me: Of the order of micro ampiers.
CM: And in electrical circuit?
Me: In ampiers
CM: Ok..you have worked in the IT field for 2 years.
Me: Yes sir
CM: what was your role over there?
Me: Software programmer
CM: then why did you leave your job?
Me: Sir,I feel that I could realise my potential better in civil
services.
CM: So,suddenly you realised this?
Me: No sir,i had this idea of joining CS from my college days.But
it got concretised when I joined my job.I found my job monotonous
and I thought that CS would provide diverse job profile.
CM:(Not very much convinced)Every one gives the same answer.
CM:Ok tell me..do u agree that southern states are doing better
than the northern states.If yes,then why?
Me:Yes sir,I do believe that southern states are doing better as
compared to their northern counterparts.This is primarily due to
better (contd)
better governance in these states.
CM:But I think these states are developing due to private
industries and and the role of govt has reduced over a period of
time.
Me:Sir,the govt has provided the conducive envnt for the pvt
sector to grow.It has better utilised the human resourses.
CM:But govt in these states are also corrupt.Farmers are committing
suicides.people are fighting for water.
Me: Sir these issues relating to regional disparity and income
disparity are there but when compared to the northern states
southern states are better governed.
CM:(In a bit aggressive mood)leave aside north india,tellme about
south only..are these states good governed.Any way leave it..(Asks
other member to proceed)
M1:tell me which branch of mathematics you used in electronics?
Me:(after pondering)calculus,boolean algebra..
M1:and..
Me: sorry sir ,cant recollect its long back
M1:u must have used fourier transforms
Me :yes sir
M1:you had geography optional,what is a geoid?
Me:Sir,the unique shape of the earth,which is not exactly
spherical but bulging from side is called as geoid.
M1:what would be the age of the the earth?
Me:Sir,I dont remember exactly..it is some billions of years.
M1:how does temperature vary as you go up in the atmosphere?
Me:In the troposhere it decreases and..(he interrupts me)
M1:what is the heigth of the troposphere?
Me:around 80 km(I was wrong)
M1:what is the rate of temperature variations?
Me:I gave some value which was incorrect.
M1:ok tell me..how do oceans become saline?
Me:due to presence of minerals
M1:Where from these minrals come?
Me:Sir,they are brought about by the rivers.
M1:any other source?
Me:also from erosion of ocean bottom.
M1:what is the unit of measuring salinity?
Me:g/cm3
M1:its ppm
M1:What would be the difference between the most saline areas and
least saline area of the earth?
Me:Sir ,cant recollect
M1:10 times,20 times 100 times.
Me: sorry sir,cant make a guess.
M1:Ok tell me any part of the world where there is very high salinity.
Me:Dead sea
M1;where is it?
Me:It's in Jordon
M1:Any other country surrounding it?
Me:Israel
M1:there is one more country.
Me;Syria
M1:right ..(asks the lady member M2 to proceed)
M2;From organizations point of view what is meant by market
orientation?
Me:It means the organization should have autonomy in making its
decision and it should
Be held accountable for that.
M2:what else?
Me:gave some examples..autonomy in personnel matters..in
investment
decision ..no govt intervention.
M2:what is the reason of recent turnaround of Indian railways?
M3:IR took various new measured such as increasing the capacity of
wagons,e-ticketing,given greater autonomy.Moreover the economy is
doing good..so railways also is benefiting from high growth.
M2:How does increasing wagons capacity helped railways?
Me: It has enabled railways to get more revenue.
M2:There was some discussion going on relating to challenges
before IT sector in India today enclave recently.wht was that?
Me:Sorry ma'm I didn't follow the enclave.
M2:Ok wht do you think are the challenges..
Me:I explained some..but she interrupts..
M2: I am asking at the world level.
Me:tried to explain something but that was not what she wanted to
ask.
M2:Wht is the total food prodn of the country and whether wheats
prodn is more or rices?
Me:its about 210 mt and wheat's share is more.
M2:How can IT help in improving admin.?
Me: The use of IT can make the admn more open transparent and more
accountable.
M2;But how? Give some expmple
Me: eg. In MP,Gyandoot project has used IT to upgrade and computer
ize the land records which are accessible to farmers very easily.
M2:(asks other member M3 to proceed)
M3:In public admin wht is meant by delegation of authority?
Me: A higher officials transfers some of its responsibility to its
subordinate..this is delegation.
M3:How long it can take place?
Me:(couldn't understand the qn properly)..as long as the job is
with the higher official.
M3:give some example in Indian admn
Me: L&O is DMs responsibility..Since he is overburdened..he can
transfer some of L&O responsibility such as inspection of jails to SDM.
M3:What is the relevance of Rajya sabha in current scenaroio?
Me:Some academic minded person and intelligentia may not take part
in poll politics..they can enter parliament through RS
M3:this is oft repeated reason..give some more..
Me:specially in the coalition era,the opinion of the states are
better represented through RS in the legislation making process.
M3:Should a minister come from RS?wht are constitutional provision
related to this?
Me:There is as such no bar for a RS member to become minister.
M3:there is a rider in the constitution related to this.
Me:Pardon me sir!
M3:there is a time period..
Me:6 months sir.
M3:Wht is the difference between zila parishad and district admn.
Me: the former consists of elected representatives while the
latter consists of permanent officials.
M3:Any other difference.
Me:(It didn't click me at that time)..
M3(asks M4 to proceed)
M4:what is the delimitation of the constituency?
Me;I explained
M4:who is responsible for that?
Me:Election commission.
M4 :what is the role of the states in this?
Me: they provide the data.
M4: Why so many foreign tourists are attracted to Varanasi..
There is no such thing as tajmahal in Varanasi.
Me: Varanasi being one of the oldest cities of the world.People
are attracted by its unique culture, architecture and specially
the serene atmosphere on the bank of Ganges.
M4:But the Ganges has become polluted as well.
Me: Yes sir
M4:Wht are the reasons?
Me: sewerage, people taking bath,industrial effluents.
M4:but these things are there everywhere..
Me:yes..but due to high population ganges in Varanasi is more
affected.
M4:even Kanpur has high population..
Me: ya there too Ganges is polluted..moreover Varanasi has a very
high population density.
M4:What steps would you suggest to industrially develop eastern UP?
Me:Some industries have high potential e.g tourism(he interrupt
M4:How would you promote tourism in UP?
Me:wee need to take many steps such as improving the infrastructure.
M4:infrastructure is very vague..be more specific.
Me: We need to improve the condition of the roads..its hishly
congested and dirty. Tourist don't carry good image of the roads of
the city.
M4:What else.
Me: Varanasi needs to be marketed through the use of some catchy
slogan on the lines of Incredible India..
M4 Do you really think these slogans work?You remember few years
ago there was a slogan called `India Shining'
Me: Sir that was a political slogan. In order to promote tourism..
it needs to be marketed. So, it's a good idea to use slogans.
M4:Ok I am going to ask you a last qn..how to reduce political
interference in administration?
Me: Sir,there are various ways such as fixing the tenure of
the higher officials,setting up a board for transfer and posting of
govt servants.
M4:But state govt are not going to be ready for all these. So as an
individual wht would you do?
Me: Sir, it depends on the integrity of the individual. If he feels
that certain order given by a politician is against the spirit of the
constitution or any law, he can refuse to oney it.
CM: Ok,your interview is over ,you can go.thank you.
Me:(a bit surprised over such a sudden finish)..thank you ma'm ,thank
you sir
It's difficult to exactly assess my performance as the response of the
interview panel was very neutral. I am waiting for the final result.
Much depends on the written marks as well.
Till then the fingers are crossed.
INTERVIEW
30th April 2007 at 9.00 AM My interview was scheduled….After all the
paper formalities..it started at 12.20 PM …It was Suvir Dutta's
Board!
SD:You are from Bilaspur…
Me:No Sir My parents are from Bilaspur…Right Now they are in
Ambikapur!
SD:where it is?
Me:Near to Bilaspur!
SD:You are from Delhi College Of Engg..
Me:Yes
SD:What was Your subject…
Me:Computer Science
SD:Whats Computer Science..?
Me: Its Science of Computation with the help of computer system!
SD: You were In IBM global Services…What U were doing there…
Me: Sir I was in Testing Depts. was writing and reviewing the test cases
done by Test lead.
SD:I am not able to understand ..Please make it simple!
Me: Sir in software …there is coding and testing…suppose as our client
was US-HSBC so the software is very similar to ICICI bank use here…
So for that coding is done and after that in testing we check the codes
are right or not…
SD:How do u check them..?
Me:logically or with help of software..
SD: When Chattisgarh was created…
Me: 1st Nov 2000
SD: The other states that were created on same time..
Me: Jharkhand and Uttrakhand then Uttranchal…
SD: At present the demand is for???
Me: Harit Pradesh..telangana..Vidarbha…
SD: Whats the reson behind telangana..
Me: I m not sure but I feel…the utilization of resourses...farmer's
problem…lack of infrastructure
SD: On what basis a state should be made…
Me: If there are adequate resourses to run the govt..
SD: what is Executive Accountability..
Me: I am not getting you sir;
SD: Executive is accountable to…?
Me: Parliament
SD: legislative is accountable to..
Me: People of India..
SD:Why?
Me: Becoz people chose them…
SD: Judiciary is accountable to-
Me: Constitution ..
SD: Constitution is just a book…
Me: there are various laws and legislation specified for working of
judiciary…
SD: If judiciary is not accountable to then…
Me: there is provision for check and balance…
SD: what is difference between economic growth and development..
Me: Sir, economic growth is related to GDP where as development is a
broader aspects than economics…In India these days the economic
growth is only concentrated to metros and big cities and large part of
population is deprived of it….
SD: How development can be measured..
Me: Sir,…Quality of life….Human Development index..
SD: So u know about human development index…
SD: You are working in IBM global services..
Me: No sir I left it..
SD: when did u leave..
Me: Sir Around 15th October 2006
SD: So u have one year of job experience..
SD: Right now where r u n what u r doing?
Me: Sir I m in my native town..and I m Reading literature…writing
poetries..
SD: after leaving job what u were doing…
Me: I came to delhi for mains preparation..
SD: why Delhi?
Me: Sir the place where I live is a remote area and news papers n
magazine reach there after a day or two for eg. HINDU
SD:your graduation subject is not there in UPSC optionals ?
Me: No Sir…
SD: Why did u choose political science?
Me: Sir I was interested in nationals and international affairs …n being
a student of science …I was not knowing much about government and
how our political system is running that a civil servant should know!
1st Member:U r interested in cricket…
Me: yes Sir
1st Member:Y did India lose in world cup?
Me: Sir So many reasons are responsible for that..Mental
Strength,Team-Co-ordination and also the poor performance of
players…And I think Cricket is an unpredicatable game..win and loss
are two aspects of game…So only one match played a decisive role
that was of India-Bangladesh..becoz India-Srilanka was a 50-50 game !
1st Member:: So you don't give credit to Bangladesh…
Me: Ofcourse Sir …Bangladesh played well n v played bad…
1st Member:Don't u think physical fitness is also a reason…
Me: yes Sir ..
1st Member: Name 5 players who should not be in the team on the
basis of physical fitness..
Me: Sir…Sachin Tendulkar…Saurav Ganguly…Zaheer Khan…and if we
consider form and fitness both virendra sehwag should also be not
there and anil kumble..
1st Member: What about Irfan Pathan…
Me: Yes Sir…But I feel a lot of cricket is left in him …
1st Member: Some time back Zaheer khan had poor physical fitness …
but after a year when he came back …he improved a lot …so this
should be done with Irfan Pathan should also ..
Me: Yes sir…
1st Member: what should be done to improve Indian cricket…
Me: Selection procedure should be more transparent and talents
should be explored from rural areas…village level cricketers should
represent state ..then national players should be
selected....regionalism is also there..it should be removed!
1st Member: Don't you think there are two many teams playing in Ranji
Trophy?
Me: yes Sir..In Australia there are only six teams …we should reduce
the no of teams ..
1st Member: U write poetries…So what kind of poetries u write..
Me: Sir I write poetries that relate to emotions and sensibility of the
people..
I also write on social issues like …female exploitation and poverty..
1st member: How can u sense the sensibility of people at such a young
age..
Me: Sir I started writing when I was in 9th-10th and I was aware of the
isssues in my surrounding…when I came to delhi in 2001 I saw the two
diverse form of life is existing here..at one side there is ansal plaza
where the best form of life is life available and on the other side there
is long queue of beggars ..where the life at its horrible form is present
there!
1st Member:Do U watch movies on similar subjects..
Me: Sir..I watch movies that emotionally or intellectually satisfy me.
1st member: Any movie on social issue ..you have seen last..
Me : Sir Traffic Signal ….it was on the problem of beggars..
1st Member:: Have u seen water?
Me: Yes Sir…
1st Member:What kind of movie this is…
Me: Sir …movie intellectually satisfies me…it is on the problems of
widows and their exploitation ..
1st member: the issue is very relevant…
Me: yes sir …it depicts the problems of past …
1st Member: No ..actually media don't show these things these days…
1st Member: Have u seen NAMESAKE..
Me:Yes Sir..
1st Member:Who is the author of it?
Me: Jhumpa Lahiri…
1st Member:Have u seen Veer-zara..
Me: Yes Sir..
1st Member:What kind of movie is this..
Me: Its basically an emotional drama..
1st Member:Its light movie?
Me: Yes Sir..it creates larger than life pictures..
1st Member: It has some melodious songs!
Me: Yes Sir…
1st Member:Do you hear songs also..
Me: Yes Sir..
1st Member:In radio?
Me: No sirr…
1st Member:In TV?
Me: No Sir…Actually v don't have access to these!
1st Member:there are so many new things in radio..Vividh bharti has
also FM..Dont u hear?
Me: No Sir..
1st Member: You were part of any NGO also?
Me: No Sir but at school level we took part in activities like tree
plantation!
2nd Member:Your second preference is IFS why?
Me: Sir My one of the subject is political science and I m interested in
diplomatic things and foreign affairs…
2nd Member:As a DM of a district in bihar what will be ur priorties?
Me: Sir First of all I'll try to understand the need and resources of the
area..then I'll try to understand the expectations of people there..I 'll
not attach myself personally or emotionally to the issues…I'll work
according to the rules or guidelines or constitution …I'll try for the
development of the area!
2nd Member:Your subject is international relations..
Me: No sir…Political Sciene
2nd Member: yes Political science and international relations..
2nd Member: Name one of the India's closet ally n most bitter ally..
Me: Sir…the need of the hour is US but if we see the history of the
foeign affairs its Russia!( He didn't give me the time for bitter ally)
2nd Member:Who is the author of magna-carta of Indian foreign
affairs?
2nd Member:The book is not on foreign affairs ..a major part of the
book deals with foreign affairs..
Me: Artha-Shashtra..
2nd Member:Who wrote it…kautilya or chankaya?
Me: Both are the name of same person!
2nd Member: same person?
Me: Yes..Kautilya ,Chankaya and Vishnugupta are the name of same
person!
3rd Member:(She was a lady and by mistake at first I called her Sir)
3rd Member:You have done your schooling from Holy cross English
medium school?
Me: No ma'm Holy Cross Convent School!
3rd Member: Yes…So your education was in English medium then Why
u opted hindi medium for this examination?
Me: Ma'm My primary education was in Hindi Medium and to express
my internal feelings ……..and hidden things ..I feel Hindi more
comfortable!
3rd Member: U were Cultural Sec…what kind of events you were
participating..
Me: Poetry, essay, elocutions, debate…various form of dances..and
some skits also; basically I was engaged in organizing events…
3rd Member: What kind of events?
Me: Same Events….
3rd Member: When u were graduating who was the VC of DU?
Me: (After a thought ) Deepak Parikh.
3rd Member : Deepak Parikh?
Me: No ma'm Deepak pental!
3rd Member…He is current VC…who was in 2005?
Me: Sorry ma'm I don't know!
3rd Member: Mr.Nayyar!Do u know what he is?
Me: No ma'm I don't know!
3rd member: He is an economist!
4TH member: U are a software engineer.. what u were doing in
testing/what is testing?
Me: Sir In testing we were checking the errors in coding!
4TH member:What are the parts of any project..
Me: Sir Coding ,maintainance and testing!
4TH member :what is software maintainance?
Me: Sir for the smooth running of SW it needed!
( He added so many ifs n buts n asked one more term related to SW I
said sorry sir)
4TH member:Whats Software reliability n software validity?
Me: Sir I don't know the terms exactly but I can interpret acc to the
terms..
4TH member : yes..
Me: Sir Software validity is the expiry time of the software after which
it needs some modifications or improvement to sustain with existing
new technology…and software reliability is whether it is performing the
task for which it is meant!
4TH member: Ok to some extent……right..
4TH member: How can IT be useful in governance?
Me: Sir, in the formulation and implementation of govt policies IT can
be helpful to reach people and to satisfy their requirements…in
bringing transparency..speedy assessment of files and in removing
red-tapisim it can be powerful tool! To bring inclusive growth and to
remove corruption it can also help!
4th Member : how can u help as software engineer?
Me: Sir in improving the quality in software –hardware purchase and
with my knowledge I can implement new thing in improving the quality
of life!
J There were so many pause ….sentence were fractured and in all the
questions were I was having 1 percent doubt I added…Sir I m not
sure…but I feel/think……………..
ANURAG
Subir Dutta
After all the speculations the verdict is known to me. It was not a very
good interview and I scored a meagre 150. But there is a silver lining
too. I scored 1139 in mains so could still manage 27th rank. You can
still enjoy my interview as it is the real version of what happened.
Please dont judge my personality by my interview marks :)
I was allotted a table along with four other candidates. It was a great
solace to meet four other souls in same state of mind and butterflies in
their stomach. We chatted and felt good. One hour passed quickly and
I did not at all feel nervous.
A clerk came quietly to our table and said “Subir Dutta ka board hai”.
Not all were amused by his name. Within minutes we found out he was
a retired IAS, former defense secretary, and was ‘not very friendly’.
I was third to be interviewed. My heart was beating fast. I went near
my chair and wished them Good Morning, wishing the lady member
first. (It was a five member board with one lady member, let them be
M1, M2, M3 and M4)
Subir Dutta: Sit down Mr. Anurag
Anurag: Thank you sir (Adapts an imposed smile on his face and gives
a smile to all the members. They all have stern expressions)
Subir Dutta: So Mr. Anurag you have done B. Tec in Mechanical Engg.
from ……. (I take it as a cue for prompting)
Anurag : IIT Kanpur Sir
Subir Dutta: You got this Outstanding B. Tech project award, what was
it.
Anurag : Explains it in brief and turns his head (somewhat like a table
fan) to meet the eyes of all members
Subir Dutta: You have worked for six months in Asian Paints, why did
you leave
Anurag: Sir I always wanted to come for civil services but I wanted to
get some work experience before coming here.
Subir Dutta: (looks interested) Why do you want to come to civil
services?
Anurag: Sir I learnt a lot in my engineering but I felt that my field is
getting narrowed. I wanted to work not only among machines but also
among human beings. Civil services offer an opportunity to work
directly among people. Apart from this, it is a wonderful career
opportunity with a motivation of working for the society.
Subir Dutta: And you also got this summer training scholarship form
University of Stuttgart?
Anurag : Yes sir.
Subir Dutta: When was it and for how long?
Anurag: I explain…
M2: So how did you go?
Anurag: Sir it was by Turkish airlines. I went to Istanbul and then to
Stuttgart.
M2: Oh, so you did not take the traditional route from Frankfurt. This
route must be cheaper.
Anurag: Yes sir, this was the reason (a smile comes on my face)
M2: OK, what is the distance between Stuttgart and Frankfurt?
Anurag: I think 200 km.
M2: Stuttgart and Berlin?
Anurag: nearly 400 km
M2: Stuttgart and Bonn?
Anurag: nearly 400 km
M2: Stuttgart and Hungary?
Anurag: nearly 400 km.
Subir Dutta: Mr. Anurag what are your 16th and 17th preference of
services?
Anurag: Sir they are IFS and IPS. I gave them this preference because I
do not want to enter these.
Subir Dutta: Why?
Anurag: Sir I have some family commitments and it shall be difficult for
me to stay abroad for longer durations.
I did not fill IPS because I felt I do not have the right kind of
temperament needed to be an IPS officer. I tried to know more about
this service but I was not convinced. I felt if I still filled it, I shall be
dishonest with myself and the service (this was a well rehearsed
answer)
Subir Dutta: What is the total Income tax collected?
Anurag: Sorry sir, I don’t know
Subir Dutta: (with a small sarcastic smile) I felt you did so much
research while filling the service preferences, you would be knowing it.
Anurag : (tries to maintain a smile on his face)
Subir Dutta gestures other members to ask their questions
M2: Mr. Anurag, IIT’s were made to do some good research but that
task has not been achieved what do you say?
Anurag: Yes sir, this may partially be true. IIT’s were made primary for
research but over the years it has been felt that the outcome is not as
expected. The number of undergraduates is twice that that of
postgraduates, and IIT’s could not attract students primarily for
research purpose
M2: Do you think there is Brain Drain?
Anurag: May be 20 years before there was, but not now.
M2: Define Brain Drain
Anurag: I define it
M2: But we are using technologies invented in west. So where is this
brain drain?
Anurag: Yes sir that’s a valid point of view and we may also see things
like this
Subir Dutta: Mr. Anurag, I forgot to ask you one question. Some
persons come to me with a BE degree some come with a B. Tech
degree. What is the difference?
Anurag: I explain (I had expected this so I gave the answer I found on
internet)
Subir Dutta: (not very satisfied by my answer) What is the difference
between engineering and technology?
Anurag: Sorry sir, I do not know the literal difference.
M3: Mr. Anurag, what is the temperament needed to be an IPS officer.
Anurag: It shall be very difficult to define the temperament sir; it was
more of a feeling. I tried to know more about the service but I was not
convinced.
M3: So what did you try to know?
Anurag: I read about IPS officers who had made name. I found that
they all wanted to be in police from the beginning. Reverse was the
case with me.
M3: And?
Anurag: I have also done NCC for one year
M3: and you did not like it?
Anurag: No sir, I liked and it was a very good experience. But
something similar to this as a career preference. I feel my priorities lie
somewhere else.
M3: Mr. Anurag, we have these revenue services. But research has
shown that 90% taxes are collected in pre assessment stage itself.
These services help only in collecting 10% taxes. Why we should not
abolish these services?
Anurag: (I have no idea what to say) Sir but these services must be
providing talented human resources which must be used for that pre
assessment collection.
M3: In a way repeats his question
Anurag: Sir I was unaware of this fact…..
M3: Yes it is a fact; government of India’s white paper has said this.
Anurag: (I smile) May be sir even this 10% that these services collect is
very important for the nation.
M3: (he also starts smiling) Ok
M4: Recently online degrees have been started by IIT’s. What is your
opinion about them?
Anurag: I support this by saying now the reach of education can be
improved.
M4: Do you know any other western university doing this
Anurag: No sir, I specifically do not know, but many must be doing it.
M4: MIT is doing it. Where is MIT?
Anurag: Boston
M4: Yes Boston, Massachusetts.
M2: Anurag, you have seen education system in Germany and India.
What difference did you observe?
Anurag: Sir education is free there, and government is trying to attract
students from all over the world as their population is declining.
M2: What else?
Anurag: I can’t remember anything else sir.
M2: They focus more on technical education.
Anurag: Yes sir
M1: What do you know about “Specific Energy policy of India”
Anurag: (I had never heard about it) Madam I do not know exactly what
this is but I can tell about it.
M1: (she nods)
Anurag: I tell all major things about energy, from power sector reforms
to diversification to non conventional energy sources.
M1: Do you think Jatropa farming is successful
Anurag: Yes maam (I explain with certain problems involved)
M2: What is virtual university?
Anurag: (I could have easily guessed it but….) Sir may I guess??
M2: No, tell only if you know for sure.
Anurag: Sorry sir I do not know.
M3: Mr. Anurag the services you want to enter are the most corrupt
services. What will you do to curb corruption?
Anurag: I explain by specially mentioning to use technology.
M3: (with a smile) Use technology and problem would be solved?
Anurag: Not sir (with a smile) but use technology more often, it will
help.
Subir Dutta: Ok Anurag, you can go now.
I thanked everyone, but I do not remember them smiling back at me.
They all looked busy in themselves and I came out. All this happened
in just 25 minutes!
I had this strange feeling, I did not think it went very good, I did not
think it went bad. I was confident; I was smiling, so I am satisfied by
my performance.
==========================================
========
Civil Services Interview : Suvir Dutta’s Board

Posted By: ANIL KUMAR

Subject: Civil Services Interview : Suvir Dutta’s Board
Date Posted: 31Jul2007 at 6:06am

30th April 2007 at 9.00 AM My Civil Services interview was

scheduled….After all the paper formalities..it started at 12.20
PM …It was Suvir Dutta’s Board!
SD:You are from Bilaspur…
Me:No Sir My parents are from Bilaspur…Right Now they are in
Ambikapur!
SD:where it is?
Me:Near to Bilaspur!
SD:You are from Delhi College Of Engg..
Me:Yes
SD:What was Your subject…
Me:Computer Science
SD:Whats Computer Science..?
Me: Its Science of Computation with the help of computer system!
SD: You were In IBM global Services…What U were doing there…
Me: Sir I was in Testing Depts. was writing and reviewing the test cases
done by Test lead.
SD:I am not able to understand ..Please make it simple!
Me: Sir in software …there is coding and testing…suppose as our client
was US-HSBC so the software is very similar to ICICI bank use here…
So for that coding is done and after that in testing we check the codes
are right or not…
SD:How do u check them..?
Me:logically or with help of software..
SD: When Chattisgarh was created…
Me: 1st Nov 2000
SD: The other states that were created on same time..
Me: Jharkhand and Uttrakhand then Uttranchal…
SD: At present the demand is for???
Me: Harit Pradesh..telangana..Vidarbha…
SD: Whats the reson behind telangana..
Me: I m not sure but I feel…the utilization of resourses...farmer’s
problem…lack of infrastructure
SD: On what basis a state should be made…
Me: If there are adequate resourses to run the govt..
SD: what is Executive Accountability..
Me: I am not getting you sir;
SD: Executive is accountable to…?Me: Parliament
SD: legislative is accountable to..
Me: People of India..
SD:Why?
Me: Becoz people chose them…
SD: Judiciary is accountable to-
Me: Constitution ..
SD: Constitution is just a book…
Me: there are various laws and legislation specified for working of
judiciary…
SD: If judiciary is not accountable to then…
Me: there is provision for check and balance…
SD: what is difference between economic growth and development..
Me: Sir, economic growth is related to GDP where as development is a
broader aspects than economics…In India these days the economic
growth is only concentrated to metros and big cities and large part of
population is deprived of it….
SD: How development can be measured..
Me: Sir,…Quality of life….Human Development index..
SD: So u know about human development index…
SD: You are working in IBM global services..
Me: No sir I left it..
SD: when did u leave..
Me: Sir Around 15th October 2006
SD: So u have one year of job experience..
SD: Right now where r u n what u r doing?Me: Sir I m in my native
town..and I m Reading literature…writing poetries..
SD: after leaving job what u were doing…
Me: I came to delhi for mains preparation..
SD: why Delhi?
Me: Sir the place where I live is a remote area and news papers n
magazine reach there after a day or two for eg. HINDU
SD:your graduation subject is not there in UPSC optionals ?Me: No Sir…
SD: Why did u choose political science?
Me: Sir I was interested in nationals and international affairs …n being
a student of science …I was not knowing much about government and
how our political system is running that a civil servant should know!
1st Member: U r interested in cricket…
Me: yes Sir
1st Member:Y did India lose in world cup?
Me: Sir So many reasons are responsible for that..Mental
Strength,Team-Co-ordination and also the poor performance of
players…And I think Cricket is an unpredicatable game..win and loss
are two aspects of game…So only one match played a decisive role
that was of India-Bangladesh..becoz India-Srilanka was a 50-50 game !
1st Member:: So you don’t give credit to Bangladesh…
Me: Ofcourse Sir …Bangladesh played well n v played bad…
1st Member:Don’t u think physical fitness is also a reason…
Me: yes Sir ..
1st Member: Name 5 players who should not be in the team on the
basis of physical fitness..
Me: Sir…Sachin Tendulkar…Saurav Ganguly…Zaheer Khan…and if we
consider form and fitness both virendra sehwag should also be not
there and anil kumble..
1st Member: What about Irfan Pathan…
Me: Yes Sir…But I feel a lot of cricket is left in him …
1st Member: Some time back Zaheer khan had poor physical fitness …
but after a year when he came back …he improved a lot …so this
should be done with Irfan Pathan should also ..
Me: Yes sir…
1st Member: what should be done to improve Indian cricket…
Me: Selection procedure should be more transparent and talents
should be explored from rural areas…village level cricketers should
represent state ..then national players should be
selected....regionalism is also there..it should be removed!
1st Member: Don’t you think there are two many teams playing in
Ranji Trophy?
Me: yes Sir..In Australia there are only six teams …we should reduce
the no of teams ..
1st Member: U write poetries…So what kind of poetries u write..
Me: Sir I write poetries that relate to emotions and sensibility of the
people..
I also write on social issues like …female exploitation and poverty..
1st member: How can u sense the sensibility of people at such a young
age..
Me: Sir I started writing when I was in 9th-10th and I was aware of the
isssues in my surrounding…when I came to delhi in 2001 I saw the two
diverse form of life is existing here..at one side there is ansal plaza
where the best form of life is life available and on the other side there
is long queue of beggars ..where the life at its horrible form is present
there!
1st Member:Do U watch movies on similar subjects..
Me: Sir..I watch movies that emotionally or intellectually satisfy me.
1st member: Any movie on social issue ..you have seen last..
Me : Sir Traffic Signal ….it was on the problem of beggars..
1st Member:: Have u seen water?
Me: Yes Sir…
1st Member:What kind of movie this is…
Me: Sir …movie intellectually satisfies me…it is on the problems of
widows and their exploitation ..
1st member: the issue is very relevant…
Me: yes sir …it depicts the problems of past …
1st Member: No ..actually media don’t show these things these days…
1st Member: Have u seen NAMESAKE..
Me:Yes Sir..
1st Member:Who is the author of it?
Me: Jhumpa Lahiri…
1st Member:Have u seen Veer-zara..
Me: Yes Sir..
1st Member:What kind of movie is this..
Me: Its basically an emotional drama..
1st Member:Its light movie?
Me: Yes Sir..it creates larger than life pictures..
1st Member: It has some melodious songs!
Me: Yes Sir…
1st Member:Do you hear songs also..
Me: Yes Sir..
1st Member:In radio?
Me: No sirr…
1st Member:In TV?
Me: No Sir…Actually v don’t have access to these!
1st Member:there are so many new things in radio..Vividh bharti has
also FM..Dont u hear?
Me: No Sir..
1st Member: You were part of any NGO also?
Me: No Sir but at school level we took part in activities like tree
plantation!
2nd Member:Your second preference is IFS why?
Me: Sir My one of the subject is political science and I m interested in
diplomatic things and foreign affairs…
2nd Member:As a DM of a district in bihar what will be ur priorties?
Me: Sir First of all I’ll try to understand the need and resources of the
area..then I’ll try to understand the expectations of people there..I ‘ll
not attach myself personally or emotionally to the issues…I’ll work
according to the rules or guidelines or constitution …I’ll try for the
development of the area!
2nd Member:Your subject is international relations..
Me: No sir…Political Sciene
2nd Member: yes Political science and international relations..
2nd Member: Name one of the India’s closet ally n most bitter ally..
Me: Sir…the need of the hour is US but if we see the history of the
foeign affairs its Russia!( He didn’t give me the time for bitter ally)
2nd Member:Who is the author of magna-carta of Indian foreign
affairs?
2nd Member:The book is not on foreign affairs ..a major part of the
book deals with foreign affairs..
Me: Artha-Shashtra..
2nd Member:Who wrote it…kautilya or chankaya?
Me: Both are the name of same person!
2nd Member: same person?
Me: Yes..Kautilya ,Chankaya and Vishnugupta are the name of same
person!
2nd Member:Why in chattishgarh …there is problem of naxalism?
Me: Sir, Basically the Mining policy and Forest Policy …that is not
providing them right wages and depriving them of their basic rights on
forest….lack of basic infrastructure facilities…socio-economic condition
of the people…and most important they are not benefiting from govt
policies made for them…!
2nd Member: What are the problem of tribals?
Me: Sir basically this forsest policy and mining policy is the proble…
(rest I said the same thing as above)
2nd Member:Don’t u think illiteracy is also a major problem!
Me: Yes Sir…
2nd Member: What’s the illiteracy of dantewada?
Me: Sir I am not sure but around 40% .
2nd Member:No…I Thinks its very less!
3rd Member:(She was a lady and by mistake at first I called her Sir)
3rd Member:You have done your schooling from Holy cross English
medium school?
Me: No ma’m Holy Cross Convent School!
3rd Member: Yes…So your education was in English medium then Why
u opted hindi medium for this examination?Me: Ma’m My primary
education was in Hindi Medium and to express my internal feelings
……..and hidden things ..I feel Hindi more comfortable!
3rd Member: Don’t u think People should learn English…
Me:Yes Ma’m in this era of globalization English is must for growth but
To sustain our rich cultural heritage…culture i.e comprised of
language…food..dress-code…hindi is also very important ..that is why
our govt initiated three language formula …i.e n north India people
should learn hindi..english and one regional language!
3rd Member: U were Cultural Sec…what kind of events you were
participating..
Me: Poetry, essay, elocutions, debate…various form of dances..and
some skits also; basically I was engaged in organizing events…
3rd Member: What kind of events?
Me: Same Events….
3rd Member: When u were graduating who was the VC of DU?Me:
(After a thought ) Deepak Parikh.
3rd Member : Deepak Parikh?
Me: No ma’m Deepak pental!
3rd Member…He is current VC…who was in 2005?
Me: Sorry ma’m I don’t know!
3rd Member: Mr.Nayyar!Do u know what he is?
Me: No ma’m I don’t know!
3rd member: He is an economist!
4TH member: U are a software engineer.. what u were doing in
testing/what is testing?
Me: Sir In testing we were checking the errors in coding!
4TH member:What are the parts of any project..
Me: Sir Coding ,maintainance and testing!
4TH member :what is software maintainance?
Me: Sir for the smooth running of SW it needed!
( He added so many ifs n buts n asked one more term related to SW I
said sorry sir)
4TH member:Whats Software reliability n software validity?
Me: Sir I don’t know the terms exactly but I can interpret acc to the
terms..
4TH member : yes..
Me: Sir Software validity is the expiry time of the software after which
it needs some modifications or improvement to sustain with existing
new technology…and software reliability is whether it is performing the
task for which it is meant!
4TH member: Ok to some extent……right..
4TH member: How can IT be useful in governance?
Me: Sir, in the formulation and implementation of govt policies IT can
be helpful to reach people and to satisfy their requirements…in
bringing transparency..speedy assessment of files and in removing
red-tapisim it can be powerful tool! To bring inclusive growth and to
remove corruption it can also help!
4th Member : how can u help as software engineer?
Me: Sir in improving the quality in software –hardware purchase and
with my knowledge I can implement new thing in improving the quality
of life!
J There were so many pause ….sentence were fractured and in all the
questions were I was having 1 percent doubt I added…Sir I m not
sure…but I feel/think……………..
Words here I used r same in meaning and expression to words I use
there!
N.Vittal’s Interview
"I Do Not Object to IAS Officers Taking Money "
The basic question everybody asks is that, when Public
Enterprises are headed by IAS officers who are considered to
be intelligent, what exactly goes wrong or went wrong for the
failures of PEs?
To put the blame of the PEs at the door of IAS is to give undue credit to
them. In this whole damage, others also played a part. Basically it is
the a practice that the PEs function under a lot of difficulties. The
problems with the IAS, which have been already noted, are two. One is
they come on deputation and the Second is they lack commercial bent
of mind. Despite this, there are other PSU working very high like oil
sector, atomic energy , space etc., One cannot condemn the entire set
of PSUs. Large sick units of the PSU today are the legacy of sick private
sector for e.g. Coal Mines were nationalized, Textile Sector
Nationalized to safeguard the employment. Atleast 40% of sickness in
the PSU is due to irresponsibility in the sick private sector.
It is the general belief that IAS officers opt for the Public
Sector chairmanships for the money involved.
What is wrong with bribes? IAS officers are not supposed to be Sadhus
that they will not be attracted by money? If private sector officials can
get attracted to money and cricketers can fix matches why so much
hue and cry over corruption in babudom? Then why these double
standards.
No sir, being a government employee IAS officers have got
place in the society and everybody expects them to be role
model.
See you have to make distinction between two things. You see this is a
perception for all IAS officers having certain status in society. At the
same time, there is a reality. For ex: What does the Cabinet Secretary
get? Rs.30,000/- ? And his take home package may be Rs.15000/- after
all deductions etc. compared to even junior most private sector fellows
in software companies with a starting salary of Rs.20,000/-. So
particularly today, especially in the consumerist era, if IAS officers are
looking for joining Public Sector for monetary incentives, I don’t blame
them.
Does it indirectly mean to say that even if IAS officer can ask
for money?
No, you make a distinction. Being a Central Vigilance Commissioner my
whole job is to prevent corruption. What is corruption? Use public office
for private profit.. If an IAS officer, because he wants to earn more
money, resigns from IAS and joins public sector or even private sector,
I would not object because he is moving. But an IAS officer sitting in
Govt. and asking for money from industrialists and others is corruption,
and is to be totally condemned. I would like to confiscate the property
of such fellows, for which I will be moved. I am also taking all the
actions that you have already seen.
That reminds me sir, you have got your own website and how
frequently it is updated?
It is continuously being updated and actually we started with IAS and
IPS with 374 names and now it has 1600 names or something like that,
not only names the benami black money schemes issued on 10th July
will also be there.
When IT raids are conducted on the Govt. officers (not through
CVC), and undisclosed wealth is found, what is the role of CVC
there? Will you also go and dig into that?
No. CVC role is very clear. I can say there are 3 roles -One, Govt. dept
refer case to CVC. It is a advisory role. We advise whether to go for
prosecution or departmental action. Second, I get 110 complaints per
day and we send it to the vigilance officers for the report. Third, I look
at different systems and see what should be done to improve the
systems to prevent corruption. For e.g., no post tender negotiations
except L1 and computerization of bank. These are the system
improvements which I am doing.
There I have got the power of giving directions. Now in benami black money schemes, when I receive a complaint, I will ask

Income Tax and CBI to conduct raids.

What is the protection as an individual I have, if I want to complain on the corrupt official?

Your name is kept secret. In benami black money schemes, we are

giving two options - you want your name to be revealed or you don’t
want to be revealed . Over that, I have taken one more step. I have
written to Jeevan Reddy - Chairman of the law commission like in
America, U.K. and Australia, there
21st Century: Grab it, it's ours
SAM PITRODA
The new government has the mandate to take India into the new
millennium. It is the tide in the affairs of India, which must be taken at
the flood. Lifting ourselves out of the nitty-gritty of politics, what is the
macro agenda that we need to set ourselves, as a nation, a global
player and a sensitive segment of the human race?
. Sam Pitroda identifies five broadband priorities which IT has hauled
into the realm of the possible.
We can do it.
We will do it.
If we do not, who else will?
This is the attitude that we must have if we are going to make India a
powerful nation in the new millennium. It is not going to be easy. But
let's not be daunted by the magnitude of the mission.
When I look at India, I think of the tremendous potential that we have,
and I am sure that we can reach our goal. To get there, we need to
address five key areas on a priority basis.
The first of these areas is to change the way that politics functions in
India. Right now, it is based on personalities and promises. We need to
move away from this and focus instead on performance and
productivity. We need to zero in on issues that need to be tackled on a
war footing, and find the right champions to do it. We need energetic,
open, honest, committed, concerned, courageous, educated,
experienced, accomplished, selfless individuals who are prepared to
sacrifice in the service of the people. We need people who will be
willing to give to the system, not just take from it.
We also need to change the existing parliamentary system into a
presidential form of government. Give leaders the time to implement
programmes with autonomy and the appropriate checks and balances.
Also give them the flexibility to select people who will accomplish
something. Simultaneously, we must change the Central power
structure and empower the states in virtually all areas of governance.
This will enable them to contribute more to the building of the nation.
After all, each state in India is the size of a small nation in Europe.
Secondly, let's tap the developments in information technology (IT) and
expedite the process of nation-building using these tools. We have a
huge resource base of computer professionals but most often their
energy is harnessed to solving other people's problems in the advanced
countries of the world. When are we going to use their skills to solve
the problems in our own backyard?
IT solutions can help us tackle problems in core areas of governance,
commerce, finance, education, health, agriculture, environment, legal
issues and employment. From opening a bank account to getting
admission to a university, we are forced to fill innumerable forms and
this puts bureaucratic hurdles in the way of people. Let's use IT to
simplify life and enable people to get things done faster and with less
hassles.
Thirdly, we need to exploit IT to fulfil basic human needs related to
food, water, sanitation, literacy and health. We cannot hope for
development if only a small percentage of the population is empowered
with basic needs and the rest is left out of the picture. We must work
towards cent per cent literacy, ten million new jobs per year, and
ensuring that the economy grows at ten per cent a year. To achieve
this, we must not train people to take jobs, instead we must train them
to create jobs. The present educational system prepares students to
become clerks. We need to change this so that a college graduate is
enthused to solve society's problems creatively; is motivated with a
sense of mission, not just the search for a job.
Fourthly, I believe it is possible to realise Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a
self-sufficient village community through IT applications. When we are
connected to the world, we can be anywhere with one call or one click
-- we can create a virtual presence. We are already working toward
setting up a fibre optic backbone in some states and this will enable
high-speed connectivity and multimedia content to be exchanged at a
rapid rate. Once this is in place, we do not need to always be in the
urban centres, which are already showing the wear and tear that the
strain of growing population brings. Maybe, we can even reverse this
migration back to the villages.
This brings me to the fifth key component of our challenge. And in
many ways, the most difficult to tackle -- the mindset. Let me ask you
this question: what is India's national agenda? Do you know? Does
anyone know? That is the key to positive change -- a national agenda to
reflect the multiple dreams and cultural diversity of India. We need to
articulate our vision of where India is heading. Even a child should
know this and must work toward this common vision. All kinds of
groups have their individual agendas, but collectively we need to be
clear about what we want India to be. It is basically about our mindset.
We need to create a sense of urgency, hasten the process of
development, build consensus by public debate, create a climate for a
new order and new ideas, and set priorities.
And we must encourage innovation. Currently, we do not encourage
people to think differently and give wild ideas a hearing. There should
be a paradigm shift from command and control to cooperation and
coordination.
The Internet will be a key tool in shaping many of these changes.
Through the backbones and the Internet Community Centres (ICC) that
are in the pipeline, this vision will be within the grasp of many more
people than it is now. And hopefully can become like the STD/ISD
booths that have now become an integral part of the Indian landscape
following the telecom mission. The ICC, where access to computers will
be available for public use, will pave the way for e-governance.
We do not need experts to tell us what the problems are. We need
experts who will come up solutions and have the will to make them
work. And IT can provide us with solutions. After all, Indians are highly
talented in mathematics, and we have a large pool of software talent.
Let's cash in on these.
We have this chance right now. And it is important that we do not miss
it because it may not be here for us again.
(Sam Pitroda is chairman and CEO of WorldTel, an organisation set up
by the International Telecommunications Union and committed to
developing communications infrastructures on a commercial basis in
the Third World. He spoke to R Edwin Sudhir from Chicago)
Chit Chat
Q. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without
cracking it?
A. Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)
Q. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long
would it take four men to build it?
A. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23 Rank Opted for IFS)
Q. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and
four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would
you have?
A. Very large hands.(Good one) (UPSC 11 Rank Opted for IPS)
Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant
with one hand.
(UPSC Rank 14 Opted for IES)
Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
A. No Probs, He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)
Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will
become?
A. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that. (UPSC IAS Rank 2)
Q. What looks like half apple?
A: The other half. (UPSC - IAS Topper)
Q. What can you never eat for breakfast?
A: Dinner.
Q. What happened when wheel was invented?
A: It caused a revolution.
Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?
A: Liquid (UPSC 33Rank)
Q: what is the opposite of Nag panchmi?
A: Nag did not punch me.