UPSC CSE(IAS/IPS/IFS and other central services) 2016 Interview transcript

Candidate's profile:

• Name: Avinash Naduvinamani
• Place: Bijapur, Karnataka
• Board: Air Marshal Ajit S Bhosle
• Date: 4th May, 2016 (morning session).
• Qualifications: B.E (Electronics and Communication Engineering).
• Work experience: Farmer and volunteer in Vidyaposhak(NGO), 2 years.
• Optional subject: Kannada literature
• Medium of exam: Kannada
• Medium of interview: English
• Hobbies and interests: visiting schools, swimming, Cooking- North Karnataka Cuisine.

Interview script:

Chairman:
(Please take your seat...
Avinash, you have bright smile... You must have prepared well..
We have 30 minutes.. We will ask you some questions. You will answer TO(stress) the questions. So, shall we start...)

1. you have good record as a student and wonderful person, you completed BE and joined agriculture, you have been exposed to both rural and urban life. tell me whether aspirations of rural and urban youths are converging or diverging?

2.you are farmer, you are the better person, tell me why there is so much distress in agriculture? I don't have much idea about agriculture, so you tell me.

3. Future of agriculture is bleak in India... Right?

4.In both rural and urban area which schemes are working and which schemes are not working?

(now let us move to other area) Do you know CPEC?

5.what are the issues?

6.if India joins it what are the strategic and commercial benefits and disadvantages?

Member 1:
7.Tell me how can electronics and communication be used in agriculture?

8.Have you used it in your field?

9. can solar energy be used in agriculture?

10.if solar electricity is also not there, what could be options?

11. How can drones become useful in agriculture?

Member 2:
12.As an agriculture officer which crops would you suggest in dry area with less rainfall?

13. you did degree in ECE. How will it hep in administration?

14. you have literature as an optional. How will it help in administration?

15. you have studied in both government and private institutes, what best features of both can be used in education sector?

16. India achieved two great feats in Science and Technology- one decades ago and another one recently?

17. you are from Vijayapur. Vijayapur has great history and significance. What is that significance?

Member 3:
18. Recently there is issue regarding mobile towers and impact on human health, what is the issue? Is it dangerous? What measures should be taken if you can suggest some?

19. why farmers suicides happening?

20. what are the actions taken by the government?

Member 4(lady member):
21. recently chilly farmers in Guntur burnt chilly. Rather than burning chilly, what could they have done?

22. what crops you grow?

23. You were volunteer in Vidyaposhak, what did you actually do?

24.Does it has branch in other area also?(it is based in Dharwad and my native village is in Vijayapur district, she wanted to check genuineness it seems).

25.You did project on braille, what it is?

26.what is the status of  that project?(Got sponsorship from KSCST for final year project in BE-Braille learning device)

Chairman
-I think India must join CPEC(China Pakistan Economic Corridor), what do you say?

End of transcript

Words of wisdom for the candidates appearing for UPSC Interview(It is our personal opinion. consider it with pinch of salt):

• Prepare your DAF thoroughly(each keyword matters). most of the interview revolves around this and few Current affairs related questions.
• If you have work experience then dig through it. zoom it as much as possible, and know about the current issues related to your field of experience.
• revise your basics of graduation and PG if any(if you are a fresher, then this is the must), try to connect it with current issues related to your stream.
• Don't blough, be honest, if you don't know the answer, say" sorry sir, I don't know" or the phrase you like it, as it is a personality test and not knowledge test, as your knowledge has been checked already in prelims and mains.
• Read the newspapers of previous week carefully. word by word. glance through the news paper of interview's day, if possible.
• wear a smile on your face, be confident, don't panic, as the Board would be so cordial. 

UPSC Interview Transcript (CAPF 2016)

I'm sharing most of the questions asked(which I have reproduced from my memory) in UPSC interview(31st January 2017, afternoon session). I was the second candidate from my group(they will form a group of 6 after you enter inside the UPSC Bhavan). after all the documentation I was called by an attender to the interview room. before entering the room, we will be asked to wait for few minutes. attender will open the door of  an interview room.

Here we go: 

After waiting for 10 minutes outside the interview room, attendant opened the door, I entered the room(there were 5 members including chairman- Pradeep Kumar Joshi), asked for permission to come inside, wished chairman and other members, after they told me to sit, I sat on the chair.



Chairman:
1. Every year there are about 15 lakhs engineering graduates pass out from the college, in that only few are employable. Why?
Me: yes sir, according to the latest survey only about 20% of BE/B.Tech are employable, because of skill gap required by the industry and what is taught in institutions. Hence solutions could be , compulsory internship after graduation, upgrading the syllabus, industry- institutions tie up to build the skill gap.

2. Who is Vishweshwaraih? ( as I've graduated from Vishweshwaraih Technological University).
Me: Diwan of Mysore, a great civil engineer who built many infrastructures , ex: KRS dam, flood control system in Hyderabad and many more. He is the only engineer who got Bharat Ratna.

3. Why CAPF?
Me: I would like to be a part of government organization which not only provides me an opportunity to serve the nation but also inculcates discipline, work diversity and chance to be more adventurous.

4. Recently TCS was in news.(I've worked there for 2 years)
Me: TCS CEO N. Chandrashekharan has been elevated as chairman of Tata sons by removing Cyrus Mistry and it's business impact due to Trumps's Visa policies.

Member 1:
For a year 15 lakh engineering graduates, then after 30 years 4.5 crore. How can India absorb all of them?
Me: yes sir, difficult to absorb all of them. We can provide them relevant skills required by the market then we can globalise them. Also we can prepare them for R&D which is a future industry.

M1: if everyone becomes engineer, who will do agriculture?
Sir, our cultivable land remains constant but population is growing. So, there will not be much impact, as automation is also growing. (Gave example about my family).

M2: you told about business impact of Trump policy. What can be the solution?
Me: according to NASSCOM more than 60% of the India's IT revenue comes from USA. So initially India will have to incur certain loss in a short run. In the long run we can explore the untapped market and domestic market. Also with the imporved digital infrastructures we can give business to USA even by sitting in India instead of on-site.

Member 2
Do you know COBRA??
Me: it is elite anti-naxalite commando force which mainly operates in naxal hit areas, and it's a part of CRPF.

M2:Will you work there if you are given an opportunity?
Me: definitely sir. In fact CRPF is my 1st preference.( M2 exclaimed, is it? Chairman told yes).

M2: What is GPS?
Me: global positioning system used for navigation and positioning.

M2: do we have such in India?
Me: yes sir, we have IRNSS- Navic.

M2: do we need such indigenous system?
Me: yes sir. During 1999 Kargil war, USA denied the GPS service to us. In such critical situations we need to have our own.

M2: recently some problem has occurred in Navic. What's that?
Me: sir, Navic has 7 satellites with the name starting from IRNSS-1A to 1G. 1A, satellite's atomic clock is not functioning. So they are planning to launch another back up and meanwhile they are trying to revive it.

M2: how can satellite's signal can be jammed?
Me: sorry sir, no idea.


Member 3:
M3: why do our NaVic doesn't cover entire world?
Me: sir, it's a regional one which covers 1500km radius from India, which is good enough to keep eye an our border security. I think we are only concerned about it and our resources surrounding our territory.

M3: think once again.
Me: sorry sir I'm not getting.

M3: your company is also serving the nation right? Then why did you leave?
Me: yes sir it's also serving the nation. before joining TCS I was pre-decided to leave it after 2 years to prepare for govt jobs, as the contract expires after that.

M3: you told about diversity. Where will you get time to do it?
Me: sir I meant work diversity. In CRPF we will be working in different areas like, working in red corridor, VIP security, election duties, assisting states and UTs in maintaining law and order, UN peacekeeping operations etc.

M3: does other countries also have GPS?
Me: yes sir, USA- GPS, China - Biedu, EU- Galileo, Russia- Glonass( I was not able to recall this, so told them that I was unable to recall).

M3: what's the difference between made in India and make in India?
Me: if the article or any product is manufactured or produced in India then we say it's a made in India. Make in India is, we(India) are inviting industries across the world to manufacture and set-up their base in India.

Member 4:
M4: who is Basaveshwara?(I have done my 10+2 in Basaveswara science college, Bagalkot)
Me: Basaveshwara, also known as Basavanna is a 12 century social reformer in Karnataka. Main works are supporting inter caste marriages, changing the concept of God, started new Lingayat or veerashaiva sect in Karnataka, and also written many vachanas(sayings).

M4: What is a ideal student?(I was given ideal student award in school).Why was this given to you?
Me: it's given to those students who is not only excellent in academic performances but also other co-curricular activities.

M4: so, you are the topper of your school?
Me: yes sir.

M4: Guiding young minds(my interests)? How do you guide and why?
Me: In our village we have hardly any facilities through which we can get guidance about career opportunities. Even I had to face lot of difficulties in choosing career for me. So I along with other volunteers in our native we conduct sessions every week and month on these topics. We also invite subject experts in guiding youngsters (usually school and college going students).

M4: what is garbage in garage out?
Me: sorry sir. I'm unable to recollect it.

M4: is  there NSG in Bangalore? Why not?
Me: no sir. It's there in Chennai. Because of less threat severity.

M4: what is sakala?(as I'm from Karnataka)?
Me: it's a e-governance platform through which various government services are provided. For instance, e-bhoomi(we can get revenue records of our land) ahara(PDS related), nadakacheri( caste certificate) etc.

M4: what is Bangalore one?
Me: sorry sir. I don't know.

M4: E governance, how does it effective?How can you remove corruption using this?
Me: Delivery of government services through internet platform. For instance, in the nadakacheri platform in Karnataka, we can get caste certificate by applying online without going to all the offices giving these certificates  and without paying any bribe. So we can prevent corruption upto certain extent.

M4: what is Lokayukta ?
Me: sir it's a Anti corruption body which covers all the government officials, ministers, and even CM in Karnataka. Because of its effectiveness it could crack illegal mining case.

M4: State finance commission?
Me: It's a constitutional body which recommends financial distribution to local bodies.

M4: what are local bodies?How many tiers are there in it?
Me: Local bodies are established under 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment act to establish grassroot level  democracy. We have 3 tiers of local bodies. For rural areas we have PRIs under which gram(village) Panchayat, taluk Panchayat, and Zilla Panchayat are there. And for urban areas, we have Nagar Panchayat, municipality (Nagar Palika), and municipal corporation (Nagar Nigam or Mahanagar Palika).

Thank you, your interview is over(Chairman told).

If you want to know about CAPF and it's recruitment process, please click here:
http://inspiringanil.blogspot.in/2017/02/how-to-clearace-capfcentral-armed.html?m=0

How to clear/Ace CAPF(central armed police forces), Assistant commandants(ACs) exam conducted by UPSC?

Let us know about the ACs(Assistant commandant) post details:

They are also known as DySP/ACPs(state police equivalent) in central armed police forces(CRPF,CISF,ITBP,BSF, & SSB). they are group A gazetted officers selected by UPSC every year for these five central armed police forces which are headed by IPS officers(Director generals). these ACs can climb up to the rank of IG. see the following ranks.

Roles played by ACs:
Apart from performing various decision making and supervisory functions, similar to any other Group ‘A’ service, the executive officers of the CAPF perform several other managerial functions peculiar to the service, besides leading the troops in the field. 

Roles played by different CAPFs:

1. CRPF:

• Assist the states and UTs in maintaining law and order(Especially in case of riots)
• VIP security, security to parliament, and some critical infrastructure
• Election duties
• Operating in Naxal hit areas and Insurgency areas of the country
• United nations peace keeping etc

2. BSF

•  primary role is manning indo-pak and indo- Bangladesh border.

3. ITBP
         safeguard Indo- China border.

4. SSB
      Indo- Bhutan and Indo- Nepal border guarding.

5. CISF
      Providing  security to some of the India's critical assets like PSUs, Metro, Airport, Nuclear power plants etc

apart form these roles they also play major roles in disaster management.


 Recruitment process of Assistant commandant(Directly appointed by UPSC) :

1. Stage 1: Written exam:
       In this stage there are two papers. paper 1, is a objective type test containing 125 questions(250 marks) of 2 hour duration(General studies like civil services paper 1 and nearly 20 questions of mental ability), paper 2 is a descriptive one of  hours duration carrying 200 marks(essay type questions, and general English).

refer previous year questions to get exact idea from http://www.upsc.gov.in/

2.Stage 2: Physical and Medical test

Once you clear the written test, you will be called for this round after around one  month of declaring the result.  you have to clear all the following tests.

• 100 meter running: in 16 seconds (18 sec for female)
• 800 meter running : 3 min 45 seconds (4 min 45 sec for female)
• Long jump: 3.5 meter (3 chances) (3 meter for female)
• Shot put: 7.26 Kg , 4.5 meter .. only one chance (NA for female)

after this, next days there will be Medical test for qualified candidates. please see to it that you satisfy all the criteria mentioned by UPSC in its notifications.

You can have glance about the syllabus and different medical standards in the UPSC notification 2016 here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q5TeAVaIg3eDJHX2pTSi10ZTg/view?usp=drivesdk

3. stage 3 : Interview (150 marks)  by UPSC, New Delhi.



after all these rounds final list will be released by combining all the marks(250+200+150).
they will allocate different services based on your preferences.

you can read my UPSC interview transcript here: http://inspiringanil.blogspot.in/2017/02/upsc-interview-transcript-capf-2016.html 

comment your queries below.

India Past, present and Future

My dear Indian compatriots, let's use our potentials in making our nation developed.

Why Should I educate my daughter???

 This is the question often we come across usually in the places like Backward villages, Marginalized places in cities and some tribal areas. even though we are living in the modern era, our thinking remains primitive especially when it comes to Girls education in India.

nowadays mindset has shifted completely towards consumerism. probably this could be the reason behind most of the fathers in India(Especially in rural areas) thinks "what they will get by educating their girl, instead they have to give lots of Dowry even though if you make your daughter educated".  so rest one thinks that instead of educating them it would be better if you find a well settled groom and fulfill all his demands in the form of Dowry. probably this is the easier way they thinks upon.  even some father do educate their daughters up to the SSLC(10th std)  level and get them married by the age of 16 to 17, ie, below the legal age prescribed by Govt, which intern creates lot of problems for their daughters, starting from malnutrition(only 50.5 percent infants of six to eight months receive solid, semi-solid and soft food) to their upcoming offspring to Illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and many more. according to WHO and Health Ministry of India report 2015,  around 30 percent of women aged between 20 to 24 have had married before 18 years.

The recent incidents of sexual harassment at workplaces, rising of rape cases, molestation of girls when they go to fetching the water in remote places etc are the phenomenons which are one of the results of illiteracy. moreover, if an educated girl marries then she may not be having enough ideas about the laws of the land which prevents her from lodging complaint against any illicit acts done upon her either by society or her partner, and it would lead to rising domestic violence. if everything goes well with her relationships then by chance if she loses her partner in some accidents then she will not be having much alternatives to lead her remaining life and bringing her kids up to lead a decent life in the society.


Reasons for such a trend(Not educating a girl/women):

In the past girls and women had the responsibility to take care only domestic chores. even education was supposed to be done by Uppers strata of the society(Brahmins, Kshatriyas) and eventually spread to all the strata of the society. especially after the renaissance in India. during the Independence of India female literacy was 8.86 as compared to 27.16 of male. 

As the tend is men are supposed to do the job hence given priority of educating a boy child. but over the time much has changed. now both are participating.  some of the reasons could be fear of security of girls. ie, for schools, colleges usually students have to travel a long distance(earlier, now in some places) hence chances of harassment, assault etc. 

Need of the hour 
Christine Lagarde IMF Chief  said, allowing women to participate in labor force on par with men the national Income of India could rise to 27 percent. educating a girl will enhance the skills of Indian women which in tern can help in participating women in labor force especially in organized sector. WHEN YOU EDUCATE MAN YOU EDUCATE A MAN; WHEN YOU EDUCATE A WOMAN YOU EDUCATE ENTIRE GENERATION. society can't be improved or developed without the contribution of other half. and it is very much essential to educate a girl or women for their contribution to the society which is beneficial for not only the mankind but also for the entire environment.

Various scholarships for economically poor and meritorious students: Specific to Karnataka

Applications will be invited in the month of August every year. Please share the below information with the needy.

1) ಹಿಂದುಳಿದ ವರ್ಗಗಳ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ -
www.karepass.cgg.gov.in

೨) ಸಮಾಜ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ ಪರಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಪರಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಪಂಗಡಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿದ   ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ
www.sw.kar.nic.in

೩) ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯಾತರ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ -www.gokdom.kar.nic.in

೪) ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರಕಾರದ ಮಾನವ ಸಂಪನ್ಮೂಲ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಮಂತ್ರಾಲಯದ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ (Ministry of Human Resource Development)  ಪ್ರತಿ ವರ್ಷವು ಡಿಗ್ರಿ ಪ್ರವೇಶ ಪಡೆಯುವ  ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜಾತಿಯಾ ಬಡ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ನೀಡುವ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ -
www.kar.nic.in/pue

೫) ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಐ.ಟಿ ಕಂಪನಿ ಇನಪೋಸ್ಸಿಸ್ ನೀಡುವ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ - www.vidyaposhak.org

೬)ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ರಾಣಿ ಚೆನ್ನಮ್ಮ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ -
www.kar.nic.in/pue/

೭) ದೀರುಬಾಯಿ ಅಂಬಾನಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ ಅಂಗವಿಕಲ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ -
www.kar.nic.in/pue

೮) ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ನ್ಯಾಶನಲ್ ಮೆರಿಟ್ ಅರ್ವಾಡ್ ಪರಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಜಾತಿಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ -
www.kar.nic.in/pue

೯) ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಮತ್ತು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಚಿವಾಲಯ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಮತ್ತು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಇಲಾಖೆ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಮೂಲ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ವ್ಯಾಸಂಗ ಮಾಡುವ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ವೇತನ (Inspire Scholarship) -
www. kar.nic.in/pue

೧೦) ಮೆರಿಟ್ ಸ್ಕಾಲರಶಿಪ್ - ದ್ವಿತೀಯ ಪದವಿ ಪೂರ್ವ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಶೇ.೮೦ ಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅಂಕಗಳನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸಿದ ಬಡ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ವೃತ್ತಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ(ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರಿಂಗ್, ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ, ಕೃಷಿ) ಶುಲ್ಕವನ್ನು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನೀಡುತ್ತದೆ –
www. kar.nic.in/pue

೧೧) ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಐ.ಟಿ ಕಂಪನಿ  ವೀಪ್ರೊ ಅವರ  ಅಜೀಮ್ ಪ್ರೇಮಜೀ ಫೌಂಡೇಷನ್ -www.azimpremjifoundation.org.

Is getting old a sin?

  Why don’t we understand one day everyone of us going to become old and need to face the same problems of these when we become old. Why people in our society start neglecting when they become older. After all we are here because of them. We may be busy in our daily schedules but it’s also one of the duty to take care our family members especially elders as they can’t look after themselves(just like when we were kids).

When I was getting down from the Hubli railway station, an Old lady (nearly 80 years of age) called for help to get down from the train. I helped her to get down, after that she asked me some money to have tea. I gave 10 Rs and asked where she was coming from. She replied, “grandson, I’m coming from Koppal and going to Nargund to meet my daughter. My son left me alone”. As she had not been to Hubli and didn’t know further route to Nargund. I took her to Old bus stop through an auto and left in the Nargund bus by giving another 50 Rs. And I got the invaluable award from her; her blessings. “ grandson, let god fulfill all your dreams and god bless you”. I was extremely delighted.

Finally I found an answer to my question. Does god exists? If so, where? Here it is. Among us only.

Let us help each other, don't leave our parents alone, if we do, our children will follow us and move forward, no doubt one day we will be surprised by the progress of human beings.