My UPSC CSE Interview (PT) Experience.

About me:

Hometown: Sunderbani, Distt. Rajouri, J&K.

Education: B.Tech. ECE.

Hobbies/Interests: Playing Cricket, Experimental Cooking, Attending Panel Discussuions.

Optional: Public Administration.

Board: Dr. TCA Anant (All male panel). Total 5 members.

From entering the gates of UPSC (Dholpur Bhawan) till the verification of documents, I had this natural anxiety and nervousness. But, while interacting with fellow candidates, and waiting for my turn my anxiety gradually went away. At the time of being lead towards the Board room, I was somehow getting positive vibes about my Interview.

While waiting outside the room for my turn, I had around 10 minutes to get myself prepared for the “final encounter” with the board members.

I quickly scanned the surroundings around me, reading the room nos. in the corridors, name of office bearers etc. (perhaps preparing myself for those “unexpected questions” about situational awareness).

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. As soon as the previous candidate came out of the room, wiping his face with handkerchief, the final Countdown began!

As soon as I was called inside, I found a courteous staff member holding the door open for me to enter. There I saw the interview (PT) board waiting for me.

“May I come in Sir”, I requested Chairman’s permission.

“Yes, Please Come-In”, the Chairman asked me to enter.

I entered, stood beside a Chair kept in front (middle) of the horse-shoe shaped table. I greeted the Chairman and courteously smiled and acknowledged the presence of other members (with gestures as told in Mock-Interviews). The Chairman then asked me to be seated. I thanked him and sat down on the chair.

CHAIRPERSON (CP) read my details aloud (my hometown, graduation and alma mater). I simply said Yes Sir, Right Sir for corroborating those details.

CP: Akshay, I do see that you have done B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), and then opted for Pub Ad as your Optional subject. Why So?

Me: (Feeling happy about a predictable question):

Sir, there are number of reasons for that:  ECE in itself is not available as an optional subject in Civil Services Exam (CSE); easily available guidance for Pub Ad, my general interest in the subject as I was exploring available choices for the optional subject during graduation, and I happened to meet an Alumnus of our College (who had then recently became an IAS). Co-incidentally his optional was also Pub Ad and I got the opportunity for initial briefing about the subject during my grauation days only.   

CP: We see, there is Public Administration and there is also Business Administration, how would you differentiate between the two, and what are the similarities.

Me: (taking a pause) mentioned some commonly stated differences,  and was soon interrupted:

CP:  You’re mentioning the differences in practice (field), I want to know some differences b/w these academic disciplines.

Me: Responded with some disciplinary differences, and soon was asked to mention some similarities between the two. I mentioned some similarities both as an activity and discipline.

CP: Asked me about some prominent theories/thinkers that are common in Pub Ad and Business Ad which I answered.

CP then nudged Member 1 (M1) to ask questions:

(M1 was perhaps the one with a responsibility to put pressure on me.)

M1: Akshay, since you are from J&K, I want to know about Article 370, and Article 35A, about their origin, their mention in the Constitution etc.

Me: Just had started with basics of Art 370; but M1 seemed dissatisfied and interrupted with a disagreement and moved on to ask about Art 35A. I started mentioning the basics about how Art 35 A conferred power on erstwhile State Legislature to determine its Permanent Residents and grant some privileges accordingly.

At this M1 dug somewhat deeper and asked me about how the permanent residents were identified based on what cut-off date (year) which I was not able to recollect at that time and apologized for the same.

M1: (asking about my home District) I see, Rajouri being a border district has faced the brunt of Infiltration. What is the current security scenario in Rajouri? (I nodded and replied)

Me: Yes Sir, Rajouri has witnessed infiltration instances being a border district, however, the infiltration has significantly reduced in the past few years and the situation is much better now.

M1 asked about how Rajouri got its name, I answered about the name Rajouri being modified from ‘Rajapuri’ which meant ‘the land of kings’. He then specifically asked which Kings, the names I was unable to recollect. He then jokingly asked if the Kings existed before Independence or after, to which I smiled and said that those Kings existed well before Independence.

M1: We, in India, have a very bulky Constitution with a lot of provisions while on the other hand we have UK where the Constitution is governed by conventions and it has been doing almost very good on that front. So what is the need to have such a lengthy document in India, don’t you think it has been a futile exercise.

Me: (took my time) Sir, UK has been a democracy for long (mentioned about the Glorious Revolution of 1688) and they are a mature democracy, while we got real democracy at the time of Independence only. Also, In India we have a lot of diversity, and to accommodate these differences and prevent any confusion, I think, it was better to have a written Constitution with elaborate provisions. At this M1 interrupted:

M1: But we have amended the Constitution for more than 100 times and still keep on doing so. So isn’t it a wastage (or something similar was asked)

Me: Sir, definitely, we have been amending the Constitution for so many years and I think it is rather a positive thing, that we can mould the Constitution, according to the needs of the time, and that is what makes it a dynamic and Living Document. Plus, Sir since we have a federal set up, hence there is a need to clearly demarcate the roles and responsibilities of different institutions, to have clear devolution of powers, demarcating responsibilities of the States and the Centre, to safeguard the Fundamental Rights of the Citizens etc.

M1: We see, there is an increasing focus on Start Ups by the government, and there have been some announcements made about them in this year’s budget. So I want you to firstly tell what a Startup is and what benefits have been announced for them in this Budget.

Me: Perhaps gave a very crude definition of start-ups that I could frame at that moment and went on to acknowledge government’s support towards them and mentioned one or two benefits announced in the budget and said that I could recall only that much at this moment.

At this the M1 passed the baton to M2:

(M2 seemed most cordial among all, though the entire board was cordial enough)

M2: Akshay, since you mentioned about Rajouri and Startups, let me ask you what will you do to promote StartUps in Rajouri in case you’re the DM of Rajouri, and what areas would you focus on?

Me: Mentioned about the prospects of Tourism in Rajouri (unexplored potential), the education sector (highlighted about high percent of educated youth in Rajouri)- was asked about Healthcare sector- I acknowledged the prospects encouraging Private Health care ventures in Rajouri, and also highlighted the potential for setting up BPOs in Rajouri.

At this, I was asked about the manufacturing sector potential including the handicrafts etc. to which I said that handicrafts are not much existent in Rajouri, and highlighted not so encouraging short-term prospects in the manufacturing sector while again highlighting the scope in the Services Sector.

M2: Let me now take you to your School days. You have mentioned in the DAF that you were the ‘Head Boy’ in the school. So what was your role as a School Head Boy, and how will it help you in Civil Services in future in terms of some qualities that you would have developed.

Me: Discussed about my role and mentioned few of the learnings that would help me in future.

M2: Akshay, I want to know your honest opinion (and were talking about it the other day with the Chairman as well, So you are free to take any stand) about how would the recent changes in the Constitutional status of J&K will impact the functioning of the Police in J&K?

At this I asked to confirm if he had asked about the impact on Police only, which he clarified in affirmation. I, then, gave my own perspective regarding that.

M2: As we know,  Ladakh has been taken out of J&K and made a separate UT while Jammu and Kashmir have been kept united. Why do you think it has been done so and what is your view w.r.t. future prospects for both Ladakh and J&K?

Me: Answered as per my own understanding regarding the same and showing optimism w.r.t development scenario in Ladakh, (the strategic and security aspect) and J&K in the long term.

M2: You talked about the abrogation of Art 35 A (with M1). What do you think will be the Merits/Demerits of such a step? Whom will it benefit the most and How?

Me: Talked about the Merits of the abrogation w.r.t how Art 35 A was discriminatory against the women of J&K who married someone outside J&K, and other repercussions. Talked only about Merits (now realize that could also have flagged the procedure part).

Now Member 3 (M3) took the charge:

M3: Akshay, the Banking sector in our country has been witnessing a crisis like situation. What do you think are the reasons for the same and what can be possible solutions?

Me: Humbly inquired if he meant banking sector in particular or the financial sector (NBFCs) as well, to which he asked me to consider the NBFC crisis as well. I started with talking about the present scenario, including YES Bank case, and mentioned some (very general points) like indiscriminate lending, leading to rising NPAs, along with faulty governance mechanism. Here, I also talked about the ineffectiveness of RBI in regulating these institutions and its failure in pre-empting the crisis as well.

I also talked about the ILFS default, DHFL crisis and that it caused a domino effect on other financial institutions.

On the solutions side, I simply talked about correcting the reason (factors), like better RBI monitoring, intelligence gathering, promoting better corporate governance mechanism, having an RBI representative in the Board of Directors of such financial institutions. (However, in the hindsight, I feel that I could have answered it better). Here, I also made a mistake of abruptly ending the answer as I failed to recollect more points.

M3: Asked about IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), its basics.

Me: Answered about IBC, its timeline 180, 270, 330 days, the honourable exit part etc.

At this, he asked about the concerned parties, giving a hint, to which I mentioned the Creditors (the members nodded).

Now he asked about, Secured and Unsecured creditors.

Me: (made a mistake, confused it with Depositors part (DICG)) to which he pointed out the mistake, I immediately acknowledged my fault, thought for a while, and then expressed my inability to recall these facts. {In hindsight, I know it was a simple question}

M3: Asked about Data Protection Bill, its current status, and some basics.

Me: Answered comprehensively (as I had expected this topic and had prepared accordingly)

Now, M3 looked towards Member 4 (M4):

M4: started with some follow up questions on Data Protection Bill. I answered accordingly.

Now, he asked about Experimental Cooking (Hobby/Interest part). There were some light moments based on my initial response which made the atmosphere a bit more comfortable.

He inquired about my favorite subject(s) in graduation to which I reluctantly replied with a broader theme of Communication. He asked 2 specific questions one regarding Sampling theorem, and one about some Equation to which I humbly expressed my inability to recall (due to long time gap).

Now he asked me to choose a specific area, to which I replied Mobile Communication. He asked about the 5G Technology, government’s focus towards it, its scope (potential applications) etc.

I was grilled on this question, but I believe I answered it satisfactorily as it was again an expected topic.

M4: Asked about, types of crops cultivated in Rajouri District, and specifically inquired about the existence of Value Addition Chain w.r.t. Maize, to which I answered in negative.

M4: (Last Question) About Laissez Faire style of leadership and its applicability in organizations.

I answered highlighting applicability of this leadership style in innovation, start-ups etc. He nodded acknowledging the same.

Finally, the Chairman told me that the Interview was over and that I could leave.

I stood up bidding Thank You and Good Day collectively to all the board members.

The interview lasted for about 30 minutes. Overall, it was a very nice experience for me. The board was very cordial and I felt very comfortable talking to them right from the word go. The Interview ended on a positive note as well. (Though in hind-sight I do think that I could have answered certain questions in a much better way, however I would give it to Interview related nervousness and anxiety).

Now waiting for the final result with fingers crossed!!

Note: The questions (and their order) are based on what I could recollect to the best of my abilities. However, I might have forgotten some questions.