UPSC Interview Transcript of Manoj (ICAS)
I personally have never given any interviews before and interview was one of the trickiest part for me. So I gave a lot of mocks where in the first mock I was not even able to express myself properly. But I improved bit by bit and tried to learn how to interact with such qualified people.
I read few of the newspapers on the interview day but nothing was asked about the ongoing issues.
Board : B S Bassi Sir
CHAIRMAN
With my picture in his hand : “Is this you”
Me : Yes Sir.
Ch : But it doesn’t look like you. Have you changed your hairstyle?
Me : Sir , this is my college time pic (around 1.5 yrs old) and so it looks a little different.
Ch : What are the benefits of Desert Ecosystem?
Me : I thought it is an easy question but as I started to speak I fumbled. I was not able to think of any direct benefits.(I could have said solar energy generation, wind energy generation etc. but I did not). I messed up this one and thought that I am screwed now as the start is really bad.
Ch : What did you study in your graduation ?
Me : Sir, I am a computer engineer and I studied programming languages and their usage by using data structures and algorithms.
Ch : Did you make anything ?
Me : Sir I made an android app which was regarding kids learning purposes.
Ch : What was its inputs and outputs and how did you make it ?
Me : I told about Java and XML which were used to make the app. And there were images and audio for children to learn about alphabets, numbers and various such things.
Member 1
Sir’s voice was unclear so for the first question I requested him twice.
M1 : Is Success incidental ?
Me : Sir, most of it is hard work but at some point we also require a little bit of luck.
M2 : What problems would you like to address in your village ?
Me : The people there have low preference for a girl child and they marry her early and also do not take her education seriously. The people are unaware of the governmental schemes made for them. So I would like to improve upon these aspects.
M1 : What are your views on e-Governance . Is it beneficial ?
Me : Sir I think e-Governance eases the way we work. It will improve general public’s access to the government, it will make the flow of funds transparent, it will make schemes more effective and also it will streamline different complex procedures. So sir it is the future.
Sir smiled and said “It is present also”. And we both smiled.
Member 2 (Lady)
M2 : You said that e-Governance is so good but literacy in India is very poor and people at lower levels do not understand its meaning. So how should we go about it?
Me : Yes mam I agree.But we should keep working on e-Governance measures and along with it we need to focus upon educating people. So both must go hand in hand.
M2 : What are stereotypes ?
Me : Mam, these are the mental constructs that have kept alive the old tradition and practices. For example “a cat crossing a road is a stereotype”
Mam stopped me and said “I think that is superstition “
I was like “oh shit!!”
Me : Yes mam that is a superstition. I switched to another example - Mam like the girls are not allowed to go outside or have to follow certain practices are because of stereotypes.
M2 : You are from Sociology so I want to ask you one question “ You might have seen ‘Blow Horn’ written behind the trucks and other vehicles. But then we talk about noise pollution. Is it a cultural problem?
Me : Yes mam I think it is a cultural problem because people are little impatient and they do not really care about the noise but only about surpassing the vehicle and easing their access on roads.
M2 : If you get a chance what would you change it (“Blow Horn”) to?
Me : I said “Wait for Side” and mam nodded.
M2 : What is the difference between Site and perception ?
Me : Mam, Site is the reality and perception is the image we have made in our mind about the actual reality. For example - When I visit a hill station that is a beautiful site for me but when I have not visited that place in person all I have are perceptions about its existence.
Member 3
M3 : Human beings have power to make choice. You can either give the interview or go out of this room. But social media has bounded our choices . What is your opinion about that ?
Me : Yes Sir I agree that social media has bounded our choices as it provides avenues for all age groups from a child to the old. And all find something to do on social media instead of doing fruitful activities.
M3 : So is it bad ?
Me : Sir Social Media has both positive and negative sides but it depends on us how we use it.
M3 : Do you know about August Compte ?
Me : Yes Sir he is known as “Father of Sociology”.
M3 and M4 looked at me like I said something out of this world . For a moment I thought if I am wrong but I did not change my answer.
Me : Sir he was a positivist.
M3 : What does it mean ?
Me : Sir , positivists are those who try to understand social reality by making use of scientific methods. They consider sociology as a type of science.
Member 4
M4 : What do you cook ? Name few.
Me : Sir I like to make things which can be prepared very quickly. I told about few items.
M4 : If you want to put a hoarding in your village to attract people to local dish there. What would be the tagline ?
Me : Sir Dal Baati Churma is very famous there so that would be the dish.
Sir can I say it in Hindi ?
M4 : Yes u can.
Me : Desi Ghee ke dal baati churma……and I stopped.
M4 : Aage ??
Me : Everyone was looking at me and I was blank . I took few seconds and found no proper rhyme for the next line so out of nowhere I said “Aao Khao”
And everybody burst into laughter
M4 : Are you married ? What is your opinion on dowry?
Me : No sir I am not married. I am totally against dowry practice.
M4 : How would you convince your parents not to take it?
Me : Sir as far as I know my parents they would definitely listen to me.
M4 : How will you convince your in-laws ?
Me : Sir I will sit down with them and talk about the issue.
Chairman
Ch : As a government servant you will get 70k as salary. You will be having 2 children on which you will spend 15k each. And also some will be deducted in taxes. So how will you afford your child’s education in a good school?
Me : I did not want to say but said it “Sir I have not heard that a civil servant cannot even afford his child’s education in a decent school”.
Ch : They use unfair means.
Me : Sir, I will educate my children wherever I am posted and at whatever best I can afford. Even we can improve upon our government schools and my children can go to these schools too.
Ch : Somebody gives you 1 crore rupees AND other option is to take dowry. What will you choose.
Lady Member laughed and said “Sir, now you have taken him”.
Me : I took few seconds and said “Sir I will not choose any of them as whatever I will earn would be enough for me”.
Ch : Ok , Thank You
Marks = 165
The members were very cordial and it was an enlightening experience. The questions asked were really wonderful. They could have been answered in better ways but it depends on person to person and a lot goes through one’s mind on that day. So once the interview starts, the half an hour just passes quickly and What is said is said and all your Wonders and all your Blunders are sealed...
Source- Quora
Source- Quora
