UPSC Interview Transcript of Pranav Manghat

UPSC Interview Transcript of Pranav Manghat

Panel: Alka Sirohi Madam

Background: 1st attempt, BTech(computer science) 2014

Hobbies - classical music(playing harmonium), swimming

Date: 16th March 2016 morning session - the very first interview of the day

Duration: around 35 minutes and around 70 questions.

Dress: Only a formal shirt and a trouser. I did not sport a tie or a suit as I had never used them before.

About the experience:

I had heard that Smt.Sirohi’s cabin has two rooms and she often conducts the interview in the inner room. So I was ready to go in and take a breath and then enter the actual room. But two my surprise, she had her table right next to the door which unsettled me. Further I was in great awe after I saw her personality. Firstly as she looked much younger than her age. And she had a very glamorous red saree. It was clear that she had wore a very sophisticated make up. Somehow at that point of time, I felt that I should have gone for a blazer. One interesting aspect was the extensively high usage of red colour. The wallpapers, the table, the chairs and even the chair persons attire, all were red. The table was a medium sized square table in contrast with the horseshoe table which I had heard of. There was a sesame chair. I had to pull it. It was very heavy and stiff.

Note: Unlike regular interview where one by one members ask questions and only chairman interrupts, here members were switching randomly. Almost every member used to interrupt. Chairman was very coordial and she would give hints. So UPSC has no std format. Be ready for surprises.

In this transcript, M4 M3 C M2 M1 stands Member 4 , member 3, member 2, chair person, member 2 and member 1 respectively.

(Gender composition : chair - lady, all other gents)

May I come in madam?

Good morning to all!

Thank you!

# Questions by Chairperson #

C: You are hobby is classical music. You play Harmonium. You must be a classical singer also?

ans: No madam. I am only a instrument player.

C: You are a student of Gandharva Mahavidyala. What are the features of Hindustani Classical Music?

ans: Madam hindustani classical music is melodious i.e. it plays one note at a time. It has freedom

which makes improvisation possible and styles..

C: No, no. Freedom and improvisation are fine. What are the core features?

ans: another feature is raag

C: Raag, Yes. Tell me what is a raag?

ans: raag has 5 or 6 or 7 surs within which it is bound.the composition have to be within this surs.

C: can you Give an example of a raag

ans: yes madam. for example bhupali. it has sa re ga pa and dha

C: So Ma and Ni are not used in Bhupali. Can you tell me where is Ni or Komal Ni?

ans: it is between dha and sa. komal ni comes before shuddha ni

C: No no. Give me an example of a raag which has komal Ni.

ans: oh yes mam. its bhimpalas

C: Hmm Bhimpalas. Tell me something about Bhimpalas.

ans: bhimpalas raag has ma as vaadi which is its most important note. it has sa as sanvadi or second

most important note. and...

C: Do you know about taals.

ans: few taals

C: Okay so you know some taals only. (To M3) Please continue.

# Questions By M1 #

M1: Have you heard of Siachin?

ans: yes sir

M1: what is its importance?

ans: sir siachin is important because of its strategic location. control of siachin results in the

control of the karakoram highway. also its terrain is at high altitude which helps monitor both indias

side and the other. if siachin is lost the other country might get upperhand.

M1: you are missing one very important point.

ans: sorry sir i am not able to recall

M1: Water?

ans: yes sir. glaciers are important because they are the source of perennial river.

M1: So why is glacier so important for india or pakistan or even china as well? Will it lead to fights?

ans: sir water is an important resource and with growing population and demand the potable water has not increased proportionally. Other things like pollution reduce the potability of existing water.

# Questions by M2 #

M2: So what is your opinion on the current budget?

ans: sir current budget focuses on agriculture and also on rural infrastructure and infrastructure in

general... and (stops for a while). sorry sir not able to articulate right now.

M2: Do you think it is growth oriented?

ans: yes sir. it is growth oriented in the long run. Focusing on agriculture might reduce growth in

short run. But 4percent growth rate is very important as suggested by 12th plan to grow sustainably.

M2: what is the current growth rate of agriculture?

ans: sir it is around 0 or sub zero

M1: Have you heard of dream budget?

ans: sorry sir i am not able to recollect it

C: you can say whatever you feel

ans: sir is it the budget of 1997?

M1: No. it is the budget of 1991?

ans: thank you sir

M1: can you tell me why is it called?

C: guess it

ans: sir it might be because of LPG reforms ie liberalisation

M2: so tell me what is liberalisation, and other things that you mentioned

ans: sir liberalisation is opening of economy. i.e it ended the old license raj. privatisation is

allowing private players to enter new sectors.

M1: how will computer engineering help in agriculture?

ans: sir e technology can come in aid of farmers like kisan call centres. it can provide information

at various stages like sowing, harvesting and even marketing. for example, it can help create a

uniform national market of agriculture.

M1: one more important thing(pauses). water resources?

ans: yes sir. e technology can make efficient use of water resources through database management.

# Questions by M3 #

M3: have you heard of taxation?

ans: yes sir

M3: what is direct tax?

ans: direct tax is tax imposed on income. It is a tax wherein the individual who earns income actually

bears the tax

M3: what are the types of direct tax apart from individual tax?

ans: sir there are other taxes like corporate tax, tax on income of legal entities

M3: is individual tax also like corporate tax? is it same for all?

ans: no sir. unlike corporate tax, individual tax is based on tax slabs with tax increasing with slab

M3: what is the need of such slabs?

ans: sir to ensure that taxation is progressive

M3: what is the need of progressive taxation?

ans: sir tax is a tool of income income redistribution. and such taxation ensures that poor have

enough and the money from rich is used for poor.it ensures economic justice.

M3: is it economic justice or social justice?

ans: yes sir. thank you. it ensure social justice

# Questions by M4 #

M4: So you are interested in classical music. Can you tell names of few classical musicians who have

promoted it at international level?

ans: sir this can be broadly classified into vocalists and instrumentalists. in vocalists, pandit

bhimsen joshiji, shri jashraji are important. in instrumentalist, shri hariprasad chaurasia, shri

zakir hussain, shri shivkumar sharmaji, etc are important.

M4: Ravi Shankar? you missed an important name

ans: sorry sir. and thank you sir

M4: How did they promote it?

ans: sir by performing they provide exposure to the indian classical music abroad. some have also

started training centres to propagate music.

M4: are you aware of what exactly do they do apart from performances and training?

ans: sorry sir, i am not aware.

M3: Mother Tereasa was recently in news. why was she?

ans: sir she has been conferred sainthood

M3: is she conferred or they are forced to confer sainthood?

ans: sir in my view she deserves it

M3: is it already conferred or in the process? will it take time?

(C interrupts before i answer)

C: there are many procedures which need to be taken and this will take time

M3: what was her work?

ans: sir she worked for the socially downtrodden classes, the people with diseases and others.

M3: which was the place of her work?

ans: sir kolkatta in west bengal

M3: to which country did she orignally belonged?

ans: sorry sir i dont know

M3: She had recieved an award at international level. What was that about?

ans: (i pause)

(Chair person gives hint)

C: arey it is the award for which almost everyone is desperate!

ans: sir is it nobel peace prize

C: yes

M3: what was the award she got from India?

(Chairperson gives hint without waiting for me)

C: the highest award of India!

ans: yes sir, bharat ratna

C: But was she Indian citizen?

ans: no madam she was not

M1: recently a very important satellite was launched. what is it?

ans: sir is it IRNSS

M1: yes. why was it launched?

ans: sir it was launched to develop our own gps

M1: what is the use of GPS?

ans: sir gps has many applications. it can be useful right from simple traffic management to ensure

smart traffic to strategic things like border security.

M1: how does GPS exactly works?

ans: sorry sir. i am not aware of the exact working.

M4: have you heard of Manipur?

ans: yes sir

M4: where is manipur or nagaland located?

ans: sir it is a state in the northeastern part. it is located at the eastern end of india near

myannmar

M4: can you name the states of northeast?

ans: yes sir. along with 7 states even sikkim is considered as part of northeast. the other states

include arunachal at top, nagaland, manipur and tripura. then mizoram and meghalaya between assam and

bangladesh.

M3: what is 3D printing?

ans: sir it is the fusion of computer engineering and mechanical engineering wherein the design part

of the product to be produced is given through computer and mechanical production systems physically

produce the product. It is different from ordinary printer which produces only papers and text.

# Back to Chairperson #

C: what is a virus?

ans: madam it stands for vital information resource under seige. it is a malware which reproduces

itself, captures resource or corrrupts.

C: is it similar to a biomedical virus?

ans: in a way. because a type of virus reproduces itself

C: no no. Biomedical virus is selfcontained.

ans: yes mam

M4: why is Subhash Bose in news?

ans: sir it is because of the controversy related to netajis death. there are many theories related to

it - some say he died immediately after accident, some say he survived but later succumbed to

injuries, while some say he escaped successfully.

M4: in which country is said to be said after the accident?

ans: sorry sir, i dont know

M4: what did he do?

ans: sir before death or after death?

M4: of course before death (everyone starts laughing).

ans: sir he lead the indian national army(INA) and in a way had an alliance with countries like Japan.

He tried to take advantage of world war by freeing India through war.

M4: to what extent did they reach?

ans: sir around Myannmars border i guess.

C: So do you think world war 3 can take place for water?

ans: mam may i take a pause? (C: sure) Madam water is a very critical resource. And as demand due to

various reasons like population increases without increase in its supply there will be problem. Even

available water gets polluted and reduces the supply.

C: why is water shortage present when we have so much of water in oceans?

ans: madam because the sea water is highly saline and not potable

C: so what? why cant we have desalination plants?

ans: mam but it is very costly and not feasible

C: you said pollution of water. What can be the measures to cure it?

ans: mam measure needs to be taken in both short run and long run.. (C interrupts)

C: what is Namami gange?

ans: mam it is a flagship programme of government of india under ministry of water resources. It

primarily aims to clean Ganga and also 8 rivers around it

C: How is it going to clean ganga?

ans: mam it has both preventive and curative methods. there is Ganga task force, and not letting

sewage enter.

C: how?

ans: mam by using those places where it is cured

C: do you mean sewage treatment plants?

ans: yes mam, the sewage treatment plants. thank you

C: and what about industrial effluents?

ans: yes mam, it also has to go through treatment plants before directly entering water.

C: and?

ans: mam in case of religious processes use of... mam i am not able to recall the word.. use of

"jaali" to collect it again..

C: and? (this line repeated many times. till i finally said i am not able to recollect)

ans: sorry mam i am not able to recall

C: Benares! Have you heard of it? what is the problem of ganga there?

ans: mam is it religious?

C: apart from religious?

ans: open defecation?

C: it is the problem of cremating incompletely and dumping half burnt dead bodies. Therefore

crematories are also required.

ans: thank you mam

(C draws a crescent and gives to me)

C: what is it?

ans: geometric shape

C: it is a crescent! draw two straight lines in a way to divide it into 6 parts

ans: yes mam. i will try my best.

(i am unable to divide it in two parts. could divide it in 5 parts only)

ans: mam if we consider outer part of line then it becomes 6

C: no no. 6 parts should be inside. okay. Thank you

Thank you!

(after door opens there is big noise.. i say extremly sorry and leave. Somehow I could gauge that my performance wasn't that good. My mocks were much better. I scored in the 160s. This was more than my expectations based on my performance analysis.)

P.S. The correct ans for the question was this -