My UPSC Interview - 1st attempt

Name: Rajat Bansal

Attempt: 1st

Options - Geography and Public Administration

Profile - HERE

Marks in Interview - 210

Rank in UPSC - 168

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This is what I wrote about my interview just after it was over on 15th April, 2011. It may help some aspirants in their interview preparation.

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I am glad that the dreaded UPSC interview is over after the arduous and frustrating 1 month of wait since the mains results came out. Well, I have made an attempt to describe the interview experience as best as I could.

The board was chaired by Dr. Purshottam Agarwal. There was an old (70+ yrs) guy and a lady member on his right side and two guys (both resembled Kiran Karnik)  on his left. I had a pleasant chat with the peon while I was waiting outside the room. As  far as my mental state is concerned – I wasn’t nervous.

The door bell rang, the peon looked at me and said – “Jaiye bhaijaan, achcha kariyega”, he opened the door for me and I went in with a smile.

I stood near the chair and wished them all with a big enough smile. To my amazement, all the members replied back with warm smiles.

Chairman(CM): “Aao Rajat, Morning, Baitho”

Rajat (RB): “thank you sir”

(I sat down, I must admit that the sense of emotional warmth in the room made me considerably nervous for the first time, I felt like all my strategies are getting dissolved and I am not in control any more .... despite the internal turmoil I believe I did manage to keep a genuine smile on my face)

CM (he was scrutinising my profile till now, and looked up for the first time) – “Why Civil Service?”

(this question was a bombshell for me. While for most people this is the easiest question in the interview, for me this has been the bone of contention right from the first day. I had prepared a tactful answer but somehow in that instance I chose truth over tact.... I knew it was a stupid choice – but I think the warmth that I felt in that room filled with smiling, benevolent elderly people, this was the only course I had). 

RB: “Sir, there are several factors behind my choice; I had always been interested in community service ventures but the decision to look for a professional avenue to channelize that aptitude came after my experience in France. I spent 6 months of my last year in college in France and while I was there, there was a point of time when I realised that my identity is inevitably linked to my nationality. Having realised that, I somehow felt that my true calling is to go back to my country and do something about this overwhelming desire to be meaningful in its development”

(Now, while I am writing this – it seems like a textbook answer to me, but in actuality, I had never expressed this feeling to anyone before this. It was completely extempore and while I was saying this – i was overwhelmed with a sense of passion – I was making eye contact with everyone in the board and I could sense the redness of my cheeks..... By the time I ended this answer I realised what I had done – I had exposed my true thought process – this is something that many people advised me not to.... From this point on – I was trying to relax myself and be more tactful)

CM: “But civil services is not the only way to participate in your nation’s development directly and to do social service”

RB: “Yes sir, there are numerous ways to go about doing social service, but civil services is a very good alternative”

(he gave me a modest nod – almost subconsciously which told me that my childish blabbering  was actually convincing and the fear that most aspirants have that this reason is usually met with cynicism was unfounded)  

CM: “OK, tell me – while you were there, did you feel proud to be an Indian or did you feel embarrassment about the enormous problems that persist in India – the poverty, the corruption, communal ....etc?”

RB: “Sir I felt a sense of responsibility, as if I owe something”

CM: “I have asked you a straight question, please give me a straight answer – did you feel proud or embarrassed?”

(he said it  very sternly – by now my heartbeat was normal and I knew that no matter how tough he sounds, I have to maintain a balance between fear and respect – so I chose to avoid the clichéd “I’m Sorry sir” and went ahead)

RB:” Sir I felt proud, but that was also the time when the 26/11 incident took place, so there were a few moments of embarrassment”

CM: “OK. Now since you have talked about 26/11, do you think India has learnt any lessons from it?”

RB:”Sir, 26/11 did expose a number of loopholes in India’s terrorism-tackling and intelligence gathering capabilities. I think there have been a few lessons learnt – eg. Formation of  highly trained specialised task forces for such attacks, better intelligence sharing facilities, etc.”

(By this time I was running out of points so I started the second aspect of the argument)

“But sir, so far India hasn’t been able to put adequate pressure on Pakistan and our diplomatic success has been limited”

< A few more small questions about 26/11 and India- pak front>

CM: “OK, what do you know about NIA?”

RB:”National Investigation Agency ... I went on to describe its purpose ....”

CM: “When NIA was created some state chief ministers opposed. Do you know about this? Why?”

RB:” Yes sir, there was opposition from certain state CMs because it was seen as a threat to the delicate federal distribution of powers”

CM: “Can you be more specific?”

RB:”Sir, As far as I know, NIA has the powers to take over any terrorism related case from a state police dept. And the NIA teams can supersede the powers of any police station in India without the need for the latter’s concern”

CM:”But what is the basic reason threatening the federal polity?”

RB:”(paused) Sir, I don’t know the specifics”

CM:”OK, how do you think CBI takes up a case? Tum toh UP se ho – let’s say there was the Arushi murder case, so could the CBI take the case on its own?”

RB:”Sir I don’t think so. As far as I know, the police dept explicitly calls for such assistance from the CBI”

CM: “It’s the state govt. That asks the CBI to take up a certain case on a request basis” (He was telling me)

RB:”Ok Sir. Thank you.”

CM:”Now that I have given you this hint, now tell me how the NIA threatens the federal polity?”

RB:”Sir, the NIA doesn’t need authorisation from the state govt. And therefore can often subvert the policial authority exercised by the state govts.”

CM passed the baton on to the lady member ..

Lady Member(LM):”Since we  were talking about 26/11, do you think a common person in Mumbai today has a security when he goes out of his/her house and catches the trains etc.?”

RB:”Ma’am I don’t think there is a sense of absolute security in the people of Mumbai. But this is just my personal perception”

LM: “So is there a feeling that nothing has been done in this regard?”

RB:”Ma’am there is a perception that the govt. Takes the 26/11 seriously and our decisions to cut-off diplomatic links with pak to pressure it reflect that to certain extent. A lot of work has been done in this regard, but there is a lot more to be done”

LM: “hmm... a lot more needs to be done.... (smiling) I asked you because you were actually quite close to Mumbai”

RB: (smiling) “Yes ma’am, I have been working in Pune since the the last 20 months “

LM: “Rajat, I see that you have a technical background. Can you tell me something about the wireless technology and its potential?”

RB:” Yes Ma’m, wireless technologies are fast gaining wider acceptance and efficiency....”

LM:”Yes, I know it is gaining acceptance, but can you explain me why?

I realised she needed a tech. answer  and somehow from her expression and her choice of words I realised that she isn’t a techie herself – so I constructed an ad-hoc answer using terms like bandwidth, latency, service multiplicity, accessibility, cost efficiency etc. She seemed suitably satisfied.

LM:”You have written social service ventures as your extra-curriculars, can you tell me something you did?”

I described a computer literacy programme that I was involved in for a few years and clubbed it with an initiative for a solar-powered computer lab that we helped establish in a village school near Pilani.

LM:”Do you think the big companies of India who say that they are taking up social service – do it in good faith?”

RB: (smiling)” Ma’am there is a concern that the CSR activities taken up by MNCs lack any motivation apart from making their annual reports look better, but if see companies like Infosys, Where I have personally been associated with such activities, A lot of useful work actually gets done”

LM:”Yes, Infosys is an exception – but do you think other companies do it seriously too ?”

RB: (Smiling) “Ma’am that depends on the particular company in question”

LM:”How do computers help visually challenged?”

Now this was a pleasant surprise, because she asked it thinking that it was a googly – but luckily for me I had actually worked on such a project for 2-3 years during BITS – so I went on to give a technical explanation of my project ... which frankly – she didn’t seem to understand fully – but the old person sitting besides her seemed to be getting it.

LM:”Ok. What else?”

RB:”Ma’am the field of computer prosthetics, object identification(I went on to describe an object recognition device), ...”

LM:”How about using telephones and laptops?”

RB:”Ma’am a number of specialised platforms have been developed to enable the use of computers by visually challenged”

LM:”How about telephones? Can they use phones?”

At this point I could take a shot at explaining certain telephone interfaces, but I felt she is looking for a particular thing that she has in mind and the chances of me reaching there is rare

RB:”Ma’am I not aware of any specific research on that front”

LM: “OK, this will be my last question ..... (I can’t recall what she asked)”

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KiranKarnik 1 (KK1) – “Rajat, you know there are so many people who are as well qualified as you, who take up good corporate jobs, live lives of affluence – buy cars etc. .. can you think of any health problem with such a way of life?”

I didn’t quite understood his question well, so I gave him that confused look .. but anyways began to answer .. KK1 stopped me after 2-3 words and started saying something

CM (to KK1):”Let him speak” (to me: )”Did you understand his question ... what are the effects of such a lifestyle on a person’s health?”

RB:”Yes sir, such lifestyle of urbanism and conspicuous consumption leads to diseases like heart conditions, diabetes, hypertension, etc. Sir there is a particular term for such diseases but I cant recall it just now”

CM:”Lifestyle diseases”

RB:”Yes sir, they are called lifestyle diseases, and India’s health problems are paradoxical because we have both lifestyle diseases and disease like malaria, dengue etc. That effect the economically weaker section more, prevalent in our country”

KK1:”Ok, since you are interested in yoga and meditation, do you think this can help? And how?”

RB: I gave him some gyan about immunity build up and stress relief through yoga etc.  + I pointed 

out the associativity factor that people who generally  do yoga etc. Tend to make better lifestyle choices... he seemed satisfied, and the CM – who was also intently listening – was also satisfied.

KK1:”Do you know anything about diabetes? ” .. he went on to talk about some funny diabetes matrimonial.com – to which everyone laughed ... and then asked me “Can diabetes be cured?”

RB:”Sir diabetes is a lifestyle disease that can be prevented through wise lifestyle choices” (I didn’t know much about it but he kept on looking so I added)”With proper medication, its intensity can be decreased and its effects can be mitigated” (I said the last part slowly so that he knows I am not comfortable and doesn’t press for more )

KK1:”How does language play a role in the way people interact?”

RB: “Sir, language is a primary determinant of the effectiveness of any interaction. Moreover sir, language helps in understanding of other cultures better (At this juncture, the CM nodded his head furiously, so I happily continued and elaborated). And it also helps in better understanding of each other by decreasing the scope of stereotype creation.... I elaborated it with a personal example...

(let me point out – tht this question was nowhere related to my profile or my subjects ...it was thrown in just to check quick-thinking and also understanding of the non-technical aspects... as I knew that the CM had a background of culture – I purposefully brought in culture while answering .,.. as far as I could judge – this worked well )

KK2:”Rajat, I see that you have studied in some of the most elite English-medium schools that the country has to offer... do you think that in our English schools we shouldn’t allow our children to speak in regional languages?”

RB: “Sir, this is indeed true tht English schools tend to discourage use of regional languages ... as far as my experience in lamartiniere and DPS RK Puram goes, I didn’t experience such discouragement but such a problem does exist in most public schools in urban areas.... Sir I think (I became purposefully passionate here – as I knew tht the CM was a world famous author of Hindi literature) that by discouraging regional lingos we are subconsciously inducing a feeling of inferiority complex in the child about his mother tongue ....I understand that India needs to encourage English speaking if it were to become a knowledge powerhouse, but doing it by purposefully subverting Hindi or other mother tongues is not healthy sir”

KK2:”Rajat, I will give you two sentences of Hindi – Ladka jaata hai, ladki jaati hai... I am sure you can translate them into English”

RB:”Sir, The boy goes, the girl goes ...”

KK2:”OK. Did you see a difference in the verbs?”

RB:”Yes sir, when we are changing the ling of the noun, the change is reflected in the verb in case of Hindi but not in the case of English”

(2 things – both KKs were smiling and I was smiling mildly during the entire conversation with them ... also in the last sentence I purposely used the hindi term “ling” as I coulnt recall “gender” then – and when I used ling, the CM looked up at me for a few moments ... but I didn’t look in his direction)

KK2- (satisfied)”OK, so when you were taught in your classes, did they ever use a comparative methodology like this”

(this question was very ambiguously framed, and this is what I understood – but I wasn’t sure what he meant ... anyways I chose not to give him the confused look)

RB: “Sir as far as my curricular experience goes, I was never taught in this manner ... but when I tried learning French – I did it in such a comparative manner “

Oldman (OM: )”Rajat, you said you were in France, where exactly were you?”

RB: ...told him.

OM:”where did you stay” – he actually went on to ask whether I lived a desi-centric life in France (which most Indians do – as they find the company of their desi friends more comforting than the trouble of reaching out to foreigners) ..

RB: - I detailed the kind of interaction I had with French, etc...

OM:”What is your impression of the French people”

(The first word tht came to my mind was “proud” :P ... but I knew it was pejorative and shouldn’t be used, so I waited)

OM:”Earlier they were reluctant to speak English, but they have climbed down now”

(CM and others started to laugh out loud on the “climbed down” remark) .. I smiled..

RB:”Yes sir, when EU was formed, the French were resisting the use of English, but there has been .... I explained the recent trend and my experience  at INSEAD ... and then I said “I can relate this to what I was discussing with sir before (mildly pointing to KK1) about language playing a role in interaction ... becoz in France a non-french speaking person like me could only be personal to a  French person to a certain constraining level.  “ ..etc

OM:”Rajat you mentioned that you want to go for civil services for social service ... do you see it as a profession or just a social service?

(I felt that he is trivialising the argument that I gave but pointing that out could have been counter-productive so I just ignored it and went ahead)

RB:”Sir, it was my aptitude for social service that made me think about civil services, however the choice of going for civil services was a major professional decision for me that had implications on my entire career. So I take it as both sir”

OM: - asked a question about generalisation-specialisation debate in IAS ... I quoted the relevant ARC-2 reco and convinced him ... by this time the CM also seemed impressed.

CM: thank you Rajat ... all other members were saying thank you individually and smiling

I thought i was being short-changed, I seriously thought that the interview only for 10 minutes so I was not ready to get up ... but after a perceivable delay of 4-5 seconds, I did get up – stayed for a while longer than normal –to smile at each one of them and then grabbed the doorknob with a vigour.