My interview was on 4/4/2009. i wore dark grey suit with a matching shirt and tie. the colour of shirt was cloud blue and tie was black with white cross stripes. I reached upsc exactly at 8 50 am as i was third to be interviewed. i felt proud entering the upsc hall. after few minutes of certificate verification they provided us biscuits with tea. i think we were around 60 members in that central hall and we were made to sit in a group of 6 so that that each group would go to a single board. i chatted with the group members by asking their names, education, their previous experiences and the like. the moment was glorious. though glorious i had some kind of nervousness which i tried to vent it out by drinking water and talking to some of my friends who attended interview on the same day. after elapse of few minutes the interview was started. everyone was eager to know their board chairman. some were very happy and some to its opposite. but i decided to be indifferent with the hearing of the board. that also worked for me.
the interview board for our group was dr pushotam agarwal. i was third to be interviewed and around 10 45 a m one assistant took me near the chairman's room. i was asked to sit in a table with swift air coming towards me from a fan. my nervousness increased without my permission. i tried a lot to bring it under control. never. it fighted with me. the assistant was ready by now after a call from the chairman's room to take me in. fortuntely i couldnt believe that i was so normal without any nervousness. finally i won the battle.
the room was small. i bowed while entering the room. one lady member was there and naturally i wished the lady member first and then gents. they were very happy to welcome me and put me in a comfortable position.
the chairman opened the quetions
1. good. u were born in puduchery. would u tell us why the name pondichery has been changed to puduchery?
2.u have studied in ramakrishna vidyaalaya. who founded ramakrishna mission?
3.do u know vivekananda rock in tamilnadu?
4.why the rock named as such?
5.when did vivekananda visit tamilnadu?
6.your hobby is listening to music. do u know who is pandit ravishankar and his contributions?
7.who is kishore kumar?
7.why do want to become an ias officer?
8.name 5 freedom fighters from west bengal?
the chairman now directed another member to continue questioning. he took my biodata and tried to find questions. he suddenly find a point and asked about my esaay prizes which i won during my college days.
he asked me the topics on which i had written the essays. i spelt two topics. one related to food security and another "role of youths in today's india". now the member got a point and asked me
1.what do u think about the mangalore pub attack?
2.i think to maintain the culture of india , there should be some checks like this?whats ur opinion?
3.what is food security and how to achieve this in a stipulated time period?
4.name 2 football clubs from bengal?
5.who is mahalanobis? what are his contributions?
6.who founded Indian Statistical Institute- kolkata?
now the third person started with the chairman's permission.
1.what is grain bank scheme?
2.what do u think about making food as a fundamental right?
3.whether the resources available at present make this possible?
inbetween the chairman went away for some time and fortunately i noticed the movement of him. the lady member took charge in her hand. she asked
1.what is women empowerment?
2.have u gone to village?
3.do u think the role of women has improved after the coming of panchayat raj institutions?
4.what do u think of 33% reservation in parliament?
5.whats the current problem with respect to that issue? why there is great opposition to this?
finally last member asked
1.you have got so many fellowships and u did not join any phd programme? why?
2.whats ugc fellowship?
3.who is the director of IASRI situated inside pusa?
4.what are the agricultural courses offered in IASRI?
5. who is ronald fisher and what contributions he made to agriculture?
5.what is meant by pusa?
6.whether any research institute is present in pusa -bihar now?
the member tried to continue. the chairman interrupted here and asked one final question
when did the institute change from bihar to new delhi?
dr agarwal peeped the wall clock present and informed me that my interview was over. when i stood up all members were eager to thank me. i thanked the lady member first and then the gents. one member gave me a pleasant smile and i was happy with that. the interview went on for 20 minutes exactly. in general the questions were mostly around agriculture and my bio-data. i felt comfortable throughout except for some initial 2-3 minutes. i felt that i would get marks above average.
the interview board for our group was dr pushotam agarwal. i was third to be interviewed and around 10 45 a m one assistant took me near the chairman's room. i was asked to sit in a table with swift air coming towards me from a fan. my nervousness increased without my permission. i tried a lot to bring it under control. never. it fighted with me. the assistant was ready by now after a call from the chairman's room to take me in. fortuntely i couldnt believe that i was so normal without any nervousness. finally i won the battle.
the room was small. i bowed while entering the room. one lady member was there and naturally i wished the lady member first and then gents. they were very happy to welcome me and put me in a comfortable position.
the chairman opened the quetions
1. good. u were born in puduchery. would u tell us why the name pondichery has been changed to puduchery?
2.u have studied in ramakrishna vidyaalaya. who founded ramakrishna mission?
3.do u know vivekananda rock in tamilnadu?
4.why the rock named as such?
5.when did vivekananda visit tamilnadu?
6.your hobby is listening to music. do u know who is pandit ravishankar and his contributions?
7.who is kishore kumar?
7.why do want to become an ias officer?
8.name 5 freedom fighters from west bengal?
the chairman now directed another member to continue questioning. he took my biodata and tried to find questions. he suddenly find a point and asked about my esaay prizes which i won during my college days.
he asked me the topics on which i had written the essays. i spelt two topics. one related to food security and another "role of youths in today's india". now the member got a point and asked me
1.what do u think about the mangalore pub attack?
2.i think to maintain the culture of india , there should be some checks like this?whats ur opinion?
3.what is food security and how to achieve this in a stipulated time period?
4.name 2 football clubs from bengal?
5.who is mahalanobis? what are his contributions?
6.who founded Indian Statistical Institute- kolkata?
now the third person started with the chairman's permission.
1.what is grain bank scheme?
2.what do u think about making food as a fundamental right?
3.whether the resources available at present make this possible?
inbetween the chairman went away for some time and fortunately i noticed the movement of him. the lady member took charge in her hand. she asked
1.what is women empowerment?
2.have u gone to village?
3.do u think the role of women has improved after the coming of panchayat raj institutions?
4.what do u think of 33% reservation in parliament?
5.whats the current problem with respect to that issue? why there is great opposition to this?
finally last member asked
1.you have got so many fellowships and u did not join any phd programme? why?
2.whats ugc fellowship?
3.who is the director of IASRI situated inside pusa?
4.what are the agricultural courses offered in IASRI?
5. who is ronald fisher and what contributions he made to agriculture?
5.what is meant by pusa?
6.whether any research institute is present in pusa -bihar now?
the member tried to continue. the chairman interrupted here and asked one final question
when did the institute change from bihar to new delhi?
dr agarwal peeped the wall clock present and informed me that my interview was over. when i stood up all members were eager to thank me. i thanked the lady member first and then the gents. one member gave me a pleasant smile and i was happy with that. the interview went on for 20 minutes exactly. in general the questions were mostly around agriculture and my bio-data. i felt comfortable throughout except for some initial 2-3 minutes. i felt that i would get marks above average.
