(INTERVIEW) My Interview : AKS My Interview was in the afternoon session. I reached UPSC at around 1 pm. It was really a proud moment when I entered the UPSC hall. It was my final attempt with the UPSC and the first opportunity to appear in the interview. Predictably I was a bit nervous but on my way to the Commission my fiance and my friend helped me to be confident. Inside the hall I got to know that I was to be interviewed by Subir Dutta's board. There were five members in the board, including the chairman. The third member was a lady. After entering the room, I wished the ma'm first and then to the other members. My interview started as I took the seat. CM: So, You are an electronics engg.? Me: Yes Sir. CM: What's the difference between electronics engg and electrical engg.? Me: Sir,In electronics,we deal with very less ammount of current in the circuit. CM: that's very technical..how do you explain it to a layman? Me: I faltered..tried to explain something but he was not convinced. CM: Ok what is the magnitude of the current in an electronics circuit? Me: Of the order of micro ampiers. CM: And in electrical circuit? Me: In ampiers CM: Ok..you have worked in the IT field for 2 years. Me: Yes sir CM: what was your role over there? Me: Software programmer CM: then why did you leave your job? Me: Sir,I feel that I could realise my potential better in civil services. CM: So,suddenly you realised this? Me: No sir,i had this idea of joining CS from my college days.But it got concretised when I joined my job.I found my job monotonous and I thought that CS would provide diverse job profile. CM:(Not very much convinced)Every one gives the same answer. CM:Ok tell me..do u agree that southern states are doing better than the northern states.If yes,then why? Me:Yes sir,I do believe that southern states are doing better as compared to their northern counterparts.This is primarily due to better governance in these states. CM:But I think these states are developing due to private industries and and the role of govt has reduced over a period of time. Me:Sir,the govt has provided the conducive envnt for the pvt sector to grow.It has better utilised the human resourses. CM:But govt in these states are also corrupt.Farmers are committing suicides.people are fighting for water. Me: Sir these issues relating to regional disparity and income disparity are there but when compared to the northern states southern states are better governed. CM:(In a bit aggressive mood)leave aside north india,tellme about south only..are these states good governed.Any way leave it..(Asks other member to proceed) M1:tell me which branch of mathematics you used in electronics? Me:(after pondering)calculus,boolean algebra.. M1:and.. Me: sorry sir ,cant recollect its long back M1:u must have used fourier transforms Me :yes sir M1:you had geography optional,what is a geoid? Me:Sir,the unique shape of the earth,which is not exactly spherical but bulging from side is called as geoid. M1:what would be the age of the the earth? Me:Sir,I dont remember exactly..it is some billions of years. M1:how does temperature vary as you go up in the atmosphere? Me:In the troposhere it decreases and..(he interrupts me) M1:what is the heigth of the troposphere? Me:around 80 km(I was wrong) M1:what is the rate of temperature variations? Me:I gave some value which was incorrect. M1:ok tell me..how do oceans become saline? Me:due to presence of minerals M1:Where from these minrals come? Me:Sir,they are brought about by the rivers. M1:any other source? Me:also from erosion of ocean bottom. M1:what is the unit of measuring salinity? Me:g/cm3 M1:its ppm M1:What would be the difference between the most saline areas and least saline area of the earth? Me:Sir ,cant recollect M1:10 times,20 times 100 times. Me: sorry sir,cant make a guess. M1:Ok tell me any part of the world where there is very high salinity. Me:Dead sea M1;where is it? Me:Its in Jordon M1:Any other country surrounding it? Me:Israel M1:there is one more country. Me;Syria M1:right ..(asks the lady member M2 to proceed) M2;From organizations point of view what is meant by market orientation? Me:It means the organization should have autonomy in making its decision and it should Be held accountable for that. M2:what else? Me:gave some examples..autonomy in personnel matters..in investment decision ..no govt intervention. M2:what is the reason of recent turnaround of Indian railways? M3:IR took various new measured such as increasing the capacity of wagons,e-ticketing,given greater autonomy.Moreover the economy is doing good..so railways also is benefiting from high growth. M2:How does increasing wagons capacity helped railways? Me: It has enabled railways to get more revenue. M2:There was some discussion going on relating to challenges before IT sector in India today enclave recently.wht was that? Me:Sorry mam I didnt follow the enclave. M2:Ok wht do you think are the challenges.. Me:I explained some..but she interrupts.. M2: I am asking at the world level. Me:tried to explain something but that was not what she wanted to ask. M2:Wht is the total food prodn of the country and whether wheats prodn is more or rices? Me:its about 210 mt and wheats share is more. M2:How can IT help in improving admin.? Me: The use of IT can make the admn more open transparent and more accountable. M2;But how? Give some expmple Me: eg. In MP,Gyandoot project has used IT to upgrade and computer ize the land records which are accessible to farmers very easily. M2:(asks other member M3 to proceed) M3:In public admin wht is meant by delegation of authority? Me: A higher officials transfers some of its responsibility to its subordinate..this is delegation. M3:How long it can take place? Me:(couldnt understand the qn properly)..as long as the job is with the higher official. M3:give some example in Indian admn Me: L&O is DMs responsibility..Since he is overburdened..he can transfer some of L&O responsibility such as inspection of jails to SDM. M3:What is the relevance of Rajya sabha in current scenaroio? Me:Some academic minded person and intelligentia may not take part in poll politics..they can enter parliament through RS M3:this is oft repeated reason..give some more.. Me:specially in the coalition era,the opinion of the states are better represented through RS in the legislation making process. M3:Should a minister come from RS?wht are constitutional provision related to this? Me:There is as such no bar for a RS member to become minister. M3:there is a rider in the constitution related to this. Me:Pardon me sir! M3:there is a time period.. Me:6 months sir. M3:Wht is the difference between zila parishad and district admn. Me: the former consists of elected representatives while the latter consists of permanent officials. M3:Any other difference. Me:(It didnt click me at that time).. M3(asks M4 to proceed) M4:what is the delimitation of the constituency? Me;I explained M4:who is responsible for that? Me:Election commission. M4 :what is the role of the states in this? Me: they provide the data. M4: Why so many foreign tourists are attracted to Varanasi.. There is no such thing as tajmahal in Varanasi. Me: Varanasi being one of the oldest cities of the world.People are attracted by its unique culture, architecture and specially the serene atmosphere on the bank of Ganges. M4:But the Ganges has become polluted as well. Me: Yes sir M4:Wht are the reasons? Me: sewerage, people taking bath,industrial effluents. M4:but these things are there everywhere.. Me:yes..but due to high population ganges in Varanasi is more affected. M4:even Kanpur has high population.. Me: ya there too Ganges is polluted..moreover Varanasi has a very high population density. M4:What steps would you suggest to industrially develop eastern UP? Me:Some industries have high potential e.g tourism(he interrupts) M4:How would you promote tourism in UP? Me:wee need to take many steps such as improving the infrastructure. M4:infrastructure is very vague..be more specific. Me: We need to improve the condition of the roads..its hishly congested and dirty. Tourist dont carry good image of the roads of the city. M4:What else. Me: Varanasi needs to be marketed through the use of some catchy slogan on the lines of Incredible India.. M4 Do you really think these slogans work?You remember few years ago there was a slogan called India Shining Me: Sir that was a political slogan. In order to promote tourism.. it needs to be marketed. So, its a good idea to use slogans. M4:Ok I am going to ask you a last qn..how to reduce political interference in administration? Me: Sir,there are various ways such as fixing the tenure of the higher officials,setting up a board for transfer and posting of govt servants. M4:But state govt are not going to be ready for all these. So as an individual wht would you do? Me: Sir, it depends on the integrity of the individual. If he feels that certain order given by a politician is against the spirit of the constitution or any law, he can refuse to oney it. CM: Ok,your interview is over ,you can go.thank you. Me:(a bit surprised over such a sudden finish)..thank you mam ,thank you sir Its difficult to exactly assess my performance as the response of the interview panel was very neutral. I am waiting for the final result. Much depends on the written marks as well. Till then the fingers are crossed.