"One" of a Kind

He was one of the few guys who I took a liking to within a few instances of having come across, which were mostly TV interviews. But more importantly, this guy turned out to be all of it and more. He might be my batch mate but the awe remains. I’m still unsure if it’s his disarming and super-affable nature or the fact that he comes closest to me as far as backgrounds go, but there is this genuineness and sincerity about his persona that struck me that has stuck on. To me, he represents how a civil servant should be. Now I don’t know him personally and I sure as hell hope I’m not wrong in what I say of him, but based on what I’ve got to hear of him, both from his IAS batch-mates and elsewhere, turns out he’s every bit the gem I think of him to be.

His almost 35-minute speech in this video will attest to what I say here. And the deepest connect I share with him is the passion & emotion with which he spoke about impacting the lives of the poor and delivering justice to the common man, and I was moved to the point of tears – both by how sincerely he conveyed the point and the fact that that was what I set out for but will not be able to do.

Irrespective of all the practical/honest answers that people will give you these days (and you get them a lot once you’re inside the service), for the sincere guy, this impacting the life of the rural poor and causing positive societal change – irrespective of how clichéd it might sound, is among the primary things civil service is all about. Now being in the Revenue Services, I’ve seen enough to know there is much I can contribute and cause positive change, but this connect with the poorest of the poor, this delivery of justice to the Kamla Devis & Kishan Lals of India – far away from the humdrum of an airport or a Central Excise office – is something I will never get. And though I do have an attempt left, you know when you’ve moved on, leaving a tiny bit of you behind.

But to Gaurav Agarwal – that tiny bit of me that prompted me to leave the financial by-lanes of Chicago and return to India, not very unlike you, will remain with the likes you. The calm demeanour, the earnestness of approach and sincerity of purpose – I hope these remain with you all through your 30-year-career, Gaurav, as I hope they do with me, and hope the winds of destiny blow us onto the same path sometime in the future, as we build a better India.

A Primer on life as a Probationer – for all first-timers

First of all, congratulations for having cleared one of the most prestigious examinations in the country. You are in one of those confounding situations where your life will both dramatically change as well as remain the same in a matter of months. How you react to both the change as well as the sameness will determine w̶h̶o̶  what you are.

That said, the next 1-1.5 years of your life will be one of the most interesting and will lay the foundation for the rest of your career (and in some cases, your life as well). Given below is a compendium of things I wish I’d known before joining. I wouldn’t call them “do’s and don’t’s” in the strict sense of the word, rather a breezy peek-in into how life will be as a probationer. I hope you find this useful. Here goes!

1. Training is a whole lot of fun and more! Assuming you’re coming here after some work experience, this is college all over again and a bonus fun period. Make good use of it. This is where you will (hopefully) build bonds that will (possibly) last a lifetime.
   
2. Spend time in the academy. Localites tend to go home at the drop of a hat, I’d suggest spend time at the academy getting to know people or better still, plan weekend outings.
3. Never be preachy. Folks, especially in the Service and that too, during probation, tend to stay away from preachy people, particularly from batch-mates. You are not here to correct others. Correct yourself if you can.
4. Keep your rules to yourself. More specifically adherence to rules. Don’t be overly loud about your adherence to rules. People are, in general, allergic to rule-adherence. Just like how justice should not only be done, but seen to be done, likewise, you being a strict follower of rules is one thing, but to be seen to be a strict follower of rules is quite something else.
5. You will constantly be judged whether you like it or not. Funnily, it is not only your actions but your inactions as well that will be judged. Also, people will, within a few interactions, sub-consciously stereotype you. It is an inherent trait. Why, even you will see yourself doing it. People are more comfortable bracketing you into groups/cliques.
6. Try to get a conceptual understanding of whatever law is taught. Theory can always wait, be as hands-on as possible, especially when interacting with seniors. Field-experience always helps.
7. Regionalism exists. Deal with it.
8. There will be ample opportunities to travel. Use this to go to new places, not to go back to your home town (unless you have pressing reasons). You will never get the opportunity to travel free with no pressure in your mind and deadlines to meet.
9. Love-Life – Ahem. It’s great if you manage to find your soul-mate here, but ideally, get committed once both you AND your girl/guy are both settled in a service (whether same or different). Umpteen stories abound of couples forming in FC/training only for them to go down the drain a year later because one of them got a different service. Muchly avoidable heartbreak.
10. At all times, be cognizant of the fact that you are being paid. Try to do at least a little justice to the salary the government pays you.
11. Take initiative. There is much you can do here. Do not worry about how small or insignificant your initiative might be. Every initiative is welcomed here. And if it is useful to your batchmates, nothing like it!
12. Stay away from negativity. There will be no dearth of people cribbing about stuff – whether it be the salary, the service, Sarkar, whatnot. Negativity is contagious, positivity isn’t quite. Be positive – That is the only thing that will keep you going.
13. Identify problems, but constantly keep looking for solutions. People with solutions are always wanted, especially in Sarkar. And this is the kind of people we need, if we want to take the nation forward.
14. Don’t have sky-high expectations from your batch-mates. Your batch is, after all, a microcosm of the nation at large. Elitest, intelligent'est, etc. you all might be, but there will be generous doses of hypocrisy, biases, groupism, revulsion towards rules, jealousy, pettiness, narrow-mindedness etc. This is important because it helps you prepare for what you’re going to face for the next 25-30 years.
15. Be receptive to change. Food, clothing, habits – if it helps you improve and be a better individual, government servant or citizen. Or simply if it is more convenient to you. :)
16. There will be periods during training when you’ll feel bored, pointless, etc. Always be involved in some kind of activity or the other – whether with the academy or among your group of friends. There is too much to be learnt, understood and done for you to be bored. And mind you, I’m not talking about class or studies!
17. All said and done, your batch will comprise of probably the most diverse set of people you would have ever come across in your life. The diversity is so staggering that it might sometimes overwhelm you. This is diversity in its most comprehensive sense – geography, caste, religion, region, social standing, etc. You’ll meet people with incredible stories, crazy profiles and awesome personalities. Each person is a source of wisdom, intelligence and knowledge – in most cases how to be (and in a few, how not to be too :D).
18. Treat everyone with respect – irrespective of their designation. It is quite natural that our newly acquired designation, fancy as it sounds, along with the power it entails, might disorient us and make our heads heavy, however treat even your subordinates with respect.
19. Leave a legacy – to your institution, your service and your juniors. One of the fundamental problems in India is how bad we are at knowledge-transfer, thus causing your juniors to repeat the same mistakes you did. Committing the same mistakes is a crime. There should always be novelty, even in mistakes. :D
20. Have loads of fun. Make the best use of your training. You have a challenging 2-3 decades ahead of you. Make good friends in your batch. When the chips are down or when drinks are on the house, there should always be a batchmate just a phone-call away.

All the very best! Bharat Sarkar welcomes you!

To two Gentlemen Officers With Respect

"Officer-Like Qualities" or "OLQ" are one of the first things one hears of after entering the Services. Though there exists no textbook definition for the same, by popular perception, it is identified and understood. If you are one for discipline, sincerity and a stickler for rules, you are in for a rude surprise when you enter the Services. As much as it requires passion, dedication and consistent effort to get in, sadly, once inside, very little of that translates to behaviour *towards* the Service. It isn't about implicit acceptance of the System (however 'flawed' it may be) as it is about respecting the rules of an institution.

These days, it appears as if the default "setting" in many individuals is "unacceptance" of established rules (as opposed to norms, convention, etc.). While not wearing sunglasses when receiving the Prime Minister might be a norm, attending classes regularly, avoiding usage of phones during classes, attending PT's in the morning, etc. are closer to "rules". Besides, incorrect thought it may be, there is this tendency to think that obedience to these rules, especially in a severely lax environment, reflects the sense of idealism and commitment an officer has (to have) - towards the service, society and nation.

Swapnil Tembe and Prianceu Pandey are two of those rare officers with full possession of such "Officer-Like Qualities". I am not sure if his ITBP background (in Swapnil's case) contributed to his officer-like persona or if he has always been this way, but both were among the few who you could look up to - a constant in the morning PT sessions notorious for mass bunking, two guys who stood by the very principles you came to the Service expecting to see - be it in attending classes or not using unfair means during the exams or back-biting about other batch-mates. They were two of the few who shared my sense of idealism - towards the Service, Department and the Nation, despite a bleak outlook for especially the first 2. Barely 2 days ago, we were talking about how it'd be great if this "idealism"-based group (of 5-6 of us) could be together in whichever service we got/remained and promote/propagate it. Fortunately or unfortunately, Swapnil was the only one to get into the IAS, while Prianceu got into the IPS. But fate has its way of binding people and both these chaps ended up with the same cadre.

In a batch notorious for its delinquent behaviour and studious violation of rules, principles and general sense of idealism, Swapnil and Prianceu gave hope as fellow comrades - someone whose thoughts you could echo, someone with whom you could share your disillusionment without fear of being ostracized as an "inconvenient idealist", "pro-establishment guy", etc.

Farewell Swapnil and Prianceu, both of you were people I had (and will continue to have) tremendous respect for - the two of you were right on top of the list of people I wanted to get through to the next stage - be it IAS or IPS. I am sure you two will make fabulous officers. Have that sense of idealism running high and remember our motley group of "idealists". Would love to exchange notes with you two from time to time and look forward to working with you guys some time in the future!

One Final Time . . .

5 hours. 300 minutes. Or thereabouts. The tension. The anticipation. The exhilaration. One final time. There are moments in your life when it all boils down to one specific incident. At the risk of over-hyping UPSC (technically, it's "just another part of life", "exam", etc. Yeah right. Try telling it to the 3000-odd folks who gave the interview :D), one has to admit that these moments do impart that extra zing to life. You know...adrenalin rush and all that.

30 is a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, it signals coming out of experimenting with life (that's how I'm thinking of it right now at least ;)). I know there will definitely be more exams. I know there will be more moments of tension. Hell, there might (or definitely will) even be a life-altering event or two. But few that will come announced-yet-unannounced. Few that would have had your prepare for years. Few that would have 3000 others waiting with bated breath, with you. And to add to the intrigue, UPSC announces, probably for the first time, the exact date the result would be out.

Which brings me back to these twenty hours.

Truly one of a kind. Irrespective of what happens at the end of these 20 hours, and I know I'm repeating myself, What a pulsating journey it has been.

May the best man (ok woman too)! smile emoticon

*tick tock* *tick tock* *tick tock*

Buying my peace

Assuming the journey began in August 2011 when I officially started preparing (June 2010 if you consider my return to India for the Services), it is with a sense of relief, fondness and of course, the inevitable regret that I reach closure. Exactly a year ago, I got selected into the Services and just short of 1 day to the year, I have had my final tryst with UPSC. Though I started off aspiring for the Foreign Services (which has hence been overshadowed by the Administrative Services smile emoticon ), I have realized that there is much constructive work that I can do in the Revenue Services as well. The constant sense of negativity and dissing of the Service by a few "blessed" souls notwithstanding wink emoticon , I am confident that as long as one is resourceful, motivated and initiative-driven even in our blessed service, there is much we can achieve, both at a personal as well as professional level. I would definitely have liked to sign off on a high, but what with yesterday's semi-disaster of an interview, I realize fairy tales like Ivanisevic's Wimbledon are, but rare. Besides, in the words of a friend, in the pursuit of a "better" service, we overlook the basic point of "public" service that we are here for.

Farewell UPSC, it has been a memorable journey with you! Though I did feel shortchanged on both the occasions I was privileged enough to enter your hallowed portals, and despite a few complaints about your process, I have nothing but respect for you.

My 2nd (and Final) UPSC Interview

Date: 11th June, 2015

Session: Afternoon

Board: Vice Admiral D.K.Dewan

Chairman – Can you tell me your roll number?

Me - ******

C – So K*****k, are you working currently? Let me see, ah so you are in the Trade Services?

Me – Sir, I was allotted the Trade Service, but I have since been upgraded to IRS (Customs)

C –      1. Can you explain the issues with drones?
            [Vague answer. Mentioned privacy concerns, regulatory issues. Thought security

concerns were applied, mentioned in passing. He seemed interested in Security &

Regulation]

2. In the Arab Spring, which are the biggest and smallest countries?

[Answered Egypt and Tunisia. Apparently smallest nation was Bahrain.]

3. Are you sure? What about Bahrain? What is the name of the square in Bahrain?

[Had no idea about the Square in Bahrain. He compared it to a more famous

square where a massacre happened. I answered Tiananmen Square. One of the

members asked the square in Egypt. I answered Tahrir Square]

4. Ok, which are the countries in the Arab Spring which were ruled by monarchs

and which by dictators?

[Started off with Hosni Mobarak, answered Monarch, then changed to Military

Ruler. Somehow didn’t go farther.]

5. Do you know about India’s strategic oil reserves? How much quantity of oil

reserves do we have?

[I didn’t really understand reserve. Answered Bombay High & KG Basin. Turns

out he was specifically expecting “reserves”. And location of our strategic

reserves are in Vizag, my birthplace.]

M1 –    1. You have read the Customs Act. Can you tell me which are all the

organizations that are empowered under the Customs Act to use its laws?

[I could think of only NCB. I asked him a few more questions about NDPS Act,

arrest provisions, etc. but organizations none other.]

2. You are from Vizag. In recent times, there have been extremes of floods along

the AP/Orissa coast. Why do you think this is happening?

[Global Warming, Climate Change, El Nino.]

3. While the loss of life has been minimal, there has been significant loss of

resources, amounting to many thousands of crores. Why do you think this is

happening?

[Regulations are in place, but not followed. Gave example of Uttarakhand floods

where many homes/buildings built close to the river bank were washed away. He

asked if we didn’t have regulations. I said we do, but they are not followed.

Implementation and regulation was an issue.]

M3 (Lady) –    1. You have worked at **** as a Software Developer. What kind of

software did you develop there? (then repeats the question for my 2nd

company)

[Trading Software to enable proprietary traders to trade in the market]

2. How will you use this experience in your Customs Department?

[Gave example of NIDB, prediction of potential smuggling cases]

3. Can you give specific examples?

[Gave a small example wrt shady importers importing small amounts of a

commodity frequently.]

4. Who was awarded the Bharat Ratna recently? What was his

contribution? He has a major contribution.

[Of all the people, I remembered only Malviya and totally forgot

Vajpayee. Told Malviya was a great educationist. Didn’t tell he founded

BHU. When the member prodded me and told he founded something, I

finally blurted out BHU.]

5. Your department is notorious for having a large number of cases getting

quashed by the higher judiciary. Why does this happen?

[Answered that 2 reasons – 1. Our officials do not follow the procedure

meticulously leading to many good cases being washed out on

technicalities. She asked if problem with law. Specifically told her that

law is fine, just that people are not careful enough to follow procedure

meticulously. 2. Superiors do not strike down frivolous cases for fear of

vigilance action, hence many bad cases reach higher courts and get struck

down there.]

M2 –    1. You have been in the US for 4 years. You also have Public Administration. Can

you give my out-of-the-box (repeats this to stress on it) solutions for public

service delivery?

[Explained that main problem in service delivery is presence of middlemen. Gave

a convoluted solution of having an efficient e-Governance system where

consumer can file requests online, where it is processed without human

intervention. Also, a token number is generated for each customer which reaches

the head (say Commissioner, Collector, etc) who checks on a periodic basis, how

many pending, why a certain case wasn’t completed on promised time.]

2. Your suggestion is already implemented in some places but hasn’t seen any

major success. There are many states currently legislating on public service

delivery. Can you explain how effective they are in some states?

[This was too detailed and vague, flatly said I hadn’t seen any such schemes at

ground level to comment.]

3. Recently, an American broke a World Record. Do you know what it is?
[I had no idea. Asked him if it would be Michael Phelps. He said it was in Athletics. Then I thought maybe he wrongly thought Usain Bolt was an American. Wasn't Bolt either. Then asked me if I knew where the 2008 Olympics was in. I said Beijing.]

C - Do you know a recent news about Michael Phelps?
[I said I didn't. Apparently, Phelps is participating in the 2016 Olympics after 8 years.]

M4 –    1. You were a “Student Orientation Leader” at Illinois Institute of Technology.

Can you elaborate what you did there?

[Helping new students get used to surroundings, help them complete paper-work,

explain US culture, enable them to acclimatize, show them around Chicago, etc.]

But that is not the definition of a “leader”.

[Just smiled.]

2. You have studied Computer Science. Can you tell me what are some of the

recent developments in Server Technology?

[Crazy random. Had no idea about servers. Just blurted out that latest technology

in servers was servers that let out much lesser heat and didn’t need AC’s. He went

on to PC’s that heated up. I explained about processors and heat sinks. Basically

meandered there.]

C –      1. Tell me who wrote the US Constitution and when.

            [Could only remember Benjamin Franklin. Date was towards end of 1700’s.]

            2. Do you know how far is Cuba from the US?

            [I said Cuba was very close to US, but I wasn’t sure of exact distance. He was

surprised and asked me if I had not visited southern part of US. I told I’d been to

the East & West coasts, but not to the southern coast. Interview ended abruptly

there. He said “you can go”.]

My Take –

Very average at best and borderline disaster at worst. Though most of the questions pertained to my background, somehow they were never close to my strengths or were so vague that I couldn’t come up with a convincing answer (or at least one that I was satisfied with). Plus a whole lot of factual questions that I either messed up or didn’t know much about. Halfway through, I was visualizing IAS & IFS slipping away from my hands. Will be a miracle if I cross 170. Personally, I’d be happy if I got last year’s score.

[For the transcript of my interview last year (ironically with the same board), click here.]

UPSC and My Best Friend

UPSC preparation is never a solo-effort. There are so many people who have contributed to your preparation, directly or indirectly, one way or the other. Arguably the one guy who both backed me to the hilt in my (potentially crazy) decision to return to India to prepare for the Services *and* helped me in much of my preparation is @keshyperion
Particularly in the one year when I spent working as a Probationary Officer in a govt bank in a remote village in Tamil Nadu with a population of some 800 people with 8 hours of power cuts everyday and hardly any net access around, my one link to the outside world (apart from my phone) was my bank email. In the bank, only the intranet would work, apart from official email. What @keshyperion used to do (rather, I made him do :P) was to meticulously copy-paste all mrunal articles (the daily email digest contained only a snippet of the full article) by email, apart from other UPSC-related links I used to send him (almost on a daily basis).
Why am I reminiscing this now? I had an epiphany when, over the past few days, during the course of interview preparation, I've been asking him to email/DM me the many links shared on whatsapp in the groups so I can read the articles properly (for the uninitiated, my phone is such a collector's item that apart from whatsapp & fb, using any other app would eat into its memory and cause it to stop working. When today's smart phone-sizes are in terms of GB's and screen-sizes are in terms of 5-7 inches, my vintage item has a grand total of 15 MB for internal memory and a screen size of 2.4 inches, respectively. For whatever reason, I'm obstinately sticking on to it. :D).
And then I realized that I'd never officially ever thanked him. As they say, better late than never, no? But then again, with best friends, thanks are hardly needed, are they? smile emoticon

Predicting Service Allocation

An idle mind is a devil's workshop they say. An excited mind is a scientist's workshop in that case. Not that scientists aren't devils, but you get the drift, don't you?

So anyhow, as the 1000 of us 1122 who've cleared this year's Civil Services Examination eagerly await our respective service allocations (the top 122 or so can rest assured they'll get whatever they want), I thought of extending my work to predict this.

Presenting cowmaaa's Predictive Analytics for Service Allocation 

• Approach 1 -
  This is the raw approach where I simply mapped data from 2009-2012 with the last rank in the General category (without any disabilities) for each respective service. Plotted a Polynomial Regression trendline in Excel and here's the graph -
  

  

  Last Rank for Service Vs Year of Service Allocation

  
  
  
  According to this graph, the last ranks in General category for the following Services would be as follows -
  
  • IAS - 138
  • IFS -92
  • IPS - 300
  • IRS (IT) - 510
  • IRS (C&CE) - 660
  
  However, one fundamental, if not obvious, flaw with this approach is that though there are more vacancies this year compared to any of the previous years, the increase is purely from the Group A & Group B Services - with IAS (94 in 2012 to 90 in 2013), IFS (16 to 17) & IPS (75 to 75) pretty much remaining stagnant compared to last year.
  So then I figured this would not be accurate.

 
• Approach 2 -
  This improved approach entails plotting the last rank for each of the Services over the years (i.e. 2009-2012) against the number of General vacancies for that particular service that year. This way, the trendline would indicate last rank strictly based on the number of vacancies only and not the year.
  
  Accordingly, this is the graph -
  
  

  

  Last Rank for Service Vs No of Vacancies for Service

  This graph gives a much more realistic view of things. Last predicted ranks for IAS, IFS & IPS pretty much remain the same, given the vacancies are also the same, while those for the 2 IRS's can be expected to increase understandably, by a reasonable amount. Here's the predicted list of final ranks for the different services based on Linear Regression from the graph above -
• IAS - 102
• IFS - 140
• IPS - 285
• IRS (IT) - 380
• IRS (C&CE) - 580

Source:

• Dept of Personnel & Training - Service-wise vacancies from 2009-2012
• RTI filed for Service-wise vacancies in 2013

Let's see how close I am to what eventually transpires. :-D

Service	Predicted Last Rank	Actual Last Rank
IAS	102	92
IFS	140	141
IPS	285	249
IRS (IT)	380	369
IRS (C&CE)	580	541

My Civil Services Interview

Date: 17^th April, 2014
Session: Afternoon
Time: 2:35 PM – 2:55 PM
Duration: 20 minutes

Chairman of the Interview Board: Vice Admiral D.K.Dewan

Questions:
I am ushered into the interview room, so I don’t have to knock. I excuse myself inside and when I am near the chair, the Chairman asks me to sit down. I was conscious about looking each member in the eye, wishing them “Good Afternoon” and sat comfortably, keeping my arms on the arm-rest of the chair and interlocking my fingers of both my hands in front of me, visible to the board.

·         Chairman

1.       What is your name, roll number?
Sir – **********

2.       So what are you doing/where do you work now?
Sir, I am working in a company called ******* based out of Chennai.

3.       What does your company do?
Sir we deal in data analytics. We look at customer data and advise the company on how to improve their earnings/profits, after analysing the data.

4.       What is your responsibility in your company?
Sir, I am a Senior Analyst in the company. I have a semi-technical, semi-managerial role. On the managerial front, I mentor 2 entry-level analysts and help them do their daily tasks. On the technical front, I look at the sales data of companies and give them recommendations about how to improve their business.

5.       Ok, what is the meaning of “Avadi”? (From the profile since I had interned at DRDO in Avadi, Chennai. The Chairman pronounced the word as “Avaadi” and was corrected by the Tamilian-looking board member who, I think, told him that this was the name of the place, but the Chairman ignored it)
Sir, I interned in DRDO at Avadi, which is the name of the place. I am not aware of the meaning.

6.       You have a Post-Graduate degree in Computer Science and have travelled all over the world, why do you want to join the Civil Services?
Sir, can I answer this from the perspective of foreign services, since IFS is my first option?
Chairman (and 1-2 other board members too, if I am not wrong): Yes yes, please do.
Me: Sir, ever since I landed in the US, I felt like I was a representative of India. I felt a sense of pride and carried myself off as a representative of India. While doing my Master’s, I got the opportunity to interact with students from different countries & cultures and I really enjoyed these interactions. When in the US, I started following international affairs more closely. I believe these are some of the essential qualities of a diplomat. Moreover, I started following the development happening in India and wanted to be part of it. This is why I want to join the Services.

Follow Up Question 1: So is it because of the development in America that you want to join the Services in India?
Yes sir. The US was quite developed when I went there and India had just started on its growth story. I thought there was great potential for it to grow and hence, I myself wanted to be part of the India Development Story.

Follow Up Question 2: You can contribute to the “India Development Story” even by being a Software Engineer, why do you want to become a Civil Servant for that?
Yes sir, I agree that I can contribute to the India Growth Story even being a Software Engineer, however, the contribution I will be able to make to India’s growth will be much more immense if I am a civil servant.

7.       How many countries does India have diplomatic missions in?
Sir, if I am not wrong, we have missions in about 180 countries.
Chairman, in a surprised tone: Are you sure? Do you know how many countries are there?
Sir, I am sorry, I was mistaken. We have about 180 overseas missions overall, not in all the countries.

Follow up Question 2: What do you think are the functions of a diplomatic mission abroad?
Sir, our diplomatic mission in any country is our government’s official representative in that country. Any dealings between the 2 countries are handled through the missions. It is also the duty of our diplomats posted in these countries to closely analyze developments happening in the host country and report back to our government on a regular basis. Our diplomatic offices also play a part in trade relations between the 2 countries.

Follow up Question 3: In this age of Internet & Google, we can have information about events happening in one place anywhere else in the world. Still, why do we need to have diplomatic missions abroad?
Sir, I agree that the internet has made it possible to access information anywhere; however, ground reality is often different. And our diplomatic offices keep an ear on the ground to report the actual ground scenario in the host countries.

·         Board Member 1 (Sardarji)

1.       You were born in Vizag. Can you tell me about the causes for the creation of Telengana?
Sir, Telengana was initially never a part of what is now Andhra Pradesh. It became a part only around 1960. The people of Telengana have highly regionalistic feelings about Telengana and identity themselves more with T than Andhra. Besides, apart from Hyderabad, there has not been much development in the Telengana region. Owing to all this, Telengana was created.
Follow up Question 1: What is your opinion about this?
Me: Sir, would you like to know about my opinion on the Telengana split or state splits in general?
Member 1: Please answer about smaller states in general.
Me: Ok sir. In general, there is a perception that smaller states are better administered . . .
Member 1 interrupts: No no, tell me *your* opinion.
Me: Ok sir. It is easier to administer smaller states in general. However, this cannot be the only rationale to go about splitting bigger states. We need to consider other factors like development level of the state, sentiments of the local people, demands, etc. before we decide to split states. Hence, we need to deal with the issue of smaller states on a case-by-case basis.

2.       What is the reason of the dispute between North Korea and South Korea?
[Momentarily flustered since this wasn’t something I knew much about nor
expected]
Sir, North & South Korea have been historically antagonistic towards each other. North Korea has an autocratic government that has been led for many years by a single family. Sorry, I’m not able to recall the name of the current ruler. South Korea, on the other hand, is a democracy.
Board Member: That is fine, but what is the root cause of their problem?
Me: [I kind of repeat the above answer, but cannot proceed further. Realize this and
tell him that I am not sure of the actual historical reason for this]

·         Board Member 2 (possibly Tamilian)

1.       What is the Sahara scam all about? What is the issue with the SC?
Sir, the issue with Sahara is that they have so far not refunded about Rs.24,000 crores of money to the investors, as per SC directives. The case itself is that the supposed investors are fictitious and don’t exist at all. However, till date, Sahara has not refunded the money.
Follow up Question 1: Can you explain SEBI’s role in the scam?
Sir, the SEBI is involved because of OFCD’s – Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures. I am not sure beyond this sir.

2.       What was the recent controversy about the Lok Pal appointment?
Sir, I faintly remember a retired Justice was part of this controversy.
Member: Yes yes you are right. It is Justice K.T.Thomas.
Me: Sir, Justice K.T.Thomas was offered the post of Lok Pal but refused.
Member: Is it? Are you sure? I thought it had to do with the selection committee.
Me: I am sorry sir, I am not sure of this.

3.       Can you explain about the Green Tribunal?
Sir, the Green Tribunal is a Govt-organization, sorry Govt-body . . .
Member: Are you sure?
Me: Yes sir, the Green Tribunal is a govt-organization that looks into projects and their environmental compliance. It checks to see what kind of impact projects have on the environment.
Member: But the name “tribunal” suggests that it has some judicial functions to do as well, right? Like adjudicating on issues between 2 parties?
Me (smiling): Sir, yes sir. I think that is also one of their responsibilities.
Member: So what else do they do?
Me: Sir, I’m not aware beyond this.

·         Chairman

1.       Recently, there is a high-profile court case going on in South Africa about an athlete. What is it about?
Sir, the name of the athlete is Oscar Pistorius and he is a double-amputee. He is an athletics champion and runs on prosthetic legs. The case relates to the murder of his girlfriend, Reena (I don’t know the last name sir) whom he shot in the bathroom. His contention is that he shot her mistaking her for an intruder, but the case that has been made out is that he shot her after an argument between them.
Follow up Question 1: So is the case over?
Sir, no sir, it is still going on.

·         Board Member 3

1.       You have mentioned about “Empowerment” in your profile. What is the difference between Emancipation and Empowerment?
Sir, “Emancipation” refers to us improving the lives of a set of people and uplifting their condition. “Empowerment” refers to helping people help themselves and taking care of their own lives.

Follow Up Question 1: Which is better?
Sir, in my opinion, Empowerment is better since it makes them independent and self-reliant.

Follow Up Question 2: Isn’t emancipation a part of empowerment?
Yes sir, emancipation is part of empowerment. However, viewing the 2 separately, I would say empowerment is better because it makes people independent.

2.       In the past 6 years, you have been working in so many jobs and have not been in one job for more than 1 year. What is the reason for this?
Sir, ever since my return to India, I have been seriously preparing for the Civil services. My first job since I came to India – I had to satisfy my parents’ concerns for my future and so wanted to establish a credible backup. So I joined a start-up. I started as a Software Engineer and became a Project Lead in 2 years. Then I wanted to prepare full-time for the Services and so joined a public-sector bank as a Probationary Officer.
Member: Yes yes, I can see you worked in ***** Bank . . .
Me: Yes sir, I joined ****** Bank as a PO so I could prepare better for the services and also wanted good rural exposure. I stayed here for about 10 months after which I thought I had prepared enough and then joined my current company which will be my backup in case civil services don’t work out. I did not quit any company out of boredom or lack of interest sir, and all my changes were to enable me to prepare for the services only.

Follow Up Question 1: So you have used these companies as a springboard. If you get selected into the services tomorrow, will you use it as a springboard to achieve something else?

Me (smiling): Sir, Civil Services is my lifetime ambition and I will not leave this if I get into it.

·         Board Member 4 (Lady)

1.       With regard to Indo-Pak relations, do you think diplomats have failed? Why has diplomacy not been able to take the relationship forward?
Mam, diplomacy can play a part only up to a certain point. Beyond this, it is up to the concerned governments to take it forward. In the case of Indo-Pak relations, I would say it is the Pakistan government which is to be blamed for not cooperating with us and helping take forward the relationship.

Follow up Question 1: What do you think is the ideal way to deal with Pakistan?
(Momentarily flustered since this was a very broad-based question)
Mam, I think we need to deal with Pakistan using a carrot-and-stick strategy. On the one hand, we need to increase our engagements with them. But on the other, in case any adverse events like November 26 happen again, we need to deal with them with an iron hand, strictly.

Follow Up Question 2: What about Kashmir is that an issue?
Yes mam, Kashmir is a core issue.

Follow up Question 3: Do you think Kashmir should be given away? Should the plebiscite be held?
No mam, Kashmir should not be given away at all. The Kashmiri people, in spite of any grievances they may have against India, have enjoyed democratic privileges all this while. Tomorrow, if Kashmir goes to Pakistan or becomes independent, we can never be sure that they will continue to enjoy their democratic rights and privileges. Moreover, from a security-perspective, we will be in more danger if Kashmir is given away than what is there now. Hence, I don’t think Kashmir should be given away.

2.       You have written in your profile that you advise students wishing to pursue higher studies in the US. Why is that so? Do you want to encourage students to leave India and go to US?
Mam, I advise students who have already decided that they want to go to the US to pursue their higher education. I don’t advise students to go to the US. My advice to the students is purely because I have been there and my knowledge about life there, so I just want to make their journey to the US easier. I do not particularly encourage them to go to the US.

3.       What is Silicon Valley?
Silicon Valley is a region in California which is considered to be the global home of the Information Technology industry worldwide.
(I thought of explaining further, but stop short, thinking it would be best to answer only if she asked further)

Lady Member to Chairman: I am done.

Chairman looks up at me as if to ask me a question, then says “Thank you”. I am unsure for a moment, but the Chairman I think said “your interview is over”. I thank all of them and leave.

My take on the Interview

I think I handled the first few questions fairly okay – about my company, what I do, etc. Maybe a little bit more finesse and practice would’ve helped in the answers, but reasonably okay.

• Avadi – after my friend told me, I realized I’d read somewhere that it is actually an acronym for “Armoured Vehicles & Ammunition Depot of India”, but Wiki says the name precedes the acronym. Anyhow, this was okay I guess. 
• Despite the missions-in-180-countries error, I think I handled the rest of the Chairman’s questions well, particularly the “Why Civil services” question. 
• Oh and lest I forget - totally missed one of the most important functions of our missions abroad - handling Indian expats in that country. Not sure how big a blunder, but a major miss nevertheless. 
• Telengana – reasonably done. 
• North Vs South Korea – 1^st major hiccup. As an IFS-aspirant, should’ve known this. I think he was expecting “Capitalism Vs Communism” in the answer – a simple point I missed out. 
• Sahara scam – Started well, but lost out at SEBI. I knew where SEBI came in and what OFCD’s are about, but I guess I panicked there. Didn’t want to be seen beating around the bush so thought better off to stop with whatever I’d said. 
• Lok Pal appointment – Controversy was that K.T.Thomas rejected the post of Lok Pal Appointment Committee member because he thought their decisions were not binding. One more hiccup. 
• Green Tribunal – Biggest hiccup so far. I described a quasi-judicial body as a government organization. Again came across as unsure. 
• Oscar Pistorius – Full-toss dispatched for six IMO. Only issue might be the possibility that I over-answered, i.e. spoken more than was expected but given the Chair followed up with a question on this, guess I did well. 
• Empowerment Vs Emancipation – Should’ve included “sustainable” as one of the reasons for empowerment. Maybe greater clarity in saying emancipation part of empowerment, but again, overall okay I guess. 
• Job-switching – well-handled IMO. Basically it was the plain truth. Hopefully, honesty works. 
• Indo-Pak Diplomacy – Can’t think of how I could’ve answered something better for an interview. 
• Kashmir – I particularly thought the “democracy” bit was a great point. Hopefully the board will concur. 
• Higher Studies/Silicon Valley – reasonably okay.

But for the 3-4 factual questions about Lok Pal, Green Tribunal, etc. I think the rest of the interview was quite smooth. There wasn’t a single question to which I had *no* idea about. On the other hand, the board could think I had superficial knowledge – considering I couldn’t go deep on those 4 questions.

Over and above, I was brutally honest all through the interview. I spoke with conviction and (I’d like to think) calmness. I sincerely hope my conviction and honesty gets me across the board.

About the Board: The board was cordial – neither friendly nor rude. Except the Chairman, nobody smiled. Even the Chairman’s smile – I am not sure if it was this warmth-giving smile or one of those condescending smiles, specifically because I think he smiled when asking me about my post-graduate degree and joining the services. The lady member could very well be a psychologist, given she kept looking away when I was answering her. I smiled from time to time during the interview, and halfway through the interview, I realized I was using my hands. Tried reigning them in.

Prediction: Assuming I never miscommunicated any arrogance or over-confidence during the interview (I can never be sure of this), I don’t think I’ll go below 160. My sir and some of my friends have said 190-200 and I’d be thrilled at anything in the region of 200, but will just close my eyes and pray for it to happen.

POSTSCRIPT

As it turns out, my interview was a washout going by the marks. I got 151/275 in the Interview which effectively killed my hopes of a sub-150 rank. A lot of people I know have got in the region of 170-200. Had I got even 40 more in the interview, I would've most likely ended up in the top 100/top 150. Anyway, no regrets. Let's see what the future holds. :-)