Interview Transcripts (CSPT-2025)

UPSC CSE Interview Transcript Board: Dinesh Dasa sir Optional Subject: Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Date - 18/2/2025 Hobbies: Audiobooks, Basketball, Debating Mostly from state and psir Nothing from hobbies Chairperson Chief Election Commissioner – Appointment process, opposition concerns, and debates over autonomy Geography of my village – Key geographical features and significance Rajya Sabha – How it has evolved into an "approbative" body, its proactive role in legislative scrutiny, and influence ove policymaking As a Chief Secretary – Three key changes I would bring to the state for better governance and development Member 1 (Female Member) Himalayan Ecosystem – Most pressing environmental challenges NATO – Its origins and the most critical issues it faces today Balancing Ecology & Economy – Three industries I would promote and why Biggest threat from China acoording to me ? Member 2 Land Ownership in Himachal – Why can Himachal residents buy land elsewhere, but outsiders face restrictions in Himachal? Apple Import Restrictions – How discouraging imports affects consumer prices Hydropower Projects on the Satluj – Major projects from North to South Member 3 India’s Political System – Why India has not adopted a two-party system like the UK & USA, and would it be better? US Congress – Names of both houses and why the Upper House is considered more powerful Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya – Its origin, performance, and notable alumni Member 4 International Relations Library – in Himachal made by britishers ? Final Remarks by Chairperson that the interview had concluded Mock Interviews Given At Samkalp IAS Hamdard Study Circle Wajiram & Reddy Next IAS Only IAS Helped me with soft skills but actual interview was very conventional for me. ( Quite opposite to mocks ) One to one Sessions Shubham Sir (Vidyapeeth IAS) – Helped refine my articulation, provided nuanced guidance on optional subject, and provided me last minute confidence boost Bhavani Sir (Next IAS) – Designed potential question banks and helped anticipate board expectations

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT Name: Mr. Inventor Interview date: 14/02/2025 Board: Shri Dinesh Dasa sir Forenoon session, last to go, Nearly 35 mins. Key words: Economics Optional, IIT Kanpur, USA, Mechanical Engineering, R&D job, Patent, Powerlifting, IRS (C&IT), Nutrition & Diary Writing. Chairman Sir, started with reading out my work experience from Private sector (core job). Then, said you have not wasted Human capital and contributed towards nation. 1. Discussion on Human Capital. 2. ⁠Asked about the names of Custom Union. 3. What is creative economy. What is the share of it. 4. Changing role of emerging technology in shaping Global order. 5. Its linkages with deep state? How it could affect Indian democracy? M1 Sir (Old Person), 1. Tell me about the problems of people living in LAC area (especially Ladakh). 2. Is government doing something about it. 3. What type of power they use. (long discussion) 4. Asked about Kohima's capital (wrong question- later apologised). Then, asked about the capital of Mizoram. M2 Ma'am, 1. Discussion on Udan scheme. Is it still needed even after so much loss? 2. Asked about what to privatise in Railway. why it failed? (long discussion) 3. Should we go for rate rationalisation in GST. If yes, then how? 4. With the adoption of renewal energy by India share of tax revenues on Petroleum items will fall. Then, should we include petrol & diesel into GST? M3 Ma'am, 1. Asked about FRBM Act & It's target. further tell me about current updated facts on Fiscal deficit. **2. Chairman sir interrupted in between and asked about Kerala's case on Fiscal deficit in Supreme court? Asked about the provisions of case. 3. Ma'am, asked about All India Service. Why we call it All India even if they don't work in all the states. Should we call your service all India? M4 Sir, 1. Asked about my USA's experience with people. 2. Discussion on their perception about India. 3. Why even after 250 years, USA did not get any female president? (long discussion) **4. Again chairman sir interrupted, what about India? India's next female prime minister prospects. 5. Tell me the potential name of female prime minister in India using practical understanding. ( Ended on Positive note with everyone laughing ) Your interview is over. Have a great day. All the very best. You may leave now. Overall: Cordial board, some random questions with analytical type, humorous environment and overall positive experience. Mocks: several 1 on 1 session with Shubham Agarwal sir (very productive & useful- highly recommended), Vision IAS faculty mock, Next IAS panel mock and Grace IAS mock (offline).

17/02/2025, President of the board:- Hon'ble Sanjay Verma Sir Optional:- Sociology DAF Keywords:- Banswara (Rajasthan), IITK (Mechanical), Nautanki artists, NSS, Certificate course in classical Sociological Theory, Bhagat Singh (drama performance), ek bharat shreshtha bharat, Ananpana meditation President of the Board:- 1) Are you shy of sports? 2) which sport? 3) if you play sometimes, you will get out in a little time, will your friends not laugh at you? 4) which topics nautanki in UP portrays? 5) is this art form dying? Why? 6) who is taking its place? Give sociological lens on change in nautanki- caste groups of performers, what are they doing now? 7) Have you read any book of Shaheed Bhagat Singh? 8) Explain why he was an atheist? 9) How he has large following, he was an athiest our country is largely religious, he was ultra-left, our country is not same so? Reason behind his popularity despite so much of contradictions? 10) don't we think of Savarkar now when we think of Gandhi? Earlier it was Bhagat singh, is it still so? 11) Don't you think pre-independence, only elites were affected by British state? M1:- 1) Who was Motilal Tejawat? 2) What is this course "Classical sociological theory"? From where you did this? 3) explain Durkheim's theory of suicide? 4) draw a relation between Durkheim's theories to that of Marx Member 2 [lady] 1) tell me about your district? 2) who gave you your name? 3) ye rajasthan me Bindori kya h? 4) lower caste ke bindori nikalne pr kya dikkat ho jati h, kyu h aisa? 5) Contribution of rajasthan to India, both social and econonic Member 3 1) You are good in Hindi or english? 2) what are 3Rs of primary education? 3) one of the leading artist of nautanki is in a famous movie of 1950s- btao (He himself told) 4) Impacts of Sawchh bharat abhiyan 5) which personality of rajasthan you idealize? 5) what happens in EK bharat shreshtha Bharat? 6) how states are linked? 7) explain anapana meditation? 8) is it related to vipasana? 9) how it is different from pranayam? What are end purpose of all of these? Member 4 1) should we have *compulsory job for 2 years like provision* for IIT Graduates? Give reasons if you agree/disagree? 2) calculate loss to the GDP of country by graduates like you remaining unemployed? 3) have you contributed socially in last 4 years? 4) is the attention given to Ranveer Allahabadia case isn't disproportionate, we do not have same outrage for incidents like Delhi Railway Stampede? Why? 5) mechanism of take-off of aeroplane Chairperson- Thank You, your interview is over ! Said thank you to each member.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT Name: Mr. Inventor Interview date: 14/02/2025 Board: Shri Dinesh Dasa sir Forenoon session, last to go, Nearly 35 mins. Key words: Economics Optional, IIT Kanpur, USA, Mechanical Engineering, R&D job, Patent, Powerlifting, IRS (C&IT), Nutrition & Diary Writing. Chairman Sir, started with reading out my work experience from Private sector (core job). Then, said you have not wasted Human capital and contributed towards nation. 1. Discussion on Human Capital. 2. ⁠Asked about the names of Custom Union. 3. What is creative economy. What is the share of it. 4. Changing role of emerging technology in shaping Global order. 5. Its linkages with deep state? How it could affect Indian democracy? M1 Sir (Old Person), 1. Tell me about the problems of people living in LAC area (especially Ladakh). 2. Is government doing something about it. 3. What type of power they use. (long discussion) 4. Asked about Kohima's capital (wrong question- later apologised). Then, asked about the capital of Mizoram. M2 Ma'am, 1. Discussion on Udan scheme. Is it still needed even after so much loss? 2. Asked about what to privatise in Railway. why it failed? (long discussion) 3. Should we go for rate rationalisation in GST. If yes, then how? 4. With the adoption of renewal energy by India share of tax revenues on Petroleum items will fall. Then, should we include petrol & diesel into GST? M3 Ma'am, 1. Asked about FRBM Act & It's target. further tell me about current updated facts on Fiscal deficit. **2. Chairman sir interrupted in between and asked about Kerala's case on Fiscal deficit in Supreme court? Asked about the provisions of case. 3. Ma'am, asked about All India Service. Why we call it All India even if they don't work in all the states. Should we call your service all India? M4 Sir, 1. Asked about my USA's experience with people. 2. Discussion on their perception about India. 3. Why even after 250 years, USA did not get any female president? (long discussion) **4. Again chairman sir interrupted, what about India? India's next female prime minister prospects. 5. Tell me the potential name of female prime minister in India using practical understanding. ( Ended on Positive note with everyone laughing ) Your interview is over. Have a great day. All the very best. You may leave now. Overall: Cordial board, some random questions with analytical type, humorous environment and overall positive experience. Mocks: several 1 on 1 session with Shubham Agarwal sir (very productive & useful- highly recommended), Vision IAS faculty mock, Next IAS panel mock and Grace IAS mock (offline).

Name: Balbasaur Keywords :Haryana,Old aged persons study,Socio Date :17 feb Sanjay verma sir board Chairman 1.What you learn from old aged persons studies 2.Legal provisions of old aged persons 3.Schemes for old aged M1 5.Why loneliness in old aged 6.Use of sociology in adm 7.demographic dividend M2 8.Miga campaign 9.Status of women 10.Human capital M3 11.Stampede 12.Why civil services 13.Corruption how to resolve M4 14Tourism potential haryana 15.Care economy 16.geriartics Some other question forget M5 How to become happy? Means vs enda Mocks:One on one session session with Shubham sir (Vidyapeeth ias) were extremely helpful All questions were discussed in one way or other by Sir

Name : Virat Kohli Date of Interview : 17/02/2025 and Afternoon session. Board : Suman ma'am (4th to go) Keywords: Power engineering, worked in ed tech, Maharashtra (Others including hobbies not asked) Chairperson ma'am  1. Your name reminds me of one famous personality? 2. What are the two technical problems in the power sector of India? 3. What are the technical challenges of integrating solar energy in the grid? 4. What is the time of day tariff? Is it good or bad for India? 5. What is China+1 and one China policy? 6. Has the China+1 policy benefited India? 7. Can India really compete with China in Manufacturing? 8. Why did Byju's fail? 9. Recently there are regulations for emission control for thermal power plants so why are power plants not able to follow regulations? Member 1 1.What are the reasons for increasing coaching institutes in India? 2. What are the regulations for the coaching industry in India? 3. Should we increase seats for IIT and NITs in India? 4 Recently PM Manmohan singh passed away so what are his major contributions to the Indian economy? 5. What is license raj? What did it lead to? Member 2 1.What is the string of pearls theory? 2.Is string of pearls theory and Act policy in coherence to each other? 3. Recently the ordnance factory was in the news. Why? 4. The Ordnance factory was a brain child of one of the famous personalities, did you remember his name? 5. Baba Amte was from which place and what is his organization name? Member 3 1.What is waste to wealth energy? 2. What did India do in Solar energy? 3. What are we doing with Green hydrogen? Is it really successful? 4. What are the challenges in its adoption? 5. What is ESG? Member 4 1.Which companies came to India for semiconductor manufacturing? 2. Can you name an American company that came to India for semiconductor manufacturing? 3. Name members of G7? What did Trump talk about Russia's inclusion back into G7? 4. What is the demography and population of Pakistan occupied Kashmir? 5. What is happening in Balochistan? Is India involved in its incidence? 6 India has potential to achieve 500 GW of solar energy but has only 100 GW, why? 7. What is China's solar installed capacity? Board was very cordial. Very different experience than mocks. In my opinion mocks should be used for speaking before bureaucrats only!! Mocks given at studyIQ, Unacademy, vajirao and reddy, Next IAS and others also. One on One with Dharmadhikari sir  (Chankya Mandal) was very helpful. All the best to future aspirants!!

Name: White Tiger Date: 19/02/2025 FN Board: H'ble Suman Sharma ma'am DAF: MP, IR(MA from JNU), BE(Mechanical), Present Job(Asst. Director, Education Dept), Podcast, Chief Strategist, NCC Under Officer, rest not asked. Last to go, again! (like the previous attempt 😂) Chairwoman 1. Telling about the DAF details loudly and then said you have done mechanical engineering, have you heard of High Altitude Long Duration Drones. Long discussuon on this. 2. What it is useful of? 3. How do you compare Them with Geo-stationary satellites? 4. You're from MP, and have a background of Excise, so what's the income sources of MP? 5. You're currently posted where? Doing what work in govt? (Wasn't able to answer her first 3 questions appropriately, so said sorry) M1 1. You have experience with robotics, so tell me that can Robots replace us? 2. Are robots boon or bane? Long discussion on AI then. 3. Can robots replace us? 4. Long Monologue on impact of Robotics on society/ economy and then asked me to tell in terms of India' s context? 5. What is the govt doing to address that? 6. You are presently in Education Dept, what are the challenges? 7. What new the govt is doing? 8. Consider yourself as the Education Minister of India, so what one thing you will focus on? Bit Discussion in this. 8. What have you done in your present work profile to remove student's stress during exam? M2 ( talked very softly so had to hear his questions properly) 1. India China relations? 2. Present deficit? 3. What India imports and exports? 4. What india is doing to reduce deficit? Long discussion on this 5. What is India doing at the domestic level to compete with China? 6. What is Aksai Chin? What's India's view? 7. What is the present status of Arunachal Pradesh? Why India China issue on that? 8. What is the policy of China? What should India do? M3 1. You have watching podcasts as your hobby, do you know about Gaur Gopal Das? 2. What does he talk about? 3. Why his thinking is important today? 4. Which sect he belongs? What is ISKON? It's HQ? 5. You have NCC background and you were an Officer as well, what you know about Kargil war? 6. Who captured the Tiger Hill? How ? 7. Do you know about Yogendra Singh? How many bullets he took? 8. Gave a long monologue on Elon Musk and his role in DOGE, then asked to compare it with NITI Aayog's efforts? Are both relatable and in what ways? 9. Is DOGE needed for India? Long discussion on this 10. What is Trump doing with Taiwan? What policy changes he has brought? 11. What was the issue of LTTE? Who was its leader? M4 (Military Chap) 1. You have been a Strategic Expect, what do you mean by Strategy? 2. What makes up a strategy? How you prepare a strategy? 3. What is govt's thinking of startegy in education? 4. How can startegy be used for civil servants? (Brought my personal examples here) 5. What is strategic autonomy? 6. How Strategic Autonomy is different from Non-Alignment? Long discussion. 7. Tell how India exercises it's strategic autonomy? Explain India's strategic Autonomy by 3 examples 8. How you see India's strategic autonomy wrt Ongoing Russia-Ukraine war? 9. What are the happenings that tell India's siding with Russia in Ukraine war? Long discussion then he himself corrected after discussion that it's India's tilt not siding. 10. Tell more specific examples? 11. In Taiwan case, do you think India should give weapons to Taiwan? Long discussion. 12. You have NCC background and should be aligned with a war mindset, dont you think not giving weapons is a wise option? Related Discussion on this. 13. You come from MP, what is MP doing in the last 10 years to boost it's economic development? Long discussion on this. Overall decent interaction. Approx 22-25 minutes. Mocks : 8 - PW OnlyIAS, Samkalp (highly recommend), Study IQ, Quantel (recommended for One-on-One), Chahal, etc. One-On-One: 5+ esp IPS Mahesh Bhagwat Sir Utility of Mocks : Some questions were repeated and the mocks did help me to deal with the interview pressure.

Board- Sheel Vardhan Sir Date - 18/Feb/2025 Duration - 20-25mins, forenoon session Keywords- civil engineering, R&D,  dietetics, public administration, IPS( Probationer) (other entries from daf were not asked)  Chairperson 1. What do you mean by dietetics how do you practice it ? 2. what is okinawa diet, mediterranean diet? 3. Stampede in Delhi , what steps as a police officer will you take to manage crowd ? 4. How can AI be used in crowd management M1 . 1. What is your take on R&D ecosystem in India , is it sufficient? 2. What steps are being taken 3. Opinion on brain drain ? M2. 1. (Situation based)  you are heading a police team, one of your subordinates, a great person at heart, excellent with his technical skills is developing an app for police use ..but his only problem is that he is addicted to alcohol even during the duty hours ...when confronted, he has accepted his addiction - is he, honest person ? A person with integrity? A person who is loyal ? - what will you do as a leader of the team ? M3 1. Problems in agriculture 2. What can be the solutions 3. Why are farmers protesting is it feasible to legalise msp 4. Why is ethics needed in public administration? M4. 1. What can we do to tackle cybersecurity threats 2. How to prevent ? 3. How a balance can be created between surveillance and right to privacy ? Chair again 1) bridges collapsed in bihar .. what are the faults from-  technical aspect as well as social aspect ? 2) as DC what steps will you take to address the distrust in the minds of people? Thank You. All the best

Board : Sheelvardhan sir Date : 13feb Keywords : Sawai Madhopur, cricket, Rajasthani cuisine, Debating, IITx , civil Engineering (optional) etc. Other : 5th to go Chairman sir • So, you play cricket, what's ur role ○ I said - bowling All rounder ... • Which is the greatest allrounder of all time ○ Kapildev ji.... • Asked any other allrounder? Someone from SA ? His daughter name of Indiana ? ○ I wasn't sure, so he told about Jonty Rhodes • Sir asked, you do Debating, will give you topic MIGA ( Make India Great Again ) ○ as I started giving argument, he stopped me. Said you are like Trump and we are people, now give us 2 min speech on MIGA ,so we can vote for you....I tried .... in end chairman sir cheered me up , that we will vote for you. • On Indian citizenship being less attractive, people leaving India. How can we make Indian citizen attractive , so people come here and take it? • Do you know about GCC, some global models related to citizenship. Member1 (on civil engineering) • What are the current changes coming in civil engineering • What is GIS... Global information system • It's relation to civil engineering techs ○ 3d printing • Asked some other things related... Member 2 • Your hobby is cooking rajasthani cuisine, so do you cook. She enquired about it. • Then what's the difference between rajasthani and South Indian cuisine • Benefits of fermentation Member 3 • Why your village name is this? • So, if you have to increase farmers income of your village what will you do? • Then she said, you have 10 cr. Tell me how will you spend them • Then on hobby, why women Cook at home, why not in businesses? • What should be done • How will you make sure that men also cooks at home ○ I gave some point.... Then she asked me as administrator what will you do, so men cooks at home Member 4 • In civil engineering what are big companies - Indian and world? • What should be done so more Indian companies grow big . Related to this.... • On kota suicides... So many cases still. Reason behind it. What should be done Some more questions.... In the end chairman sir said, Thank you aapse milke accha laga. time - 25- 30 min. Environment was cordial, members were encouraging. So, a Nice experience!

Chairperson: Sheel vardhan sir 18/02/2025,FN session Optional: Agriculture Key daf: PG, NGO, gardening, TN Chairman: -About PG degree -why PG to upsc -Public gardens -Binomial nomenculature -Scientific name of banyan tree -compare garden with life and nature -worked in ngo and role Member 1 -waqf bill -reforms in pension scheme Member2 -India-Sri lanka issues -Refugee crisis -India-US deportation and discussion (chairman interupted and counter questioned) -North and South GDP difference Member3 (lady) -Photoperiodism & photosynthesis -Organic agriculture issue & way ahead -Doubling farmers income steps --situation as agri secretary Chairman interupted and asked abt -MSP legalisation -Agri income taxation Member4 -vaccine hesitancy & discussion Some questions i forgot Time-25 mins

Date-18/02/2025 Name- Mountain Man Board- Sanjay Verma Keywords- Gaya, Bihar, Maths, MA Adult Education, Mphil, PhD, Erasmus Mundus Grad- Maths, Optional- Sociology Hobbies- Community Teaching, Cooking. Chairman: Phd,-topic? Rationale Data- world population Why TFR declining a global phenomenon, in India too, what can be reason DAF seems very serious -anything you do to enjoy? Told watching movies, and spending time with friends, now everything shifted to movie zone Any movie related to cooking? Indian cooking take a lot of time in comparison to western, dont you think it has harmed women? - I tried to defending Indian cooking style but he told me to not the saviour or defender Then I agreed with him- now counter question- so you think Indian culture has degraded women position? I tried to be on safer zone by giving other factors. Member1 What was topic of Mphil? What was the result and conclusion? What is community teaching?( hobbies) Ageing population and it’s impact on society? What policy to be there if you are in government related to elderly? Any caste discrimination issue that you have come across into notice.? Or this thing is just on paper. ( member of anti caste discrimination cell- DAF) Member 2 (mam) MPhil - how much time it require? Are we still going with it? NEP and education reform? You seems to have a good academic background, why not teacher? Why Civil service. Anyone dignitaries arrived today?( qatar amir) Import and exports from qatar? What is his name? One actor resembles my name- asked about movie, (actress name I couldn’t recall at that moment when I left I remembered.) Member 3 Gaya, Bihar. - a long discussion on mythological stories. Badrinath temple and Vishnupad temple comparison: similarities and differences. Maths questions. ( I forgot) Any actor who flopped who is son of big successful actor? One or two questions related to movie? Why do we use Jayfal and JAvitri fool in cooking? Mamber4 What is China +1 ? A discussion on that Why still India not getting 100 % shift from china? What could be the reason? Where to work for more investment? Very cordial board. Mostly DAF based. Mocks- 8-9, KGS, Chahal, Ekam, NextIAS, vajiram, Samkalp IAS, Samkalp was very near to real. ( totally different experience in real) though helped in framing answers. One to one- Shubham Sir ( Vidyapeeth IAS) , Sejal Sir ( edsaarthi- taking middle path and bureaucratic approach ), pranay aggrawal ( IAS gurukul- social issues and sociology) Shubham Sir is a gem, he helped in preparing DAF, situation based and IR part, apart from that he was also moral booster specially in last two days of interviews.

Name - Jim Carrey Date - 17 feb 2025 Board - Sanjay Verma Sir DAF: Automobile Engg, Geocaching, Hockey, Gardening, Uttarakhand Chairman - Manipur Crisis who are Meiteis & Kukis and then do you think govt failed in handling Manipur crisis? 2-3 cross ques related to President Rule, Internet Shut Down. - What is Donkey route? Why it is called so ? Main reason behind this ? If stability & better life is reason then how they are spending lakhs on illegal entry. Why india not resorting to the kind of deportation as US ? - What are problem faced by people in hilly areas ? How waste segregation happen there ? - Many villages in Uttarakhand are now ghost villages. What are reason apart from financial reasons ? Then is it policy failure or natural socio economic phenomenon? - Don't you think it should mandatory for govt employees to serve in hilly areas to prevent migration.? Member 1 - Tell me how i should pick the best SUV in the market. (I then ask for requirement, he only told the budget) - What is the definition of SUV ? - How is India automobile market is performing ? Why it is not picking up pace ? - These large scale CHAR DHAM construction are creating landslide and ecological imbalance, how to reverse it ? - In defence procurement how should India navigate its relationships with both the US and Russia? - What is Volkswagen tax dispute ? Member 2 - what is Geocaching ? It is not so popular in India then how you adopt it ? Then one member asked isn't trespassing raise privacy concerns ? - What are the legal framework to address ragging. When i answering the member cut short me and asked is it totally bad ? What is healthy ragging ? - Invasive species grown in your region? Should government put regulation on types of plants grown in urban gardens ? - Should India formally become NATO ally to counter China and Pakistan? - Despite military stand off India trade with China has increased. Is this economic dependence a failure of India foreign policy? Member3 - Is politicization of sports bodies harming hockey growth? Sports Code hai koi ? - India once dominated hockey at Olympics but now struggles against European teams. Why? Is focusing on cricket is sole reason. If we will proper funding will the situation improves. 3-4 cross question on this topic. Member seems very interested in having indepth discussion. - Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains. How you link this with current social order in the society? Member4 - Has India Act East Policy yielded results? and then member sais he think it is largely symbolic? - Increasing military exercises with US and Australia making India slowly western military bloc? How will impact the reason? - What are GM Crops ? Which crops are legal in India ? But we are importing food then how we make sure it is not genetically modified or not ? - Certain religious traditions prohibit cutting specific plants then should cultural beliefs influence urban landscaping ? Interview Duration - 25-30 minutes My Interview experience was very good. The board members were very cordial and they want to bring out best from you. In some question the cross question me nad various follow up question to know the thinking process (i would not say its grilling). The key is to remain calm and putforth your point in best possible manner. What i feel that it very importnt ot show your point of view, some time meber will contracdict you but if have the reasoing then ha me ha nahi milnana. Mock and One2One - Mock will help you on how to present yourseld before the board but the real interview will be very different form the mock one. Infact te real one will be more cordial and supportive than the mock interview. Mock Attended (Total 5) - Nextias, Vaji ram, Chanakya Mandal, Samkalp and PWonly ias. Among all, Samkalp was good in terms of interview environment and cordiality One2One - Khan Sir - very helpful in answer framing , Utkarsh Sir and Rahul Sir (ias pcs pathshala) - very help in brainstorming daf based question and opinion based question. Overall badiya experience tha.

https://upsc.gov.in/content/last-date-apply-csp-2025-ifosp-2025-has-been-further-extended-till-21022025-0600-pm Last date to apply for CS(P)-2025 & IFoS(P)-2025 has been further extended till 21.02.2025 (06:00 PM)

Name- Lucknow Bhai Board- Lt General Raj Shukla sir Date- 12.02.25 (afternoon) 2nd one to go Keyword- chemistry, crime thriller, railway,IRPFS, cultural president Chairman- Ask do you have interest in space . I said very limited interest then he said don’t worry answer some question. He began with long monologue on space development of Space X and it’s competition with India Q1 why is india not able to compete with spacex what is the solution of it Q2 why is not welcoming coming starlink and why India is scared of Elon Musk starlink project Q3 what do you think is whg in India that we are not getting orders in space sector from USA Q4. What is the obstacle in development of defence and space collaboration as compared to that of USA M1 1- what is open line 2- track between two outer signal comes under whose jurisdiction 3- who is responsible for security inside train 4- what is the role of RPF in security of railways 5- how can train be derailed 6- is removing of track necessary condition for train derailment 7- steps to improve track security 8- ways of petroling on track and how can we improve it 9- how crime thriller web series help you in RPF M2- 1- do you associated with any political party 2-how did you become cultural president if there is nothing in your DAF related to culture 3- Is IPS issue in RPF resolve 4- Where did you reach in RPF at the time of retirement 5- View on trump statement to bring plastic straw back 6- difference in RPF work culture of south india and Bengal Rest questions unable to recall M3 1- what is latent heat of ice and steam 2- what is latent heat 3- difference between conduction, convection and radiation 4- define solid, liquid and gas state 5- whether you be solid, liquid or gas in civil service Unable to recall other questions M4- 1- Choose poor but happy or rich but unhappy 2-Why people go for civil services or MBA or other streams after doing science or arts in graduation 3 - did you watch Kill movie and do you think such things happen in today's world 4- what RPF is doing in this regard Sir Unable to recall 2-3 questions Mock- One to one session with Shubham sir (vidyapeeth) help a lot specially in IR and situation based question

M4: (he also asked from DAF) 1. Which is your fav bhajan? Composer and singer? 2. What is graphene solar cell milk chiller? Follow up - will you implement this in your district if you're made the collector? 3. How will you increase milk productivity? 4. Tell us something about your district? Interview got over, chairman sir said thank you and all the best! I thanked all and left. (I might have forgotten some questions) My experience: 1. Chairman sir had a poker face all throughout. All members except M3 maintained pleasant faces & nodded in between. 2. As I was the last one to go, I even felt that I was given less time to think before answering. Some members were in a hurry to jump to the next question. 3. I had a slightly different experience in the real interview vis-a-vis mocks as most of the questions in mocks used to be from DAF. Nevertheless mocks do help you in getting accustomed to a panel interaction & test your level of preparation as well as communication skills. 4. I remained calm & confident throughout. In my limited understanding what I feel is that there can be questions which one might not know, but taking every question as a fresh opportunity and not letting the baggage of previous questions affect your performance, is what matters. So stay calm, confident and polite. All of us have earned our seats here, so have self belief, confidence and also humility! Panel mocks - Chahal, Samkalp, Vajirao, Nextias O2O - Satyam sir (very extensive DAF coverage & detailed feedback) Sajal sir (Sarrthi ias) - again very detailed & beneficial All the best everyone ✨

Date: 14/02/2025 Board: Raj Shukla sir Duration: 22-25 minutes (started ~5 pm) Last one to go in the AN session Optional: Anthropology (nothing was asked) DAF keywords: Banswara (Rajasthan), Dairy (graduation), bhajans & biopics (hobbies) - only these things were covered from DAF, no major questions from achievements/ leadership positions/ sports/ other places mentioned in DAF (Udaipur, Jhunjhunu) I entered the room and greeted everyone with a smile! Chairman sir - 1. He asked about the time when I entered (he meant to say ki hum initially kitni baje aaye the but I misunderstood ki vo abhi ka time pooch rahe h, but fir members ne khud hi jawab dediya) 2. He commented about how I have never been to Delhi and all, completed my education from Rajasthan only. 3. Then he asked about some former British PM/military ruler that do you know him (I said sorry sir, I don't know about him) 4. He then asked about another person, again someone I had never heard of. He said okay no problem, a member intervened and said that sir she has done her graduation in dairy 5. So then he asked what have I studied in that, I gave him a detailed overview 6. Where do you apply all this, you haven't done any job right? You have been preparing only. (I said yes sir I have been preparing after my graduation & this is my 2nd attempt. I also mentioned my saras internship here as I felt ki sir ko na meri degree me interest tha + unhe ye bhi lag raha tha ki maine ise kahi apply nahi kiya) 7. He then asked about saras, its competition with amul, export kyu nhi krte and all, their products, turnover (I gave answers to these but did not know the related data as I had not filled this internship in daf, so wasn't prepared much on this) M1 (a lady, she had come with questions prepared on a paper) 1. Why do u listen to bhajans, are you a very spiritual person or any other reason? 2. Do you listen to some other kinds of music like hip hop or jazz 3. Rajasthan is such a male chauvinist state, women here are treated like 2nd class citizens..did you face such issues growing up? 4. Have you seen that biopic on Indira Gandhi (I have seen quite a few biopics but not this..so I replied ki I haven't seen this, she said you should see it later, it's a good watch esp for your generation) 5. Then she gave a long description of the movie 'Pink' and asked should marital rape be criminalised in India? 6. Brahmos missile, with whom we have made, to which countries we have exported? 7. Can India become capable of exporting more, we import so much? 8. Asked that if I know who is Aung San Suu kyi..mam ne thoda ajeeb tareeke se pronounce kiya toh mujhe ek baar smjh nhi aaya ki ye kya hai..but as soon as she said Myanmar I recalled and I said yes ma'am I know her..fir she gave a long description of her nobel prize and how Myanmar doesn't recognise her Nobel. She said that Myanmar pehla nation tha kya ese 'Myanmar first' krne wala..and should India also follow this 'India First policy'? M2 (asked from DAF) 1. Different varieties of mango (as I was among the organisers of Rajasthan's 1st mango festival) 2. Is milk adulteration prevalent? 3. What are the adulterants used and how to test them? 4. Have you ever tested the milk that comes at your home? 5. Which laws to prevent adulteration? 6. Which mark or grading is given to agricultural commodities? Which authority gives the agmark logo? M3 (lady member, she had also come with questions prepared) 1. If you are made the secretary of Rajasthan, and your CM is asking if Raj should be made a dry state, what would you advise him? 2. Can human rights violations be done to protect the sovereignty and integrity of a nation? Discussion went around Israel also, some cross questioning also 3. Will president rule be beneficial for the situation of Manipur? Here also cross questioning (maybe she did not agree with my answer)

*Date* - 13.02.2025 *Session* - Afternoon *Serial* - 5th to go *Board* - Sheel Vardhan Singh Sir *Detailed Application Form KEYWORDS:* Hobbies - Uncovering Ancestral Values of Rural India, Kota, IIT Bombay, Civil Engineering, Rajasthan, EPFO *Member wise Questions* *Chairperson:* 1. Very interesting hobby - what Ancestral Values you have uncovered till now? - long answer with examples, further questions on this 2. Is "Parmarth Bhawana" not in cities area? (From last long reply) 3. Difference between parmarth of Rural and Urban areas? 4. What is crowd funding? (Word used in earlier long answer) *Member 1:* 5. What do you see different in Kota? 6. If you are the Higher Education Minister ... Reforms in JEE exam and Reform in IITs? 7. Now you are the secretary and the minister asked for your opinion about introducing one course in regional language in IITs. What is your views on it? *Member 2 (lady member)* 8. Should we include traditional knowledge in IIT curriculum and How? 9. Why Kathputali performed in Rajasthan? *Member 3 (lady member)* {Ex. Labour Secretary, Arti Ahuja} 10. What are the provisions of social security for international workers? (EPFO related) 11. Agreement on Social security in the G20 summit? 12. Illegal migration is in the news, What is the procedure for legal immigration? 13. Specific laws and rules related to immigration 14. Euthanasia, views and counter questions about procedure etc? *Member 4:* 15. Impact of UPI on Social sector and Small Businesses ? 16. You are civil engineer, what are the steps you will take for affordable housing?

Name: chaotic_sapien Board: Suman Sharma ma'am(Deviji) Date: 17Feb Keywords: MBBS, Cricket, TB, Covid, Strength Training, Short stories, Anthropology, Meerut, Kanpur, UP, Sexual Assault Survivor, Debate, Extempore Session: Afternoon(Last to go) Duration: <20min(Don't know why) PS: Sorry I have post exam amnesia(forget the questions that were asked) still writing whatever I could recall 1) Transit led development? 2) Location of Pharma industries? 3) GDP of China? 4) What has China done that India couldn't? 5) 1st CDS of India? 6) History of Meerut & Kanpur? 7) What did India learn from Covid? 8) Some question about generic drugs? Mocks: Samkalp, Next IAS O2O: SMARTWORK LABS- Anupam sir & Ankit Sir; SARRTHI IAS- Sajal sir; UNDERSTAND UPSC: Satyam sir Tried my best Baaki sab MAHAKAAL k haathon mein hai?

Name: Trend h Naam nhi btane ka Board: Dasa Sir Date: 13Feb, ~2:30PM Keywords: NTSE, Rashtriya Military School, NCC, Boxing, MBBS, PGD Mental Health, Father ex-Army, Jhunjhunu (RJ) Chair 1. discussion on color of suit.. Monotony & bhedchaal 2. A teenager stabbed grandpa to death in Hydrabad. Why such incidents increasing and what steps u suggest to tackle such issues 3. What is Durkheim's suicide theory?(jitna pta tha bta diya) 3.1 place Kota suicides & Vidarbha Farmer suicides in Durkheim's types of suicides....(i replied sorry sir Durkheim ko detail me nhi pdha... He asked if Anthro has Durkheim in sallybus... I replied.. no sir in Socio its in depth.. In Anthro we read how his theory motivated schools like Structural Functionalism) 4. Allopathic Dr ho..ur views on Bridge course? I said hona chahiye and explained my logic 4.1 but ur Medical Associations opposed it fiercely... U r not with them?..... I maintained my stand.. And tried explaining 5. Why mbbs edu costs in crores?...got grilling on my reply M1(Lady on my right) 1. Why FCs increasing states' share? Whats need of giving too much to states... My ans was in favor of Fiscal Federalism, empwring states to achieve goals of welfare state Total 2-3 ques but cant recall .. M2(Sir on my immediate left) He was only person jo meko pura dekh pa rha tha.. Thoda pichhe hokr bethe the..i felt like he is noticing my verbal & non-verbal communications... Psychologist type vibe thi 1. Fake drugs issue.. 2-3 supple ques.Totally disagreed with my replies 2. Who decides Range of Diseases like Diebetes, HTN etc 2.1 Why there are so many ranges? Why no uniform range 2.2 Grilled me over Diebetes Diagnosis 3. How to maintain good physical & mental health spsly in elders (exact words yad nhi) (Overall, He kinda rejected my most answers & meko lga jese firki pe firki le rhe h sir) M3 (Sir to my far left) 1. u studied from a prestigious Rashtriya Military School but u left it before 10th.. As evident from ur school name in 10th board... When & Why u left the RMS school.. Why didn't u go in Army.... My reply... 1.2 but u could have join Army Medical Corps as u said ur father was in AMC... 1.3 first u left RMS, Now u r leaving Dr profession.. Is it ur nature... 2. Organ Donation Complusory kr dena chahiye? 2.1 but if u saying its imp then compulsory krne me kya dikkat h? 2.2 in ur clinic do u tell people to donate organs.. I said.. no sir.. But apne achha sujhav diya.. I ll implement it 3. What is G.O.A.T? 3.1 who do u consider GOAT in Boxing? 3.2 why Ali why not Tyson? M4( Ma'am to my far right) 1. Govt spending too much on Medical Health Insurance. Why waste money?(aisa kuchh stance tha exact words yaad nhi).. Dont u think govt should curb this .... My reply... In favor of welfare state etc... But need of rationalisation, addressing missing middle etc 2. U write poems on social issues?... Khush hua m ki ab sunane ko bolegi aur m thoda mahol chill krunga..bahut grilling jesi ho gyi h (but...) 2.1 which all issues u covered till now 2.2 why poems of freedom struggle times so thrilling and ab aisi poems kyu nhi bnti?... 2.3 nirbhaya time poems... .................... Dasa sir said ur interview is over.. ........ My PT Learnings 1. Mocks helped in handling senior people...total (10+ panel mocks, 10+ one to one)..... 2. Samkalp, vision mock kuchh hdd tk upsc mahol jese lge... Baki sb mocks studio type baketi lgi.. Youtube content khojte hue dikhe... Even panel members were conscious of their performance on camera 3. In mocks it all depends on Chair... If Chair jolly/grilling it goes good/grilling 4. Peer discussions offline/online best lga... I made closed grps for every topic in my DAF....thnkx to CSPT platform.. I tried utilising it amap.. 5. B'crat mocks km krke Faculty mocks dene chye the... Academicians ko satisfy krna is mushkil than Field(services) walo ko... Grilling ki aur achhi practice ho jati 6.first PT tha..considering inter-personal communication my forte... Had too much expectations.. Jo ki nhi rkhni chye thi...Will be more pragmatic, agr fir jana pda...

Name- gratitude Board-Dr. dasa sir. Date- 17 feb Keywords- Satara, pune, MBBS, junior resident. Chairman sir Satara was seat of? Maratha confideracies Maratha rise and fall Geography of India boon or bane? Geography from trade perspective Bhima koregaon violence M1 Supreme court opinion on social welfare schemes leading to creation of parasites. 4 schemes with positive impact 4 schemes creating parasites Biden's opinion of India not doing enough to curb Russia Ukraine war. Is India able to balance both Russia and US M2 opinion on universal basic income( long discussion ) What is moral hazard M3 Free commutation for women. Benefits Air pollution impact on health Air pollution impact on children M4 What are somatic cells. Applications. Location of recently opened somatic cells bank. Thank you Mahesh bhagwat sir and shubham sir( vidyapeeth )