Board : Honorable Sujatha Chaturvedi Ma'am
04-02-2026 | FN | 4th to go
DAF pointers - Nan Mudalvan Scheme(Skilling initiative), Information technology, Sociology, Tamil nadu, Karate, Performing arts club, Writing blogs.
Chairperson:
Read my DAF details aloud as if ma'am is checking with me whether they are right?
1. (DAF mention Nan Mudalvan) I know what is Nan Mudalvan. Ma'am explained it and asked the literal meaning of it. I added few other works under Nan Mudalvan initiative.
2. You are a sociology student. Why is the middle class important in our society?
3. Example for movements led by middle classes.
4. Why do middle-class families want their children to be rich? What explains this phenomenon?
5. What are the 3 big changes in Indian families?
6. What is the impact of these changes on joint families?
7. I said capitalistic mode of production needs mobile families. Ma'am asked what do you mean by mobile families?
8. What is khap panchayat, what the impact of these changes in it, is it declining? is it good or bad?
Member 1
9. There more number of skill corporations. Do we need skilling in India?
10. Why do we need skilling?
11. Isn’t our academic education enough?
12. Is skilling alone enough?
13. What else must India do apart from skilling?
14. (I said labour-intensive manufacturing is needed) — Asked what else? Moved to next question.
15. What AI tools are you using?
16. How is information technology helpful for businesses?
17. What is e-commerce?
18. Is UPI the same as e-commerce?
19. Is e-commerce good or bad?
20. Give three advantages of e-commerce.
21. Give three disadvantages of e-commerce.
22. Do small shops benefit from e-commerce platforms?
Member 2
23. What is strategic diversification?
24. Is India doing strategic diversification?
25. Do you think we need decoupling of our economy? Are we overly dependent on any nation?
26. What more can India do in strategic diversification?
27. What themes do you write about in your blog?
28. How frequently do you write?
Member 3
29. What is the impact of tariffs on the Tirupur–Coimbatore textile belt?
30. How are they reducing the impact? One of my points was subcontracting; member asked what it is, Chairperson ma'am explained it herself and asked me is it right?
31. Why have countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam improved so much in textiles?
32. (I said cheap labour and regulatory easing) — Is the price differential in labour cost of indiab wrt Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Vietnam really that large?
33. Why hasn’t tourism boomed to its full potential in India?
34. What is the current state of affairs with Sri Lanka along the Tamil Nadu coast? Are things improved?
35. What is the opinion of the state’s people about Sri Lankan Tamils? Is there any frequent contacts now?
34. SInce I mentioned Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, questions on tourism came. Why tourism not developed in india?
35. One of my points is western narratives like "all of India is not safe for women". Do these narratives have some grain of truth? Isn't Indian media also exaggerate about such issues ?
36. Does media sensationalism affect India’s soft power and tourism?
Member 4
39. You were in the performing arts club. Why are South Indian films being celebrated more in North India now? I mentioned OTT along with other points. If OTT played a major role in this change, why are Hollywood or Chinese films not that popular in India?
40. (I said collective theatre experience is better in Indian movies) What such recent film would you recommend to us and why?
41. Why is Korean Kpop music so popular globally?
42. What arguments can you give for this popularity from a performing arts perspective?
Chairperson said Thank you!
Overall it went like, more of a conversation, not as a viva.
O2O : Mr. Sudhagaran IRPS sir, Mr. Jawahar IAS(Retd) sir, Shri Mahesh Bagwant IPS sir, Mr. DP agarwal sir(KMIAS), Nan Mudalvan group exercises were helpful.
Mocks given : Manidhaneyam Free IAS academy, AICSCC, NewCamp IAS academy, Aram, Shankar, Samklap, Vajiram, Only IAS (in the order i attended)