Interview Transcripts (CSPT-2025)

UPSC Interview Transcript Board: Sheel Vardhan Sir Date: 12/02/2026- Afternoon Keywords: Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, Cashew Farming, Kathak, Lavani, Writing Quotes and Poetry, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Sociology, MIT Pune, Magazine Editor, Cultural Club Head I entered the board and greeted all the members. --- Chairperson 1. Your name has a connection with ancient literature. Do you know about this? 2. What about the Aranyakas and the Upanishads? 3. You were an editor for a college magazine. Do you read newspapers? 4. I am making a statement. Can you elaborate on this? “The sports page of a newspaper reflects the full truth, the editorial page reflects half the truth, whereas the front page reflects minimum truth.” (Some discussion followed.) 5. As your hobby is writing quotes, tell me one quote that guides you. I said: “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” 6. How would you be a “rainbow” as a District Magistrate? 7. Which scheme, according to you, has the potential to be a rainbow? I said VB GRAM G — because poverty is the darkest cloud of all, and the scheme provides dignity and meaningful work opportunities. (He was nodding and appreciating in between.) 8. Define folk dance. Member 2 (Lady Member) 1. You perform Kathak. Would you be okay if fusion dance forms are performed? 2. After I replied that as long as the philosophical core principles and techniques remain intact, innovation is acceptable, she again asked: Would you still be okay with fusion? 3. You are a poet. Are poets observant individuals or social reformers? 4. Give one example to support your argument. I cited Savitribai Phule and her literary work Bawankashi Subodh Ratnakar. 5. You have studied Sociology. Which concept do you find most useful? I spoke about Social Facts. Member 3 1. Taking a cue from the last discussion, did you take Sociology only from an exam perspective? I explained my rationale. 2. You are an Electronics and Telecommunication engineer. Don’t you think an engineering degree certificate is merely a piece of paper? (He was nodding in agreement in between.) 3. Why are there so many engineering colleges and high enrolment in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, especially from a sociological point of view? I spoke about the rise in aspirations and the preference for professional degrees. 4. He mentioned that in many Western countries, Electrical and Electronics syllabi are integrated, which is not the case in India. Have you read the Electrical syllabus? I replied in the negative. He said, “No issues, it’s okay.” 5. This is a personality test—do you want us to know you more, or to test you? I said that I would like them to know me more, and in that process, they would also test me. (He smiled slightly.) Member 4 1. You perform Lavani. It is a very energetic dance form. What does Lavani express? 2. What do you like about this dance form? 3. Suppose you help someone, but that person is neither grateful nor reciprocative. How would you express this through Lavani? I said that I would first need to write a Lavani song to express that feeling, but in life, I do not let such experiences affect my helping nature—I continue doing my part. He said, “Excellent, on that part.” 4. Describe Kanhoji Angre. (Reference: Sindhudurg Fort) 5. Further discussion followed on the Marathas and his role in shipbuilding. 6. You are engaged in an exciting activity like cashew farming. Why, then, put in such hard work for civil services?( All of them exchanged smile among themselves) Member 5 1. What is the percentage of protein in cashews? 2. What are the benefits of nuts like almonds and cashews? 3. What is a balanced diet? 4. Are you having a balanced diet these days? I replied that I had one when I was at home, but since shifting to Delhi, the balance has been disturbed. 5. What is junk food? 6. What are its ill effects? 7. Should we ban all advertisements promoting junk food? 8. What can be done to control the spread of junk food? 9. Define culture.

10. Define Western culture. What are its traits, and why is it called so? 11. Tell me three women from Maharashtra who inspire you. I spoke about Savitribai Phule, Sindhutai Sapkal, and K. Majulaxmi (former Collector of my district). The board member sitting next to him exclaimed, “All women?” The member clarified that he was specifically asking about women. 12. You have a hobby of writing poems. Do you take time, or can you compose one on the spot? I said that generally, I take time. 13. Can you write one now? I asked if I could try writing a quote instead of a poem. They agreed and allowed me to take my time using pen and paper. While I was thinking, the Chairperson stood up to drink water. When I looked up, he waited and asked if I was ready. I said, “Yes, sir.” My quote was: > “She was smiling because her strength was born out of the storms she survived.” All members smiled and acknowledged it. The Chairperson said that it was very quick. Another member then said in Marathi: “Jastich kadak zala ka interview?” ( May be he co related the term Storm with the interview ) I was surprised to hear Marathi from him, as I had assumed he was Punjabi (since he was wearing a turban). I asked him again to confirm it, and we smiled. The Chairperson then said: “It was great talking to you. You can leave now.” I thanked them all and left. It was a conversational interview. All board member seemed genuinely interested in conversation. Guidance Taken: 1. One-to-one discussion with Anupam Jain Sir (Smartwork Labs) He acted as a “calm in chaos,” helping me focus on what was truly needed and not get lost in clutter. He hand-held me right from deciding the entries to be filled in the DAF. We had detailed one-to-one discussions on each aspect of my DAF. He guided me to think in the right direction, which significantly improved the quality and clarity of my answers. Especially, discussions on my hobbies—particularly writing quotes—helped me a lot. His trust in me strengthened my self-belief and helped me remain confident during the interview. 2. Pranay Agarwal Sir (IAS Gurukul) Conducted detailed DAF-based questioning. Very encouraging overall and helped boost confidence. 3. Mahesh Bhagwat Sir Helped me prepare DAF-based questions in a more structured and focused manner. Mock Interviews: (Arranged from best to average) 1. Maharashtra Sadan (best of them all) 2. Study IQ (Khemka Sir–led panel) 3. Unacademy 4. Chanakya Mandal Pariwar 5. Quantel – SPM Academy 6. Next IAS 7. Vajiram and Ravi 8. Vajirao and Reddy 9. PW Only IAS 10. Sankalp IAS 11. Quantel – Raj Malhotra Institute Discussions with my peer group helped me improve my expression and gain new perspectives Best wishes to all! 🌸

UPSC Interview Transcript Board: Sheel Vardhan Sir Date: 12/02/2026- Afternoon Keywords: Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, Cashew Farming, Kathak, Lavani, Writing Quotes and Poetry, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Sociology, MIT Pune, Magazine Editor, Cultural Club Head I entered the board and greeted all the members. --- Chairperson 1. Your name has a connection with ancient literature. Do you know about this? 2. What about the Aranyakas and the Upanishads? 3. You were an editor for a college magazine. Do you read newspapers? 4. I am making a statement. Can you elaborate on this? “The sports page of a newspaper reflects the full truth, the editorial page reflects half the truth, whereas the front page reflects minimum truth.” (Some discussion followed.) 5. As your hobby is writing quotes, tell me one quote that guides you. I said: “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” 6. How would you be a “rainbow” as a District Magistrate? 7. Which scheme, according to you, has the potential to be a rainbow? I said VB GRAM G — because poverty is the darkest cloud of all, and the scheme provides dignity and meaningful work opportunities. (He was nodding and appreciating in between.) 8. Define folk dance. Member 2 (Lady Member) 1. You perform Kathak. Would you be okay if fusion dance forms are performed? 2. After I replied that as long as the philosophical core principles and techniques remain intact, innovation is acceptable, she again asked: Would you still be okay with fusion? 3. You are a poet. Are poets observant individuals or social reformers? 4. Give one example to support your argument. I cited Savitribai Phule and her literary work Bawankashi Subodh Ratnakar. 5. You have studied Sociology. Which concept do you find most useful? I spoke about Social Facts. Member 3 1. Taking a cue from the last discussion, did you take Sociology only from an exam perspective? I explained my rationale. 2. You are an Electronics and Telecommunication engineer. Don’t you think an engineering degree certificate is merely a piece of paper? (He was nodding in agreement in between.) 3. Why are there so many engineering colleges and high enrolment in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, especially from a sociological point of view? I spoke about the rise in aspirations and the preference for professional degrees. 4. He mentioned that in many Western countries, Electrical and Electronics syllabi are integrated, which is not the case in India. Have you read the Electrical syllabus? I replied in the negative. He said, “No issues, it’s okay.” 5. This is a personality test—do you want us to know you more, or to test you? I said that I would like them to know me more, and in that process, they would also test me. (He smiled slightly.) Member 4 1. You perform Lavani. It is a very energetic dance form. What does Lavani express? 2. What do you like about this dance form? 3. Suppose you help someone, but that person is neither grateful nor reciprocative. How would you express this through Lavani? I said that I would first need to write a Lavani song to express that feeling, but in life, I do not let such experiences affect my helping nature—I continue doing my part. He said, “Excellent, on that part.” 4. Describe Kanhoji Angre. (Reference: Sindhudurg Fort) 5. Further discussion followed on the Marathas and his role in shipbuilding. 6. You are engaged in an exciting activity like cashew farming. Why, then, put in such hard work for civil services?( All of them exchanged smile among themselves) Member 5 1. What is the percentage of protein in cashews? 2. What are the benefits of nuts like almonds and cashews? 3. What is a balanced diet? 4. Are you having a balanced diet these days? I replied that I had one when I was at home, but since shifting to Delhi, the balance has been disturbed. 5. What is junk food? 6. What are its ill effects? 7. Should we ban all advertisements promoting junk food? 8. What can be done to control the spread of junk food? 9. Define culture.

Name: Chester Bennington 11 feb, afternoon, 3rd to go. Board: - Shri Dinesh Dasa sir Keywords: jalgaon, Maharashtra, hindi pop singing, aerospace, UAV, Flight documentaries, geography optional (nothing else from daf). Chairman: 1) Jalgaon me Jal nahi hai, who is the man who tried to solve the problem of water for farmers in jalgaon, india (late shri bhavarlal jainji, jain irrigation) 2) how they work? What are they doing now? 3) ek hindi pop sunado gake 4) bollywood uses folk songs, music but doesn't pay them. What to be done? Is anything going in this regard? 5) creative economy what is it 6) 3 kartavyas in economic survey 7) glassknots and perestroika have you heard of them? What china learnt for USSR M1: 1) what is required to settle in space? 2) nobel laureates from India and Indian origin 3) despite huge population and different categories of prices why we are not able to win nobel. 4) anything going for curiosity based learning in India, progress in NEP in this regard. M2: 1) why farmers suicides 2) opinion about cotton import from USA 3) it will increase farmer suicide? Now what is view? 4) you are a DM mla comes to you complaining Mayor is not working what will you do? 5) you are SP, you get complaint about corruption, what will you do? M3: 1) pilotless combat. What is future? 2) Due to H1B restrictions, brain gain. What government should do? 3) did work in UAVs so why not going there? Wasting talent here. 4) India semiconductor mission. 5) shall we create NRI city ? Is it possible? M3: 1) any initiatives for promotion of Hindi internationally? 2) flight MH370 crash, why happened? What should be done to prevent this? Chairman sir: anything you would like to say? I said thanks for giving opportunity to sing. He is like Beta you earned it and by that you gave us employment 😂. Conversation mode. Chill and relax. 27 mocks including 4 peer mocks, 2 online mocks. Thanks to Quentel for arranging mocks around 10 to 12 of them like AlS ias, Sriram, raja sir cracking ias, keystone ias, ensure ias. Drishti Ias, next ias, Samkalp great experience with good questions. Thanks tou upwise for arranging 4 mocks. Had opportunity to sit with Vinod Zutshi sir, Aradhna mam both former board members. Special thanks to Shri Vivek Jain Sir from Jaipur for daf related preparation.

Name: Luna Date : 19.01.2026(FN) Board : Suman Sharma mam DAF Keywords: Forestry, Tamil Nadu, hobbies(ball badminton, bird watching) Chairman 1. How to pronounce your name? What is the meaning? 2. Ok. You are associated with Nilgiris hills, tell me another mountain range that is under threat? ( I said the Aravalli range mam) She asked could you be aware of what are issues in that Aravalli range ? 3. As a forestry graduate could you agree with the definition ? 4. Is the definition for different forest types and different ranges necessary or does it cause any environmental concerns? 5. why SC verdict is important in this matter? 6. As a forestry graduate, you have any other solutions to protect the Aravalli range from mining? 7. How to tackle illegal mining suppose you're posted in the Aravalli range? 8. If the people in the area support illegal miners, then how could you handle the situation and how will you solve the issue? 9. After your graduation, what would you do ? job or any other things. 10. What is the difference between Tamil Nadu and Goa in coastal development? Is Tamil Nadu has longer coastal line than Goa , why Goa has more beaches 11. What are the major activities along the coastal line of Tamil Nadu? Member 1 1. As India is developing nations, we aspiring for development activities which may contradict with environmental conservation. What is your view on that? 2. Suppose we need coal for our energy source, could we go for the forest to exploit coal or for import. Which is feasible ? 3. In Tamil Nadu, what is the major coal type that present ? 4. Where is that present and (some questions related to that like major coal mines, coal areas in India) 5. How lignite differs from other types? (One question I'm unable to recall) Member 2(female) 1. As you mentioned EIA(previous answer) , why it is needed? 2. But it is not efficient in ground level as it mentioned in the act. What is the difference between the provision and the ground reality ? 3. Even though renewable energy causes some environmental issues. Could you mention some issues 4. What are the subjects you covered in your graduation and what is your favourite ? 5. Tell me how many bird species till now extinct ? 6. Is ball badminton different from badminton (she mentioned one game, that I never heard) Member 3 1. Is there any legal law in the United States to arrest the Venezuela president? If yes what is the legal status ? 2. Long monologue about Operation Sindoor and asked about India stand in this matter differ from earlier stand towards Pakistan. (1- 2 questions unable to recall it) Member 4 1. Asking about forest waste and related produce? 2. How it may be useful for humans? 3. About carbon credits and related discussion? 4. Tell me one issue between Tamil Nadu and its neighbouring state? ( I told Cauvery issue) 5. What is the current status and why does it get delayed? 6. What is the supreme court recent verdict about the sharing of water? Chairman : Thank you. Overall, it is nice experience. Time: Approx 30 mins Mocks : Aram IAS Academy, Naan mudhalvan, Sankalp academy.

Name : Patria o Muerte Date :  05/02/2026, Afternoon Board : BB Swain sir DAF Keywords : Bcom , Anthropology , CAPF AC , Kerala , sketching , Strength training , mobile photography. Chairperson 1. Tribal paintings in India ? M1 ( female ) 1. Why people are feared to deposit in Banks ? 2. Mule accounts ? 3. China's threat to the world ? 4. Why US plan to annex Greenland ? 5. Golden dome ( follow up ) 6. China's threat to US ? M2    1.Adaptation financing? 2. COP 30 @ Brussels ? ( Wrong Q ) 3. Children suicide, measures? M3    1.Which phone is best for Photography? 2. Mule account ? 3. Promoter company vs Company distributed shared publicly? M4 1. Growth inflation trade off 2. Inflation? Rate ? CPI vs WPI 3. RBI measures during inflation? 4. Economic growth ? 5. US FTA issues ? 6. How india should deal with US prohibiting Russian oil purchase. Chairperson, Anything to Ask , your interview is over . Mocks : Fortune IAS , Pathways IAS , State CS Academy , Amrita IAS , Lead IAS, Samkalp IAS , Xylem IAS ,Pala CS Academy , Sankar IAS ( Kerala ) Spl thanks to Quantel for arranging various Mocks O2O : KylasNath , Jithin sir ( Lead ), Achuth sir ( fortune ) , Sunil George sir , Shinas sir ( Ilearn ).

Name:- PYTHAGORAS PATEL Date: 10/02/2026 Afternoon session, 3rd to go Board:- Dinesh Dasa sir DAF: BUNDELKHAND, ANTHROPOLOGY, UTTAR PRADESH, WATCHING TEST CRICKET AND BADMINTON , ENVIRONMENT AND WATER MINISTER IN STUDENT PARLIAMENT, BHUTAN (Rest not asked) CHAIRMAN 1. Aap Hindi medium se schooling kiye hai, aap apna parichay kaise dena chahenge? 2. Why Bundelkhand was not made a separate state during state reorganization 1956? 3. Did Bundelkhand had any princely states when we got independence ? 4. At different times, bundelkhand had different centres of culture , what was the reason? 5. What about now, UP being such a big state of around 25 crore population, is it high time we should divide it in 3 4 parts? 6. There are three approaches of tribal devlopment in india- isolation, assimilation and integration. Who proposed these approaches and what different ideas they had? 7. Which approach we follow or should follow to mainstream them and devlop them? MEMBER 1 1. Your hobby is watching test cricket? Why is it so? Do you think it is superior form of cricket or any other reason behind that? 2. Unlike cricket which after t20 cricket, it got commercialized as well as expanded to masses, why badminton didnt grow as much as the cricket? 3. We could have started IPL like tournament again (mentioned PBL in last answer) as we are performing well and won medals in Olympic that is defining moment in badminton (In last answer I said we didn't had any groundbreaking moment like 1983 world cup in badminton until 2012 medal) 4. Do you think we are performing as good as cricket in badminton? 5. You were Envt and Water minsiter in student parliament, we often talk about protecting envt which is air water soil in general terms, why we should protect it? 6. Suatinable devlopment is another thing, what if we dont want to protect it , it's our choice after all (i mentioned sustainable devlopment and moral responsibility in last answer ) 7. What direct implications we would have if we don't protect it ( i took time for thinking, chairman sir said to move ahead to next member) MEMBER 2 1. DO you know about 73rd and 74th constituational amendment. Have you read them? 2. Are these applicable in tribal areas? 3. How do we govern tribal areas then? 4. If you are made tribal secretary, how would extend a panchayat like system in tribal and scheduled areas of MP and Chattisgarh? 5. What are the problems in PESA and FRA (mentioned PESA and FRA in last answer) 6. What is the difference between all india services and central services? 7. Should we change IAS IPS as central services now? 8. You must know about postal service. Are post office still relevant in the age of email and whatsapp and should we shut them down? (Chairman sir stopped him after this que and said next member to ask) MEMBER 3 1. In tribal regions , Andman is very important place.What are the tribes there and what are their demographic and devlopmental situation? 2. Their population has been declining, how would you tackle it ? 3. They need health interventions and livelihood. I agree but they are completely isolated. It is very difficult to reach them let alone any devlopmental work. ( I got stuck in this answer, chairman sir said next member to ask ) Member 4 1. You have Bhutan in your daf , do you know what is GNH concept? 2. How many pillars are there in the GNH? 3. Should india seriously consider following the GNH model for devlopment? Chairman sir stopped him after this answer and said - Okay Thank you Patel , your interview is over. Board was cordial and made me very comfortable and it felt more like conversation than interview. Complete opposite of mock interview. Mocks: Around 13 Sankalp (similar to real one), Vajirao and reddy Unacademy Thanks to quantel for arranging many online and offline panel and o2o mocks Time:- around 27 to 30 minutes

Name: Chester Bennington 11 feb, afternoon, 3rd to go. Board: - Shri Dinesh Dasa sir Keywords: jalgaon, Maharashtra, hindi pop singing, aerospace, UAV, Flight documentaries, geography optional (nothing else from daf). Chairman: 1) Jalgaon me Jal nahi hai, who is the man who tried to solve the problem of water for farmers in jalgaon, india (late shri bhavarlal jainji, jain irrigation) 2) how they work? What are they doing now? 3) ek hindi pop sunado gake 4) bollywood uses folk songs, music but doesn't pay them. What to be done? Is anything going in this regard? 5) creative economy what is it 6) 3 kartavyas in economic survey 7) glassknots and perestroika have you heard of them? What china learnt for USSR M1: 1) what is required to settle in space? 2) nobel laureates from India and Indian origin 3) despite huge population and different categories of prices why we are not able to win nobel. 4) anything going for curiosity based learning in India, progress in NEP in this regard. M2: 1) why farmers suicides 2) opinion about cotton import from USA 3) it will increase farmer suicide? Now what is view? 4) you are a DM mla comes to you complaining Mayor is not working what will you do? 5) you are SP, you get complaint about corruption, what will you do? M3: 1) pilotless combat. What is future? 2) Due to H1B restrictions, brain gain. What government should do? 3) did work in UAVs so why not going there? Wasting talent here. 4) India semiconductor mission. 5) shall we create NRI city ? Is it possible? M3: 1) any initiatives for promotion of Hindi internationally? 2) flight MH370 crash, why happened? What should be done to prevent this? Chairman sir: anything you would like to say? I said thanks for giving opportunity to sing. He is like Beta you earned it and by that you gave us employment 😂. Conversation mode. Chill and relax. 27 mocks including 4 peer mocks, 2 online mocks. Thanks to Quentel for arranging mocks around 10 to 12 of them like AlS ias, Sriram, raja sir cracking ias, keystone ias, ensure ias. Drishti Ias, next ias, Samkalp great experience with good questions. Thanks tou upwise for arranging 4 mocks. Had opportunity to sit with Vinod Zutshi sir, Aradhna mam both former board members.

Date: 11/02/2026 Morning shift, 1st to go Board: Hon. Sanjay Verma Sir DAF: Gorakhpur, cycling event, sketching, PSIR Chairman: Say something about flowers Tell me about flowers from multi dimensional view like politics, social, economic, etc Do they have any defense mechanism? How do they protect against threats? Do they also have thorns? Do humans also have mechanism like pheromones? (I mentioned pheromone in previous answer) So this week they must be in danger. What must be reason for that? Which particular flower would be most vulnerable this week? How are you going to spend this valentine? With whom? Have you found your valentine yet? What did you had in your breakfast? How much calories it must have been? Which type of bread you ate? (Brown or milk or something else) Which company was it of? M1 (female board member) Did you notice the Mahatma gandhi statue while coming inside? What was written beneath it? What did he meant by that? What was the most important message of gandhiji? What is different about Gandhiji's non violence? You have mentioned interested in sketching, what does it mean? M2 Tell me 5 conflicts going on in the world in order of severity If you have to choose one country from our neighbourhood to focus maximum efforts on which will be most beneficial for us, which would it be? Why? But we are seeing the people of Bangladesh are having anti India sentiment, so what is your say on that? Is it possible? Have you heard of recent news about vande mataram? Are you aware of the stock market? What factors decide the bullish and bearish moves? What is market sentiment? What are recent evaluation issues in Ed tech sector? Do you know any Ed tech company which is doing good recently? What are FIIs? M3 Tell me 2 most important technology emerging in current times? How can AI help a common man? Do you use AI? How do you use it? Which AI app do use? Data is the new oil. What does it mean? Give example how the data is used by companies? Tell me about current US india relations? What do you think, the current agreement signed between India and US is good or bad for India? What about tariffs, is it justified? How much India imposed tariff on US? Trump is claiming to be peace paker, what is your view on that? But he has made board of peace for Gaza, so he is bringing peace, what will you say then? Recently he has also taken Nobel Peace Prize, do you think it is justified? Has he really been given the peace Prize or it was given by someone else? What is the significance of this peace Prize then? M4. Will you give your gold medal to someone else if he asks for it? Who conducted the cycling event? (DAF achievement) What was your approach to win that race? What was the distance you covered? In which year was it conducted? What was the deciding factor to judge the winner? Do you know the bicycle man of India? Gorakhpur is famous for what? When was geeta press established? What is it's significance? Does CM belonging to your city, helped the city? What developments have you seen under him? Chairman: thank you, your interview is over. Time: around 28 minutes

Date - 12/2/26 Board - Dasa sir Keywords - Sociology, madhya pradesh Chairperson - You must have sacrificed a lot to come at this stage in terms of social media, movies, etc. isn’t it? - since you have selected socio, tell me what interesting things you found in Indian society and western society that you were unaware of. - What are the social institutions in the indian society - What are changes faced by them due to globalisation and colonisation - Have you heard about SIR. Tell me how you as a DM would have helped people who don’t have any documents with them - Choose one district that you would like to serve (he insisted to pick one) M1 - Talked about bhopal gas tragedy, its causes, its impact on the society. Who should be held responsible? (Connected to state choice in previous question) - Indore water crisis, how you as a DM would act in that situation - Name one institution responsible for that tragedy M2 - talked about goa being an important tourist destination, reasons for that, what are the famous tourist spots there (Randomly asked) - Why there has been a decline of tourist arrivals in goa - What are the 3 steps you would take to weed out corruption at the local level? M3 - recently china had complained against India at WTO (PLI) - Talked on what was the concern, India’s response - Recently a social group turned 150 years, do you know about it? (arya samaj) - Tell some contributions of arya samaj - Tell me some other social groups present in the society which provide welfare services (said RSS) M4 - What will be the trends in old age that will seen as we move towards viksit bharat (urban and rural) - For whom are we making viksit bharat? - Have you heard of agniveer scheme? Should such scheme be brought into civil services where efficiency determines your career? Will it increase or decrease the craze of upsc among gen z? Chairperson - How will socio help you as an administrator - Is there any topic that you think we haven’t covered? Not able to recall remaining questions. Sir said he hasn’t even seen my DAF so the questions were generic. Overall a great experience (no grilling). O2O - saloni ma’am, upwise, vidyapeeth, IAS gurukul with pranay sir(extremely helpful for sociology), Ayush sir (forum IAS) Mocks- Upwise (2-3), quantel, OnlyIAS (2), SPIPA, Next IAS (2), Vajirao, Vajiram, Sriram, Shankar, Samkalp, Vision (2), StudyIQ, etc.

Date: 11/02/2026 Morning shift, 1st to go Board: Hon. Sanjay Verma Sir DAF: Gorakhpur, cycling event, sketching, PSIR Chairman: Say something about flowers Tell me about flowers from multi dimensional view like politics, social, economic, etc Do they have any defense mechanism? How do they protect against threats? Do they also have thorns? Do humans also have mechanism like pheromones? (I mentioned pheromone in previous answer) So this week they must be in danger. What must be reason for that? Which particular flower would be most vulnerable this week? How are you going to spend this valentine? With whom? Have you found your valentine yet? What did you had in your breakfast? How much calories it must have been? Which type of bread you ate? (Brown or milk or something else) Which company was it of? M1 (female board member) Did you notice the Mahatma gandhi statue while coming inside? What was written beneath it? What did he meant by that? What was the most important message of gandhiji? What is different about Gandhiji's non violence? You have mentioned interested in sketching, what does it mean? M2 Tell me 5 conflicts going on in the world in order of severity If you have to choose one country from our neighbourhood to focus maximum efforts on which will be most beneficial for us, which would it be? Why? But we are seeing the people of Bangladesh are having anti India sentiment, so what is your say on that? Is it possible? Have you heard of recent news about vande mataram? Are you aware of the stock market? What factors decide the bullish and bearish moves? What is market sentiment? What are recent evaluation issues in Ed tech sector? Do you know any Ed tech company which is doing good recently? What are FIIs? M3 Tell me 2 most important technology emerging in current times? How can AI help a common man? Do you use AI? How do you use it? Which AI app do use? Data is the new oil. What does it mean? Give example how the data is used by companies? Tell me about current US india relations? What do you think, the current agreement signed between India and US is good or bad for India? What about tariffs, is it justified? How much India imposed tariff on US? Trump is claiming to be peace paker, what is your view on that? But he has made board of peace for Gaza, so he is bringing peace, what will you say then? Recently he has also taken Nobel Peace Prize, do you think it is justified? Has he really been given the peace Prize or it was given by someone else? What is the significance of this peace Prize then? M4. Will you give your gold medal to someone else if he asks for it? Who conducted the cycling event? (DAF achievement) What was your approach to win that race? What was the distance you covered? In which year was it conducted? What was the deciding factor to judge the winner? Do you know the bicycle man of India? Gorakhpur is famous for what? When was geeta press established? What is it's significance? Does CM belonging to your city, helped the city? What developments have you seen under him? Chairman: thank you, your interview is over. Time: around 28 minutes

Date - 12/2/26 Board - Dasa sir Keywords - Sociology, madhya pradesh Chairperson - You must have sacrificed a lot to come at this stage in terms of social media, movies, etc. isn’t it? - since you have selected socio, tell me what interesting things you found in Indian society and western society that you were unaware of. - What are the social institutions in the indian society - What are changes faced by them due to globalisation and colonisation - Have you heard about SIR. Tell me how you as a DM would have helped people who don’t have any documents with them - Choose one district that you would like to serve (he insisted to pick one) M1 - Talked about bhopal gas tragedy, its causes, its impact on the society. Who should be held responsible? (Connected to state choice in previous question) - Indore water crisis, how you as a DM would act in that situation - Name one institution responsible for that tragedy M2 - talked about goa being an important tourist destination, reasons for that, what are the famous tourist spots there (Randomly asked) - Why there has been a decline of tourist arrivals in goa - What are the 3 steps you would take to weed out corruption at the local level? M3 - recently china had complained against India at WTO (PLI) - Talked on what was the concern, India’s response - Recently a social group turned 150 years, do you know about it? (arya samaj) - Tell some contributions of arya samaj - Tell me some other social groups present in the society which provide welfare services (said RSS) M4 - What will be the trends in old age that will seen as we move towards viksit bharat (urban and rural) - For whom are we making viksit bharat? - Have you heard of agniveer scheme? Should such scheme be brought into civil services where efficiency determines your career? Will it increase or decrease the craze of upsc among gen z? Chairperson - How will socio help you as an administrator - Is there any topic that you think we haven’t covered? Not able to recall remaining questions. Sir said he hasn’t even seen my DAF so the questions were generic. Overall a great experience (no grilling). O2O - saloni ma’am, upwise, vidyapeeth, IAS gurukul with pranay sir(extremely helpful for sociology), Ayush sir (forum IAS) Mocks- Upwise (2-3), quantel, OnlyIAS (2), SPIPA, Next IAS (2), Vajirao, Vajiram, Sriram, Shankar, Samkalp, Vision (2), StudyIQ, etc.

Name: OGGY Date of interview: 06/02/26 forenoon 2nd to go Board: B B Swain Sir DAF Details: Geography optional, Chemistry grad, Narrative photography, Soundscape recording, Varanasi, Disaster Management CHAIRMAN Please come in, Aiye 1. I see that you have 2 very unique hobbies, one I can understand (narrative photography) what is the other (Soundscape rec)? 2. Device used? 3. What do you do with it? LADY MEMBER 1 1. Which kind of economy will this hobby of yours (Soundscape rec) fall in - asked if she meant gig economy? - No, Orange economy - I said yes mam creative economy 2. What is happening in Iran? - Great bazaar, US intervention 3. Anything else? - I started thinking then she moved on 4. Are there any remnant of erstwhile leadership in Iran claiming power? 5. Should a country (US) intervene in domestic issues? 6. Arabian countries are not democratic, why? 7. What about the status of Afghanistan? 8. Is Iran the only Shia country? 9. Is its Shia identity a factor of instability in West Asia? MEMBER 2 1. What is the relevance of BRICS grouping as of today? 2. Where is its secreteriat? 3. Why no permanent secreteriat? Shouldn't it have a permanent one for stability? 4. What do you make out of the future of an organisation where India and China are members? 5. Disaster Management - what did you do? 6. Floods in Delhi man made or natural? 7. Why isn't govt doing if it is mostly man-made MEMBER 3 1. Why is the USA interested in Iran? 2. How to increase investments in India? 3. EoDB can also be one of the factors? (Missed in previous answer) 4. Cyber frauds, what to do apart from creating awareness? MEMBER 4 1. Honors is usually in one subject, how did you study 2? 2. Link between chem and geo 3. You're from UP, How long have you lived there? 2 good and bad things in UP (Counters) 4. There are considerably less explorations in North Pole Arctic region, what are the resources in Arctic? Chairman asked Aur kuch? Said thankyou ... Chaliye theek hai, all the best O2O: quantel Mocks: Vajirao & Reddy, Sankalp, Unacademy, Chanakya MP (almost lol, they cancelled last minute xD), PWOnlyIAS Chairman sir was in a bit of hurry (the board was running behind their schedule) but all of the members listened to each and every word of mine very carefully. Intv lasted around 25 min. M4 sir was keen to share his own experiences 😅.

Name: OGGY Date of interview: 06/02/26 forenoon 2nd to go Board: B B Swain Sir DAF Details: Geography optional, Chemistry grad, Narrative photography, Soundscape recording, Varanasi, Disaster Management CHAIRMAN Please come in, Aiye 1. I see that you have 2 very unique hobbies, one I can understand (narrative photography) what is the other (Soundscape rec)? 2. Device used? 3. What do you do with it? LADY MEMBER 1 1. Which kind of economy will this hobby of yours (Soundscape rec) fall in - asked if she meant gig economy? - No, Orange economy - I said yes mam creative economy 2. What is happening in Iran? - Great bazaar, US intervention  3. Anything else? - I started thinking then she moved on 4. Are there any remnant of erstwhile leadership in Iran claiming power? 5. Should a country (US) intervene in domestic issues? 6. Arabian countries are not democratic, why? 7. What about the status of Afghanistan? 8. Is Iran the only Shia country? 9. Is its Shia identity a factor of instability in West Asia? MEMBER 2 1. What is the relevance of BRICS grouping as of today? 2. Where is its secreteriat? 3. Why no permanent secreteriat? Shouldn't it have a permanent one for stability? 4. What do you make out of the future of an organisation where India and China are members? 5. Disaster Management  - what did you do? 6. Floods in Delhi man made or natural? 7. Why isn't govt doing if it is mostly man-made MEMBER 3 1. Why is the USA interested in Iran? 2. How to increase investments in India? 3. EoDB can also be one of the factors? (Missed in previous answer) 4. Cyber frauds, what to do apart from creating awareness? MEMBER 4 1. Honors is usually in one subject, how did you study 2? 2. Link between chem and geo 3. You're from UP, How long have you lived there? 2 good and bad things in UP (Counters) 4. There are considerably less explorations in North Pole Arctic region, what are the resources in Arctic? Chairman asked Aur kuch? Said thankyou ... Chaliye theek hai, all the best O2O: quantel Mocks: Vajirao & Reddy, Sankalp, Unacademy, Chanakya MP (almost lol, they cancelled last minute xD), PWOnlyIAS Chairman sir was in a bit of hurry (the board was running behind their schedule) but all of the members listened to each and every word of mine very carefully. Intv lasted around 25 min. M4 sir was keen to share his own experiences 😅.

Name: OGGY Date of interview: 06/02/26 forenoon 2nd to go Board: B B Swain Sir DAF Details: Geography optional, Chemistry grad, Narrative photography, Soundscape recording, Varanasi, Disaster Management CHAIRMAN Please come in, Aiye 1. I see that you have 2 very unique hobbies, one I can understand (narrative photography) what is the other (Soundscape rec)? 2. Device used? 3. What do you do with it? LADY MEMBER 1 1. Which kind of economy will this hobby of yours (Soundscape rec) fall in - asked if she meant gig economy? - No, Orange economy - I said yes mam creative economy 2. What is happening in Iran? - Great bazaar, US intervention 3. Anything else? - I started thinking then she moved on 4. Are there any remnant of erstwhile leadership in Iran claiming power? 5. Should a country (US) intervene in domestic issues? 6. Arabian countries are not democratic, why? 7. What about the status of Afghanistan? 8. Is Iran the only Shia country? 9. Is its Shia identity a factor of instability in West Asia? MEMBER 2 1. What is the relevance of BRICS grouping as of today? 2. Where is its secreteriat? 3. Why no permanent secreteriat? Shouldn't it have a permanent one for stability? 4. What do you make out of the future of an organisation where India and China are members? 5. Disaster Management - what did you do? 6. Floods in Delhi man made or natural? 7. Why isn't govt doing if it is mostly man-made MEMBER 3 1. Why is the USA interested in Iran? 2. How to increase investments in India? 3. EoDB can also be one of the factors? (Missed in previous answer) 4. Cyber frauds, what to do apart from creating awareness? MEMBER 4 1. Honors is usually in one subject, how did you study 2? 2. Link between chem and geo 3. You're from UP, How long have you lived there? 2 good and bad things in UP (Counters) 4. There are considerably less explorations in North Pole Arctic region, what are the resources in Arctic? Chairman asked Aur kuch? Said thankyou ... Chaliye theek hai, all the best O2O: quantel Mocks: Vajirao & Reddy, Sankalp, Unacademy, Chanakya MP (almost lol, they cancelled last minute xD), PWOnlyIAS Experience: https://youtube.com/shorts/kALeYsIikNk?si=zkKKdNuvFd3oLFWX Chairman sir was in a bit of hurry (the board was running behind their schedule) but all of the members listened to each and every word of mine very carefully. Intv lasted around 25 min. M4 sir was keen to share his own experiences 😅.

Name: Mukzyy Date: 12/02/26 (AN / 1st to go) Key DAF Details: Delhi, ECE Engineer, Sociology, CAG, Photography, Cloud Computing, Waste Segregation, Oratory & Public Speaking. Board: BB Swain Sir Questions asked: Chairperson (Swain Sir) Welcome, how are you doing ? So, you wrote an essay on CAG, what was it was all about ? So, what do you think about the controversies regarding the scams ? M1 (Female) So, you are from Delhi, How is Delhi faced pressure due to migrants ? How do we need to handle such pressure on Delhi due to migration ? So, you mentioned about CAG, does CAG have a federal or unitary feature ? M2 (Male) So, you worked for waste segregation, how we treat the landfills in Delhi ? How do we need to treat it ? Major issue of Delhi ? Major causes of Air pollution ? How do we tackle Air pollution ? Any country who tackled Air pollution effectively ? M3 (Male) So, you do photography ? Is it pro level or just for hobby ? You do it with professional camera or with phone ? Earlier kodak films were clear or DSLR one ? Who is your favourite photographer ? Which mobile camera is the best ? What about Oppo or vivo phones ? They have higher megapixel, don't you think they are better ? Apart from iphone, which other phone you would suggest for mobile photography ? So, do you love food being a delhiite ? So, you are from Delhi, there is a restaurent which was placed in Top 100 restaurents of the world, do you know which one was it ? So, you should go to Kareem's for their mughlai delicacy (All members started discussion to have a get together at Kareem's with laughters) So, you might have been to Indian Accent restaurent, it is good too. You are also into oratory and public speaking, have you heard of Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish speech ? Facets of Steve Jobs speech ? M4 (Male) So, you have preparing for Civil Services for a long time ? What have you been doing since so many years ? What if you do not make it into it ? So, tell me about Cloud Computing ? Can it replace Quantum Technology ? With advent of AI, is cloud computing taking a back seat ? BB Swain Sir - So, your interview is over ! Its been a long interview of 35 minutes. Do you want to ask us something ? And yes, do have that chaat from backside of UPSC. All the very best to you. Overall the board was very cordial and actively listening to my answers and having burst of laughters. It was more like a conversation rather than an interview. Panel Mocks given - 16 (Vision, Forum, Vajiram, Samkalp(Closest), NextIAS, Vajirao, PW, Unacademy, UPSCPrep, Chanakya Mandal, StudyIQ, Aptiplus, KGS, SriramIAS, GSScore, RathodIAS) + 1:1 given - 6 ( Mahesh Bhagwat Sir, Pranay Aggrawal Sir, Ayush Sir, BS Solanki Sir, Jalaj Sir, Saloni Mam, Shubham sir for the support)

Date - 12/2/26 Board - Dasa sir Keywords - Sociology, madhya pradesh Chairperson - You must have sacrificed a lot to come at this stage in terms of social media, movies, etc. isn’t it? - since you have selected socio, tell me what interesting things you found in Indian society and western society that you were unaware of. - What are the social institutions in the indian society - What are changes faced by them due to globalisation and colonisation - Have you heard about SIR. Tell me how you as a DM would have helped people who don’t have any documents with them - Choose one district that you would like to serve (he insisted to pick one) M1 - Talked about bhopal gas tragedy, its causes, its impact on the society. Who should be held responsible? (Connected to state choice in previous question) - Indore water crisis, how you as a DM would act in that situation - Name one institution responsible for that tragedy M2 - talked about goa being an important tourist destination, reasons for that, what are the famous tourist spots there (Randomly asked) - Why there has been a decline of tourist arrivals in goa - What are the 3 steps you would take to weed out corruption at the local level? M3 - recently china had complained against India at WTO (PLI) - Talked on what was the concern, India’s response - Recently a social group turned 150 years, do you know about it? (arya samaj) - Tell some contributions of arya samaj - Tell me some other social groups present in the society which provide welfare services (said RSS) M4 - What will be the trends in old age that will seen as we move towards viksit bharat (urban and rural) - For whom are we making viksit bharat? - Have you heard of agniveer scheme? Should such scheme be brought into civil services where efficiency determines your career? Will it increase or decrease the craze of upsc among gen z? Chairperson - How will socio help you as an administrator - Is there any topic that you think we haven’t covered? Not able to recall remaining questions. Sir said he hasn’t even seen my DAF so the questions were generic. Overall a great experience (no grilling). O2O - saloni ma’am, upwise, vidyapeeth, IAS gurukul with pranay sir(extremely helpful for sociology), Ayush sir (forum IAS) Mocks- Upwise (2-3), quantel, OnlyIAS (2), SPIPA, Next IAS (2), Vajirao, Vajiram, Sriram, Shankar, Samkalp, Vision (2), StudyIQ, etc.

Date 12-2-26 Name- XYZ Board ,BB SWAIN FIRST TO GO IN Keywords -sociology, mechanical engineering,palghar , CHAIRPERSON (ONLY one question) tell me something about palghar All members- 1)infra growth in Maharastra any 5 recent 2)mumbai new coastal city project something related to song( don't know) 3)caste inequality reasons and what will u do 4) what will u do for development of palghar 5) ur view on ews reservation 6)marathi literature and films 7)do u think crisis makes people come together and stability creates tensions give example(couldn't answer accurate) 8) is europenisatio failing in near future 9)shld dhoni retire , 10) who is better vk or sachin as a role 11)ur views on weakning social bonds in urban areas 12)why sociology after engineering 13)what steps have been taken to reduce caste inequality 14) ur views on maratha pride initiatives of Balasaheb Thackeray,how will u define 15)will u justify his action of violence 16)why male from upper caste rape female from lower caste 17 ) any recent honour killing incident 18)where do flamigos come in Maharashtra (i couldn't answer) 19)ur views on jobless growth and what could be done(ok answer 20) whats ur plan b what if u fail 21) ur view on vadhavan port and why protest was carried out. 22)what are wetlands and ramsar convention 2-3 more ques were there Couldn't remember more 😅 Only one question was repeated from mocks Overall board was very cordial and was interview was DAF based Total 14 mocks Ekam(ver poor) Next ias(good Vision ias (good Sankalp ias (good Vajiram (good Sriramias ,career will, quantel ,vision IAS SIAC No mock is comparable to real interview O2o- sriram sir ,upwise ,pw only ias Special thanks for Mahesh bhagwat sir whatsapp group for helping in ca, and providing platform

Interview Transcript for Community ✅ Name: monk_mishra Date: 11 Feb, 2026 (1st to go) Board: Hon. BB Swain Sir DAF Keywords: Deputy Collector (WB), Jadavpur University, Football, Civil Engg, History Optional, Work Ex- Data Science Chair: What is this designation: Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector? Are you involved in SIR? What is it? Are we using some software? M1: What is meditative writing? -Explain ML in one line? -What did you do in job as Biz Analyst? -What is US Deal? -At which stage is it? (couldn’t answer) -Who is at loss? -What is pulses clause? -Why Civil Services and why not go to USA for MNC? specifically asked me to not to quote coaching wala Answer 🙂 M2: Name a famous alumni of JU? (Said couple of names, but he was not satisfied…….Finallly Sir said Satyajit Ray) -Asked me about 2-3 bengali poems but I could not answer. -What makes Bengal Great? -When was JU founded? Role in independence. -Pre Engineered and pre fabricated structure difference? -why are we not using it? -why still on site construction? -what is AI Summit? Did you read newspaper today? What is recent SC verdict on that? M3: Why Football so backward in India? -What are the reasons? (I kept answering he was not satisfied) -bridge failure reasons? -Energy is commodity or weapon? Give an example M4: Why cities are so congested? -why are not able to solve them? -do you know Chinese history? American History? SE Asia? (Said maam to some extent) -What is Chip War? -Which country has 90% Renewable Energy? -Which countries are invinsible in Chip War? -Can we localize data? Can Google be forced to localize data? M2 Again- Recent SGI Ruling on AI Content (30 minute takedown) Lastly Swain Sir said, should we ask you something more? What had you prepared for this interview? Mocks Verdict: SNTCSSC of WB Govt (Best) NextIAS (Good) PWOnlyIAS (Bad) Apti Plus (Average) O2O: Bassi Sir (confidence booster) B Singh Sir (must for Civil Engg) Sriram Sir (average) Most important: Help and Guidance from Seniors and Friends in service Some DAF Questions from Edge IAS and Apti Plus.

Would you change it or retain. (I’ll retain it sir) 30. One rule in cricket you’d change of given a chance? (In case of tie in super over, bowl out should be next tie breaker instead of one more superover, to make game more fun and bowler friendly) 31. Since you are already working, tell me How is increasing Technology impacting workplace? 32. What are its effects on Workplace relations among colleagues? 33. Is technology leading to too much stress? (I mentioned increased screentime both in private life and worklife) 34. You like collecting books. You walk around the city and you see Pirated books being sold. Do you support it? (I said no as the author has put lots of hardwork, labour and research into publishing it and also its an offence under Copyright Act) 35. But it also increases the spread among public, more people will read it. Its good right? (Said less cost doesn’t justify the wrong. If cost is the criteria, we can get original titles at low prices. Mentioned Blossoms bookhouse in Bangalore) 36. One final time i ask you: do you support it or not? (I stuck to not supporting) M4: (Female) 37. Without Gandhiji, the independence could have been achieved earlier or it would have been delayed further? (I said delayed. Asked for reasons for it) 38. Mention four important Stalwarts instrumental in Freedom Struggle. (Mentioned Gandhi, Bose, Sarojini Naidu and Azad) 39. Pick one. I said i have followed BR ambedkar (i wanted to avoid History Questions) 40. Ambedkar was involved more towards Constitution making, so pick only among the four you mentioned. (I chose SC Bose) 41. Why was SC Bose isolated during the freedom movement? 42. What would have happened if Bose had survived longer? how would it impact Freedom Movement? 43. What is one constitutional provision that protects the Civil Servants? (I couldn’t remember art 311, she said its alright, just tell me what it says. So described it) 44. Article related to UPSC (article 315 to 323) Chairman intervened and said Thank you, your interview is over. Thanked the chairperson and members and wished them a nice day! Mocks: VisionIAS Samkalp NEXTIAS (best ones), Unacademy VajiramRavi (decent), Vajirao and PWOnlyIAS (okayish) (Yet the actual interview coverage of Qs were totally different, no overlap of any question except Belagavi Dispute) Overall i felt the Questions were very on-the-spot kind, more commonsensical and rapidfire type. History questions were a bit difficult for me to answer. Overall decent experience. The environment was very relaxed. I had a smile throughout. Members were very jolly and good mood. (One member mentioned they played cricket in the morning, thats why more cricket based Qs).