Interview Transcripts (CSPT-2025)

Name - Khwaabeeda Date - 18 February 2026 Chairman - Sanjay Verma sir Afternoon session 6th to go Duration - 30 minutes Relevant DAF Keywords - Running, Trekking, Ambikapur, Sainik School, Chhattisgarh, Chemical Engineering, Varanasi, NITI Aayog, Internship Chairman 1. You run. Where do you run? 2. Himalayan trekking. If you were to trek the Himalayas in India from Western end to Eastern end, what would be its length?. 3. You come from Ambikapur. How big a city is this? 4. What's your favourite dish from Ambikapur. What is it made up of? How's it made? 5. How much of this dish is consumed in Ambikapur in a day? 6. Which newspaper do you read usually? 7. There is something very special about today's Indian Express's op-ed page. Did you notice? Newspaper is right behind you. Bring it up. (Opened the op-ed page) M1 1. You studied in a Sainik School. What's the objective of Sainik School? 2. Have you heard of RMC 3. What's the difference between RMC & Sainik School 4. What's the difference in their objectives? 5. You did this internship. How did you land it? 6. How many interns were there? 7. What did you do? 8. If you get into administration, what learning would you implement from your internship experience? 9. You did chemical engineering. How would it help in administration? 10. But these are lessons from any of the enginnering. Don't you think you ate away the seat of someone who wanted to study Chemical engg 11. What did you study in chemical engg which would help you? M2 1. You are from Jabalpur? 2. MP was a part of BIMARU states. Do you think it still is? 3. So, is Chhattisgarh's PCI more than that of MP? 4. What has Chhattisgarh done for better PCI? 5. How has Chhattisgarh tackled Naxalism? M3 (Lady member) 1. What's the mandate of NITI Aayog? 2. What is the difference between NITI Aayog & Planning Commission? 3. So, are financial powers bad? Isn't it good that there is a completely separate body for taking financial decisions? 4. President Trump wants to take over Panama canal. Do you know why? 5. Panama canal connects which two oceans? 6. Pollution hurts economy. How? M4 1. You spent 4 years in Varanasi. What are the best 5 places according to you? 2. 3 things you like about Varanasi & 3 things you don't like 3. Your internship project, was it taken up by any startup? 4. How do you see the startup culture of India? 5. So, do you think it is good? Mocks - Samkalp, NextIAS, Vajirao & Reddy, Vajiram & Ravi, PW, OnlyIAS, KSG, Shriram IAS, Vision, StudyIQ, Forum IAS, Quantel O2O - Shriram sir, B Singh sir (Next IAS), Ayush sir (Forum IAS), Khan sir (Purane wale), Mahesh Bhagwat sir, Jawad Kazi sir, Anjani sir (Vision IAS) Umesh Reddy sir's group discussions.

Name : Alpha Board : sheelvardhan sir Daf keywords: civil engineering, sociology Environment documentaries Chairman. 1. Tell me about way to develop urban area in tier two cities . ( Answer included info about smart cities) 2. Asked me about smart cities mission. 3. Do you think there is need of smart villages . ( I gave answer regarding communication infra and rural co-op) 4 . Do you think these specialistic models work these days M2. Asked me about solid waste management problems and problems. Series of questions regarding same . M3 . 1. Tell me how to develop coastal tourism in Karnataka. 2. Bangalore is largest contributor to Karnataka gdp, there is skewed development.( Opinion ) 3. Banglore is also facing massive urban infra challenges , do you still think it is necessary for to share resources with other districts. M4. 1 . Political issues in Karnataka 2 . Tell me recently watched environmental documentary ( I told about antartica. Encounter at the end of this world referring to nihalist penguin) i 3. Tell me about Indian environmental documentary 4 . You are a civil engineer. Why civil services. M5. Asked me about same solid waste management. With long monologue.

Name - AKW PT date - 11th Feb 2026 Forenoon session second to go President of the board - Sanjay Varma Sir DAF details - Deoria, Chauri chaura Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, Anthropology, my surname, civil engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, 1st attempt and interests in reading about human evolution. President ( Smiling face ) 1- Have you ever been to Nizamuddin Auliya dargah 2- What is unique about it? 3- Have you visited to Humayun tomb 4- It's museums and about the museum 5- You have interest in human evolution tell me about this book titled ‘Early Indians’ 6- What are the reasons that our species are superior and have survived  7- Do you think brain size will continue to increase in future  8- You said it will not increase because of the two reasons. Then will it shrink? 9- You said it will not shrink then do you believe that the six people sitting on this table are the most intelligent people in the world or for that matter humans of the 21st century will be the most intelligent human species ever lived. And the generation to come will be of lesser intelligence as you mentioned that we have outsourced data to other devices instead of storing it in our minds. 10- Tell me scholars in human evolution studies from India and the world 11- Have you heard about Richard leaky  Lady member 1 (Smiling) 1- What is chauri chaura famous for  2- You are very young what you will bring to the civil services 3- What does this word Fastrack means as you said 4- Looking at your DAF you have expertise in civil engineering then why you are coming to civil services you can have good work atmosphere and  a lot to do in private or anywhere else 5- Tell two weaknesses you have  6- Mam read about my places of schooling to graduation and said you have moved a lot in life from Village to Delhi 7- then she asked few more questions  Member 2  (Face without much expression of smile or even nodding)  1- Tell me what india is doing in space com, chairman sir helped me to understand that tell about India's space program led by ISRO  2- Asked about Drone technology in India and related scheme 3- What is drone didi scheme (member 1 helped me in answering) 4- What are the issues in aviation sector in India 5- What else could have been done if you will be made minister of civil aviation apart from what already DGCA and MoCA did 6- In indigo crisis who was responsible and anything else you can recommend in that case  Member 3 (His facial expressions where negative I felt like he was not satisfied with my answers) 1- Nowadays we see everyone is taking Anthropology as optional. What are the reasons ? 2- You said personal reasons how can it be  3- You have done civil engineering and then took Anthropology why so 4- You don't want to read what you have already read, but you can score better in your domain. 5- Why this sudden interest in anthropology  6- Let's move on to human evolution, why we survived and others faced extinction 7- Tell me human evolution in nutshell  8- He asked few more questions  Member 4 ( his expressions were normal sometimes nodding and sometimes smiling)  1- India is the capital of accidental death on roads what are the reasons for it 2- Do you think civic sense is only responsible for it 3- What could be done to reduce accidents 4- He asked few more questions I am unable to recollect  5- My last question to you is Earlier you said that you will Fastrack administration then tell me whether you will do things fast or do it correct  President said your interview is over best of luck I said thank you and left the room to eat some choco pie Mocks given - including offline online and 1:1 Vajirao and reddy, vision ias, samkalp, next ias, upwise, ekam , vajiram, dhristi ias, saarthi ias, unacademy, study iq , pwonly ias etc

MentorAID STUDENT 👇👇👇👇👇👇 Name: Unshaken Board: Hon Raj Shukla sir board Daf keywords: TN, Mandala colouring, Information technology - others not asked Date: 18.02.2026 Aftn - 3rd to go Chairman sir 1. So you are an IT graduate? What did IT teach you? 2. AI is writing codes? So as stated by a famous CEO, his entire technical knowledge is overrode by AI. What do you think of it? 3. Do you know about self- recursive learning in AI? 4. Can AI orchestrate a cyberattack in the future? If so what can be do about it? 5. If US and China fight over tech supremacy, how can we bring consensus in AI regulation? 6. So IT is the most dangerous degree ever designed? You have designed a system which destroys your work? What's your say on it? 7. What is tik tok- social media platform or any other application? A monologue on its impact in US? Is it banned yet in India? Member 1 1. I have visited Tamilnadu a few times? Why there is anti-Hindi sentiment widespread in the state? 2. Your native belongs to Tanjore? Tell me about its speciality? 3. I have said it as granary of South india? So why it became that? 4. Why south indian powers especially cholas weren't able to sustain their culture in Southeast asia? 5. I have they said. But why not compared to Jaffna in Srilanka? Member 2 1. Scenario based qn - You are appointed as district collector where a creek separates district into halves? One half has good medical facilities while the others not. So what would you do to bridge the gap- coming to the other side takes around 20-30kms or else construct a new dam which is not feasible economically? 2. And follow-ups on that 3. What is mandala colouring- it looks interesting? 4. Where are its origin traced to? Member 3 1. Your name resonates a famous political personality of Bangladesh- former PM Sheikh Hasina? Why we provide asylum despite the fact that it strained our indo-ban relationship ? 2. Can we shift her to another country like UK instead of directly providing safe asylum? 3. And some followups on that 4. What is scheduled language and how many are they? How many classical languages are there and is tamil one among them? Member 4 1. Followup on anti Hindi issue. So politicisation is major issue behind anti Hindi stance of TN? 2. Do you prefer learning multiple languages espcially Hindi? 3. Followup on Sheikh Hasina- Can the context of providing asylum be interpreted in the design of long term picture ie taking into context that she could come back to power? 4. So if you are a district collector of southern district of TN, how could you solve the water issue? A few qns I could not remember. Overall the board was cordial and the experience was good. Mocks: Aram IAS academy (Chennai), Manidhaneyam IAS academy (Chennai), Only IAS O2O: Utkarsh Shukla Sir(MentorAid) whose guidance was very helpful in structuring answers logically and analytically Tamizhvendan Sir(IRS) whose guidance was immensely helpful

Name: Culer Date : 17/2/2025 Dinesh Dasa Sir Board, last to go. 25-30 minutes. Key DAF details: Civil Engineering, History, Bits Pilani Hyderabad Campus, E.Champaran, Bihar, Cricket, rest not asked. Questions asked: *Chairman Sir* Complimented me on my suit first as I entered and sat down. 1) 3 Civil Engg structures which changed geopolitics and history. 2) Why did Indian rulers did not safeguard Bolan pass taking example from Great wall of china. 3) 21st century had RTI, RTE, Mnrega, name some 20th century interventions by GOI, here I couldn't think so sir provided hints and I followed up. *M1* 1) Sugar Mills in Bihar, what's the problem and as Agri Secretary what steps will you take to solve it. Some discussion followed on this. 2) Champaran Satyagraha significance, Sir cut me short and asked me some factual ques. 3) Who brought Gandhiji to Champaran. 4) Where did he stay in Champaran first. 5) Name the system prevalent there. 6) Ashokan Pillar at Areraj and it's relation with Indian National emblem. *M2* 1) Champaran has famous foods like Meat, Litti chokha, one other food is famous but not outside Bihar. I asked sir, he said KHAJA, short answer and discussion on this. 2) Concept of Yellow Emperor. 3) What does China call the regions of Xinjiang, Tibet and Mongolia. What are they doing there. 4) Should we rename places like china is doing. Example, Hind Mahasagar for Indian Ocean. *M3* 1) Civil Engg structures specially bridges in Bihar, Bhopal and Mumbai are facing flak, what's the issue. 2) What can be done and some follow-up. 3) India-Pakistan match and politics, what is your opinion on it. After my answer, M2 remarked Oh you want Aman ki Asha. *M4* 1) Are you God respecting or God fearing. 2) What's the origin of Hinduism 3) Dharma, artha, kaam, moksha - what are they. 4) Repo Rate and Inflation discussion. 5) Why History after Civil Engg. After my answer, he said then why choose Civil Engg. if you were interested in History in school. 6) Why Civil services? You can be a politician, sit in legislature and make laws, that'll have more impact than a civil servant. Can't recollect a few questions. Overall it was deeply daf based and factual which led to discussion. I was nervous in some moments but overall high quality of questions and good experience. Mocks : Spipa Ahmedabad (3) NextIAS, SamkalpIAS (2), ChanakyaMandal, Special thanks to friends who helped and prepared with me. Always grateful to senior officers, who were always helpful with my childish doubts. Derived benefits from transcripts, cspt community, interacting with friends. Jai Ram Ji ki🙏🙏

Name : flyinglifeeee Interview date : 11/02/25 Third to go Optional- psir Daf keywords: Meerut, journalism, crime (rest not asked) Board: Lt gen Raj shukla sir board Chairman So you were news journalist? Where did you work? What current you doing? Phd topic? Area of interest? What is soft power? Why soft power india projecting? Can india stop or hurt china in indian ocean? What is supply chain? What is net security provider? Should india focus on hard power also? Should india afraid of taiwan annexation by china? How are directly impacted? Give reasons Now every country doing that? What is vasudhaiva Kutumbakam? It is going against india ? Member 1- Main problems of meerut and their solution as a dm? Steps needed to become viksit bharat? Water ? Analyse in indian context? Your steps Faction politics? Member 2- Is media true to its nature. Are they showing realty of society? Why only electronic media even print media is biased these days? Why not showing true news? Should india continue with soft power? Which is more imp hard power or soft power? How to increase our capablity of hard power ? Analyse the relations of india with neighbouring countries? How to deal with china? Member3- Communal violence how would you solve? What about leaders who spread hate? Subsidy is it fair? Are not we making people dependent on subsidy? They are getting free ration but not working ? Member 4- Development journalism Washington Post removing people ? As ab administrator would u allow dalai lama in Arunachal Pradesh? What is crime in india ? Why rape crime not going down. Give 2 reasons. What needs to be done? More than 90% crime involve known one. How to tackle that? Is there any report which provide data? What about person who do crime without any intention just for fun? How to tackle them? Overall board was really cordial. Mocks: Pw only ias, vajirav and reddy, sriram ias, shankar ias, Gs score, sankalp (3 here) , als and one more ( arranged by quantel), chankya One to one: pw only ias Special thanks to shinas sir (ilearn IAS)

Name: PD Date: 23/02/2026 Forenoon, 1st to go. Key DAF Details: BDS, Kheda, Ahmedabad, PSIR, Sports (Kho-Kho, Badminton, Pickleball) Board: Lt Gen. Raj Shukla Sir Chairman 1. Have you been practicing dentistry? 2. Why civil services? 3. India is doing well regarding women’s representation. What is it that still lacks women’s representation in every sphere? 4. Tell me about the Epstein files. Many famous personalities are involved in them. On one side, they talk about women’s empowerment, and on the other side… (monologue continued) ⸻ Member 1 1. Our residential society is also going to have a pickleball court. Explain the game. How is it played? 2. Where do you play pickleball? 3. Why PSIR? 4. One line each on Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. 5. Whom do you choose? (I said Socrates — “An unexamined life is not worth living.”) 6. In administration, whom would you choose? ⸻ Member 2 1. Now listen carefully. There is a quote about the Iraq War: “If we take it morally, it is not illegal; if we take it legally, it is not moral.” What do you understand by this? 2. Who said “Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed”? 3. Explain your name (PD) in one line. ⸻ Member 3 1. Why does society prefer private institutions for primary education, but government institutions for higher education? 2. What is your understanding of education? 3. How will you ensure quality education if you are posted in a socioeconomically backward district? 4. If you are posted there for only two years, how will you ensure that your efforts do not go in vain? 5. The history of dentistry — is there any early evidence of surgery? Where do we find that evidence? 6. What is your idea of success? ⸻ Member 4 1. You are very interested in sports. Tell me, are we doing enough for women sportspersons? 2. Do you think freebies are the easiest populist policy to win elections? 3. What are the implications of freebies? 4. Do you support freebies? ⸻ Mock Interviews Attended: SPIPA (Ahmedabad), Sankalp, PW Only IAS, Unacademy, VajiRao, Sriram, TathastuIAS. Special thanks to KK Jalan Sir, Vivek Sir (Symbiosis IAS), and Satyendra Sir. Thank you All.

#FR_CSM2025 most likely on 03/03.

Name- S.B.S.B.S.B. Board- Hon'ble Sheel Vardhan sir Date- 17th February Chairman- 1. What were the conclusions of your research project on Persons with Visual impairment (PVI) 2. I have read this - "PVI are most privileged within PwD" Do you agree. (Cross questions on this) Female Member 1. Full form of LGBTQ (word in DAF) 2. Difference between Queer and transgender. 3. What do for the people on those on road. 4. What will you do as an administrator. Member 2 1. Monologue on Naxalism - What are the major pillars of strategy to counter it. 2. Use on tech in countering Naxalism. 3. FRA craims by people are genuine or not. 4. You as an administrator deploying a team to counter it. Member 3 1. Being a Trans is a Physiological or Psychological (follow up questions) 2. What would you as US President would do. Member 4. 1. Some areas that you can want work particularly with. 2. Women empowerment. 3. Challenges that they face. Chairman gave me the opportunity to ask a question - I asked why are the Previous two generations apprehension and distrustful towards GenZ. All of them replied - 1-2 points. Overall cordial board. Gratitude note- 1. Biggest Thanks to my Guide, Friend philosopher- my mentor in the entire journey- Faisal Hussain sir. 2. Big thanks to Sumit Kapoor sir for his help. 3. Big thanks to Mushtafa Ali Shah sir (Forum IAS) 4. Big thanks to college professors for their help and guidance. 5. Big thanks to Mahesh Bhagwat sir was DAF discussion and materials on Group. 6. Big Thanks to Shubham Agarwal Sir for his informative videos and discussion on the group. 7. Most heartiest thanks to my peer group and all my friends who prayed and wished me. Mocks- Samkalp, Vajirao and Reddy, Forum IAS, Sriram IAS (team Quantel), Chanakya Madal parivar. One to one with - Ravi Kapoor sir (delighted and happy to talk to him).

Chairperson: 1. So you have worked at NITI Aayog. (I told him that I had interned there. I thought he would ask about the research topic but as they said too much economics had already been asked.) It has been 10 years since the organisation was established, but the building is the same, what changes did you notice in the working? How is it different from the Planning Commission? Do you think NITI Aayog is grounded to reality? I answered all of these and also mentioned the experts involved in the body as well as the role of advisers, young professionals, interns etc. and the various verticals under which work is carried out. Further elaboration along these lines drawing from my experience and what we generally study for mains 2. Sir looked at the panel members and recounted the days of the Planning Commission and how their officials would be welcomed in states to secure funding while this doesn't happen anymore. Then he asked me if NITI Aayog holds any significance when it no longer has any financial devolution powers. I gave my rationale. At the end there was more discussion wherein he was happy to hear that it was a good thing that the organisation was no longer of a political nature and purely an advisory body Duration: 25-30 minutes Vastly different from any mocks but they were quite helpful in terms of getting used to putting forth your opinions in front of multiple senior people. The actual personality test seemed to be more of an analytical nature wherein a single topic was discussed in depth rather than several topics at surface level, but I suppose that's down to one's luck and varies from board to board, person to person, day to day Special thanks to Mahesh Bhagwat sir (IPS) for sharing interview-relevant news and content on the WhatsApp group; the DAF discussion with him gave much needed clarity. Immensely grateful to all the civil servants who provided me with their guidance and support throughout this process, especially Rekha Raikar ma'am (ICAS), D Sai Amutha Devi ma'am (IP&TAFS), Alok Pande sir (IPoS), Manoj Kumar sir (IRS), Sanjana Arya ma'am (IFS), and Shubhankar Pathak sir (IAS)

Date: 18/02/2026 Key DAF Details: Economics graduation and optional, following international affairs as hobby, Chinese language, NITI Aayog (nothing else asked) Board: Dinesh Dasa sir Questions asked: Chairperson: 1. Asked me to introduce myself and why I was learning Chinese 2. Asked about the Nixon shock. I hadn't heard of the term so sir mentioned Bretton Woods and the system that followed, then asked me about that. When I got to the point of US President Nixon shutting the gold window he explained that that was what he was asking in the first place. I thanked him for this information 3. Discussion on the currency exchange rate system after this point in history to the present 4. Gave a monologue on Indian women keeping more gold than several countries' central banks, then asked if the government could do something to leverage the sky high market prices of gold and monetise the same. I recounted the South Korean example of a similar activity in 1997 during the IMF crisis (although that involved donation), talked about offering gold loans for idle assets so as to boost consumption in the economy, but also the fact that there is an emotional angle attached to Indian women keeping gold as savings so they may not part with it easily. Somehow despite a long conversation on this sir kept countering but he was smiling throughout the interview Member 2: 1. Said it wasn't related to the interview but asked why I was wearing a blazer over a saree. I had seen this question before in a transcript but at the time I could only say that it was cold today (since it had rained early in the morning). Sir laughed and said me too 2. Discussion on Quad and its wavering momentum, whether we should continue in the present form or head towards securitisation. Counter questions on the same. When I tried to take a middle path (because I genuinely felt so) and explained my rationale, he said China is already hostile towards all so why not go for full securitisation. I said something along the lines of preventing undue conflict would be in the best interest of all 3. Asked about some naval event happening in South India. Somehow I completely skipped the full page ad in the newspaper talking about it which didn't go down very well. Conversation went on regarding maritime security 4. Long discussion regarding the Board of Peace and whether I think it will be successful or not Member 3: 1. Asked if I know the amount of gold that male and female individuals can hold (I couldn't remember the exact value) then told me himself. A follow up question on this that I can't remember 2. Monologue on how 99.5% of candidates fail and yet people keep wasting their youth on UPSC (perhaps because it was my 4th attempt). Asked what can be done about this so I answered both from the perspective of one of these aspirants as well as an economist's but his expression was changing the entire time so I don't know if he was satisfied with the answer [After this Dasa sir said that I can leave. I found it quite strange because two panel members hadn't asked anything. As I stood up to leave, the other panel members pointed out that fact as well so they asked me to sit down again] Member 4: 1. Wanted to know why USD is the world's reserve currency and which grouping has been talking about challenging that. (At this point Dasa sir said we've already asked too much of economics so you can choose another topic if you want. Since I knew the theme I went with it.) 2. Again wanted to know why I was learning Chinese but kept interrupting [Member 5 didn't ask anything. Dasa sir said that he was a professor of economics so he only observes those with a background in the subject and doesn't ask anything to them. Again he said that I can leave but there was probably some time left so discussion started once again]

Name: Shaun the Sheep Date: 16.02.26 Forenoon session, last to go DAF: Permaculture, Social Fiction on Menstrual Awareness, Agriculture (Rest not relevant) BOARD: Hon'ble Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla Chairman 1) Is agriculture your area of interest? 2) Recent agriculture related issue wrt USA-India deal- why are farmers protesting? 3) India protects it's farmers too much- isn't it high time to open our market? 4) Long monologue on RCEP. Tell me is Russian oil bought by Indians decreasing? 5) Do you think it'll go down to zero to ensure the 25% tariff doesn't return? (Long monologue on- how Kremlin is upset and ties with Russia are important) 6) Would you buy oil if you were MoPNG Secretary? (Monologue on diplomatic answer vs practical reality difference) 7) How do we solve the russia ukraine war? 8) How do we get Russia to Freeze the fighting? M1 1) You are from Hometown. How are you? How is Hometown? I see you've studied in some of the best schools in the area. 2) As the DM of Hometown what is one issue you would focus on solving? 3) As someone from NE adjacent area- what are five changes you've seen in past fifteen years vs now. 4) Let's look at Manipur- what caused the Kuki Meitei crisis? 5) Are hills always a focal point of unrest? 6) Why did they have weapons if lack of access is truly an issue? 7)Why isn't tribal protection status enough? 8) What is permaculture? 9) How does it help our farmers? 10) You studied math in 12th- how are mathematical skills used to study social issues? 11) Branch of math that does this? 12) What is God particle? M2 1) Operation Sindoor- name of weapons? 2) Was s400 used? What is that? 3) Why did india agree to buy Rafale jets and not Russian Jets despite promise of tech transfer? 4) What was the global defense learning from Operating Sindoor? 5) Chicken neck Siliguri corridor- what is the govt doing to fortify it? 6) Any air base in Siliguri? 7) Name specific airforce assets in that air base? M3 1) So, what is contract farming? 2) Why don't the farmers want contract farming? 3) You mentioned pine nuts with the chairman. Can contract farming help the US-India trade deal? 4) If you had to pick yes or no- what would you say to contract farming? 5) Now, if you were the DM of a district with small and marginal farmers- how would you introduce it? M4 1) The book you've written- tell me about it? 2) How would you raise menstrual awareness as a DM specifically applying the learnings from your book? Chairman was in grilling mode. Rest members were cordial. Panel Mocks- Vision IAS (Faculty+ Bureaucratic), Samkalp IAS, Next IAS, PW OnlyIAS. O2O- PW Only IAS DAF Session- IPS Mahesh Bhagwat sir.

Name: PQR Date: 20/02/26 Board: Hon'ble Sanjay Verma sir DAF Keywords: History, JNU, World War, Bihar, Chess, dark humor fiction. Hon'ble Chairman Sir 1. Your name is interesting, what does it mean in English? 2. Can you name 5 Indian brands that are trustworthy? 3. Is hon'ble PM a brand? 4. You're from JNU. One good and one bad thing about JNU. 5. Why is medieval Indian history such a politically charged subject today? 6. Is there something positive about medieval history? 7. Let's play fact or fiction: India's share of global GDP during Mughals was 24%. I said yes. He asked why are Mughals criticised then. Isn't it a good thing? (I focused on marxist critique of Mughal oppressive revenue regime). 8. I'll name 3 people, you have to mention what they do: Swapna Liddle, (rest 2 I forgot and had never heard of them) 9. Have you read Subaltern history? Who is your favorite Subaltern historian? (I answered Ranajit Guha. ) 10. There was no other great subaltern historian after Ranajit Guha? 11. Have you reaad anything by Ramchandra Guha? What did he write about? M1: 1. There are famous people by your name, can you name one? 2. What is the problem with Marxist historiography? 3. Distinguish between imperialist, nationalist and marxist historiography. 4. Compare administrative system of Mauryas, Mughals and British. Which one do you like and why? 5. What is bullet chess and what is blitz chess? 6. What do you know about sufi movement? M2: 1. I will give you 2 dates regarding world war. Tell me what happened on these dates. 1/09/1939 and 6/08/1945 2. "Those who donot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. " Give any contemporary development where this applies. 3. Was world war 2 caused because of weakening of League of Nations or there were other factors as well? What were those? 4. We are giving free food to 80 cr people. What's our total population? 5. Do you think we should feel happy about this that we are giving free food to so many people? M3: 1. What's your opinion on Shri Karpoori Thakur ji? What was his contribution? 2. Which other leader do you think has done great things for Bihar? (I told present hon'ble CM) He asked whether he should be given Bharat Ratna. 4. Why is Bihar so underdeveloped? 5. How to tackle flood? 6. But we cannot stop the water from moving. So what are some other solutions? 7. Long monologue on Tibet's history. Asked specific events before 1947 that shaped developments regarding Tibet. (I Said sorry sir) 8. Long monologue on Wahabism. Asked why was there a push for reform within Islam. (Said sorry) 9. What steps is govt taking for cyber security in India? M4: 1. What's your role in EPFO? 2. What are human rights? 3. Does our Constitution have human rights? (Didn't seem satisfied with my answer, so I said sorry sir) 4. You're from JNU. Why so many anti national activities. Hon'ble Chairman sir: 1. Okay, any recommendations you'd give us regarding Dark humor fiction? 2. Any movie recommendations (Told Gangs of Wasseypur, and everybody laughed.) Thank you. Overall: cordial board. Mocks given: Pwonlyias, visionias, samkalp, spipa, nextias No mock was close to the real interview.

Name: Harvey Specter Board: Sheel Vardhan Sir 13th February 2026, Afternoon Session, 2nd to go DAF Pointers: NIT, Idea Cellular, PSIR, Climate Change, West Asia, JNU Chairperson 1. We see that you are interested in studying Climate Change in West Asia. Why only West Asia? 2. What is so peculiar about West Asia? 3. What is the impact of Climate Change on North East India? 4. Rivers change their course every now and then, how is it related to climate change? 5. Suppose we have to weaponize climate change and make climate weapons, deploy it on China and Pakistan, how will you do it? Member 1 (Female) 1. You did engineering, then Masters and now pursuing a PhD, why have you taken so many things? 2. You have been to both NIT and JNU. If you have to compare and give me differences, what are these? Member 2 1. We see that in the name of democracy, the USA has engaged itself militarily all across the world. How would you react to this statement? Few questions and counter questions on this, which I am unable to recall at this moment. 2. Many professors from JNU are not that much supportive with respect to the Civil Services Examination. What is your view on this? 3. We have heard about "What and Idea Sirji". What was it all about? Who was the main character in it? Member 3 1. Suppose you have to fight an election, what all do you need? 2. Why do you need a team (as I mentioned in my previous answer) 3. In student politics fighting elections is generally considered as anti-establishment. Are you an anti-establishment person? (I disagreed with a smile and gave my reasons why I am not anti-establishment) 4. What do you know about the artillery guns? 5. What is the difference between the artillery guns and rifle guns? Member 4 1. Climate change is a regular natural phenomenon on the earth, what is so special about it this time? 2. How many extinctions have we seen on the earth? A bit of discussion on this aspect. 3. What is the impact of climate change on other plantery things? 4. USA has been engaged in military incursions be it Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. But it has never been victorious. What is your take on this? Why does the USA keep on doing this even though they have faced defeats? Had a very engaging discussion with the board. Sheel Vardhan Sir was very attentive throughout and was keenly listening to the discussion with other members. Mocks: Vision (Faculty +Bureaucratic Mock), PW Only IAS, Sankalp, UPSCPrep O2O with Khan Sir (KSG) gave me a good perspective in answering and dealing with different situations. Hopefully this will transform to better marks. Sankalp and Vision Bureaucratic mock was closest to the real interview.

Name : KS Date: 20 Feb 2025, Forenoon Key DAF details - Jharkhand, Journalism, Proofreader, Officer Trainee (Public Relations), PSU, Blog writing on IR Board : Mrs. Suman Sharma Ma'am Board Board Composition - President + 1 female and 3 male Advisors Chairman - 1. You are going through training or it's done ? 2. You work in a PSU, These PSUs directly contribute their CSR money to PM Relief fund, What's your take on this? (2-3 followup questions ultimately satisfied with the answer) 3. You are a PR Officer at your PSU, If CBI arrests a high official for Corruption, how will you build the narrative? (Counter Questions and Ma'am finally seemed dissatisfied with the answer and said achaa okay leave) Only 2 questions prr discussion on them was long. Both were Opinion based and Situation Based. M1 (Female) - 1. AI is going through its UPI moment, What do you understand from this? (follow up) 2. How can Jharkhand benefit from the Indo-EU Trade Deal? ( I said steel) 2. What about the CBAM and Carbon Tax concerns? 3. Do you know what is logistics? 4. how to logistics help the industries in Jharkhand? 5. Which is the cheapest mode of transportation? 6. Are waterways there in Jharkhand? 7. What about women working in night shift? (Told about Gujarat Law) 8. Is there any provision for this in Jharkhand? 9. Your opinion on women working in night shifts? M2 - 1. You worked as a proof reader and the job of proofreader is to find mistakes, What life lesson can you give me from this job? 2. ⁠Suppose you are given a copy to proof read and it say "The Chairman of your PSU has allowed more women to work in night shift". Do you find anything wrong in the statement? (then he emphasised on the word "allowed") 3. Is finding such errors job of a proofreader or content writer? Not remembering other questions. M3- 1. India has put Indus Water Treaty in Abeyance and has stopped the supply of water? What can we do to make this sustainable? 2. Which form of Media do you think is more reliable, TV, Print or Social Media ? (Follow-up Questions) 3. Jharkhand was long affected with LWE, now many have surrendered, Are there chances of resurgence? 4. Measures to control resurgence. 5. ⁠How are Coal Blocks distributed? 6. ⁠What was the earlier mechanism? M4 - 1. You write blogs, You are proofreader, You are proofreading a book and find that this book has a paragraph which you have read in other book earlier, Will it violate Copyrights? What will be your course of action? 2. Everything around IRAN-USA issue. 3. What is Iran doing? 4. What will happen if Gulf of Hormuz is blocked? 5. ⁠What is the land dispute between Iran and UAE? Do you know? 6. Do you think a war will happen between Iran and USA Unable to recall some questions. It was a very different experience than the mocks. Most questions were very high quality and unpredictable. (Transcript can't give the context, it's just the framework) All members of the board were *cordial*. Board President was keeping a very serious face. She smiled in the beginning and end but when other members were asking questions, She was staring at me (She paid heed to the complete conversation), (But it was like a death stare 🫣) . Panel Mocks - Around 15 (Every coaching one can think of in Delhi 😅), Next IAS and Chanakya Mandal Parivar were good. DAF Discussion - With Mahesh Bhagwat Sir, IPS (It was helpful, Very high regards for his continuous efforts) Gratitude to all others who helped in this journey 🙏

Name - Charaiveti Charaiveti   Board - Anuradha Prasad ma'am   Date - 16 February forenoon, first to go in.   DAF keywords- Metallurgy, Work experience, Industrial Problem Solving, Comfort food, coffee   Duration- 29 minutes   Chairperson: 1 Why did you leave your job? 2 What will you do if you don't qualify for CSE? 3 What is this Industrial problem solving and what was the problem that you solved? 4 Did the company adopt your solution? 5 Why companies don't invest in RnD in India? 6 What can be done to boost RnD in India? Other members:(The questions are not in a order. Listing them as I recall.) 1 What is Indus water treaty? 2 Will withdrawing unilaterally from the treaty set a bad precedent? 3 What are the major issues going on globally? 4 Implications of Russia-Ukraine war on India?(based on my previous answer) 5 Why are prices of metals rising? 6 What are rare earth elements? Give me some practical applications. 7 Why India lacks in this sector? 8 What are we doing in this sector? 9 What do you think about social media ban for children? Should the solution be technical or social? 10 What is comfort food? 11 Why this interest in coffee? 12 Recommend me three unique coffee that you've tried from India 13 Will water be the cause of WW3? 14 Discussion on India- Bangladesh relations.   • Some follow-ups on the above questions. Mostly discussion rather than questioning. Some questions I can't remember. • All the members were actively listening Mocks given- Around 17. Almost every major institute. All of them were helpful in some way. All the best to everyone!

Name- नट 20 feb Sheelvardhan sir  4th to go. Daf- hindi poetry, cricket, maths, UP (rest not asked) Chairperson -  1. When is hindi diwas? 2. Isn't it shame to celebrate hindi diwas in hindi land? 3. What do u feel about great nicobar project? 4. Which migratory species come at nicobar? 5. As a karuna ras poet, what does that species feel? 6. Excited or anxious About AI? M1(lady) 1. Celebrating hindi diwas and forgetting hindi rest of the days? Like women's day! 2. What have u learnt from cricket? 3. Any more lessons? 4. And kept asking for more lessons. 5. Discussion on that. Chaiman again- 1. If I ask AI to give me lessons will it not give me 70 more?(I said it's the process of imbibing which is important) M2- 1. Who has won Bangladesh  2. Who will he visit first India or China?(Said China) 3. Convince him to visit India. M3- 1. Many btech taking humanities optional why yours maths? 2. Famous about district? 3. Why up in news? 4. Bulldozer justice Good? 5. Poets from shringar and karuna? 6. Lines of rashmirathi? M4-  1. Where are water contamination problems in India? 2. Who's responsible? 3. What will you do? Chairperson - interview is over can go. Experience - very friendly, cordial, ni grilling, logical flow of questions, more like conversation. Mocks- many through quantel and upwise, next, sankalp, CMP, vision. O2O- vidyapeeth shubham sir, Mahesh Bhagwat sir. Peer interaction , senior guidance. Thankyou.

Name -:) Board - Suman Sharma ma'am (Nothing was asked from DAF and it was very random ) Date - 17 February Golden visa laaye india to uski viability usse related aur questions and counter questions Inland waterways viability Sabrimala revisited Himalayas no longer the barrier they used to be. . Elaborate Enemy china or pak Riparian principles and way forward for inter state water disputes Present bid of India's membership to unsc as representative and counter questions Defend bulldozer justice as representative of up govt Diaspora ka use. Reverse brain drain Ferozabad se related child labour Non traditional security threats. Geopolitics and technology intersecting. What prompted the trendand illustrations Novel laureates who not worked in india. Why. Where are spaces where india and Bangladesh are competing. Aravali. How to minimise concerns of human rights violations in counter terrorism Operations.. Should govt go for full transparency ? Lessons india can draw from GENZ protests in neighbourhood Mocks and one to ones - Almost 20 (Though the interview went quite random, it helped me in staying calm and structuring answers) Special credits - Smartwork Labs (Ankit sir), Anantham IAS (Ashish Sir and Rahul Sir), Mahesh Bhagwat sir , Mahesh Bhagwat sir Study IQ (Abhishek Sir )

Name- xyz optional- anthropology interview date- 19/02/2026 panel of 5 members- lt gen raj shukla-chairman daf keywords- iit bhu, ece, software engineer-currently working, jharkhand, data science project- cassandra event name, student mentor, listening to ghazal hobby chairperson Aaiye baithiye Where are you working? Member 1: A very disturbing incident from jharkhand today- i nodded- a woman killed for witch hunting 1. why witch hunting happens?- kept interrupting in between my points to explain each point thoroughly 2. How will you solve this if a case comes to you Member 2. 1. what is the importance of data? 2. data is not very secure, why to bother so much about data then? 3. Any data breach incident you are aware of? 4. How to secure data? 5. why do we need mentors? 6. what you did as a mentor? 7. Were you able to understand their problem or pay proper attention to them? 8. why can't faculty be mentors? 9. Why suicides still happen? 10. A new rule has come regarding mentors, are you aware of that- i said no 11. he told the rule that if a suicide happens - mentors would also be held liable- what will be effect of this rule on mentors? Member 3. 1. who was cassandra? Kept adding questions to this - like who cursed her? Why? 2. Lets talk more on witch hunting 3. Villagers don't come out as witnesses in such cases- what should we do? kept countering on my answers 4. Recently vinod gupta pleaded guilty , why? 5. what is govt doing to handle this? Member 4. who popularised ghazal? how and why? 1. why should we allow data centres in our country- it has so much energy footprint 2. I told about some climate smart solution exist for water cooling- Can you explain that technology? 3. jharkhand formed along with chattisgarh- why didn't it grow? 4. What are the land issues there for industries? 5. Are you aware of jadugoda? Chairperson- Thik hai aap ja skte hai Mock- vajiram & reddy, nextias, shankar ias, Quantel- rashika mam, unacademy, pw, one-one- Aditi mam,don't recall some names, friends

16th, feb 2026. Afternoon last to go Board - Dinesh Dasa Sir. (All male board) DAF Keywords- Anthro, Andhra Pradesh, ECE, listening to songs. Chairperson 1. Your hobby is listening to songs, Do you sing also? 2. IT sector contribution in AP's GDP has reduced from 3000 crores to about 300 crores after bifurcation. Why? and what steps is AP taking to bridge this gap? 3. Three capital issue- sir gave examples of Gujarath, MP where there are 3 centres of development and asked If you are the Chief Secretary to AP what will you suggest? 4. Among three tribal approaches- (integration, asaimilation, isolation) which one would be better suitable in this digital age? 5. Davos summit- investments to AP? Asked specifically about MoU with an AI based company. 6. Talked about Jallikattu and Sabarimala cases and asked why SC is intervening in these issues? M1 1.You had good marks in Engineering. Why civil services? 2. Quantum computing and problems 3. AI summit 4. Milan exercise in Vizag, fleet review. 5. situation- how to encourage startups in my district if posted as DM? M2 1. Situation- You are posted as DM in a tribal district with no proper connectivity. How will you use your ECE knowledge? 2. Situation- I had to choose whether Tribals will be relocated to a different place for their better development or they wouldn't be relocated? 3. When did u come to Delhi? Did you see any changes in Delhi air? 4. What is AQI? What are its components? 5. What is PM 2.5,10 what is the unit? 6. Which are secondary pollutants? M3 1. If you are posted as a DM of your district what are the priority areas that you would work? 2. Talked about IIT coaching institues culture in AP and Telangana. What could be done? 3. Election funding. 4. Criminalization of politics 5. Temples control by state should it be done away with? M4. 1. Farthest man made object in space. (Answered-Voyager-1) 2. How is it communicating with Earth? 3. Data centres and problems. 4. Problems of GCCs to Indian compnies like TCS, Infosys. M3 again. 1. Asked about Tirupati Laddu issue and If I am posted as TTD EO what will you do? Chairperson- Thank you. Your interview is over. O2O: Thank you Anupam Sir(Smartworks). His guidance during both mains and interview was very helpful.The questions that were discussed in O2O have been repeated in actual interview as well. His approach towards interview was very insightful and helpful it helped me remain calm and confident. Thank you Umesh Reddy sir and CSB IAS academy for your constant support,current affairs sessions and O2O.