1. Bio
2. Education
3. Inception
4. Booklist
5. Descriptive Paper
6. Physical Test
7. Interview
8. Marksheet
9. Tempo
10. Service Preference
11. Career Backup
12. Wisdom
13. Bogus Marketing propaganda

Bio

Education

Inception

Q. Tell us something about yourself. When and why did you enter in the competitive exam field?

From 2008 onwards I wanted to become a good police officer and IPS was my dream job but two consecutive failures in civil
service exams turned my attention to other green pastures that is how I decided to take the CAPF exam and that is how I was about to come out with a green signal in this exam.

Booklist

Q. List of Essential books and tips for success in the CAPF written exam?

For Paper I

• Indian Polity:M Laxmikanth
• Indian Economy:Wizard Economy
• Geography :Ncert 6,7,8,9,10(Old),11,12(New),Geocheng Leong
• Indian History:8,12 Ncert(Old),India’s struggle for Independence – Bipin Chandra,Grover and Grover,D N Jha-Ancient History,Satheesh Chandra-Medival History
• Current Affairs: The Hindu Newspapaer
• Reasoning :Wizard

Essay/Descriptive

• Essays : Wizard book on Essays
• English Grammar: Wren and Martin
• Precise Writing:Wren and Martin
• Report writing : IGNOU study material

Descriptive Paper

Q.  In CAPF-2012 Exam, Which essay did you write in and  what  key points did you include in it?

I wrote essay on Population Stabilization and I made  a big mistake in the exam . I thought to write essay at the last stage but at the end I did not get sufficient time and I ended up in writing an unstructured essay .You must choose an essay topic where the other people are not likely to take up.

Q. In CAPF-2012, they asked counter-arguments for following, in 75 words. Please provide your answer.

FDI in retail in India is a bane for a small trader: People get more employment even small traders also will be benefitted, farmers will get more renumeration  ,people will get wide opportunity to choose from many things at less cost etc

Control of social media is an anti-democratic proposition: Control of media is justified on the national interest and the biased views should be discarded.Paid news and other malpractises should be countered

Physical Test

Q. To pass Physical Efficiency Tests (PET), what preparation did you do at home? Where was your PET held? How was your experience, share some tips.

• My PET was held in ITBP Tigri, New Delhi on 9-05-2013 and the atmosphere was very cordial. The commandants were very much friendly which reduced our tension.
• I was born and brought up in a hilly area and so from my childhood I was good at running and other sports related activities so that helped me a lot in PET. Apart from that I went for practice for a month after the written result was out. I practiced a lot in long jump which helped to tackle the PET smoothly.

Interview

Q. What specific preparation did you do for the interview? Who was the chairman? Provide the list of questions asked in CAPF Interview. (and if possible, the answers as well). How was the overall interview experience? And any tips for future aspirants.

I referred the previous year topper’s interviews and apart from that my friend Shafeeque who faced the interview in 2012 guided me a lot regarding the interview. Shri.A.P.Singh was the chairman of my board. My interview was on 22-06-2013 and I was the candidate to be interviewed in the afternoon batch. I really felt very much friendly with chairman as some of my answers were converted to jokes by the chairman and the other board members.

The questions

• CM:You are from Kerala so why do you want to join in CAPF?
• M1:You are from Idukki(My district).There is a controversial dam in Idukki.Can you tell me the name of that dam?
• M1:What is the controversy?
• M1:Who were Mappilions or Moplahs?
• M1:Why Idukki was in news recently?
• M1:Who was Vasco de Gamma?
• M1:When did he come?
• M2: Where have you done the practical tests of computer programming languagages?
• M2:Tell me about different paramilitary forces  and their roles and functions.
• M2:What is the difference between army and paramilitary?
• M2:What is the operational difference between BSF and army?
• M3:Which all the states you have done your studies?(Because I had done my intermediate in UP)
• M3:Do you know how to speak Hindi?
• M3:How will you utilize your computer skills in police forces?
• M3:How will you utilize your computer skills in communication technologies?
• M3:Have you heard about MSP(Malabar Special Police) Forces?
• M4:What is secularism?
• M4:What is communalism?
• M4:What is RAF(Rapid Action Force)?
• M4:Where are they(RAF)  located?
• M4:Do you think that there is a need for controlling the media?
• CM:Your hobby is to read the Hindu newspaper,am I right?
• CM:Why do you read the Hindu newspaper?
• CM:What is unique in The  Hindu?
• CM:You said The Hindu is anti government.Are you also anti government?
• CM:Thank you Mr.Justin.Your interview is over.You can go now

Overall my interview was very cordial and in interview you should always give balanced views.Always speak positively.I made some mistakes in telling about some things negatively for which I had to give further explanations.Try to go in suites if possible.Wear white shirt ,black trouser,matching tie,black blazer and laced shoes.Be honest and truthful.Speak from your heart and mind.Give the maximum respect to board members.Be confident and humble and answer the questions in a pleasant manner.

Q. How was interview: normal, stress, mixed? Did they ask any uncomfortable questions, if yes how did you answer it?

No . My interview was  very friendly and it lasted for 25-30 minutes.

Marksheet

• Paper 1 = 115
• Paper 2 = 74
• Written total=189
• Interview = 105
• Total = 294
• Rank = 124

Tempo

Q. How did you maintain the study-mood, motivation and tempo throughout this period? There are ups and downs- phases of mood swings, sometimes boredom and even depression. How did you fight that psychological battle? On an average, how many hours do you study?

I was always determined to crack the civil services exam .Every failure of mine was a motivating factor for me to strive more earnestly towards success and my friends Shafeeque Bhai,Elias,Unice Ismail,Fahad,Reez,Wazil,Nooh,Eldhose etc always boosted up my confidence and I was also inspired by the success of Mohmed Ali Shihab IAS who cracked the civil services exam in  2010. He is always an inspiration for me .He was an epitome of hard work .On an average I used to study almost 6-7 hours a day as the situation demanded I increased my study hours from 6-7 hours to 10-12 hours a day.

Service Preference

Q. What was your service preference order (CRPF>CISF>SSB etc) and why did you pick up the particular order?

CISF>CRPF>SSB>ITBP>BSF

I  choose this order based on the level of interaction with the people which we will be able to get once we enter into the services.

Career Backup

Q. If you were not selected, what was your career backup plan?

I was also simultaneously  giving the exams of SSC,IB,Kerala PSC etc

Wisdom

Q. Through this journey and success, what wisdom did you gain about competition and life? What is your message to the aspirants?

When the tough gets going ,the going gets tough .Life is a good opportunity to become what, I ,as a person want .If you are ready to take the education and study as your companions during the days of your study ,the education will take care of you in your entire life by helping you to reach the mountain of success .Just give your heart and mind to your preparation , work hard ,strive the maximum and you will be able to reach your goal.

Credit: Friends/family

Q. Behind every topper are many people who stood by him/her during those uncertain times when he/she was merely an ‘aspirant’. Would you like to tell the world, who were those people in your case? Any specific incidence that you would like to share with the readers?

I had got the help of so many persons to whom I take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt attitude of gratitude .First and foremost I thank my mother who was really the motivator of my life .In all my difficult situations I had got always yes attitude from

Mr . Jacob ,the finance manager of St .John’s Hospital ,Kattappana ,Kerala ,Mrs .Ann Mary Jacob ,Mr .Shaji and his family ,Mr .Siby, Fr .Emmanuel Kizkkethalackal ,Manager of Zion public school ,Swaraj,Fr.Tony Thomas,the bursar of JPM College Labbakkada .I give in my success to them as well.I really thank them for helping me to reach out to my goal of becoming a police officer. One specific incident I would like to tell is that when I failed for the prelims in 2013,I conveyed this message to Mr.Jacob.I was very sad at that time .The first reaction that I got from him was that be happy and prepare again for the next year and that incident was really motivating for me to prepare earnestly for 2014 civil services exam.Apart from that  I was scholarship awardee of Zakat foundation of India,New Delhi. Dr.Zaffer Mahmood, Fr.Samuel, Mrs.Gladys had been the active guides for me to achieve this success for me.

Bogus Marketing propaganda

Q. Did you use Mrunal.org for your preparation and if yes,how did it help you? And you can even reply “No”. I’ll publish your answer as it is.

I was unaware about this website till last June. I browsed this website while I was preparing for the civil service’s updated syllabus. I found this website very useful and the articles in publishes are very much informatory in nature. I thank you so much for guiding us in right path. Thank you , thank you very much.