[CAPF 2013] Vaibhav Prajapati Rank 211: B.Tech Electronics, Nirma University

1. CAPF Topper Profile
2. Education
3. Introduction
4. Electronic Vs Paper material
5. Tempo and style
6. GS and Aptitude paper
7. Accuracy in GS paper
8. Descriptive paper
9. Four Essays
10. Argument For-Against
11. Report writing?
12. A typical report should be written in such format
13. CAPF Physical Efficiency Test
14. Interview by UPSC Panel
15. UPSC Interview Transcript
16. After the interview
17. CAPF Marksheet
18. Service preference
19. UPSC CSE-2013 experience
20. Career Backup
21. Wisdom
22. Credit: Friends/family
23. Bogus Marketing Propaganda

CAPF Topper Profile

Detail	Input
Name	Vaibhav Prajapati
Rank in CAPF-2013	211
Roll No.	055707
Age	25
No. of previous attempts in CAPF	1
Home town/city	Pipar City  Dist- Jodhpur
Work-experience if any	–
other competitive exams including success & failures	Civil Services Exam 2013- Interview Civil Services Exam 2012- Prelims CAPF 2012- Cleared Written but failed in PET/PST (Shot Put event) RBI Grade B 2013 – Phase 1
coaching/postal material (if used)	Self Study
Hobbies Extra-Curricular Activities	Indian Classical Music – Vocal Playing Cricket and Badminton
Do you have NCC certificate?	No

Education

% in class 10	94.33  (Best-5)
% in class 12	87.10
Schooling (Medium)	Hindi
Graduation course & %	B.Tech. – Electronics and Communication CGPA -9.2/10  [ Gold Medal]
College & batch-year	Nirma University (2007-2011)
Post-graduation	–
Any professional courses	Visharad Degree in Indian Classical Music

Introduction

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

 

I received the best gift of my life in form of my parents from the Almighty! They were always there for me to support and to guide me.

I was never interested in private job ; so as soon as I completed my B.Tech.,I started preparing for Civil Services Examination to fulfill my childhood dream. Being from a rural background I had seen the rural problems with a closer proximity and I always aspired to play a crucial role in finding solutions of such issues.

Electronic Vs Paper material

Electronic materials hold their significance in current dynamic nature of exams.

For me paper material and electronic material both were indispensible sources of information collection. I relied on books for static topics and for dynamic topics I took help of E-materials.  I just read a topic from diverse sources but didn’t maintain notes.

Tempo and style

Q. People know what books and syllabus topics are to be prepared. But most of them lack consistency in their preparation. So, how did you keep study momentum going on? How do you fight against the mood swings and distractions?

It’s a common thing and everybody has to face it sooner or later . Excess of anything is bad. So whenever I felt the need of taking breaks , I took. To change my mood I used to watch movies, listen to the songs and sing songs. Watching inspirational videos helped me to re-focus on my target with double energy. I think the two months before the exams are the most crucial months ,no matter what one has done earlier  and one should put in best efforts in this duration with maximum concentration.

GS and Aptitude paper

Q1. Please share the list of resources you used, your strategy and other tips for benefit of future aspirants.

Topic	input
History Ancient	NCERT
History Medieval	Arihant Magbook –Selective reading
History Modern (Freedom Struggle)	NCERT and Bipin Chandra
Culture society	NCERT
Polity (theory + current)	Laxmikant
Economy (theory + current)	Dutt and sundaram-selective reading ,News paper and Mrunal.org
Science (theory + current)	No specific reading ; science background
Environment (theory + current)	IGNOU booklets
geography physical	G C Leong
geography India	11th and 12th NCERT
geography world	NCERT
other national/international current affairs	Online surfing
Schemes, Policy & Filler Stuff	Newspaper and Internet
Maths	R S Agrawal
Data interpretation	No specific reading
Reasoning	R S Agrawal

Accuracy in GS paper

	input
How many MCQs did you attempt?	97
How many of them correct (When solved at home)?	75
official score (when UPSC uploads)

Q. What’s your overall experience with GS paper? (E.g. it was on expected lines as per my preparation, it was quite tougher than earlier years etc.)

I had cleared CSE pre and I found CAPF GS paper very standard(even tougher than CSE 2013 Pre); difficulty level of paper is increasing every year with increasing cut off marks; more or less it was on expected lines. One should try to go through all the questions.

Descriptive paper

Q. How did you prepare the Essay, grammar, précis and report writing?

The only source was Newspaper. The paper was on unexpected lines and I found it hard to attempt all the questions with desired quality of content. Time management is crucial in Descriptive paper . Best strategy  according to me :

• Attempt RCs and Grammar part first
• Switch over to essays and complete 2 or 3 essays (in case one doesn’t have enough information about 1 or 2 essays; don’t waste time initially , attempt those essays later)
• Attempt Arguments for and against
• Report writing
• Come back to remaining essay/essays ; take your time now
• Précis writing ; if time permits

Four Essays

This time, UPSC required the candidates to write 4 out of 6 essays. Which of the following did you attempt? And what were your key points in them?

Topic	your key points
doctor-pharma nexus	Was not satisfied with the quality ; talked about Recent Glivec and patent issue (wasn’t much relevant though) Doctors recommending expensive medicines to the poor Unethical practices in Pharma sector Lack of Regulatory Body Generic medicines Compulsory service in rural areas
interstate water dispute	Recent Cauvery Water Dispute Constitutional mechanism for dispute resolution- Article 262- Tribunals Institutional and Functional bottlenecks Water – basically a State subject Role of Inter-state councils and zonal councils Better cooperation
social reformers in freedom struggle	Mass awareness created by social reformers against social evils Gandhi- Harijan Campaign Raja Rammohan Roy and  abolition Practice of Sati Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Widow remarriage Later women participated in civil disobedience movement , Quit india Movement etc Jyotiba Phule and Narayan guru –  work for the low classes
falling rupee & Indian economy
China’s aggressive policy	South China Sea and East China Sea  disputes with SAARC countries and Japan China’s aspirations for hydrocarbon rich sea areas and energy security Aggressive policy of China – String of Pearls India –Vietnam Relations;  Hanoi awarded OVL oil-exploration rights in disputed territory EEZ and oil exploration rights Disputes must be solved with international mediator for maintaining peace in the disputed area
media publicity on terrorism

Argument For-Against

This time, UPSC required candidates to write both arguments for and against the given statements. so what were your keypoint in it?

Topic	Argument for	against
casteless society becomes distant through issues raised by reservation	Politicians using reservation issue as a political tool to get votes just before the elections Reservation for a particular caste creates conflicts and social discontent among other castes It creates a divide which is against democratic values Increasing demands for reservation	Constitution has provided guidelines for reservation on ‘rational grounds’ Without reservation socially and economically backward section’s development becomes a distant dream
women empowerment is urban phenomenon	Higher female literacy rate in urban areas Most of the successful women belong to middle or higher class of society Better resources and opportunities for women Political elites	Improvement in female rural literacy rate in recent years 73rd amendments provided one third reserved seats for rural women and they are actively participating in decision making process now SHGs and Micro-finance facility has resulted in increasing number of rural women entrepreneurs

Report writing?

Did you write report the same way you wrote essay? or did you apply any special format/structure here?

I followed the newspaper pattern for the report writing ; with small paragraphs discussing all the aspects of particular incident.

Topic	keypoints
Uttarakhand tsunami & Military	A typical report should be written in such format At least 1,000 still missing in “Himalayan Tsunami”;Military hopes for clear weather New Delhi :At least 1,000 people remain missing almost two weeks after devastating floods struck India’s Himalayan region, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands of people in need of aid and rehabilitation. 50 people are stuck high in the hills in Bhairon Chatti and Garud Chatti, a remote region. The Indian Air Force’s specially-trained commandos, Garuds, have been deployed here to speed up rescue work. They will descend from helicopters with ropes to pick up those who are stranded. Army and air force personnel rescuing stranded Hindu pilgrims said they hoped to end the mammoth evacuation in the next few days, weather permitting. They will then shift their focus to relief work, clearing roads and pathways and rebuilding infrastructure.
Ethics crisis in cricket	Couldn’t attempt due to paucity of time

Q. What is your overall experience with descriptive paper (e.g. too lengthy paper, grammar tougher than previous paper etc.)

It was too lengthy .

CAPF Physical Efficiency Test

Q1. To pass Physical Efficiency Tests (PET), what preparation did you do at home?

Daily running for 20 minutes and routine exercise.

Later to my surprise I came to know that I was overweight by 14.5 kgs ( thanks to BSF official for faulty weighing machine and height measurement ) and I had to reduce my weight significantly within 35 days. That period was bit tough as I had to manage my diet ; but I succeeded to reduce my weight as I had  been a sport person and exercises were part of my daily life.

Q2. Where was your PET held?

BSF Chhawla , Najafgarh, Delhi

Q3. Please narrate your actual experience PET test with readers.

I reached at the venue at 8:30 am on 20^th May. Documentation process was very slow and almost took 3-4 hours. It being the first day of PET/PST test, officials too were lethargic. Finally 100 meter sprint started around 1 pm. For 100 meter sprint there were 8 runners in each slot. I stood 2^nd in the sprint. After a gap of 5 minutes we were called for 800 meter race. It was a sunny day and the sun was at its peak, so 800 meter race took lot of efforts to complete. I managed it within 3minutes.  I cleared Long jump with ease in first attempt.

The last event made me nervous as earlier in 2012 I was disqualified in shot put event at CRPF Jharoda kalan Camp (Just because the ball slipped through my hands ,they counted it as attempt) . As officials announced that we will be given 3 chances for shot put; the announcement made me feel bit relaxed. Still I messed my first chance and the ball landed inches short of the line. But in my second attempt I was on cloud nine as I had cleared PET/PST test.

Interview by UPSC Panel

Q1. How did you prepare for the interview? Particularly college graduation subjects related questions?

Basic questions and recent development in my field.

Q2. Where did you stay for the interview? (Hotel / friend’s home …) and what books/material did you bring for the ‘revision before interview’?

My Delhi room has been my asylum for past 2.5 years.  No need of books/material to bring for the interview; it creates nervousness.

Q3. Who was the chairman of you interview board?

Prof. David R. Syiemlieh

Q4. How long was the interview?

25-30 minutes

Q5. Why do you want to become an Assistant commandant? Why don’t you continue in your graduation field? [Since I don’t know whether they asked you this question or not. But if they had asked- what will be your reply?]

I always have been passionate about uniform job and even in Civil Service Exam IPS is one of my top preferences. Graduation field was my one field of interest but I never thought about it as a career. I was very keen to get into elite govt. services. That was the reason that despite being a gold medalist, I didn’t sit for any campus placements.

UPSC Interview Transcript

Q. Please narrate your entire interview- what questions did they ask and what did you reply and other pleasant or uncomfortable experiences during the interview.

Chairperson : You have been trying for IAS for last 2 or more years. Don’t you think preparing for something without getting any degree or certificate is wastage of time and resources??

Me: No doubt preparations take time and many end up getting nothing in the end. But knowledge gathered never vanishes. IAS is my dream and I am ready to devote whatever it takes.

Chairperson: Why CAPF;  What’s your ultimate aim ?

Me: IAS is my ultimate goal sir. But I have been passionate about uniform jobs ; even IPS was in my top preferences in Civil Services Exam.

Chairperson: Ohh I can see you appeared for Civil services this year . what about the end result ?

Me: Unfortunately I couldn’t surpass the final hurdle sir ; couldn’t nake it to the final list.

Chairperson : I wish you my best wishes for Civil Services. So CAPF is like a entry point in services for you . Isn’t it ?

Me: Yes sir. ( sir smiled)

Chairperson: You have mentioned about Classical music as your hobby ? Tell me the reason for this.

Me: In modern era during  hectic schedules of daily life ,it is hard to find peace of mind. And music gives the much need peace of mind ;I feel relaxed whenever I am in company of music.

Chairperson: Do you sing , Vaibhav? Will you sing something for us?

Me: yes of course sir.

Chairperson: (smiling) if you start singing here , all people from outside start peeping into my room. Okay leave it. Define Raaga.

Me: Defined it and also explained how a raga is associated to particular time of singing and mood.

M1: What are the major problems of urban cities?

Me: Slums, Pollution and high crime rate.

M1: Give some measures to tackle Problem of Pollution.

Me: Sir, we should reduce the use of private vehicles ; switching over to hybrid vehicles would be a environmentally friendly idea.

M1: (Interrupting ) What are Hybrid Vehicles?

Me: These vehicles use combination of two fuel sources . Diesel and petrol , Petrol and electricity etc.

M1: (Interrupting again) electricity hmm…so there must be batteries involved. Don’t you think it will cause E- pollution?

Me: yes sir mercury  is a lethal polluting element mostly used in batteries. Then talked about technological innovation for future batteries and E-waste policy.

M1: My last question ; difference between LED and LCD TVs.

Me: I explained various differences like Power consumption, Contrast ratio  and economic affordability .

M2:  Three lists has been mentioned in our Constitution , do you know about these lists ?

Me: Yes sir . Centre list , State list and concurrent list . Then he asked what had been written in those lists .  I told about various subjects and power of centre and state to make laws related to these subjects.

M2: Tell me about minerals of Rajasthan.

Me: Explained about copper , stones and zinc but struggled to locate geographical areas related to particular mineral.

M2: what is Maand Gaayki? Do you know famous Rajasthani song of this singing style ?

Me: yes sir Maand Gaayki is semi classical style of singing. “Keshriya Baalam”  is the famous song.

M2: Who sang it ??

Me: Sorry sir , I am not able to recall.

M3: What is the full form of NIRMA ?

Me: Sir ,as far as I know NIRMA is just a name; and doesn’t fall in acronym category .

M3: You studied from this university and you don’t know its full form ?

Me: I am sure sir , university was named after daughter of the founder Karsan bhai Patel. There is no such full form of NIRMA.

M3: You should check it out.

Me: (didn’t argue) I will ,sir.

M3: Tell me about Gulf war and two missiles.

Me: I struggled and finally gave up.

M3: There is a good news for consumers in today’s news paper ?  Do u know about this ?

Me: Yes sir, the price of natural gas would remain constant for next three months.

M3: Yes ,yes. Exactly.

Chairperson: Thank you Vaibhav. Your interview is over.

After the interview

Q1. Was your interview on the expected lines of what you had prepared or did they ask you totally unexpected questions?  Was it a stress interview, did they ask any uncomfortable questions? If yes, how did you handle it?

A blend of expected and unexpected.

Q2. Any side details about technicalities like “make sure you bring xyz document or do xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?

No such issues.

CAPF Marksheet

Mail me your prelim, essay and interview marks, when UPSC uploads.

I will.

Service preference

Q1. What is your service preference order BSF,CRPF, CISF, ITBP?

CISF > BSF > CRPF > ITBP

Q2. How/Why did you pickup that order?

1. CISF – Social and family life , Posting at PSUs
2. BSF- Best Infrastructure and facilities with decent promotion opportunity
3. CRPF- Faster promotions but risky nature of job
4. ITBP- Service in hilly areas (I don’t prefer)

UPSC CSE-2013 experience

If you had appeared in UPSC civil service exam 2013, please reply following

Q1. Your marksheet for prelims and mains

• Essay- 112
• GS 1-   70
• GS 2-   53
• GS 3-   58
• GS 4-   72
• Optional 1 – 97
• Optional 2 –  83
• Interview (Alka Sirohi mam)- 138

Q2. Your overall experience and words of wisdom about CSAT, GS, Aptitude, optional and essay.

CSAT is a much-needed positive step in Preliminary phase.

GS and Essays are becoming more challenging and dynamic every year.

Career Backup

Q1. If you were not selected, what was your career backup plan?

CAPF 2014 or RBI Grade B 2014

Q2. If you were to re-appear in CAPF-2014 then what modifications would you make in your studies?

There is always a scope for improvement. I would like to achieve a below 10 rank in next attempt.

Wisdom

Q1. Through this journey and success, what wisdom did you gain about life and competitive exams?  What is your message to new aspirants?

As I watch movies a lot I would like to convey my thoughts through this quote :

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you’re hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”

In my personal opinion, Success is a combination of various minor but significant constituents i.e. luck, hard work ,blessings etc.  And if any one of these goes missing success can be denied. So learn from your mistakes and always try to improve; be humble and optimistic. Your failure doesn’t mean that you are not capable of achieving something. Failure just depicts the missing skills one need to have to be successful.

One final quote which is written by me : In the fast race of becoming successful Engineers, Scientists, Administrators or Businessmen ; we considerably fail to become a ” Good Human Being”
Nothing but our noble deeds will be counted in the end.

I will be more than happy if this article helps and inspires even a single candidate to realize his/her dream!

Q2. UPSC had cleared nearly 2500 candidates from CAPF-prelims. You’re selected but many others did not. They’re feeling dejected with this whole competitive exam business. What is your message to them?

Life teaches us in harsh ways and I m not an exception to it. Preparing for CAPF 2012 , I sustained a life threatening spinal injury during long jump practice and was not able to sit or sleep properly. That possibly ruined my little dream of clearing CAPF 2012 exam. But in addition to that it threatened my IAS dream also as I was not able to sit for 15 minutes even ; pain was unbearable. I was thinking to skip Civil services 2013 Prelims Exam due to injury and at that time I came across this quote

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it will last forever.

And It did wonders for me and  I somehow managed to sit for prelims , undergone 2 months rigorous treatment ,applied again for CAPF 2013 and here I am today telling you all my little success story. Never ever quit in life !!

 

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?

Without my father, mother and my sweet little sister Shanu, nothing could have been possible and the Almighty’s blessings played the equal role. My father played all the roles for me i.e. mentor’s role, friend’s role and motivator’s role. He taught me the lessons of life that no book or person could teach  a boy. Dear Dad , You’re the best thing in my life !

My Buaji and Foofaji have always treated me like their son and their support was crucial. And my sweet cousins Vishal, Pooja and Gaurav were with me in my joys and tears. I feel blessed to have such brothers and sister.

I would like to convey my warm regards to my sir Rajendra Vyas ‘Raj’ for his blessings and consistent guidance.

There were many close persons who always wished for me. They are more than friends for me . Vivek Kumar from Chandigarh and Arvind Soni from Pipar city are  nothing less than brothers to me. Vivek was there to share and care like a brother and made me feel happy. I wish he clears Civil Services Exam this year. Arvind has been the most trusted person and was there for me when everybody else was busy. I know these words are not enough for what you people have done for me.

Apart from that I had the company of sweet friends and would like to take few names .A hearty thanks to  Vipul Purohit, Hitesh Soni,Krunal Zinzuwadia, Ravi thesia, Priyanka Bansal ,Neelam Sharma, Jyotsnaa Gupta ,  Harshita and Khushboo Rai…..the list will go on and on as I am a bit emotional boy but I must stop here .

Bogus Marketing Propaganda

Q. You are well aware for the sacred rule. The last question in topper interview,  must be about self-marketing. So, 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 without tempering.

Yes , every now and then I visited Mrunal.org and this site has been more than useful to  me . A simple ‘thanks’ would be too formal to show my gratitude for you and your site.  Just a polite advice ‘Keep on helping the students who really can’t afford better resources and guidance. You will get immense satisfaction.’