[Topper’s Interview] Dr.Arpit Jain (UPSC-2013/Rank-194): Anthropology Optional, Madhya Pradesh

1. Topper Profile
2. Education
3. Introduction
4. Electronic Vs Paper material
5. Tempo and style
6. Struggle of a Senior player
7. Working professional
8. Prelims (CSAT) General studies
9. Prelims (CSAT) Aptitude
10. Prelim accuracy
11. Mains: Compulsory language paper
12. Mains: Essay
13. General Studies (Mains) paper 1
14. General studies (Mains) paper 2
15. General studies (Mains) Paper 3
16. General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity, aptitude
17. Mains answer-writing?
18. Anthropology Optional Subject
19. Before the interview
20. During the interview
21. CSE-2013 Marksheet
22. Career Backup
23. Views on UPSC reforms
24. Insecurity about profile
25. Wisdom
26. Credit: Friends/family
27. BOGUS Marketing Propaganda

Topper Profile

Name	Arpit Jain
Rank in CSE-2013	194
Roll No.	302045
Age	29
Total attempts in CSE	2
Optional Subject	Anthropology
Medium chosen for Mains answers	English
Schooling medium	English
College medium	English
Home town/city	Maksi  (District – Shajapur)/Bhopal/Varanasi
Work-experience if any	30 Months
Details of other competitive exams, including success/failures	PMT entrances  2004..cleared most  exams with good ranks… air-11 in BHU-PMT
Details of coaching, mock tests, postal material for any competitive exam (if used)	Civil services…took guidance from following teachers S.K. Mishra sir (Retd. IAS )- Paper -3 (Polity),Paper-4 (Internal security etc.) , Ethics Alok Jha (Synergy ) – History Anthropology – Sriniwas sir Essay – Vikas Ranjan sir GS (some portions) – Manoj Jha sir Read Current affairs from Vision IAS notes , Vajiram final compilation of IR and printed notes on some issues
service preference	IAS,IFS,IPS (however I considered all 3 as my dream job )
state cadre preference	IAS – M.P ,Rajasthan, Maharashtra IPS – M.P. , Maharashtra,Rajasthan

Education

	fill the details here
% in class 10	72.6
% in class 12	70.3
Schooling (Medium)	English
Graduation course and %	MBBS , 55.1 %
Name of college, city, passing out year	Institute of Medical Sciences , Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU),Varanasi ..passed in 2010
Post-graduation	Joined M.S. in 2010 but leaved it in august 2011
Any other professional courses	Doing M.A. (Gandhi and Peace studies )..plan to do Phd in Conflict Resolution from some ivy league
Hobbies & Extra curricular	Working on Right to Information Writing Letter to Editor in News Papers Working on Comprehensive, all Inclusive and holistic Healthcare and Education model for India  Writing English Parables

Introduction

Q. Tell us something about yourself, your family, when and why did you enter in this field of competitive exams?

• I am a Doctor by profession did MBBS from Prestigious IMS-BHU , Varanasi. Besides, I had been RTI activist .Also, I love to write English short stories  and I m in touch with a leading International publisher to get published my Short story collection by 2017-18…
• I belong to a small town named Maksi , Distt. Shajapur of Madhya Pradesh were I studied up to 8^th then moved to Bhopal because we have no good school after 10^th in our town (…moving from small  town to city at age of 14 was very painful for me ,some thing similar to as depicted in character of Rajkumar Rao in movie City Lights).
• My father is a very dedicated Doctor,who is  24*7 available to patients and never says ‘no’ to any patient.  In fact,  many a times   to poor and needy  patients he gives money to buy food,medicines etc.
• My mother is a House Maker who always encouraged me to dream big,do something creative and innovative in life . My younger sister is working in field of advertising .
• In field of competitive exam I entered way back in 2004 when I cleared some good medical entrances with flying colors .
• To become IAS/IPS officer was a dream from child hood , watching movies like Sarfarosh,Gangajal, Swadesh etc. kept my desire burning . During my MBBS days I used to think of appearing in UPSC , however I was never serious . In 2010-11 after working in hospital for more then a year and seeing how a person’s socio-economic deprivation ( Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy etc. ) impacts basic right to happy life , My thirst to work on a wider platform increased. Finally ,I took a firm decision, leaved my residency and started preparing from December 2011.

Electronic Vs Paper material

Q. In recent times, there is spur in electronic material- blogs, sites, pdfs, RSS-feeds. Many aspirants feel bogged down by this information overload. So, how much do you rely on electronic material and how much on the paper material (Books, newspapers)? If possible narrate a typical day in your study life. What is your style of preparation (e.g. I continue making notes no matter what I’m reading, I just read multiple times but don’t maintain notes, I make mind maps on computer …or xyz style)

• I believe in judicious  balance of both electronic Material and paper material.
• Due to infinite expanse the electronic material material should be within framework of UPSC syllabus  and should also be authentic. for example : MRUNAL.org , PIB ,Rajyasabha Tv debates etc.
• However, I more relied on reading Paper material because it was easy to read and organize .I always read standard books and authentic material .The crap h coaching notes I don’t prefer and they often used to  be last resort when I was not able to find any standard book

Day in study life :-

• I have a very scientific method of studies,
• I made a monthly ,weekly and daily plan
• Every morning I start with making daily schedule,priortising  things then trying to stick to it.
• if one makes time bound plan then one can prevent wasting time in unwanted things. (I would suggest you to Read Stephan covey’s …7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE …which will definitely help in proper planning of studies along with optimal implementation )

Style of preparation

I Make short notes of everything I read, I Used Mind-Map technique to make concise and crisp notes which can be  retained for a long time, Besides it is also easy to revise   . For every paper I had short notes in one Register each  (one can search ‘Tony Buzan’ on  internet who is the pioneer of  mind map technique  )

Tempo and style

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

• I would suggest you should always self analyze and try to find something which motivates you .It may be smile on parent’s face once you clear exam, it may be opportunity to do work once selected for civil services  , it may be fulfillment of childhood dream etc. This  will vary from person to person.
• But I would say U have to find your own motivating force.
• This motivation brings  about passion and Zeal to study hard.
• I always follow gandhiji’s Talisman whenever I am in doubt ,I remember the face of poorest person I have seen .My dream to serve the marginalized , vulnerable , poor never allowed me to loose passion in studies.
• Besides Reading good books especially of Swami Vivekananda helped me to maintain my enthusiasm through out course of preparation.
• In addition to this , I always maintain a diary were I write daily hourly schedule… and whenever I am deviating from it ,it creates pressure adding to study momentum.
• Also, I Pasted the monthly plan in front of My table,so that 2-3n times a day I can gauge it and can see whether my hourly , daily schedule is in coherence with it or not.
• Mood swings will be their ,for which we need to develop our own strategy to fight.

Struggle of a Senior player

After 1-2 failures in any competitive exam, a phase of mental saturation comes. The person knows the booklist, he knows what is necessary to succeed. But it doesn’t yield result. Not to mention all the emotional struggle-against those irritating neighbors and relatives….My question are two:

Q1. How did you survive through this mental prison and what’re your words of wisdom to other senior players? If any specific inspirational incident(s), please share.

• It  took  me effectively 2 attempts and 2 and half year to clear this exam .
• I know people who cleared this exam in 1 attempt and I am inspired by organized  and disciplined study they did .
• But, I know people who cleared this exam in 6-7 attempts and I really salute their optimism, perseverance and commitment.
• Friends I would suggest please be optimistic and have firm belief in your dreams, think of the moment of happiness in your life when you clear the exam
• If you have made target , then never be in doubt and never hear crap around. whomsoever de-motivates you move away from them..
• Besides, Don’t use the hardships of your past as excuses to deny the possibilities of your future
• Stand up within yourself. Gather your mental, emotional and spiritual strength. Speak from deep within your spirit and your soul. .”I will survive. I will thrive. I am coming back. Giving up is not who I am. I will stay the course and persist until I succeed.”   Resist the feeling of being powerless or being a victim.
• What people think of you is none of your business. Be true always with oneself. Being yourself  frees you up. It allows you to live with optimal potential you have
• My goal was never UPSC clearance rather it is how I can bring smiles to maximum faces and happiness to maximum lives. It’s how I can empower and add meaning to life of  each and every human being I touch. This goal itself is biggest motivation to me. So I considered UPSC clearance just a means to achieve this.Hence, UPSC was never able to create any prison.
• I also never cared of what Relative or neighbor will say.I am very straight forward and vocal to any person who tries to be stumbling block in path of my goal.
• I always kept the major stake holders like mom-dad, close friends (Dr.Saroj , Dr. Shreyash ) in confidence when I was preparing these are the people I cared about.

Q2. What went wrong in your previous attempt? What changes did you make in this current attempt?

• Mainly Non-serious, unorganized studies.
• I was not able to do my optionals before prelims ,
• lack of answer writing practice.
• This time I studied in organized way and tried to complete the syllabus in time along with adequate answer writing

Working professional

If you’re a working professional, share some tips on how to manage studies with job ?

• Although I am not a working professional , but I know people who cleared along with work.
• For working people I would suggest  the mantra of “ Optimal channelization and utilization of resources ,self confidence and dedication to goal “

Consider following :-

• Make a time bound plan and stick to it ,
• Set your priorities
• Analyse past papers and current affairs , make list of important topics and dedicate time depending upon the importance of topic
• Use maximum time available at your disposal in most fruitful way.
• Use the resources like Mrunal.org, pib etc  if you can’t avail coaching benefit.
• be disciplined and have firm self – belief

Prelims (CSAT) General studies

Topic	strategy/booklist/comment
History Ancient	NCERT (old)
History Medieval
History Modern (Freedom Struggle)	Spectrum: Brief history of modern India Bipin Chandra: India’s struggle for independence
Culture society	Nitin singhania notes and Documentaries on internet
Polity (theory + current)	Laxmikant + News Papers
Economy (theory + current)	MRUNAL , Indian Economy – Sanjeev Verma
Science (theory + current)	The hindu , MRUNAL
Environment (theory + current)	Ncert biology 12th (2003 edition ) last 4 chapters. BBC Documentary
geography physical, Indian and World	Majid Hussain – India and World Geography (TMH)
other national/international current affairs	The Hindu,Indian Express
Schemes, Policy & Filler Stuff	Newpaper, government advertisement

Q. Any observation / comments / tips about GS prelim 2013 paper?

I think  in 0nly 35-40 questions one can be sure, for most of the other questions one needs to take intelligent guess. This intelligent guesses  can only be made  if  one has done robust practice of MCQ’s, repeated revisions, discussion and in jkdepth analysis of issues.

Prelims (CSAT) Aptitude

Actually not very specific but I read selected topics from vajiram material, CL and TMH

Q. Any observation / comments / tips about GS Aptitude 2013 paper

Practise ,  Practise , practice is the Mantra. .. solve all the questions of Aptitude that UPSC has asked previously ( even from the old papers when CSAT was not their ) Try to attempt maximum questions .

Clearly identify the areas of weakness , and work upon them. Getting high score in CSAT is master key for clearing prelims

Prelim accuracy

Q1. Did you attend any ‘mock tests’? do you think they’re necessary for success?

I attended CL test series … I consider it helped to get simulated environment as that of Exam

Q2. Approximate no. of attempted answers vs. correct answers. in CSAT-2013

	attempted Q.	correct (Expected)
GS	99	65-66
aptitude	80	74

Official Total score: 287

Mains: Compulsory language paper

Compulsory language paper	Your preparation strategy / booklist?
English paper	Brilliant tutorials old paper
your regional language	Unique publication

Q2.other observations / tips / comments on the length / difficulty level of compulsory language papers in CSE-2013

Hindi was lengthy and tough this time, don’t take language  papers lightly. I have seen many deserving candidates failing in them.

Mains: Essay

Q1. How did you prepare for the essay paper?

Essay writing Practice at PARINAM IAS – Vikas Ranjan sir and worked upon feed back given.

Q2. Which among the following essay did you write? What key points did you include in it?

1. Be the change you want to see in others (Gandhi)
2. Is the Colonial mentality hindering India’s Success?
3. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the wellbeing of a country
4. Science and technology is the panacea for the growth and security of the nation.

I wrote on 4^th science and technology

Discussed from grass root innovations to research in every field and how it will impact various areas of society..It was mostly on very positive note..and concluded with adding spirituality and ethics.

General Studies (Mains) paper 1

Topic	How did you prepare?
culture	Nitin Singhania notes UNESCO videos on World Heritage sites of India
Indian history	Spectrum: Brief history of modern India Bipin Chandra: India’s struggle for independence
world history	Ncert 9th -10th (The story of civilization)
post-independence India	Bipin Chandra: India after Independence
Indian society	Part of My optional (Anthropology)
role of women, poverty etc.	News papers,
globalization on Indian society	News papers , wikipedia
communalism, regionalism, secularism	Bipin Chandra (Freedom struggle),wikipedia
world geo physical	India and World geography (TMH )- Majid hussain + NCERT class 11th (NEW one)
resource distribution	India and World geography (TMH )- Majid hussain
factors for industrial location	India and World geography (TMH )- Majid hussain+ NCERT
earthquake tsunami etc	NCERT class 11th supplement on Disaster Managements
impact on flora-fauna	Nothing specific , only current affairs from news paper

General studies (Mains) paper 2

Topic	How Did You Prepare?
Indian Constitution, devolution, dispute redressal etc.	Indian Polity – Laxmikant Indian administration – Rajni  goyal (Selected topics )
comparing Constitution with world	Leaved it
parliament, state Legislatures	Indian Polity – Laxmikant
executive-judiciary	Indian Polity – Laxmikant ,Indian administration – Rajni  goyal
ministries departments	News paper
pressure group, informal asso.	Wikipedia
Representation of people’s act	S.K. Mishra sir’s notes
various bodies: Constitutional, statutory.
NGO, SHG etc	Wikipedia
welfare schemes, bodies	News paper , 12th five year plan draft (Planning commission )
social sector, health, edu, HRD	News paper , 12th five year plan draft (Planning commission )
governance, transparency, accountability	Newpaper , web site –www. Indiagovernance.com
e-governance	Newpaper , web site –www. Indiagovernance.com
role of civil service
India & neighbors	News paper +MEA website,  selected Article (G.Parth sarthy,C.Rajamohan etc. )
bilateral/global grouping	News Papers,MEA website,selected articles IDSA
effect of foreign country policies on Indian interest	News paper
diaspora	Got an article distributed to M.P.’s  from one of my friend
international bodies- structure mandate	News Paper + Wikipedia (do only important organizations and organizations in News )

General studies (Mains) Paper 3

Topic	How Did You Prepare?
Indian economy, resource mobilization	Mrunal, Sanjeev Verma (Unique publication )
inclusive growth	12th five year plan draft
budgeting	Read from Laxmikant (chapter on Parliament)
major crops, irrigation	GKToday.in
agro produce – storage, marketing	GKToday
e-technology for famers	GKToday
farm subsidies, MSP	GKToday
PDS, buffer, food security	GKToday
technology mission	GKToday
animal rearing economics	GKToday
food processing	GKToday
land reforms	Bipin Chandra (India after Independence)
liberalization	Mrunal, Sanjeev verma (Indian Economy)
infra	Mrunal, Sanjeev verma (Indian Economy
investment models	Nothing specific
science-tech day to day life	MRUNAL, GKToday
Indian achievements in sci-tech	GKToday
awareness in IT, space, biotech, nano, IPR	Mrunal, GKToday
environmental impact assessment	EIA from website of Ministry of environment and forest , CSE and some articles on internet + current issues
Disaster Management	NCERT class 11th supplement on Disaster Management + notes from NDMA website
non state actors, internal security	Annual Report Ministry of Home affairs + Vajiram Notes + News Papers
internal security – role of media, social networking site	Vajiram Notes + News Papers
cyber security	Vajiram Notes + News Papers
money laundering	Vajiram Notes + News Papers + wiki + internet
border  Management	Vajiram Notes + News Papers + Annual Report Ministry of Home affairs
organized crime, terrorism	Vajiram Notes + News Papers + Annual Report Ministry of Home affairs
security agencies- structure mandate	Vajiram Notes + News Papers + Annual Report Ministry of Home affairs

General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity, aptitude

Topic	How Did You Prepare?
ethics and interface, family, society and all the hathodaa topics	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine
attitude, moral influence etc.	S.K. Mishra Sir’s   notes + Chronicle Magazine
civil service: integrity, impartiality, tolerance to weak etc	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine
emotional intelligence, its use in governance	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine+ you tube interview of Daniel Golmen
moral thinkers of India and world	Chronicle…. I prepared Buddha,Vivekanand,Tagore,Gandhi,Ambedkar,Plato,Aristotle,Kant , Rosseu,
ethics in pub.ad, accountability, laws, rules etc.	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine
corporate governance	S.K. Mishra Sir’s   notes + Chronicle Magazine
probity in governance, work culture	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine
citizen charter, ethics code, work culture etc.	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine
challenges of corruption	S.K. Mishra Sir’s  notes + Chronicle Magazine
case studies on above topics	S.K. Mishra Sir’s   notes + Chronicle Magazine

Q. Any other comments, word of wisdom after going through the mains-2013.

• Start working on your way of answer writing ( point wise or paragraph wise ) , following are the characteristics of good answer :-
• It is to the context  of question being asked .
• It  Should Cover maximum dimensions.
• It Should have  appropriate facts,examples , flow charts , diagrams etc.
• If possible should have a streamlined flow so that examiner not feels bored reading your answer.
• Simple language. Practice to write fast , you should be able to write one answer in 6-7 minutes.( even this mains was also test of writing speed , were I did badly and have to leave questions of about 200 marks..this is blunder in competitive exam !)
• If your writing is very poor then please work to make it atleast legible to a common person . ( In 2012 mains my writing was very poor and I was not able to read even what I am writing , this time I worked upon that.)
• Whatever pen you will write with, start practicing from now onwards ( I would suggest uniball eye micro/cello butterflow/cello gripper)

Mains answer-writing?

Q. How was your experience with the ‘fixed space’ answer sheet?

Space is more than enough

Q. Did you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs? Some players (who cleared mains and got interview call letter) were claiming that they wrote entire paper in bullet points, so it doesn’t matter….whether examiner is asking ‘examine, comment, discuss or xyz’….simply write in bullets and points.

Mixed of both,Again I would say it depends on a person how one can express better , Because both kind of people writing paragraph or bullet have scored better  Their in small difference when examiner asks ‘‘examine, comment, discuss or xyz’’which I would clarify very soon

Q. Did you follow the “introduction-body-conclusion” format? because some mains-qualified candidates claim they simply wrote the points they could recall within the time, instead of bothering with proper introduction and conclusion.

One line introduction and one line conclusion….it makes answer structured

Q. In GS papers, Since UPSC came with those 100 and 200 words questions. What was your approach in the exam (I wrote all, I only focused on the questions where I could answer perfectly, I just not to high quality points to reach the word limit etc.)

Answer should be well organized,multidimensional and within the context of question asked . Remember UPSC never gives marks on crap. I would say  whatever u write , write with maximum quality .But ,also take care of maximum attempt . You need to maintain a balance of no. of questions attempted and quality maintained .

Q. How many marks worth questions did you skip/couldn’t finish in the GS papers?

GS (Mains paper)	Couldn’t finish __ mark
GS1	50
GS2	40
GS3	50
GS4	0

Q5. Did you use highlighters / sketchpens in your answers?

Underlined important points,words

Q6. Did you draw any diagram in any paper? (e.g. in GS1 Geography)

Yes in geography + flow chart in some questions

Q7. If yes, Did you draw diagrams with pencil or pen?

Geography – pencil

Flow chart etc. – pen

Q8. Did you use ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did you just make it by hand?

With hand only

Q9. You wrote the answer in blue pen or black pen?

Blue pen , at some places used black pen for heading

(Mrunal – since readers keep mailing such queries, therefore I’m asking the topper to clear all the air haha.)

Anthropology Optional Subject

Q1. First the essential book/resource list and strategy:

Paper – 1

• Ember and Ember – Basic Reading (Like NCERT books )
• Physical Anthropology – P.Nath
• Socio-cultural Anthropology – Vaid + Ember and Ember
• Anthropological Theories – Internet
• http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php
• (read only theories specified in syllabus and make notes )

Paper – 2 

• Indian Anthropology – Nadeem Hasnain
• Tribal India – Nadeem Hasnain (Update it with census data of 2011)
• Annual Report – Ministry of Tribal Affairs (very selected reading ),
• Current news related to tribals from Hindu
• Make short notes and  supplement with material of Brain tree  or any other coaching

Q2. How much of internet-research / current affairs is necessary for this optional? OR can one simply rely on the books and be done with this subject?

Internet is useful , many good websites are their which elaborate on specific topics .It should however be used judiciously.

Q3. How many months did it take to finish the core optional syllabus?

About 3 months of sincere studies

Q4. How many days/ weeks before the exam, you started answer writing practice?

5 months before exam

Q5. Do you maintain self-notes for revision of optional? In which format- electronic or paper?

I make self notes and  made mind map of 70 % of topics

Q6. Your observation about the difficultly level of 2013 mains vs previous papers. And what precautions / rectifications are necessary in the future strategy for given optional subject?

Anthro was  of the same level as has been asked previously . I would strongly recommend to read text books and use internet to develop clarity on major topics

Q7.How much did you skip OR couldn’t answer properly, in the optional paper?

optional paper	Couldn’t finish __ mark.
Paper I	20
paper II	40

Q8. would you advice any interested party (new player) to pick this optional? Nowadays wind seems to be flowing towards sociology and political science. Some senior players advice new players not to pick them given the scaling and odd questions. What’s your take on this?

make a smart choice considering following

1. Personal aptitude/interest  for an optional . Some people are comfortable with humanities while others with science, literature etc . To see your interest read basic books like NCERT/IGNOU material or some coaching material.
2. See the trends of marks obtained in recent years.
3. See availability of good guidance .

Before the interview

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

• I practiced mocks with my friends and collected maximum questions possible , practiced various dimensions of those questions.
• For my hobbies/activities I did exhaustive studies . I personally met people working on this area to develop clarity on issues . For example I personally went to  meet Aruna Roy Madam  (RTI ), Dr. Abhay Bang (Public health ), Lok biradari prakalp team at Gadchiroli , MH (Public health )
• I also met and talked with many senior  bureaucrat to know their view points on national issues and situation based questions

Q2. Did you attend any mock interviews by coaching classes? How were they similar / different than official interview? Do you believe it is necessary to attend such mock interviews?

• I attended mocks at Samkalp , S.K. Mishra sir and Perfect IAS . They were of much help for me to know my weakness.
• Also , the practicing of mock with friends Amit,Prakhar,Anuradha ,Dr. Indu,Ratnesh ,Avadh, Sanil, kriti, runul,sarthak ,vaibhav,parth,ananya was very fruitful.
• Besides, Final inputs given to me by friends Saurabh gupta (IRS,2013 batch ) and Ved prakash (IFS,2013 batch)  were much Beneficial.
• Practicing above made me comfortable on the interview day and equipped me to handle any kind of situation.
• I would recommend to make a group of 4-5 committed people after mains and practice on finer areas .Once you are confident on major areas then get finally polished by interacting with senior peoples in formal setting provided by various institutes.

Q3. What did you wear? Some experts say coat is must, some say tie is must, and some say black shoes must. What attire did you pick up?

I wore suit . For me  it was most comfortable

Q4. Where did you stay for the interview? (Hotel / friend’s home …) and what books/material did you bring for the ‘revision before interview’?

During the interview

Q1. Who was the chairman of you interview board?

P.Kilemsungla

Q2. How long was the interview?

35 minutes

Q3. Why do you want to join civil service? Why don’t you continue in your graduation field? Social service can be done from private sector too.  [Since I don’t know whether they ask you this question or not. But if they had asked- what will be your reply?]

I loved being doctor ..serving and connecting with the people  has been part of my  personality… I am not at all leaving being doctor from core of heart… rather I am moving to a platform were I can work in multiple wider areas in holistic way
Q4. Please narrate your entire interview- what questions did they ask and what did you reply and other pleasant or uncomfortable experiences during the interview. (Earlier some toppers only tell me their question but not their answer. I would appreciate if you give both Question + your original answers)

I will soon post it in my blog or here . I am about to complete writing interview transcript which is quit long

Q5. 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?

Most of it was on expected line , some questions on practical case studies were there . One needs to be cool,calm and confident to have interview run smoothly

Q6. Any side details about technicalities like “make sure you bring xyz document or do xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?

Take all the documents specified in the letter send by UPSC

Q7. Any word of wisdom / observations about medical checkup?

Nothing to worry.

CSE-2013 Marksheet

SUBJECTS	MARKS
ESSAY (PAPER-I)	129
GENRAL STUDIES -I (PAPER-II)	77
GENRAL STUDIES -II (PAPER-III)	61
GENRAL STUDIES -III (PAPER-IV)	73
GENRAL STUDIES -IV (PAPER-V)	95
OPTIONAL-I (Anthropology) (PAPER-VI)	112
OPTIONAL-II (Anthropology) (PAPER-VII)	81
WRITTEN TOTAL	628
PERSONALITY TEST	193
FINAL TOTAL	821

Career Backup

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

Although I never thought,but would have continued with medical profession

Q2. When were you going to “execute” that backup plan? (e.g. after __ failed attempts/ after I cross __ age/after dad retires/ etc.)

Never Thought

Views on UPSC reforms

What are your views on following issues?

Q. Optional subjects should be removed altogether. The present stalemate is helping no-one, except coaching-owners, book publishers and the candidate whose optional subject gets favorable treatment under given year’s scaling formula.

I firmly believe in removal of Optional subjects..

Q. Despite what UPSC has done in recent years, it has failed to curb the nuisance of Delhi’s coaching factories. In fact it’s increased under the new syllabus in 2013. Let’s face it, most candidates who gave Mains-2013 have relied on (authentic OR Xeroxed) coaching notes because there was hardly any time left to prepare so many topics in such short time. This system work against an individual preparing from far-away area, without any financial resources, high-speed internet or contacts in Delhi.

You are right. But I believe if someone follows standard books, MRUNAL, News Papers along with writing practice then one can clear this exam.  I considered most of coaching material as sub-standard and I used only when no other source was available

Q. UPSC should disclose official prelim answerkey and cutoffs, immediately after prelim is over, instead of postponing it till interview phase is over.

It would be a better move..

Q. UPSC should be conducted online like IBPS and CAT exam to shorten the duration of exam.

Definitely duration of Exam can be shortened…it should be brought down to 5-6 months

Q. If you are made the UPSC chairman, what other reforms would you initiate for the civil service exam?

• Remove Optional
• Study Material can be prepared by expert group  and should be made freely available online (to curb coaching culture)
• Prelim-result declaration within 10 days of exam (it’s all OMR sheets )
• Mains form should be filled with prelims..and Mains can be after one month of prelims
• Interview should be on 2-3 boards to remove subjectivity.
• Evaluated Answer sheets should be given to candidate

Insecurity about profile

Q. Many candidates prepare sincerely but constantly live under fear about ‘profile insecurity’. I’m not from a big college, I’m not from English medium, and I don’t have work-experience. What if they ask some stressful questions in the interview about this? What is your message to these candidates?

I would say leave this fear….  Your background hardly matters…  In interview board don’t try to bluff ..just remain truthful..they like people from humble background… No need to have regrets even if you are not working…
Ultimately an aspirant should not feel guilty about his/her background …. Rather one should have clarity and conviction of ‘why ? ‘ he/she want to join civil services

Wisdom

Q. Through this struggle and success, what have your learned? What is the wisdom of life and competition? What is Your message to the new aspirants?

I would say if you have a dream then you have to protect it… it’s once own  commitment, conviction that matters… Never see life in terms of success or failure rather it should be a continues learning process … in case you fail , take responsibility of your failure rather than blaming luck or some super natural factors..

If you take responsibility of failure , you will definitely know areas of improvement and you can work upon them to have better result in future. However if you just keep on blaming circumstances, people,luck etc. you will never know your weakness and there is no scope of improvement for such person.

Q. Many hardworking candidates have failed in Mains/Interview of CSE-2013. They’re feeling dejected- what is your message to them?

Definitely, depression comes if a person not gets result as per expectation. But I would suggest  rather then moving into spiral of hopelessness and depression it’s better to sit and analyze about areas of improvement . I would say be ‘proactive’  and try to find the solution of every problem you encounter .Don’t just react to the situation, but think what should be the future course of action . Be optimistic and think what’s best ‘I’ can do in the present circumstances

Credit: Friends/family

Q. Behind every topper are many people who stood by 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?

My father ,mother,sister , teachers – S.K. Mishra sir, Manoj Jha sir , My friends Dr. Shreyash ,Dr. Saroj , Parul . It was faith of these people in me which always kept my enthusiasm and Energy at high level.

BOGUS Marketing Propaganda

Q. You are well aware of the sacred rule – the last question 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 still publish your answer without tempering, unlike those competitive magazines.

Mrunal.org is inseparable part of my preparation . My day is incomplete if I don’t browse through mrunal.org. I have great respect for Mrunal bhai, for the wonderful work he is doing.  It’s people like him who are really the gems of this country. Your way of explaining is wonderful, simple , concise and crisp. Mrunal.org is slowly becoming life line of students across india and I salute you bhai because of your efforts the friends who can’t access coachings etc. can now fulfill dream of clearing UPSC and other exams.

Mrunal replies: thanks a lot for this highly informative and motivating interview. We wish you the best for service and cadre allocation. Keep in touch.