More than a year has passed since my last post on this blog…as they say time flies; but it flies only when it wishes to!
For the uninitiated, I will be briefly dealing with the happenings that have kept me occupied over the past one year – mostly those relating to the time spent at the academy at Mussoriee. This will be my penultimate in the series related to the Civil Services and the stuff and in future, my blogs , if any , will deal with sundry things in life and at times mostly psychophilosophical stuff- whatever that means!
The two year probation period is roughly divided into two equal parts of Academic training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration – hereafter referred to simply as the Academy , and a period of District Training .
The first 100 Days of the academic training is perhaps the most memorable period where members of the All India Services (IAS, IPS ,IFS and IFoS) come together for an ‘intense’ three months program which includes activities as diverse as white water rafting , trekking, cultural programs - the song and dance variety as well as more serious stuff, debates , sports and other such things that an adventurous college student loves indulging in . The nerdy types need not worry as theres plenty of food for thought out there and the calm and serene climate of Mussoriee is perfect for those Eureka moments ( I wonder if any one actually ever has had those type of moments during their stint there!)
Last but not the least , those who share a similar affinity with me for ‘deep mental explorations’ (read sleep) need not worry as one of the commandments here at the faculties end reads “ Thou shalt not wake a sleeping probationer” -- considered equivalent to -if not worse than- “Human” Rights violations . Of course everyone is entitled to his or her own definition of “Human”!
To cut long story short ; our 100 days were followed by the Phase 1 training which lasted till June this year. Thereafter we all departed for our respective cadres for the Distt. Training phase…..
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Suggestions for mains
Mains answer writing---
Remember the following points; they are equally valid for almost all types of subjective examinations--
1) Spend the first few minutes reading all the questions (of course count and check the no. of printed sides;better safe than sorry)
2) Select the questions you will be attempting in the beginning itself;better to do so but not mandatory, helps in maintaining the flow while writing answers..
3) Attempt the answers that you know best in the beginning itself..they should be your best answers as in , use flow charts , diagrams etc wherever possible.. try to create diagrams /arrow diagrams etc whatever ,even though it may be repetitive of what you have already written in the answer.
4) Avoid using anything other than a HB pencil and/or a blue black ball pen
Avoid ink pens/gel pens ,unless you have water proof ink that doesn't blot the other side of the page.
Page quality of answer booklet is average so avoid risk taking-- acquaint yourself with the pen you will be using for writing the answers..
5) Time management is essential ; plan out beforehand how much time you will be spending on each answer..but remember that the pattern of questions might differ in the actual exam ..so be prepared to modify your time strategy accordingly.
6) Don't bother much about the word limits; you can safely exceed the said limit if you have quality matter to express and time at your disposal...there is no penalty for exceeding the word limit unless you start irritating the examiner by writing what is not required.
Keep in mind that 'above average' writing speed is a pre requisite before exceeding the word limit.
On an average 20- 25 min should be spent on an answer but again this is immaterial –Quality matters over quantity.
7) Use headings while writing answers; especially while answering sub- questions with in a question.
Underline the relevant words/sentences.
Use paragraphs while writing answers; points may be used only while writing factual answers but try to avoid using them.
8) Answer the 2 markers/3 markers in the beginning even if you know 10 out of 15(60 %) they are time saving and scoring as well ..
While answering them , use points that have current relevance/have been in the news lately.
9) Rough approximations of diagrams /maps may be made if you have time at hand..(for e.g. while answering a Science and Tech question or a Geopolitics one )
10) Practice statistics portion well before hand..(refer above)
For Public Administration ans Psychology
Same principles as above apply..
While studying these subjects , the demarcation between paper 1 and 2 has to be ignored; the principles and concepts have to be mentioned while writing the answers of paper 2 and the topics of paper 2 should be used to supplement paper 1's answers..
For paper 2 esp, the answers should be written in a general way i.e an essay approach has to be taken ; use examples from everyday life/ newspapers freely .. highlight the social schemes, program mes of Govt.
Answers should reflect your genuine concern for the down trodden / abused / children and women / Dalits and minorities and all those whose rights have been suppressed /violated and liberties challenged .
For Psychology, the following units should be done thoroughly and properly; they should be at your fingertips.
Paper 1
1 Introduction
2 Learning
3 Memory
4 Developmental Psychology
5 Personality
6 Attitides values and interests
7 Intelligence and aptitude
8 Thinking and problem solving
9 Methods of Psychology
Paper 2
1 Psychological measurements of Indiviadual differences
2 Application of psychology to Disadvantaged groups
3 Psychological problems of social integration
4/Prejudice
5 IT and other applications
6 Health /Quality of life /Happiness
7 Application of Psychology in other fields
8 Rehabilitation psychology
...REMEMBER , THE MANTRA is simple-- Read the same material as many times as possible rather than referring to varied sources --- I found this funda equally useful during my graduation days.
Thus , one should have the target of revising the whole of Psychology syllabus one day prior to the exam and this can be made possible only if you have compacted your notes / made a gist or a summary of every topic in point form-- very helpful for revisions.
There are a number of things which help one keep his/her cool .
The syllabus is so vast that almost no one can be confident of mastering it all before the examinations.
Remember that you have to attempt only 5 questions ---- you can judiciously skip some portions if you are short of time.
Other way to keep yourself level headed just before the exams is that you should keep telling yourself that it is quite possible that the portions you have left will not be asked in the exams; although it might happen the other way round but it is always better to be optimistic.
These suggestions may prove useful esp for those who are writing the mains for the first time.
Remember the following points; they are equally valid for almost all types of subjective examinations--
1) Spend the first few minutes reading all the questions (of course count and check the no. of printed sides;better safe than sorry)
2) Select the questions you will be attempting in the beginning itself;better to do so but not mandatory, helps in maintaining the flow while writing answers..
3) Attempt the answers that you know best in the beginning itself..they should be your best answers as in , use flow charts , diagrams etc wherever possible.. try to create diagrams /arrow diagrams etc whatever ,even though it may be repetitive of what you have already written in the answer.
4) Avoid using anything other than a HB pencil and/or a blue black ball pen
Avoid ink pens/gel pens ,unless you have water proof ink that doesn't blot the other side of the page.
Page quality of answer booklet is average so avoid risk taking-- acquaint yourself with the pen you will be using for writing the answers..
5) Time management is essential ; plan out beforehand how much time you will be spending on each answer..but remember that the pattern of questions might differ in the actual exam ..so be prepared to modify your time strategy accordingly.
6) Don't bother much about the word limits; you can safely exceed the said limit if you have quality matter to express and time at your disposal...there is no penalty for exceeding the word limit unless you start irritating the examiner by writing what is not required.
Keep in mind that 'above average' writing speed is a pre requisite before exceeding the word limit.
On an average 20- 25 min should be spent on an answer but again this is immaterial –Quality matters over quantity.
7) Use headings while writing answers; especially while answering sub- questions with in a question.
Underline the relevant words/sentences.
Use paragraphs while writing answers; points may be used only while writing factual answers but try to avoid using them.
8) Answer the 2 markers/3 markers in the beginning even if you know 10 out of 15(60 %) they are time saving and scoring as well ..
While answering them , use points that have current relevance/have been in the news lately.
9) Rough approximations of diagrams /maps may be made if you have time at hand..(for e.g. while answering a Science and Tech question or a Geopolitics one )
10) Practice statistics portion well before hand..(refer above)
For Public Administration ans Psychology
Same principles as above apply..
While studying these subjects , the demarcation between paper 1 and 2 has to be ignored; the principles and concepts have to be mentioned while writing the answers of paper 2 and the topics of paper 2 should be used to supplement paper 1's answers..
For paper 2 esp, the answers should be written in a general way i.e an essay approach has to be taken ; use examples from everyday life/ newspapers freely .. highlight the social schemes, program mes of Govt.
Answers should reflect your genuine concern for the down trodden / abused / children and women / Dalits and minorities and all those whose rights have been suppressed /violated and liberties challenged .
For Psychology, the following units should be done thoroughly and properly; they should be at your fingertips.
Paper 1
1 Introduction
2 Learning
3 Memory
4 Developmental Psychology
5 Personality
6 Attitides values and interests
7 Intelligence and aptitude
8 Thinking and problem solving
9 Methods of Psychology
Paper 2
1 Psychological measurements of Indiviadual differences
2 Application of psychology to Disadvantaged groups
3 Psychological problems of social integration
4/Prejudice
5 IT and other applications
6 Health /Quality of life /Happiness
7 Application of Psychology in other fields
8 Rehabilitation psychology
...REMEMBER , THE MANTRA is simple-- Read the same material as many times as possible rather than referring to varied sources --- I found this funda equally useful during my graduation days.
Thus , one should have the target of revising the whole of Psychology syllabus one day prior to the exam and this can be made possible only if you have compacted your notes / made a gist or a summary of every topic in point form-- very helpful for revisions.
There are a number of things which help one keep his/her cool .
The syllabus is so vast that almost no one can be confident of mastering it all before the examinations.
Remember that you have to attempt only 5 questions ---- you can judiciously skip some portions if you are short of time.
Other way to keep yourself level headed just before the exams is that you should keep telling yourself that it is quite possible that the portions you have left will not be asked in the exams; although it might happen the other way round but it is always better to be optimistic.
These suggestions may prove useful esp for those who are writing the mains for the first time.
The 'What and How' of the Civil Services Exam preparation.
The mains examination consists of 9 papers totalling 2000 marks.
These are 2 papers of GS and 2 of each optional.
1 Essay paper
1 English Language paper – compulsory
1 regional language paper -compulsory ( I opted for Hindi)
The last two papers are of qualifying nature only and their marks are not included in the total of 2000.
They are basically of X standard and not some thing to worry about but neither should they be taken for granted – English becomes a thorn for quite a few whose medium of instruction was not Englisgh during their school years and the regional language requires brushing up in case of the English medium students .. the best guide in these papers is the last few years question papers; they provide adequate feedback as to your readiness level in that subject- (equally true of all papers / entrance exams / professional exams e.g. M.B.,B.S annual exams) .
To boost my confidence in the language paper, I made columns on a plain sheet of paper to check my speed in précis writing for the Hindi language ..nothing should be taken for granted because there have been instances, no matter how rare, when brilliant candidates have failed to qualify in their first attempt because of failure in compulsory subjects.
General studies
For G.S , the NCERTS should be the main stay .
NCERT text books of
History ,Geography IX to XII,
Polity ,Economics- XI and XII
Science – IX and X
INDIA year book –if you have time , its a must . Helps you in mains as well.
Although this year (2010) the paper was a bit different from the usual , so it is advisable to have a flexible strategy for GS both for Prelims and mains BUT newspapers should be the mainstay.
For mains GS I referred the class notes of Vaji Ram and Ravi and the printed yellow books.
The Current affairs portion should also be supplemented by the Current Affairs special issues of any competition magazine and/or notes of any other institute like ALS but this should be done only after mastering the core materials at hand.
But newspapers should be the mainstay again.
The NCERTS are the base. One should consider referring other material only after mastering the NCERTS and not merely reading it – You have to study the books and the newspapers and not merely read them .
While reading the newspapers ,the following things have to be kept in mind.
THE HINDU newspaper is the most preferred one and most recommended one ; next comes the Times OF India ,followed by The hindustan Times-- preferably the National edition of any of them if easy access is possible.
In The HINDU , following things have to be studied.
1)The front page news
2)You can skip directly to the Editorial page-- read the two editorial articles religiously followed by other articles on this page and op-ed page-- they will also help in Essay ,Public Administration, Sociology,Psychology,Pol.Science. Economy and may be in other mains subjects as well.
3)Read the international news,especially those relating to the neighboring countries, visiting countries or countries to which a high ranking official from our country has made a visit.
Remember the bilateral/multilateral treaties /agreements /Important legislation/partnerships.
4)The Financial review on Mondays and the Science and tech portion on Thursdays.
5)Any other news related to any constitutional matter or of urgent importance.
In short, skip all political news ./keep a world atlas and an economics dictionary with while reading.
Some recommended Books other than NCERTS are as follows.
For Indian Polity
Subhash Kashyap … Our Constitution
Laxmikanth ( Both for Pre as well as mains)
Indian History
Modern Indian History _By Spectrum publications
For Indian Economy
Any Good Economics Dictionary is a must while reading newspapers as well as reading economics. (Collins ,Penguin )
The Special edition of Pratiyogita Darpan is a very good guide But care should be taken not to lose yourself in the depths of information packed in it – Best approach is to Read the boxes first and master them.
The Economic survey (Govt. of India) --The Introductory chapter , the chapter on Human development program mes and all the boxes again are very important ---You can safely skip the factual part , or can approximate some figures and memorize them.
Statistics
The statistics portion can fetch you cent percent marks provided you master it before hand --- practice last 10 years statistics questions and do this using a graph paper simulating actual exam conditions .
Speed and accuracy are the key in this portion … even though I did practice , I was unable to attempt two graph questions due to paucity of time.
(Spectrum's guide for Statistics is a good option.)
Science and Tech
The Science and tech portion can be supplemented by any good guide like that of Wizards S n T special issue that is published about 2-3 months before mains.
Please prepare the topics that have received Nobel prize in the current/last year.
Topics that have been in the news in the recent past are usually expected as questions—for eg , this year the bandwidth spectrum auction has brought back focus on broadband, 3G ,4G etc
The Biotechnology / Genetic Engineering /Cloning portions are also hot favorites.
India's Space program me / recent satellites etc.
One can also buy any 2 marker guide available in the market ; helps in a quick review/overview.
Essay
You are the best judge of how good an essay you can write.
A candidate with good writing skills need not bother for essay; the 10 or 12th std essays can be used to gauge ones ability in this aspect.
The material that one reads for the GS paper is sufficient to write a good essay.
Nevertheless , the following points have to be kept in mind.
1) An essay is different from the subject matter i.e. DO NOT write too much of facts and technicalities in an essay, it becomes tempting to do so esp if you know a lot regarding the essay topic.
2) An essay should be have multiple perspectives – you can easily begin with a brief introduction and add historical perspectives . Later social/economic cultural /geo political /psychological etc as many perspectives as possible throwing light on the topic from various angles. Do not express contradictory viewpoints ; if you are taking a particular stand, justify it with sound reasoning and logical explanation supplemented with few good examples. You can use a couple of quotes if you can recollect any but do not over do it.
3) Spend the first 30- 45 minutes in topic selection and making a brief outline of how you will begin the essay ,what all imp points you will be including and how the conclusion would look like. Do this at the back page using pencil. Think of all the possible points in this time only and org anise your thoughts coherently – use the TOPI (??!!)funda here … ( .TOPI is an abbv for THINK ORGANISE PLAN and IMPLEMENT.....:)
4) Give special attention to the presentation --
Avoid overwriting .
Each page sgould have atleast two paragraphs.
Underline sentences that you feel are important (Do not underline words!!)
WORD LENGTH -- In my opinion .1000- 1200 words are more than sufficent for a good essay - got 130/200 and my word length was around 1100 ; It is the quality that matters rather than quantity.
Make sure that your grammar/spellings are correct.
As far as I know, the essay papers are evaluated by English professors ; implies that they need not be 100 % factually accurate but the expression must be lucid and strong.
Public Administration
Laxmikant was my mainstay ; though I had done a casual reading of Awasthi Maheswari and Mohit Bhattacharya as well.
Sharma and Sadana can be considered as a base book but it is not sufficient; in fact there is no comprehensive book for public admn
New horizons of PA - Mohit bhatacharya
Indian Administration - Ramesh K.Arora and Rajini Goyal ….very important.
Pre guide for Public Admin - lakshmi kanth for mains too
IGNOU notes are also considered to be good/should be referred if candidate has enough time at hand.
Selected topics can be referred from issues of IJPA
( Indian journal of public administration)
but I personally feel that this should be done only when one has mastered the subjects concepts and some amount of factual matter.
Printed material of Vajiram and Ravi
Internet for topics not available anywhere.
Compact guides like Super 50 by Shubhra Saxena.
(This reading list is not at all comprehensive and is only indicative esp for those who have no time at their disposal )
The class notes of Mohanty Sir ( Synergy ) are quite comprehensive in them selves and those who refer it need not go for any other material .
Kindly note that the amount of study material available for Pub Ad. is so exhaustive that many aspirants tend to get lost while deciding what to read and what not ... Remember the "KISS" principle -- Keep it short and simple...
Read the same material 100 times rather than reading 100 different from 100 different sources.
The game changer for Pub Ad. is Answer writing practice for those who are not sure of their answers ----
Practice previous years questions and try to answers them in a comprehensive and lucid manner by not deviating from the main theme asked at the same time including as many different aspects as possible.
For Psychology--
Study material -
I referred to the class notes of Mukul Pathak Sir ; those who cannot attend his classes for any reasons, they can get his notes which are available at many xerox shops (Old Rajinder Nagar, Mukherjee nagar and Jawahar Book Depot Ber Sarai ..all in New Delhi )– although this amounts to piracy , but I believe that knowledge cannot be the preserve only of the moneyed classes.
The NCERTS should also be referred.
Refer Baron or Cicerrelli for topics which you are not able to understand.
Internet is a useful supplement provided it is used economically.
This is all that I recollect now, more will follow soon.
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
All The Best!!
These are 2 papers of GS and 2 of each optional.
1 Essay paper
1 English Language paper – compulsory
1 regional language paper -compulsory ( I opted for Hindi)
The last two papers are of qualifying nature only and their marks are not included in the total of 2000.
They are basically of X standard and not some thing to worry about but neither should they be taken for granted – English becomes a thorn for quite a few whose medium of instruction was not Englisgh during their school years and the regional language requires brushing up in case of the English medium students .. the best guide in these papers is the last few years question papers; they provide adequate feedback as to your readiness level in that subject- (equally true of all papers / entrance exams / professional exams e.g. M.B.,B.S annual exams) .
To boost my confidence in the language paper, I made columns on a plain sheet of paper to check my speed in précis writing for the Hindi language ..nothing should be taken for granted because there have been instances, no matter how rare, when brilliant candidates have failed to qualify in their first attempt because of failure in compulsory subjects.
General studies
For G.S , the NCERTS should be the main stay .
NCERT text books of
History ,Geography IX to XII,
Polity ,Economics- XI and XII
Science – IX and X
INDIA year book –if you have time , its a must . Helps you in mains as well.
Although this year (2010) the paper was a bit different from the usual , so it is advisable to have a flexible strategy for GS both for Prelims and mains BUT newspapers should be the mainstay.
For mains GS I referred the class notes of Vaji Ram and Ravi and the printed yellow books.
The Current affairs portion should also be supplemented by the Current Affairs special issues of any competition magazine and/or notes of any other institute like ALS but this should be done only after mastering the core materials at hand.
But newspapers should be the mainstay again.
The NCERTS are the base. One should consider referring other material only after mastering the NCERTS and not merely reading it – You have to study the books and the newspapers and not merely read them .
While reading the newspapers ,the following things have to be kept in mind.
THE HINDU newspaper is the most preferred one and most recommended one ; next comes the Times OF India ,followed by The hindustan Times-- preferably the National edition of any of them if easy access is possible.
In The HINDU , following things have to be studied.
1)The front page news
2)You can skip directly to the Editorial page-- read the two editorial articles religiously followed by other articles on this page and op-ed page-- they will also help in Essay ,Public Administration, Sociology,Psychology,Pol.Science. Economy and may be in other mains subjects as well.
3)Read the international news,especially those relating to the neighboring countries, visiting countries or countries to which a high ranking official from our country has made a visit.
Remember the bilateral/multilateral treaties /agreements /Important legislation/partnerships.
4)The Financial review on Mondays and the Science and tech portion on Thursdays.
5)Any other news related to any constitutional matter or of urgent importance.
In short, skip all political news ./keep a world atlas and an economics dictionary with while reading.
Some recommended Books other than NCERTS are as follows.
For Indian Polity
Subhash Kashyap … Our Constitution
Laxmikanth ( Both for Pre as well as mains)
Indian History
Modern Indian History _By Spectrum publications
For Indian Economy
Any Good Economics Dictionary is a must while reading newspapers as well as reading economics. (Collins ,Penguin )
The Special edition of Pratiyogita Darpan is a very good guide But care should be taken not to lose yourself in the depths of information packed in it – Best approach is to Read the boxes first and master them.
The Economic survey (Govt. of India) --The Introductory chapter , the chapter on Human development program mes and all the boxes again are very important ---You can safely skip the factual part , or can approximate some figures and memorize them.
Statistics
The statistics portion can fetch you cent percent marks provided you master it before hand --- practice last 10 years statistics questions and do this using a graph paper simulating actual exam conditions .
Speed and accuracy are the key in this portion … even though I did practice , I was unable to attempt two graph questions due to paucity of time.
(Spectrum's guide for Statistics is a good option.)
Science and Tech
The Science and tech portion can be supplemented by any good guide like that of Wizards S n T special issue that is published about 2-3 months before mains.
Please prepare the topics that have received Nobel prize in the current/last year.
Topics that have been in the news in the recent past are usually expected as questions—for eg , this year the bandwidth spectrum auction has brought back focus on broadband, 3G ,4G etc
The Biotechnology / Genetic Engineering /Cloning portions are also hot favorites.
India's Space program me / recent satellites etc.
One can also buy any 2 marker guide available in the market ; helps in a quick review/overview.
Essay
You are the best judge of how good an essay you can write.
A candidate with good writing skills need not bother for essay; the 10 or 12th std essays can be used to gauge ones ability in this aspect.
The material that one reads for the GS paper is sufficient to write a good essay.
Nevertheless , the following points have to be kept in mind.
1) An essay is different from the subject matter i.e. DO NOT write too much of facts and technicalities in an essay, it becomes tempting to do so esp if you know a lot regarding the essay topic.
2) An essay should be have multiple perspectives – you can easily begin with a brief introduction and add historical perspectives . Later social/economic cultural /geo political /psychological etc as many perspectives as possible throwing light on the topic from various angles. Do not express contradictory viewpoints ; if you are taking a particular stand, justify it with sound reasoning and logical explanation supplemented with few good examples. You can use a couple of quotes if you can recollect any but do not over do it.
3) Spend the first 30- 45 minutes in topic selection and making a brief outline of how you will begin the essay ,what all imp points you will be including and how the conclusion would look like. Do this at the back page using pencil. Think of all the possible points in this time only and org anise your thoughts coherently – use the TOPI (??!!)funda here … ( .TOPI is an abbv for THINK ORGANISE PLAN and IMPLEMENT.....:)
4) Give special attention to the presentation --
Avoid overwriting .
Each page sgould have atleast two paragraphs.
Underline sentences that you feel are important (Do not underline words!!)
WORD LENGTH -- In my opinion .1000- 1200 words are more than sufficent for a good essay - got 130/200 and my word length was around 1100 ; It is the quality that matters rather than quantity.
Make sure that your grammar/spellings are correct.
As far as I know, the essay papers are evaluated by English professors ; implies that they need not be 100 % factually accurate but the expression must be lucid and strong.
Public Administration
Laxmikant was my mainstay ; though I had done a casual reading of Awasthi Maheswari and Mohit Bhattacharya as well.
Sharma and Sadana can be considered as a base book but it is not sufficient; in fact there is no comprehensive book for public admn
New horizons of PA - Mohit bhatacharya
Indian Administration - Ramesh K.Arora and Rajini Goyal ….very important.
Pre guide for Public Admin - lakshmi kanth for mains too
IGNOU notes are also considered to be good/should be referred if candidate has enough time at hand.
Selected topics can be referred from issues of IJPA
( Indian journal of public administration)
but I personally feel that this should be done only when one has mastered the subjects concepts and some amount of factual matter.
Printed material of Vajiram and Ravi
Internet for topics not available anywhere.
Compact guides like Super 50 by Shubhra Saxena.
(This reading list is not at all comprehensive and is only indicative esp for those who have no time at their disposal )
The class notes of Mohanty Sir ( Synergy ) are quite comprehensive in them selves and those who refer it need not go for any other material .
Kindly note that the amount of study material available for Pub Ad. is so exhaustive that many aspirants tend to get lost while deciding what to read and what not ... Remember the "KISS" principle -- Keep it short and simple...
Read the same material 100 times rather than reading 100 different from 100 different sources.
The game changer for Pub Ad. is Answer writing practice for those who are not sure of their answers ----
Practice previous years questions and try to answers them in a comprehensive and lucid manner by not deviating from the main theme asked at the same time including as many different aspects as possible.
For Psychology--
Study material -
I referred to the class notes of Mukul Pathak Sir ; those who cannot attend his classes for any reasons, they can get his notes which are available at many xerox shops (Old Rajinder Nagar, Mukherjee nagar and Jawahar Book Depot Ber Sarai ..all in New Delhi )– although this amounts to piracy , but I believe that knowledge cannot be the preserve only of the moneyed classes.
The NCERTS should also be referred.
Refer Baron or Cicerrelli for topics which you are not able to understand.
Internet is a useful supplement provided it is used economically.
This is all that I recollect now, more will follow soon.
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
All The Best!!
My Strategy
(Note ;Although I have made many generalizations ,one should understand that variations and exceptions are possible and many times there is no direct co relation between marks and performance-- there is NO DIRECT cause -effect relationship in such an exam if a candidate fails to make a mark despite his/her best efforts.
Since I believe in the Will of God, I understand that certain things; in fact nothing is in our hands except the ability and capacity to give our best efforts; please note that even such a thing might not be possible due to severe environmental constraints.)
Since this was my first (and thankfully my last) attempt so my humble suggestions may prove useful esp for the beginners ...
My optionals were
1) Public Administration --reasons ?
The direct and practical significance of the subject in the field of administration.
The compact and manageable syllabus …. and... after reading a few chapters , I actually started liking this subject.
2) Psychology – Practical utility for life other than UPSC,
A scientific approach.... an apparent similarity with Medical science ,
and last but not the least ,availability of a good teacher.
My decisions regarding choice of optionals were not made over night ; in fact at one point of time I was contemplating history and sociology as one optional , but this was long before I started serious preparation for the exam.
My suggestion regarding choice of optionals -
1- An aspirant you should keep your traits in mind before deciding.
If you have good writing skills and the ability to express well whatever you want to, then the obvious choice is any Humanities subject(Sociology,Psychology,Public Administration,Philosophy,History etc )--- please read some standard (read NCERT ) books of the optionals that you are contemplating .
2- Your interest in the subject( so that you can sustain prolonged reading hours over months ) should be of paramount importance.
If you have the ability and interest and put in sufficient effort , you can qualify with any permissible combination of subjects.
3- One should also keep in mind the reason for the popularity of certain subject(s) and should not neglect it merely on the basis that so many candidate's are opting for it , so why should I ?
Nor should one opt for a subject just because many others are opting for it.
Please note that coaching is not an absolute must . Take it only if you cannot prepare the subject on your own .But it is better to get intelligent guidance from seniors( not necessarily those who have qualified )
I did not go for coaching of any sorts for the prelims / not even notes of any institute . My preparation relied exclusively on the Newspapers – The Hindu and one years issues of Civil services chronicle magazine.( Please note that there are other equally good or maybe even better alternatives in the market.)
For topics other than GS. I took the help of a G.S manual ..even though I was not able to complete it before the prelims.
During the course of preparation there are bound to be periods of ups and downs BUT at no point of time should you let negative thoughts over take you.... Keep telling yourself that you are going to make it in this attempt itself.
Since I believe in the Will of God, I understand that certain things; in fact nothing is in our hands except the ability and capacity to give our best efforts; please note that even such a thing might not be possible due to severe environmental constraints.)
Since this was my first (and thankfully my last) attempt so my humble suggestions may prove useful esp for the beginners ...
My optionals were
1) Public Administration --reasons ?
The direct and practical significance of the subject in the field of administration.
The compact and manageable syllabus …. and... after reading a few chapters , I actually started liking this subject.
2) Psychology – Practical utility for life other than UPSC,
A scientific approach.... an apparent similarity with Medical science ,
and last but not the least ,availability of a good teacher.
My decisions regarding choice of optionals were not made over night ; in fact at one point of time I was contemplating history and sociology as one optional , but this was long before I started serious preparation for the exam.
My suggestion regarding choice of optionals -
1- An aspirant you should keep your traits in mind before deciding.
If you have good writing skills and the ability to express well whatever you want to, then the obvious choice is any Humanities subject(Sociology,Psychology,Public Administration,Philosophy,History etc )--- please read some standard (read NCERT ) books of the optionals that you are contemplating .
2- Your interest in the subject( so that you can sustain prolonged reading hours over months ) should be of paramount importance.
If you have the ability and interest and put in sufficient effort , you can qualify with any permissible combination of subjects.
3- One should also keep in mind the reason for the popularity of certain subject(s) and should not neglect it merely on the basis that so many candidate's are opting for it , so why should I ?
Nor should one opt for a subject just because many others are opting for it.
Please note that coaching is not an absolute must . Take it only if you cannot prepare the subject on your own .But it is better to get intelligent guidance from seniors( not necessarily those who have qualified )
I did not go for coaching of any sorts for the prelims / not even notes of any institute . My preparation relied exclusively on the Newspapers – The Hindu and one years issues of Civil services chronicle magazine.( Please note that there are other equally good or maybe even better alternatives in the market.)
For topics other than GS. I took the help of a G.S manual ..even though I was not able to complete it before the prelims.
During the course of preparation there are bound to be periods of ups and downs BUT at no point of time should you let negative thoughts over take you.... Keep telling yourself that you are going to make it in this attempt itself.
The Interview and other Details..
My Personality Test was scheduled for the after noon session of 7th of April and I was the 4th candidate to be interviewed by the board chaired by (Retd.) Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma.
I wore a light grey shirt with a grey tie and black trousers ,along with the usual black belt and shoes for the day.
( The interview room usually happens to be the office of the UPSC member who chairs that board; I am not sure if exceptions exist
Before being asked to actually enter the room, the candidate is usually made to wait for a few;5-6 minutes in my case, outside the interview room , after being escorted from the common waiting hall .
These minutes are crucial to calm down the excited nerves as well as to take in the surroundings / environment of the location;
I entered the room and politely greeted the lady member first followed by the other four members,with a Good Afternoon accompanied by a slight nod and eye contact.
The Chairman asked me to take the chair and few introductory questions like My name and date of birth were asked.
Following is the detailed transcript as I recollect.
Chairman ( CM) ; Who was Muhammad Iqbal?
Me: Sir Muhammad Iqbal was a lawyer and a freedom fighter who is best known for writing the Tarana e hind ' Sare jahan se accha' in India; he had an Ideological change of mind and favoured partition and because of which he is also considered as the ideological founder of Pakistan...
CM : (looks at some sheets ) So you have completed your graduation in 2008? What have you been doing since then?
Me: I did my intern ship for I year and since March 2009 I have been preparing for this exam.
CM: ( Nods his head ) So your hobbies are Reading novels and internet surfing..no sports...is it correct to call you a couch potato?
Me : No Sir, since I do go out for jogging and walks occasionally, I don't think its right..
CM : ..tell me the importance of sports in a persons life.
Me : Sports is very essential for a healthy life, it helps in keeping the body and mind fit, it enables the maximum utilisation of ones potential,hones leadership and team management skills.......(blah blah...)... helps in breaking mental barriers..shapes up our personality....and can also be taken up as a profession...
CM : so this means that these skills are lacking in you?
Me : Sir sports is only one of the aspects of judging a personality..there are other aspects as well..
CM : What are those aspects..??
Me: ..the person's experiences in his life, outlook and thinking , influence of his or her environment..academic achievements, blah bla bla ...( I don't remember what all I said ....)
CM: What are the positive contributions of the British rule in India ? Are there any positive contributions?
Me: Yes Sir there are .. the process of social reform got speeded up ...abolition of practices like sati (..etc..)...introduction of telegraph , railways ...although they were intended for the rulers yet they contributed positively to some extent....
CM to M1 ..Sir you ask now...
M1 asked an introductory question about my place of birth …
then
M1 : Tell me , what is the Israel Palestine conflict about?
Me:.....Sir this is a centuries old issue between the three major Abrahamic religions i.e. Christianity ,Judaism and Islam... the land of Jerusalem is considered holy by all these religions and the Jews have had a desire for a homeland with the capital as Jerusalem … the recent conflict has arisen and escalated when, in the aftermath of the Holocaust and with the backing of Western nations , the country of Israel was formed after an ethnic cleansing of the native Arab inhabitants ... ..there was a massive displacement of population...also the fact remains that Israel has not yet declared its International boundaries and has been imposing a blockade on the Gaza strip creating a huge humanitarian crisis and people living as refugees ....and in the war last year,although the alleged missile attacks by Hamas
are unacceptable , the disproportionate retaliation and use of force against civilians is highly condemnable....
M1: What has it lead to ?
Me : .. it has caused a great humanitarian crisis especially for the Gazan women and children and even the Israeli people live with a sense of fear and insecurity ...also this issue has given rise to other conflicts and some groups justify their violence on the basis of this issue...
M1; So how can this issue be resolved?
Me: I believe that talks and negotiations are the only way out …
M1: Talks accompanies by some military actions as well...?
Me:NO SIR..only talks...( the bold letters show that I emphasized this point)
M1 : Only talks?
Me: only talks.
M1 :Okay, so what is India's stand on this issue?
Me: India recognises the right of self determination of the people of Palestine..
M1 : How are India's relations with Israel and Palestine?
Me: India has friendly relations with both Israel and Palestine..
M1: Should India do more to resolve this conflict ? What should it do?
Me: Sir, Israel is a militarily advanced nation with advanced technologies which we need...we have to be practical and keep our national interests in mind ..so we have to take a balanced approach...
M1 : Okay...( over to M2)
M2: Do you know of a process in which the performance of a Govt. scheme is judged by the results achieved....(something like this …)
Me: Yes sir , it is called as Outcome Budgeting...(explained what it is...)
M2 : How can you help in better delivery of Govt. schemes and more effective implementation?
Me: Sir I think that the most important aspect in this regard is that we should involve people for whom the schemes are meant in the process of governance , this should be done at all levels ..planning /implementation and review... we should increase awareness of Govt. schemes among the common people... the tools like RTI ( Right to Information ) and Social Auditing are very important …..
M2: What are the problems faced by Agriculture in India? ( A very open ended question )
Me : One of the major problems is the fact that a large number of farmers practice subsistence agriculture ..they are barely able to survive and therefore are unable to use modern technology and fertilisers .Even those who can afford it , are unaware of the exact and proper requirements of soil for fertilizers ,ratio in which to mix water ...there is a disconnect, our lab technologies are not reaching the farmers and a lot of unawareness remains .Also there is a great requirement for food storage and processing... lot of the farm produce goes waste as farmers don't get enough buyers ,they have to dump their produce ; this is also a consequence of the fact that most of the farmers start growing the crop which was able to attract higher prices ,resulting in the fact that the following year the prices crash again and its the farmers who again suffer.... and a single illness in a family plunges even prosperous farmers to poverty as most of the time they have to spend out of their pockets...
M2: what is sustainable development?
Me: (defined it in simple words)
M3 : So you have Psychology as one of your optionals ? You must have studied Statistics? Even in your MBBS days?
Me: A bit Sir,
M3 : OK, tell me what are the uses of Statistics in administration.
Me: Sir it has a lot of uses beginning with sampling – there are various ways in which we create a sample ...surveys are also essential ….and then reliability and validity … and tests like chi square ...and others which I don't recollect now....
M3: Are psychology and philosophy related?
Me: ...( pause )... Psychology derives its roots from philosophy...
M3 : What's the difference between Philosophy and Psychology?
Me.: Philosophy is a highly subjective subject whereas Psychology is much more objective...
M3: How ? Is it a science? Why ?
Me: Psychology is a science...it strives for objectivity as much as possible ...though it is not an exact science like physics and chemistry..
M3: What is science?
Me:: Sir Science is an approach, its a way of thinking that employs observation ,logic ...reasoning...so in that respect everything can be approached in that manner..
M3: OK ,what are the other differences between philosophy and psychology?
Me: …..sorry sir I am unable to recollect them now...
M3: What is IQ?
Me: It is the intelligence quotient.....( don't remember what exactly I said ..)
M3: How is it measured?
Me: (Mental Age / Chronological Age ) X 100..
M3: Amy other method? Are there other methods to measure IQ?
..Me: ..Yes Sir there are other methods but I am unable to recollect them now.
M3: What is EQ?
Me: (Explained what is Emotional Quotient)
M3: What are the problems in health care in India?
Me: Sir besides the lack of proper health care infra structure , there is a massive shortage of personnel especially at the primary and secondary level...
Even the Doctors graduating are not ready to serve in rural areas because they cite the obvious reasons of lack of good schools, roads and electricity and recreation facilities for their families...also most of the medical graduates are from class I cities and they aspire for a better standard of life...many of my colleagues are planning to migrate to US or Australia...
CM: In the recent budget there has been an increase in spending for the tertiary care....?
Me:Yes sir I believe that more allocation should have been given to the PHCs and CHCs... many times the patients arrive at AIIMS for such simple things as appendix removal which should have been dealt with at the CHC level itself...
M3/CM: How is the health administration of your district?
Me: I did my intern ship from Distt. Hospital and from what I saw I can say that the conditions there are not good..
CM: How?
Me: Sir I found that a lot of patients who attend the OPD are unable to get the medicines from the dispensary due to shortage or unavailability and they are forced to buy them from outside..there are many Govt. schemes but they are mostly on paper...practically they have no impact..also
those who need the benefit of Govt. schemes most are unable to get it. There are many patients who are unable to feed themselves and to boost it they don't have the BPL cards depriving them of the facilities available for them and those who have the cards don't actually need them.... people are working the system to their benefit...
M3: What are these facilities?
Me: Sir free X rays , blood tests and other investigations...
CM: If your made in charge of the health administration of your district ,what would you do?
Me: Sir I would first of all enquire what all Govt. schemes are being implemented in the Distt. On paper...
CM” Recently the Right to education Bill has been passed ,Do you think there should be a Right to Health as well?
Me: Yes Sir, there should be one...
CM: Do you have any idea what all resources it would require?
Me: Sir I believe health expenditure of about seven to eight percent of the GDP,
M4: Don' you think 75 is a big amount ..?? Or is it 7.5 percent?
Me: Ma'am I meant seven or eight percent. (Apparently , the 'seven to eight percent' was understood as 'seventy eight'!!! )
M4: Yes,that is what it will require.
(some member stopped me midway with another question.......?? Don't remember..)
(Off to M4; the lady member)
M4: You must have been posted in a PHC during your intern ship? What did you find there?( Primary health Centre )
Me: During my graduation also I was posted at a PHC... It was a single room and the required amenities were absent, even there were no medicines,no syringes ..although all these were present on paper but actually nothing was there..
M4 : You mean to say there is lot of corruption?
Me: Yes ma'am.
M4: So you have studied in Mangalore...these days it has been in news because of what..?What is the Red corridor..does it extend up to Mangalore?
Me: The Red Corridor refers to the area that is under the influence of Maoists ..
CM: What all states are under its influence?
Me: ...(named them)..
M4: What do you think is the cause of the rise of maoists?
Me: Ma'am long term administrative neglect is the major cause.. over the past 60 years there has been a lot of development but it has been quite unequal leading to a lot of regional imbalances..
M4: where are these maoists getting support from?
Me:,,its mostly the original forest dwellers , the tribal who have been displaced ... the inhabitants of the ..
M4: Why did they take up arms? What were there demands?
Me: They wanted their rights to be addressed, their land to be given back to them...their needs to be fulfilled...
M4: Is it what they want now? What is their aim now?
Me: No ma'am they have stated that they want to overthrow the existing regime and gain complete control by 2050..
M4: Recently in the news ,their has been talk of military action , some people have been calling for a war against them..what do you think ? Is it not a bit extreme..?
Me: I think that war is not the right word..its a bit extreme..
M4: Why?
Me: ..because after all they are our own ..you don't wage war against your own citizens..
M4:Yes.OK Who is Muhammad Younis?...gravamen bank....?
Me: He got the noble prize for his contribution in the field of micro finance.....
M4 : What is his contribution?
Me: He has given the idea of merging the benefits of economies of scale and the application of technological innovation for the benefit of the masses...
M4: What exactly has been his contribution?
Me: He has brought the micro finance to Self help groups (SHGs) specially run by women..
M4: So what has it lead to?
Me: It has lead to women empowerment.
M4: Is his model being replicated in India?
Me: Ma'am attempts are being made...
M4: It IS being implemented here.
CM: Some of your friends before you said that the lack of infrastructure is a basic deterrent for doctors joining rural postings . They are justified in it , so what is wrong in that?
Me: there is nothing wrong in that but the fact is that even those who do join are not attending their postings...
CM: Yes that is right...absenteeism is a big issue.
OK Thank you . ( turns to members) Any more Questions ?
( They decline...)
I politely wish them a thank you and leave the room...)
MY Observations immediately after the interview:
Thank God I didn't get nervous ...overall a fair enough one.
After about a week or so, the interview would get re played in my mind and I was sort -of not cent percent satisfied, better alternative answers were cropping up in my mind -after all this is human tendency.
My opinion regarding interviews :
Although regarded as highly subjective at times, one should not forget that there are five extremely experienced members who are judging the candidates personality.
There were a couple of things in my mind before the interview ; for eg, One thing I was particular about was that I had to be my genuine self; and this was the only advice from one of my teachers.
This aspect was reflected by the fact that even though I tried to maintain a calm posture throughout, I got a bit passionate while answering certain questions; careful observers might judge which questions I am referring to.
The passion is not only reflected by the tone of the voice ,but also by the body language and maybe some hand gestures—which are at best avoidable.
My interview lasted for about 25 minutes and almost all the answers were given spontaneously without much thought.
I had attended two mock interviews – and this was more of a confidence building measure rather than anything else ; attending other candidate's mock interviews is a much better idea ,as it gives an idea about the process and instils some confidence as well in the totally uninitiated.
The interview is more of a 'purposive and directed communication ' a ' personality test' rather than a test of knowledge which has already been tested at the previous stages.
There is a general understanding among aspirants that even an iota of what you don't actually mean to say but nevertheless say that, gets caught... but if you are able to give the expected answer and not necessarily the answer you want to give, you can sail through. In short , your strong personal beliefs need not be truly reflected in all the answers...
I wore a light grey shirt with a grey tie and black trousers ,along with the usual black belt and shoes for the day.
( The interview room usually happens to be the office of the UPSC member who chairs that board; I am not sure if exceptions exist
Before being asked to actually enter the room, the candidate is usually made to wait for a few;5-6 minutes in my case, outside the interview room , after being escorted from the common waiting hall .
These minutes are crucial to calm down the excited nerves as well as to take in the surroundings / environment of the location;
I entered the room and politely greeted the lady member first followed by the other four members,with a Good Afternoon accompanied by a slight nod and eye contact.
The Chairman asked me to take the chair and few introductory questions like My name and date of birth were asked.
Following is the detailed transcript as I recollect.
Chairman ( CM) ; Who was Muhammad Iqbal?
Me: Sir Muhammad Iqbal was a lawyer and a freedom fighter who is best known for writing the Tarana e hind ' Sare jahan se accha' in India; he had an Ideological change of mind and favoured partition and because of which he is also considered as the ideological founder of Pakistan...
CM : (looks at some sheets ) So you have completed your graduation in 2008? What have you been doing since then?
Me: I did my intern ship for I year and since March 2009 I have been preparing for this exam.
CM: ( Nods his head ) So your hobbies are Reading novels and internet surfing..no sports...is it correct to call you a couch potato?
Me : No Sir, since I do go out for jogging and walks occasionally, I don't think its right..
CM : ..tell me the importance of sports in a persons life.
Me : Sports is very essential for a healthy life, it helps in keeping the body and mind fit, it enables the maximum utilisation of ones potential,hones leadership and team management skills.......(blah blah...)... helps in breaking mental barriers..shapes up our personality....and can also be taken up as a profession...
CM : so this means that these skills are lacking in you?
Me : Sir sports is only one of the aspects of judging a personality..there are other aspects as well..
CM : What are those aspects..??
Me: ..the person's experiences in his life, outlook and thinking , influence of his or her environment..academic achievements, blah bla bla ...( I don't remember what all I said ....)
CM: What are the positive contributions of the British rule in India ? Are there any positive contributions?
Me: Yes Sir there are .. the process of social reform got speeded up ...abolition of practices like sati (..etc..)...introduction of telegraph , railways ...although they were intended for the rulers yet they contributed positively to some extent....
CM to M1 ..Sir you ask now...
M1 asked an introductory question about my place of birth …
then
M1 : Tell me , what is the Israel Palestine conflict about?
Me:.....Sir this is a centuries old issue between the three major Abrahamic religions i.e. Christianity ,Judaism and Islam... the land of Jerusalem is considered holy by all these religions and the Jews have had a desire for a homeland with the capital as Jerusalem … the recent conflict has arisen and escalated when, in the aftermath of the Holocaust and with the backing of Western nations , the country of Israel was formed after an ethnic cleansing of the native Arab inhabitants ... ..there was a massive displacement of population...also the fact remains that Israel has not yet declared its International boundaries and has been imposing a blockade on the Gaza strip creating a huge humanitarian crisis and people living as refugees ....and in the war last year,although the alleged missile attacks by Hamas
are unacceptable , the disproportionate retaliation and use of force against civilians is highly condemnable....
M1: What has it lead to ?
Me : .. it has caused a great humanitarian crisis especially for the Gazan women and children and even the Israeli people live with a sense of fear and insecurity ...also this issue has given rise to other conflicts and some groups justify their violence on the basis of this issue...
M1; So how can this issue be resolved?
Me: I believe that talks and negotiations are the only way out …
M1: Talks accompanies by some military actions as well...?
Me:NO SIR..only talks...( the bold letters show that I emphasized this point)
M1 : Only talks?
Me: only talks.
M1 :Okay, so what is India's stand on this issue?
Me: India recognises the right of self determination of the people of Palestine..
M1 : How are India's relations with Israel and Palestine?
Me: India has friendly relations with both Israel and Palestine..
M1: Should India do more to resolve this conflict ? What should it do?
Me: Sir, Israel is a militarily advanced nation with advanced technologies which we need...we have to be practical and keep our national interests in mind ..so we have to take a balanced approach...
M1 : Okay...( over to M2)
M2: Do you know of a process in which the performance of a Govt. scheme is judged by the results achieved....(something like this …)
Me: Yes sir , it is called as Outcome Budgeting...(explained what it is...)
M2 : How can you help in better delivery of Govt. schemes and more effective implementation?
Me: Sir I think that the most important aspect in this regard is that we should involve people for whom the schemes are meant in the process of governance , this should be done at all levels ..planning /implementation and review... we should increase awareness of Govt. schemes among the common people... the tools like RTI ( Right to Information ) and Social Auditing are very important …..
M2: What are the problems faced by Agriculture in India? ( A very open ended question )
Me : One of the major problems is the fact that a large number of farmers practice subsistence agriculture ..they are barely able to survive and therefore are unable to use modern technology and fertilisers .Even those who can afford it , are unaware of the exact and proper requirements of soil for fertilizers ,ratio in which to mix water ...there is a disconnect, our lab technologies are not reaching the farmers and a lot of unawareness remains .Also there is a great requirement for food storage and processing... lot of the farm produce goes waste as farmers don't get enough buyers ,they have to dump their produce ; this is also a consequence of the fact that most of the farmers start growing the crop which was able to attract higher prices ,resulting in the fact that the following year the prices crash again and its the farmers who again suffer.... and a single illness in a family plunges even prosperous farmers to poverty as most of the time they have to spend out of their pockets...
M2: what is sustainable development?
Me: (defined it in simple words)
M3 : So you have Psychology as one of your optionals ? You must have studied Statistics? Even in your MBBS days?
Me: A bit Sir,
M3 : OK, tell me what are the uses of Statistics in administration.
Me: Sir it has a lot of uses beginning with sampling – there are various ways in which we create a sample ...surveys are also essential ….and then reliability and validity … and tests like chi square ...and others which I don't recollect now....
M3: Are psychology and philosophy related?
Me: ...( pause )... Psychology derives its roots from philosophy...
M3 : What's the difference between Philosophy and Psychology?
Me.: Philosophy is a highly subjective subject whereas Psychology is much more objective...
M3: How ? Is it a science? Why ?
Me: Psychology is a science...it strives for objectivity as much as possible ...though it is not an exact science like physics and chemistry..
M3: What is science?
Me:: Sir Science is an approach, its a way of thinking that employs observation ,logic ...reasoning...so in that respect everything can be approached in that manner..
M3: OK ,what are the other differences between philosophy and psychology?
Me: …..sorry sir I am unable to recollect them now...
M3: What is IQ?
Me: It is the intelligence quotient.....( don't remember what exactly I said ..)
M3: How is it measured?
Me: (Mental Age / Chronological Age ) X 100..
M3: Amy other method? Are there other methods to measure IQ?
..Me: ..Yes Sir there are other methods but I am unable to recollect them now.
M3: What is EQ?
Me: (Explained what is Emotional Quotient)
M3: What are the problems in health care in India?
Me: Sir besides the lack of proper health care infra structure , there is a massive shortage of personnel especially at the primary and secondary level...
Even the Doctors graduating are not ready to serve in rural areas because they cite the obvious reasons of lack of good schools, roads and electricity and recreation facilities for their families...also most of the medical graduates are from class I cities and they aspire for a better standard of life...many of my colleagues are planning to migrate to US or Australia...
CM: In the recent budget there has been an increase in spending for the tertiary care....?
Me:Yes sir I believe that more allocation should have been given to the PHCs and CHCs... many times the patients arrive at AIIMS for such simple things as appendix removal which should have been dealt with at the CHC level itself...
M3/CM: How is the health administration of your district?
Me: I did my intern ship from Distt. Hospital and from what I saw I can say that the conditions there are not good..
CM: How?
Me: Sir I found that a lot of patients who attend the OPD are unable to get the medicines from the dispensary due to shortage or unavailability and they are forced to buy them from outside..there are many Govt. schemes but they are mostly on paper...practically they have no impact..also
those who need the benefit of Govt. schemes most are unable to get it. There are many patients who are unable to feed themselves and to boost it they don't have the BPL cards depriving them of the facilities available for them and those who have the cards don't actually need them.... people are working the system to their benefit...
M3: What are these facilities?
Me: Sir free X rays , blood tests and other investigations...
CM: If your made in charge of the health administration of your district ,what would you do?
Me: Sir I would first of all enquire what all Govt. schemes are being implemented in the Distt. On paper...
CM” Recently the Right to education Bill has been passed ,Do you think there should be a Right to Health as well?
Me: Yes Sir, there should be one...
CM: Do you have any idea what all resources it would require?
Me: Sir I believe health expenditure of about seven to eight percent of the GDP,
M4: Don' you think 75 is a big amount ..?? Or is it 7.5 percent?
Me: Ma'am I meant seven or eight percent. (Apparently , the 'seven to eight percent' was understood as 'seventy eight'!!! )
M4: Yes,that is what it will require.
(some member stopped me midway with another question.......?? Don't remember..)
(Off to M4; the lady member)
M4: You must have been posted in a PHC during your intern ship? What did you find there?( Primary health Centre )
Me: During my graduation also I was posted at a PHC... It was a single room and the required amenities were absent, even there were no medicines,no syringes ..although all these were present on paper but actually nothing was there..
M4 : You mean to say there is lot of corruption?
Me: Yes ma'am.
M4: So you have studied in Mangalore...these days it has been in news because of what..?What is the Red corridor..does it extend up to Mangalore?
Me: The Red Corridor refers to the area that is under the influence of Maoists ..
CM: What all states are under its influence?
Me: ...(named them)..
M4: What do you think is the cause of the rise of maoists?
Me: Ma'am long term administrative neglect is the major cause.. over the past 60 years there has been a lot of development but it has been quite unequal leading to a lot of regional imbalances..
M4: where are these maoists getting support from?
Me:,,its mostly the original forest dwellers , the tribal who have been displaced ... the inhabitants of the ..
M4: Why did they take up arms? What were there demands?
Me: They wanted their rights to be addressed, their land to be given back to them...their needs to be fulfilled...
M4: Is it what they want now? What is their aim now?
Me: No ma'am they have stated that they want to overthrow the existing regime and gain complete control by 2050..
M4: Recently in the news ,their has been talk of military action , some people have been calling for a war against them..what do you think ? Is it not a bit extreme..?
Me: I think that war is not the right word..its a bit extreme..
M4: Why?
Me: ..because after all they are our own ..you don't wage war against your own citizens..
M4:Yes.OK Who is Muhammad Younis?...gravamen bank....?
Me: He got the noble prize for his contribution in the field of micro finance.....
M4 : What is his contribution?
Me: He has given the idea of merging the benefits of economies of scale and the application of technological innovation for the benefit of the masses...
M4: What exactly has been his contribution?
Me: He has brought the micro finance to Self help groups (SHGs) specially run by women..
M4: So what has it lead to?
Me: It has lead to women empowerment.
M4: Is his model being replicated in India?
Me: Ma'am attempts are being made...
M4: It IS being implemented here.
CM: Some of your friends before you said that the lack of infrastructure is a basic deterrent for doctors joining rural postings . They are justified in it , so what is wrong in that?
Me: there is nothing wrong in that but the fact is that even those who do join are not attending their postings...
CM: Yes that is right...absenteeism is a big issue.
OK Thank you . ( turns to members) Any more Questions ?
( They decline...)
I politely wish them a thank you and leave the room...)
MY Observations immediately after the interview:
Thank God I didn't get nervous ...overall a fair enough one.
After about a week or so, the interview would get re played in my mind and I was sort -of not cent percent satisfied, better alternative answers were cropping up in my mind -after all this is human tendency.
My opinion regarding interviews :
Although regarded as highly subjective at times, one should not forget that there are five extremely experienced members who are judging the candidates personality.
There were a couple of things in my mind before the interview ; for eg, One thing I was particular about was that I had to be my genuine self; and this was the only advice from one of my teachers.
This aspect was reflected by the fact that even though I tried to maintain a calm posture throughout, I got a bit passionate while answering certain questions; careful observers might judge which questions I am referring to.
The passion is not only reflected by the tone of the voice ,but also by the body language and maybe some hand gestures—which are at best avoidable.
My interview lasted for about 25 minutes and almost all the answers were given spontaneously without much thought.
I had attended two mock interviews – and this was more of a confidence building measure rather than anything else ; attending other candidate's mock interviews is a much better idea ,as it gives an idea about the process and instils some confidence as well in the totally uninitiated.
The interview is more of a 'purposive and directed communication ' a ' personality test' rather than a test of knowledge which has already been tested at the previous stages.
There is a general understanding among aspirants that even an iota of what you don't actually mean to say but nevertheless say that, gets caught... but if you are able to give the expected answer and not necessarily the answer you want to give, you can sail through. In short , your strong personal beliefs need not be truly reflected in all the answers...
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