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...