My UPSC Civil Services 2010 Personality Test
Name: ANAND MISHRA
Roll No. 0 4 9 6 4 8
Date: 11th April 2011 (After Noon)
Time: 03:15 PM to 03:35 PM (20 Minutes)
Board: Prof. Purushottam Agarwal
Medium: English
There were Six Candidates (Table Number 19) interviewed by this board in the AN session; Five Boys, One Girl; Three English Medium (All Boys); Three Hindi Medium (One Girl + Two Boys); English Medium was interviewed first.
I was the Third person to be interviewed. I wore a white Shirt, dark bottle green trousers, a blue tie with small regular designs, a metal strap formal wrist watch, a black leather belt and a pair of laced black oxford shoes. I had an athletic hairstyle and a fit athletic body.
The Peon came in the waiting hall and asked me to accompany him. I followed.
The Friend just before me had completed his interview and was waiting outside the chamber of Prof. Purushottam Agarwal where the Interview was being conducted.
The buzzer rang and I was asked to enter.
My heart sank for a while but was soon assisted by a gush of pure fresh blood that brought in a strange mix of confidence and attitude. The peon stood by while keeping the door open for me.
I arrived at the gate. A straight look and I saw a well composed and elegant group of people in a brightly lit, well furnished, cozy room. They sat around a table placed about Twenty feet from the door. The Chairman [C] (Prof. Purushottam Agarwal) was sitting in the middle across the table. To his right (my left) was a gentleman (M1) and a lady (M4) beside this gentleman. To the left of the Chairman (my right) were two gentlemen (M2 and M3). Total Five persons were there to conduct the personality test.
So it was time to enter.
Me: May I please come in Sir?
C: Yes.
(I walked in, straight and confident with a pleasant smile on my face)
Me: Good Afternoon Sir (to the Chairman who was sitting just in front of me). He nodded.
Then I greeted the lady and other members.
C: Please sit down.
Me: Thank you Sir.
(I took the seat. There were two chairs. They were big, black, well cushioned, revolving, wheeled chairs. I rested my elbows on the chair handles, kept my fingers clasped while rested my feet well on ground maintaining a gap between two legs. I kept my spine straight wile slightly lent forward towards the table. I kept a pleasant, humble but firm smile on my face. I maintained this posture without being stiff for almost the whole interview)
The Interview started somewhat suddenly. The Chairman seemed to be in a very serious and grim mood, the lady was also serious but pleasant, the other three male members had pleasant smiles on their faces and seemed to be closely observing me in all my details.
The Chairman [C] (Prof. Purushottam Agarwal) started the Interview.
C: So, Anand, you are working as an Assistant Director under the Government of West Bengal?
Me: Yes Sir (with a humble but confident smile).
C: What do you do there?
Me: Sir, I am an Assistant Director in the Food & Supplies Department of Government of West Bengal . I am Assistant Director, Vigilance there. I also look after the Public Grievance cell and I am also the SAPIO.
C: What is SAPIO?
Me: Sir, it is State Assistant Public Information Officer under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
C: What do you think of the RTI Act?
Me: (After a brief pause of around 2 Seconds) Sir, This act brings Transparency in the system and hence ensures Accountability.
C: Don’t you think that the RTI Act is being misused?
Me: Sir, almost all acts or laws are misused, but I don’t think that due to this reason we should belittle the RTI Act. Moreover Sir, personally I am an ardent supporter of the RTI Act and try to help the RTI petitioners who come to me in whatever way I can.
C: Ok. (Then he indicated towards the First member who was sitting just to his right….) You ask…!!
M1: Ok Anand, so you are a student of Economics.
Me: Sir, actually I had Political Science as my major subject.
C: (He interrupted..) yes yes.. he is Political Science Honours.
M1: Ok, but you seem to have studied some economics in your college. Do you remember somethimg..like…
Me: (I Gave a look expressing my discomfort in the area…still he continued…)
M1: Do you know about the law of Diminishing Returns…
Me: (Before I could arrange my thoughts and speak…he moved on)
M1: Ok. You are from St. Xavier’s College; do you know something about who was St. Xavier?
Me: No Sir, I am not able to recollect it now.
M1: Ok. Can you tell me something about the Presidential Election system in USA
Me: Sir, an electoral college is formed which then elects the President.
M1: Yes, but is it direct or indirect…or (before I could respond).. ok do you remember who stood for the presidential election alongwith Barrack Obama?
Me: (Thought a little) No Sir, I am not able to recollect the name.
M1: Ha ha..it was not even worth remembering.. (then he shared a comment with the Chairman and both laughed aloud… I just smiled.)
M1: Ok, recently the Prime Minister of UK visited India
Me: Sir, Mr. Cameroon
M1: O’ yes, Cameroon
Me: (Not very surely) Sir, he gave a statement about the Kashmir issue.
M1: Yes did you follow as to what exactly was the comment…just broadly…
Me: No Sir. Sorry I could not follow that News.
M1: O’ yes may be because you had much work load and you did not get time.
Me: Sorry Sir, but I will not like to use this as an excuse for not knowing this. I should have known this.
M1: Ok, tell me the basic difference between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive principles. Tell me the very basic and primary difference. The basic one…
Me: Sir, the basic difference between the two is that the Fundamental Rights are Justiceable, i.e. a person whose fundamental rights are infringed can get them enforced by moving to the court; whereas the Directive Principles are non-justiciable, i.e. one cannot move the court to get these enforced. These can be enforced only if they are made into a law by the parliament.
M1: Ok, so do you remember any directive principle that was recently made into a fundamental right?
Me: Yes Sir, it was the Right to Education.
M1: Don’t you think that such rules are made before a demand comes from the society? It means that the society is not yet ready for such an act and thus these rules are not implemented properly and thus get violated.
Me: Sir, in our country, I think that at times it is important to lead by legislation. It clarifies the goal before the Government and also creates public opinion infavour of such social goals.
M1: Do you remember something of this sort done earlier where legislation preceded social demand?
Me: Yes Sir, for example the law to ban Sati.
M1: Yes, it was sometime in 1830s…no…
Me: (The exact date was not instantly coming in my mind and I just gave a slight nod suggesting that yes it was around that time only.)
M1: But did the act helped in eradicating the problem of Sati.
Me: No sir, but this definitely effected in bringing down the numbers and created an awareness against the Sati system.
M1: So, you think that the Right to Education may do something like this.
Me: Yes Sir.
C: (He indicated to the Member sitting towards his Left and said him to ask)
(This member maintained a smile during the time he asked questions and also seemed to be receptive and appreciative of what I answered.)
M2: Ok, So how many States and Union Territories are there in India
Me: Sir, 28 States and 7 Union Territories
M2: Ok. Do you remember their Official Languages?
Me: Not all Sir, but definitely that of a few.
M2: English is the Official Language of which state?
Me: Sir, Goa .. (I was wrong then. But it was this which came to my mind... and i answered confidently. They did't counter me and the interview carried on..) and Sir it is also used for official purposes in other states..
Chairman interrupted…
C: Do you understand the meaning of Official Language?
Me: Yes Sir.
C: What is the official Language of Centre?
Me: Sir, it is Hindi.
C: Yes. And English is used as a secondary language.
Me: Yes Sir.
C: Ok. (Indicated the M2 to continue)
M2: Have you heard about the Linguistic Reorganization of States?
Me: Yes Sir.
M2: When was it done?
Me: Sir, 1956.
M2: Yes, Good. So, which was the first state to be made and when and like what happened…mmmm… how?
Me: Sir Andhra Pradesh was the first state to be formed in 1953 on linguistic basis after the agitation led by one person called Puttu Srimalu.
M2: O’ you remember the name. Good.
Have you heard of the Telengana movement, like…. what do you say about that?
Me: Yes Sir, I have heard about the movement but it has nothing to do with linguistic issue. It is mainly based on the principles of relative deprivation and inequality. The leaders of the Telengana movement claim that the resources of that region has been exploited for the development of the other parts of Andhra and thus this region has been left backward. They claim that if Telengana is made into a separate state they can use its resources to develop the region.
M2: Some committee was instituted for inquiry into the demands… no?
Me: Yes Sir, it was the Srikrishna Committee.
M2: So what were its suggestions?
Me: Sir, it gave some Six suggestions…which included proposals for dividing the state into two while making Hyderabad into an Union Territory or Common state capital… and … sorry Sir I am just not able to recollect all the proposals.
M2: Six proposals?
Me: Sir, yes, it was either Six or Three, I am not able to recollect it exactly.
M2: Ok
(The Chairman indicated the third Member to ask the questions)
M3: Do you know what is Biodiversity? (He had a heavy south Indian-anglo accent and I could not make out what he asked)
Me: Sorry Sir…
M3: He repeated the question more clearly.
Me: Yes Sir. I know.
M3: Can you tell me the reason for so much biodiversity in India India
Me: (Thought a little) Sir , India
M3: (Interrupted) No, No.. I am asking about Biodiversity..
Me: Yes Sir, I was coming to it. As I said that there is so much Geographical diversity and thus so much climatic diversity; and this leads to so much biodiversity in the form of various species of flora and fauna.
M3: Yes, you are partially correct but what exactly… like (he gave a hint) what is the location of India
Me: Sir, (I paused a bit) India is placed in southern Asia (and suddenly it clicked) in the tropical zone..
M3: Yes, exactly. It is because of India ’s location in the tropical zone that there is so much Biodiversity in India
Me: Yes Sir. Thank you.
M3: Have you heard about Hotspots?
Me: Yes Sir.
M3: How many are there? Can you name them?
Me: Sorry Sir, I don’t remember.
M3: They are few. You can count them on fingures.
M3: Ok, where are the Western Ghats ? And what are they?
Me: Sir, they are a mountain range on the western side of Indian peninsula facing the Arabian Sea .
M3: They are from where to where?
Me: Sir, from Gujrat to Kerala.
M3: Yes, till Kanyakumari. Are they continuous or broken ranges?
Me: Sir, continuous.
M3: No, they are broken, having a gap of 30 Kms.
Me: Ok Sir, I didn’t know that. Thank you.
M3: Where are the Eastern Ghats ?
Me: Sir they are on the eastern side of the Indian peninsula facing the Bay of Bengal .
M3: No, they are on the Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas .
Me: Sorry Sir, but what I know is that they are on the eastern peninsula facing the Bay of Bengal .
M3: No, they are on the Himalayas .
Me: (Disapprovingly I said) Sorry Sir.
M3: He smiled.
C: He looked at the Board members and said Ok Anand your Interview is over… then he suddenly looked at the Lady member and said… O..ho.. you have not asked na.. you ask ask…
I turned a bit towards the Lady member (M4) and gave her a smile. She also smiled.
M4: Ok, so you said that you are associated with the vigilance section in your office. So what exactly is the procedure that you follow after you receive a complaint….like what do you do with the anonymous complaints…just file them or what?
Me: Ma’am after we receive a complaint we get it enquired by a team from Headquarters. If the allegations are of very serious nature, we forward the case to the State Vigilance Commission…
M4: (Interrupted) So, do you enquire into the anonymous complaints also.
Me: Yes Ma’am, if the nature of allegation is serious we get it Inquired, plus our present Director insists that all cases must be enquired into.
M4: After that what do you do?
Me: Ma’am, if we find that allegations are proved then Departmental proceedings are initiated against the defaulters and corrective measures are taken.
M4: Corrective measures are taken?
Me: Yes Ma’am, Corrective measures are taken.
M4: Fine, What is JPC and PAC?
Me: Ma’am, Joint Parliament Committee is JPC. It is an Ad Hoc committee set up to investigate into some particular case. As of PAC, it is the Public Accounts Committee. It is a standing parliamentary committee renewed every year. It deliberates upon the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
M4: Ok, tell me something about the Parliament… very shortly in may be two or three sentences.
Me: Yes Sir…(mistake), sorry, ma’am….
M4: (Perhaps she got me wrong…she thought that I could not understand/hear the question properly and she repeated it)
Me: Ma’am, it is the central legislative body comprising of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the President.
M4: What is the duration of both the Houses?
Me: Ma’am, the Lok Sabha’s duration is Five years and the Rajya Sabha is a permanent body whose members retire every two years… I mean every One Third of its members retire every two years.
M4: Ok. She indicated that she has completed
C: Ok Anand, thank you. (He indicated that the Interview was over)
Me: Thank you Sir.
I rose up from the chair and said thank you to all its members starting from the lady. I turned around and walked out smartly. Though it was a self closing door, I pulled it slowly and closed it.
I found the next candidate was waiting to enter the room. The peon waited for the buzzer that meant that discussion about the last candidate is over and the next candidate be sent in. It took some time. The peons said that the board was taking unusually longer time to discuss my interview.
During the complete Interview, I maintained a pleasant and energetic bearing that came naturally to me. I was original, in and out.
My Conclusion:
The questions asked were very easy and basic. There were no tricky questions. Board was cordial and encouraging. However, I could not answer a few question which I actually knew but somehow did not or could not reply. My other answers could have been more elaborate and bit more organized. However, perhaps I was following the unsaid code of the board (which I could understand from their overall bearing and body language since the beginning) that… be brief, specific and to the point.
My confidence level never dipped during the Interview and I had a uniform presence during the whole conversation.
Waiting for the RESULTS !!
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