IAS 2006 Interview Transcripts #29

30. CS PUBAD

Electronix Engg.

4th attempt

"My Interview was in the afternoon session.

I reached UPSC at around 1 pm. It was really a proud moment when I

entered the UPSC hall. It was my final attempt with the UPSC and

the first opportunity to appear in the interview. Predictably I was a

bit nervous but on my way to the Commission my fiancée and my

friend helped me to be confident. Inside the hall I got to know

that I was to be interviewed by Subir Dutta's board.

There were five members in the board, including the chairman.

The third member was a lady. After entering the room, I wished the

ma'm first and then to the other members. My interview started as I

took the seat.

CM: So, You are an electronics engg.?

Me: Yes Sir.

CM: What's the difference between electronics engg and electrical

engg.?

Me: Sir,In electronics,we deal with very less ammount of current

in the circuit.

CM: that's very technical..how do you explain it to a layman?

Me: I faltered..tried to explain something but he was not convinced.

CM: Ok what is the magnitude of the current in an electronics

circuit?

Me: Of the order of micro ampiers.

CM: And in electrical circuit?

Me: In ampiers

CM: Ok..you have worked in the IT field for 2 years.

Me: Yes sir

CM: what was your role over there?

Me: Software programmer

CM: then why did you leave your job?

Me: Sir,I feel that I could realise my potential better in civil

services.

CM: So,suddenly you realised this?

Me: No sir,i had this idea of joining CS from my college days.But

it got concretised when I joined my job.I found my job monotonous

and I thought that CS would provide diverse job profile.

CM:(Not very much convinced)Every one gives the same answer.

CM:Ok tell me..do u agree that southern states are doing better

than the northern states.If yes,then why?

Me:Yes sir,I do believe that southern states are doing better as

compared to their northern counterparts.This is primarily due to

better governance in these states.

CM:But I think these states are developing due to private

industries and and the role of govt has reduced over a period of

time.

Me:Sir,the govt has provided the conducive envnt for the pvt

sector to grow.It has better utilised the human resourses.

CM:But govt in these states are also corrupt.Farmers are committing

suicides.people are fighting for water.

Me: Sir these issues relating to regional disparity and income

disparity are there but when compared to the northern states

southern states are better governed.

CM:(In a bit aggressive mood)leave aside north india,tellme about

south only..are these states good governed.Any way leave it..(Asks

other member to proceed)

M1:tell me which branch of mathematics you used in electronics?

Me:(after pondering)calculus,boolean algebra..

M1:and..

Me: sorry sir ,cant recollect its long back

M1:u must have used fourier transforms

Me :yes sir

M1:you had geography optional,what is a geoid?

Me:Sir,the unique shape of the earth,which is not exactly

spherical but bulging from side is called as geoid.

M1:what would be the age of the the earth?

Me:Sir,I dont remember exactly..it is some billions of years.

M1:how does temperature vary as you go up in the atmosphere?

Me:In the troposhere it decreases and..(he interrupts me)

M1:what is the heigth of the troposphere?

Me:around 80 km(I was wrong)

M1:what is the rate of temperature variations?

Me:I gave some value which was incorrect.

M1:ok tell me..how do oceans become saline?

Me:due to presence of minerals

M1:Where from these minrals come?

Me:Sir,they are brought about by the rivers.

M1:any other source?

Me:also from erosion of ocean bottom.

M1:what is the unit of measuring salinity?

Me:g/cm3

M1:its ppm

M1:What would be the difference between the most saline areas and

least saline area of the earth?

Me:Sir ,cant recollect

M1:10 times,20 times 100 times.

Me: sorry sir,cant make a guess.

M1:Ok tell me any part of the world where there is very high salinity.Me:Dead sea

M1;where is it?

Me:It's in Jordon

M1:Any other country surrounding it?

Me:Israel

M1:there is one more country.

Me;Syria

M1:right ..(asks the lady member M2 to proceed)

M2;From organizations point of view what is meant by market

orientation?

Me:It means the organization should have autonomy in making its

decision and it should

Be held accountable for that.

M2:what else?

Me:gave some examples..autonomy in personnel matters..in investment

decision ..no govt intervention.

M2:what is the reason of recent turnaround of Indian railways?

M3:IR took various new measured such as increasing the capacity of

wagons,e-ticketing,given greater autonomy.Moreover the economy is

doing good..so railways also is benefiting from high growth.

M2:How does increasing wagons capacity helped railways?

Me: It has enabled railways to get more revenue.

M2:There was some discussion going on relating to challenges

before IT sector in India today enclave recently.wht was that?

Me:Sorry ma'm I didn't follow the enclave.

M2:Ok wht do you think are the challenges..

Me:I explained some..but she interrupts..

M2: I am asking at the world level.

Me:tried to explain something but that was not what she wanted to

ask.

M2:Wht is the total food prodn of the country and whether wheats

prodn is more or rices?

Me:its about 210 mt and wheat's share is more.

M2:How can IT help in improving admin.?

Me: The use of IT can make the admn more open transparent and more

accountable.

M2;But how? Give some expmple

Me: eg. In MP,Gyandoot project has used IT to upgrade and computer

ize the land records which are accessible to farmers very easily.

M2:(asks other member M3 to proceed)

M3:In public admin wht is meant by delegation of authority?

Me: A higher officials transfers some of its responsibility to its

subordinate..this is delegation.

M3:How long it can take place?

Me:(couldn't understand the qn properly)..as long as the job is

with the higher official.

M3:give some example in Indian admnMe: L&O is DMs responsibility..Since he is overburdened..he can

transfer some of L&O responsibility such as inspection of jails to SDM.

M3:What is the relevance of Rajya sabha in current scenaroio?

Me:Some academic minded person and intelligentia may not take part

in poll politics..they can enter parliament through RS

M3:this is oft repeated reason..give some more..

Me:specially in the coalition era,the opinion of the states are

better represented through RS in the legislation making process.

M3:Should a minister come from RS?wht are constitutional provision

related to this?

Me:There is as such no bar for a RS member to become minister.

M3:there is a rider in the constitution related to this.

Me:Pardon me sir!

M3:there is a time period..

Me:6 months sir.

M3:Wht is the difference between zila parishad and district admn.

Me: the former consists of elected representatives while the

latter consists of permanent officials.

M3:Any other difference.

Me:(It didn't click me at that time)..

M3(asks M4 to proceed)

M4:what is the delimitation of the constituency?

Me;I explained

M4:who is responsible for that?

Me:Election commission.

M4 :what is the role of the states in this?

Me: they provide the data.

M4: Why so many foreign tourists are attracted to Varanasi..

There is no such thing as tajmahal in Varanasi.

Me: Varanasi being one of the oldest cities of the world.People

are attracted by its unique culture, architecture and specially

the serene atmosphere on the bank of Ganges.

M4:But the Ganges has become polluted as well.

Me: Yes sir

M4:Wht are the reasons?

Me: sewerage, people taking bath,industrial effluents.

M4:but these things are there everywhere..

Me:yes..but due to high population ganges in Varanasi is more affected.

M4:even Kanpur has high population..

Me: ya there too Ganges is polluted..moreover Varanasi has a very

high population density.

M4:What steps would you suggest to industrially develop eastern UP?

Me:Some industries have high potential e.g tourism(he interrupt

M4:How would you promote tourism in UP?

Me:wee need to take many steps such as improving the infrastructure.

M4:infrastructure is very vague..be more specific.

Me: We need to improve the condition of the roads..its hishly

congested and dirty. Tourist don't carry good image of the roads of

the city.

M4:What else.

Me: Varanasi needs to be marketed through the use of some catchy

slogan on the lines of Incredible India..

M4 Do you really think these slogans work?You remember few years

ago there was a slogan called `India Shining'

Me: Sir that was a political slogan. In order to promote tourism..

it needs to be marketed. So, it's a good idea to use slogans.

M4:Ok I am going to ask you a last qn..how to reduce political

interference in administration?

Me: Sir,there are various ways such as fixing the tenure of

the higher officials,setting up a board for transfer and posting of

govt servants.

M4:But state govt are not going to be ready for all these. So as an

individual wht would you do?

Me: Sir, it depends on the integrity of the individual. If he feels

that certain order given by a politician is against the spirit of the

constitution or any law, he can refuse to oney it.

CM: Ok,your interview is over ,you can go.thank you.

Me:(a bit surprised over such a sudden finish)..thank you ma'm ,thank

you sir

It's difficult to exactly assess my performance as the response of the

interview panel was very neutral. I am waiting for the final result.

Much depends on the written marks as well.

Till then the fingers are crossed.