“Overall, The Interview Gave Me A Good Feeling.”
—Anand Vardhan, IAS Topper 2016-17, 7th Rank
Mr. Anand Vardhan, a Mechanical Engineer from Delhi College of Engineering, stood 7th in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in his last attempt. Although Mr. Vardhan worked with a private company for two years, he was determined to become an IAS. Working with the Indian Air Force, his father was the inspiration. He has been a bright student since schooldays. When he failed to clear the CSE after three attempts, left with the last chance, Mr. Vardhan carefully analysed the causes and found Public Administration, his main subject as the cause of his failure. He opted for Political Science in the last attempt. Vindicated, he not only cleared the CSE but also stood 7th down the order of successful candidates. It proves how important the choice of your subject in this exam is. He owes his success to constant hard work, conviction and belief in dreams. Academically sound, Mr. Vardhan does not think the CSE takes more than a dedicated year to prepare for.
Here, Mr. Vardhan gives an account of his UPSC Interview to Competition Success Review.
Detailed interview
My interview was scheduled in the afternoon session on March 22, 2017 in the UPSC building. I have tried to reproduce below the exact questions asked and my responses to them. I was the fourth to be interviewed and my interview went on for half an hour. The narrative in brackets is meant to add my own thought processes and the words were not spoken aloud.
(Because I was the second last candidate to be interviewed, I had to wait quite a lot. Sometimes it may even seem to you as the longest wait of your life. Everybody was sitting around the room with the same nervousness and anticipation. We occasionally looked at each other, smiled weakly, as if to affirm to each other that we are not alone in the struggle.)
I was assigned to Mr. P.K. Joshi Sir’s Board. As I waited outside the room for the bell to ring (which would mean I had been called), all I tried to do was to control my nerves and calm myself by breathing deeply. Finally the bell rang and I walked in.
Chairman: Hello, Mr. Anand Vardhan. So you are a Mechanical Engineer from the Delhi College of Engineering…
(the Chairman had started reading out my details from my application form and I was very unsure as to what to do. I was still standing, and hadn’t wished the Members. I finally said ‘Yes Sir’ to the Chairman, wished everyone Good Afternoon and then the Chairman asked me to sit. It was a slightly uncomfortable start to the interview, but I settled myself and got ready.)
Chairman: So your optional has been Political Science. Tell me, why is it called ‘Science’? Is it a Science or a Social Science?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, the subject matter of the discipline is that of the Social Science but it has progressively adopted more quantitative and scientific methodology to discuss.
Chairman (interrupting) : No, no. See, Chemistry is a Science. Why? Because there is a lab. We can test things. Where is the lab in Political Science?
Anand Vardhan (Slightly nervous that he hadn’t accepted my previous explanation): Sir, I agree that we may not be able to locate a physical lab for Political Science. But since the time of Aristotle, both comparative and scientific studies have been a part of the subject. Even Karl Marx emphasised on the scientific explanation of history. In contemporary times, there are election studies.
Chairman (looking somewhat satisfied): Are you aware of any political thinkers from India?
Anand Vardhan: Yes Sir. Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and M.N. Roy are some of the Indian thinkers.
Chairman: What do you know about Gopal Krishna Gokhale?
(I was completely surprised at this question. I had not read his political thought. I dug into my memory for anything that I had on him.)
Anand Vardhan (fumbling badly) : Sir, he was a freedom fighter who made known to the Indians how the British rule is antithetical to Indian interests. He propounded the idea of Swaraj…
(the Chairman raised his eyebrows at this and looked at me. Gokhale had never primarily talked about Swaraj, rather it was Bal Gangadhar Tilak.)
Chairman (giving me a second chance): Any relation of Mr. Gokhale with Gandhi?
Anand Vardhan: Yes Sir, he was the political Guru of Mahatma Gandhi. (I was slightly relieved. From here on the interview went on much more smoothly.)
Chairman: Okay, tell me the difference between greenhouse effect, green building and green room.
Anand Vardhan (Explained greenhouse effect first, then green building) : Sir, I’m not aware about green rooms.
(Chairman now pointed to first Member)
Member 1: Tell me something about India’s relationship with Maldives.
Anand Vardhan: Sir, Maldives has been an important historical and strategic partner for India. We have people-to-people contacts, good diplomatic relations, energy and security ties, cooperation in securing the sea lanes of communication.
Member 1: But it is a small country. Why are we bothered about it?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, even though small, it is a part of our extended neighbourhood and good relations with it will give a boost to India’s soft power.
Member 1: You play a lot of Lawn Tennis. What do you learn from the sport?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, it teaches me about how to pursue excellence, how to get up from failure and in doubles it also teaches me team spirit.
Member 1: What is one quality that you do not want to see in your boss?
(Again, a very unexpected question)
Anand Vardhan: Sir, I think a boss should always appreciate in public and reprimand in person.
(Passes over to next Member)
Member 2: Do you think revolutions and wars change the course of history?
Anand Vardhan: Yes Sir. (I gave him examples of the French, American and Chinese Revolutions and the World Wars.)
Member 2: Do you think wars have more effect than revolutions?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, one may not quantify the same. However, the methodologies and theatres of war are expanding and there seems to be much lesser likelihood of a revolution anytime soon.
Member 2: Tell me about India’s relationship with Poland.
(A complete bouncer. I said a flat ‘No’ to this question.)
Member 2: Why is North Korea called a rogue state?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, North Korea has been known to pursue an aggressive defence policy. Last year it claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb and recently it has been belligerent despite the sanctions put on it.
Member 2: Do you see that device in the corner? (Pointing to something in one corner of the room) What is it?
Anand Vardhan: (Took a few seconds to reason out, I had never seen such a thing) Sir, I think it is an air purifier.
Member 2: Very good. How does it work? Take a guess.
Anand Vardhan: Sir, I’m not very sure but since it is using electricity it might have a film that facilitates electrostatic precipitation of some sort.
(Passes on to next Member)
Member 3: Mr. Vardhan, you have very good marks in your 10th (94.4%) and 12th standard (89.6%) but you have lower percentage in graduation (70%). Why?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, in my defence, 75% is counted as distinction in our college. (Everyone smiled at this) Also, I had fared badly in my second and third semesters due to illness. But I gave the improvement papers and I’ve since then consistently improved to bring my percentage higher.
Member 3: Do you think we are losing specialists like engineers to exams like UPSC.
Anand Vardhan: Sir, there are two aspects to this. One is personal ambition. Every person wants a better opportunity in life. So nothing may stop him from pursuing that. The second aspect is that UPSC recruits hardly 1000 people in a year while we produce lakhs of engineers every year. So it does not impact the number of specialists we have, in fact we have many.
(He looked impressed with this rational reply and uttered ‘very good’.)
Member 3: Tell me about the project that you did in your final year.
Anand Vardhan: (Explained in brief about the same)
Member 3: Tell me, is it China that is now leading Globalisation?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, China with its revamped policy of putting supply chains all across the world, especially through its One Belt One Road initiative is definitely taking the lead in Globalisation. We also saw that the Chinese President attended the meet in Davos.
Member 3: Do you see this also in conjunction with America closing its borders?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, it is a fact that protectionist policies are growing. But in my opinion Globalisation is an irreversible process and with suitable checks and balances, is bound to benefit everyone.
Member 3: Who has historically been benefitted by Globalisation?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, Globalisation has had some adverse impact in the Third World countries. They are under pressure to open their economies and their domestic markets are facing unfair competition. However, we need Globalisation that has a human face and is intended to benefit all rather than only a few sections. But I’m optimistic that the direction Globalisation will take in the future will be a positive one.
Member 3: How do you see the role of UN in current times?
Anand Vardhan: Sir, the United Nations has played a very constructive role in peace and preventing further wars, though its failures have been many. In current organisation, it needs revamping so that the equations within it reflect the current power dynamics of the world.
(Passes on to the next Member who is a lady)
Member 4: I want to implement an affordable housing scheme. You are the DM and you have been given responsibility for it. How will you go about it?
Anand Vardhan: Ma’am, first of all we will make an assessment of the number of units we need as well as the sanctioned budget. After that we may consult engineers to design the floor plans…
Member 4 (interrupting): In the past, we have taken help of many experts but results have not been great. Don’t you think rather than experts, we should just ask the people?
Anand Vardhan (Taking a few seconds): Yes ma’am, I concur with you on that part. In fact, it is the people who have delivered more affordable houses than the private sector or the government in the past. A lot of urban settlements have been made that way.
Member 4: What is the difference between urban and rural settlements?
Anand Vardhan: Ma’am, rural settlements will be more horizontally spaced…
Member 4: What do you mean by Feminism?
Anand Vardhan: Ma’am, feminism is both a movement and an ideology that recognises the discrimination against women and professes equal rights for them.
Member 4: Can a man be a feminist?
Anand Vardhan: Yes ma’am, of course. In fact there are numerous examples where men have stood up to fight for the rights of the women.
Member 4: Can you name some examples from history?
Anand Vardhan: Ma’am, Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Keshav Chandra Sen have done exemplary work in this direction.
Member 4: What were their focus areas?
Anand Vardhan: Raja Rammohan Roy had worked for the abolition of Sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had focussed a lot on women education and had opened several schools for girls, and Keshav Chandra Sen also had similar focus along with widow remarriage.
Chairman: Thank you, your interview is over.
(Overall, the interview gave me a good feeling. There were only a few pressure points where I fumbled. I answered all questions satisfactorily and honestly said ‘No’ to whichever questions I had no idea about.)