Date - 19/01/2026
Board - Dinesh Dasa Sir
Forenoon session/Last to go
DAF Keywords - ECONOMICS, Tech Advancement in Healthcare (Nothing Else Asked from DAF)

Full interview based on Economics

Chairman -
1. Please introduce yourself to the board.
2. What are your views on dollar Significance reducing in global trade with renminbi taking precedence in 40% trade of china with asia and ASEAN?
3. How will this impact India?
4. Mologue abt falling rupee. Now as an economist how do you see the falling rupee - as $ strengthening or Rs weakening?
5. How do you see this Rs depreciation affect India?
6. What is government doing to promote manufacturing? (I mentioned in my earlier answer that given opportunities export will be boosted by India).
7. According to you is it necessary to have humanistic and cultural sensitivity in AI development? Is it the need of the hour?

M1 - (Female)
1. See the situation in Bangladesh and the country is running by an economist. So how do you see this? Shall we give countries to economists to run the country?
2. What is required to run a country than?
3. What is a successful nation according to you?
4. You just said competent. Can a nation be competent? (I said in my earlier answer that a successful nation is one which is competent, confident and inclusive)

M2 - (male)
1. Why did you not pursue your MA in economics post your bachelor's degree?
2. Why are people not going for economics courses now a days?
3. What are the problems of overall education system leading to lower High Education
4. What is game theory? Who devised the theory?

M3 - (male)
1. Taking cue from the last honorable member, what according to you is the application of game theory in Elections.

M4 - (female)
1. Can you recommend some book to us to read.
2. We are all wearing wearables in this room and you have done study on impact of tech development in Healthcare. What are the two things that excites you and what are the two things that worry you?
3. How do you see this tech healthcare advancements leading to developments helping the ageing Indian population?

Chairman - What according to you are the 3 developments that excites you happening in last 13 months (I told him collapse of world order - he stopped and reframed qn mentioned abt judiciary, again i couldnt answer what he wanted to listen so he started talking about Aravali and i told him GenZ protest which he wanted to hear).
Not able to recall a lot of questions

PT Marks - 177

Interview transcript-
Board - Anuradha Prasad
My Background-
Hometown- barmer
Btech mechanical
Msc offer from university of Birmingham and university of leeds
Hobbies- naam jap and spiritual chanting, squash, kho kho, karate.

Chairman-
Which will lead to more job loss - AI or automation? But AI can code what 20 people can together?
Religion is opium of masses. Who said this and meaning?
So is it for weak people?

Member 1-
Where kishor kumar born?
Is this his original name?
What was his original name?
India EU FTA - 3 advantage and 3 disadvantage?
What is one word for sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions?
This is our problem if we have trade deficit in FTA.

Member 2
Did you go to MSc?
What is BADP - full form, purpose, how different from other state and central schemes?
What is vibrant village program?
What is inter linking of rivers? Name few. Reasons. Advantage and disadvantage.
Cost benefit analysis is done.

Member 3
What is naam japa? Is that we can japa any name? Significance of name? Why we do it?
2 issues of Assam apart from politics and border.
2 issue of west bengal apart from politics and border. Water issue in bengal.
Issue with china apart from border.
Neighbouring countries political turmoil so opposition must be engaged.
For critical minerals should govt go or private sector? Who is stopping private sector to go?

Member 4
Full form of SAU?
Why central Asia relation are so weak? Trade weak, connectivity weak? Why so?
States taking sub national issues to foreign. Isn’t it wrong ? Why they do this? What is sub national issues?

PT marks - 154

Name - @ganthox1
board - BB sir
Date - 3rd feb
DAF KEYWORDS - PSIR, Bulandshahr (native), Marxism, Chess, Reading non-fiction (self-help) (others not discussed)

Chairperson
1. So, you're from Gwalior young man?
Answer: Politely said no sir — Bulandshahr.
2. Which book have you read apart from self help?
Answer: Sapiens sir by Yuval Noah Harari.
3. Tell me why is it so popular?
Answer: I started by saying interesting writing style. Sir interrupted — first agreed then said tell me which idea is it popular for. I said that in my understanding the assertion that human civilization is built via storytelling and that its imaginative capacity has done wonders. Sir nodded, smiled and said exactly — good.
4. Any other books of the author you have read?
Answer: Yes sir — 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Homo Deus (not finished yet). Sir nodded and added Nexus and said Sapiens is of a different league. I agreed.
M1
5. What is the meaning of your name?
Answer: I told them. Then the board members started discussing among themselves about it. Chairperson sir said part of light and part of lamp are effectively same. I had said light. I just smiled and nodded to their discussion.
6. Is communism better for workers? Tell positives and negatives of communism.
Answer: A long discussion happened. I discussed positives and negatives of communism.
7. China growth model due to communism and authoritarianism — should we adopt it given issues in democracy?
Answer: I used scholarly arguments to counter the Chinese model (did not mention any scholar). The crux was that development and democracy should go hand in hand. I also mentioned Chinese state-controlled capitalism.
8. Kaha freedom hai India me — if I go and ask people to stop polluting river during festivals they will beat me up.
Answer: I defended my argument and said reasonable restrictions exist and social media acts as a free public sphere.
9. Which economic model do you prefer — development or welfare?
Answer: I said it is difficult to give either-or answer, both work in tandem.
10. If you had to choose one what would you choose?
Answer: Development, because social welfare is difficult without development.
11. You mentioned chess — what happened in 1997 in match of Garry Kasparov?
Answer: IBM Deep Blue defeated Kasparov — first time a computer beat a human in chess.
M2
12. What triggered Bangladesh to not play T20 in India?
Answer: I told the story of KKR recruitment.
13. Asked the specific name of the player.
Answer: Sir, I am unable to recall.
14. Which country will replace Bangladesh?
Answer: Scotland.
15. What has changed in the last 1–2 decades in global politics and its impact?
Answer: Answered comfortably with examples.
16. Do you support US action on Venezuela?
Answer: I said I do not support it as it is against UN Charter Article 2(4) and rule-based world order. When asked for my reasoning, I said such actions encourage hard power politics and could embolden China and Russia, which would not be in India's national interest.
17. What is India's position on that?
Answer: Balanced approach — did not criticise directly and called for peace.
M3
18. You belong to Bulandshahr — what challenges does it face?
Answer: Mentioned agriculture infrastructure, food processing industry and diversification of employment. When countered about cold storage, I said I had seen one being built in my village but issues still persist. When told cold storages are overflowing, I said I would need to read more.
19. What type of FPO should we establish?
Answer: I said I am not sure.
20. Challenges in Khurja?
Answer: Mentioned ceramics industry challenges (ODOP), artisans etc. Also acknowledged schemes and improvements but said issues persist.
21. Lead pollution and health problems due to that — do you know?
Answer: I said yes sir but vaguely and that I would read more.

22. India is always the first responder in crises but gets nothing back — what's the use?
Answer: I defended it with examples, citing non-reciprocity and India's asymmetry with neighbourhood countries.
23. Who are India's friends in this world?
Answer: Russia. When countered about oil imports, I said market dynamics and diversification explain it.
M4
24. How can you say we are not buying due to market — there is pressure on India?
Answer: I accepted pressure exists but said it does not stop India from making decisions in national interest. Market dynamics and diversification play major roles.
25. JNU is anti-national — why?
Answer: I respectfully disagreed. I said the university has a critical political culture influenced by left thought, and criticism of government is sometimes equated with anti-nationalism. I also acknowledged that at the periphery some elements like urban Naxal narratives may exist but overall students are largely critical rather than anti-national.
26. Who said the world is without rules now?
Answer: I guessed Canadian PM Mark Carney but was incorrect. Ma'am corrected that it was the French President.
27. Why did he say so?
Answer: Discussed global disorder and weakening rule-based order.
28. Relevance of UN — will it die if US exits? Anything UN achieved?
Answer: Answered comfortably and mentioned that institutions like UN prevent leadership vacuum which China could fill.

Sir asked, aur kuch? and then said thankyou

Pt marks - 171, my take - I am not able to digest the marks as sir was nodding and agreeing to my points and I was confident and fluent throughout. Considering high marks given this year in PTs, i consider it a low score and a reason because of which I am not in the list as I missed the cutoff just by 9 marks. Not sure how to improve on this yet maybe more analysis and discussion will give some clarity. This was my 2nd attempt and 1st interview

Name: Harshitha Medara,air 520

Date: 6 jan forenoon

Key DAF Details: terrace gardening,datasecurity,cse,suryanamaskars,school name,go green campaign,ap

Board: Sheelvardhan sir

Questions asked

M1 chaiperson
1. Why terrace gardening?
2. Suryanamaskars mantras and poses
3. Ai vs ml
4. Grok model-regulation

M2 :  discussion
1. Go green campaign-what did you do,what is it?
2. do you think delhi is a green city?
3. then why so much pollution
4. steps to reduce plastic pollution
5. why is not reducing as expected

M3 :
1. Research papers-what,on what tech
2. Data security -how to ensure?
3. Suggest some ways to protect upsc from cyberattacks
4. Fire walls- verification,authentication

M4
1. Concept of persistent threat and zero trust architecture
2. Why need them?
3. Again conversation on firewalls and network security layer of osi
4. School name(atkinson)-who is he?
5. should we change its name(colonial legacy)?

M5
1. Venuezuela issue-india stand?
2. President's name?
3. maduro's link with andhra pradesh?
4.meaning of name,city's name origin

Chairman sir:
The interview is over do you want to tell us anything?


Mocks/O20
Quantel,samkalp,vajirao&reddy,NEXT IAS
One on one
Shubham sir ( vidyapeeth IAS) : best balanced answers .
Mahesh bhagwat sir ( DAF discussion very helpful) ,dr vivekanand sir( very helpful personality analysis)
Understand upsc and sarrthi ias

Final thoughts- A little disappointed with the score expected it to be around 195 as i thought i did well in the interview, although there was scope for improvement in some areas.

Pt marks-182

Please take this as a serious request

Hello guys,

You all can see that the weightage of Interview (Personality Test) marks in the final selection is increasing year by year. So we have decided to create more analytical transcripts for the CSE community.

For this, we will edit transcripts by adding the PT marks at the bottom. Therefore, we request all candidates who appeared in the CSE 2025 Personality Test to please share the link of your transcript (if already posted on this channel) along with your PT marks (If you haven't shared it yet, you can send it now) in the following format:

1.Transcript link - (copy your transcript link from @csetranscripts channel)

2. PT marks -

Please forward on following ids —
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#Sharing_is_caring
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It would be a great help for the entire CSE community.

Thank you.🙏🙏

Name: Sippy CR7
Date: 08th Jan 2026
Board: Suman Sharma Ma’am
MORNING SESSION
DAF KEYWORDS: Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT (only relevant)

PT marks 187

Chairperson
1.1 You’re from Bhopal? I said yes. She said Beautiful City!
1.2 You worked for about 9 months after college. I said yes.
1.3 You’re a sports Enthusiast? Yes. I said yes.
1.4 Tell should betting in sports be legalised?
1.5 really there are analytics that happen now a days in sports as well.
1.6 GIFT city Gujrat. It has allowed alcohol but the rest of the state has banned it? Why difference ?
1.5 But businesses are in Surat as well. Diamond industry is there. Don’t you think this heterogeneity shouldn’t be there?
1.6 Okay. Venezuela is gone. What next?
1.7 Are we moving towards WW3?

M1 (Male)
2.1 UN is dead. Should we throw it away?
2.2 Should what kind of reforms you suggest?
2.3 Voting should be one country one vote or a weighted voting system?
2.4 I said demarcated voting. Then he said something which i couldn’t understand. Then he said about imperialism.
2.5 I said One country one vote for Imperialism prevention as well
2.6 This inter country migration. Is this a good thing or not?
2.7 what kind of burden does it create?
2.8 So if someone who’s staying in Mumbai for many generations is he more of a citizen then someone who came few years ago. I said no. They both have same rights and violence and resentment must not be there towards migrants and efforts should be made to arrest distress migration.

M2 (Male)
3.1 US last night passed a law that allows upto 500% tarrifs on India? How do we deal with it?
3.2 What are the problems that India is facing in creating products and R&D, Despite having so many IITs?
3.3 World War 3. Are we heading towards it? Chairperson intervened and told the member “Sir Mai pooch chuki hoo ye question”
3.4 Biotechnology. How can it be used to diversify meat products?
3.5 This is productivity enhancement. How to diversify?
3.6 What is A2 Cow Milk ?
Rest forgot

M3 (Male)
4.1 Tell me what do we need to do to become job suppliers rather than job seekers?
4.2 What are policies that Govt has taken for startups?
4.3 Nuclear. Energy. What are the issues in that?
4.4 Okay. Govt has taken many steps for Maritime economy. Tell me that?

M4 (Female)
5.1 Should India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh etc form a bloc together to tackle west? What have been the problems in doing that? What will you do If selected in Foreign Service
5.2 Yes i am aware of the issues. But how can we surpass these issues?
(I said trade entanglement)
5.3 Has any Leader in India followed this policy in past. I said PM Manmohan Singh.
5.4 Anyone before that who tried to do similar things. I said PM Nehru wrt China. She nodded.

Chair: Thank You. Your interview is over.

I thanked everyone and left.

Overall cordial environment. It felt like a conversation.

Mocks: Samkalp x 2, Vajirao and Reddy, PW onlyIAS, Jamia RCA, NirnayIAS (through Quantel), O2O with Dharmadhkiri sir CMP (must recommend), Utkarsh Shukla sir( great), Shubham Agarwal sir Vidyapeeth IAS (He gave that confidence that I needed by telling me that one line that worked like a Eureka moment for me: Highly recommend). DAF Analysis with Utkarsh Shukla sir (Great. Gives good time and Analysis) Himanshu Khatri sir ( Great in giving a different perspective), 2 from Quantel as well.

Regular discussions with Umesh Reddy Sir and all the peers. They really helped a lot. I looked forward to those discussions every evening.

Interview date : 09/12/25

Key daf details:  journalling, emotional intelligence, teaching in Delhi slums , English literature , cooking .

Board : Anuradha Prasad ma'am

Questions :
Chairman Ma'am
1. What is emotional intelligence, how do you develop it through journalling.
2. What is the difference between diary and journalling
3. Don't you think meditation also helps in emotional regulation, then why only journalling.
4. why English literature from science ( school)
5.  What did you observe while teaching in slums
6. What difference do you see in slums and villages, what will be your different approaches to solve the problem of lack of education.
7. What  different measures will you take in villages and slums to pursue parents to send their children to school.
8. You like cooking , what is the price of potatoes these days , potato kharif / rabi 

Member 1 :
1. You have done graduation in english literature, what have you read .
2. Which novels , which poems
3. Favorite book
4. What European poem  you've read ? Name and who wrote
5. Suppose you're posted in an alienated place , you and your staff suffer from homesickness, how would address this , without sending them to homes
5. What according to you is a good day , bad day , why ?

Member 2
1. What is the diff between EQ and EI
2. Sovereignty disturbed by Russia , how do you explain
3. Weaponisation of dollar ?

Member 3
1. You are very calm and composed , it doesn't look like that you get nervous anytime .

I said sir I do get nervous sometime , asked what do you do to deal with that .

2. Give 2 -2 positives of City Life and village life .

Member 4 :
1. Can you explain the evolution of English literature
2. Something related to EI

Chairperson : why Russia does not want Ukraine to join NATO , what threats ?

Your interview is over . Thankyou.

*PT marks : 157*

Name: Anshul Singh

Date: 19 Feb 2026 Forenoon (2nd to go)

Key DAF Details: PSIR, Convergent Journalism (Masters), F1, Cricket, Model United Nations, Bihar Caste Survey, Interest in Contemporary Indian Politics, Sports Editor, Delhi (East Delhi-Dilshad Garden)

Board: Sanjay Verma Sir (30 mins)

Chairperson:
1. How many interviews have you given before (Not counting earlier UPSC interviews since this was my first interview and second attempt)?
2. What were the shortest and the longest interviews?
3. Views whether Indian journalism in converging into a black hole?
4. What are the reasons responsible for the same?
5. What are some of the alternative media platforms that are emerging?
6. Why should I follow contemporary Indian politics?
7. Shouldn't I just save myself from all the noise present in Indian politics today?
8. What do you mean by democratic backsliding?
9. What are the two semi-finals you are looking forward to in the ongoing T20 World Cup?
10. Shouldn't India avoid playing Pakistan in the semis or finals as we can lose against them?
11. What is the one change that you would make in the current Indian line up? (Said Kuldeep for Arshdeep)
12. What is his (Kuldeep's) batting strike rate? [Only question I couldn't answer]

M1

1. What would you prefer A good neighbourhood first policy or India's good ties with great powers like USA? [Picked the former and explained why]
2. Don't you think it would cost India's relationship with USA and Russia?
3. What is online trolling?
4. Why is it becoming a huge problem lately and steps to curb it?
5. Do you think dissent is important in a democracy and why?

M2

1. Why do you think East delhi has problems like high crime rate and more crimes against women?
2. What steps do you suggest to improve?
3. We see a wave of cricket nationalism in India. What do you think should be done to promote other sports in India?
4. Ho can private sector role be increased in promoting other sports? [I said from CSR and even the Govt could form a Fund of Funds with collaboration of private sector for the same and he said that is a great suggestion]
5. Gave me a situation where riots have taken place due to a social media post and asked for the short term and long term measures

M3

1. Do you think Delhi's East and North East region could be compared to East of India in general?
2. Do you we should go ahead and do a caste based census when such a thing happens no where in the world?
3. Do you think caste is relevant today?
4. Why do you think no educational qualifications were adopted in the Constitution for the post of MLA and MP?
5. Don't you think we should amend the Constituion and include educational qualifications for MPs and MLAs now in the present scenario?

M4 (lady member)

1. What do you mean by 'Spiral of Silence?'
2. Do you think in India, with emerging issues of majoritarianism, such a trend is being witnessed?
3. What is the utility of conducting MUNs (Model United Nation) in schools and colleges when the UN is losing relevance?
4. Do you watch K-dramas or are aware about them? [I said I don't watch but am aware about some of them]
5. Why do you think GenZ in India watch so many K-dramas even when their reality is so much different than ours?

Board was really cordial and it felt more like a conversation than an interview. Board members were acknowledging my responses and reacting positively on some of the answers.

Mocks: Vajirao, Sankalp, NextIAS, Vajiram, Quantel, Unacademy, Upwise
O2O- Mahesh Bhagwat Sir (Detailed DAF analysis with potential questions), Sunil Oberoi sir (Best one, helping in opinion making), Ayush Sinha Sir (helping to control tempo and pace), Vinay Sir

Board was really cordial and it felt more like a conversation than an interview or a personality test. Board members were acknowledging my responses and reacting positively on some of the answers. Overall a great experience. Now, prayers and hope....

PT score- 195
AIR 873

Scored 195 in PT, AIR 873

Name: Sidharth M Joy (AIR 271)
Board: Dinesh Dasa sir
Date: 19.02.2026
Forenoon, Fifth to Go


Board Chair

1. Introduce Yourself -- (gave a general introduction)
2. Okay, You are a public speaker, go behind the chair and speak as if you are representing India in WEF Davos Summit in 2047.

Started Speaking - questions during presentation - Chairman has asked me to shift presentation from economy to Geopolitics, then to Neighbourhood and finally to Indo- pak relation. (The shift from one topic to another was spontaneous, so there were some random points)

3. How did India contribute to World Order?
4. Challenges from Neighbours?
5. You and Pakistan are now friends How did this happen? (Hypothetical question)

After presentation

6. How does public speaking help in Administration? (Prepared answer)

Dasa sir appreciated the presentation

M1:

1. Who is your inspiration in services? (Parents and named some Officers)
2. Contributions of Old Kollam Collector C.V. Anandabose? (Told I was not born in a polite way, the board member himself gave the answer)
2. Monologue on how trade unionism deindustrialised Kerala. Asked me how to deal situation as Industy Secretary? (CONSENSUS + LEGAl method)
3. Is KIIFB a replicable model? (Spoke with RBI - Fiscal Health Index)
4. What are the things that you can replicate from Kerala in Bihar? (LSG- Peoples Plan)


M2:

1. What are the Geological differences between Andaman and Lakshadwip? (Just two keywords - Coral island and Sundaland - board member seemed dissatisfied with answer)
2. Role of Kadamba Dynasty in Kerala history? (Said I dont know since I was not sure about the dynasty, it was from Karnataka)

M3:

1. Can we shift to Service allocation by Interview board as per skills? (Said it may affect aspirants aspirations and choices)
2. Need of Military Diplomacy in the current age. (Spoke with Jaisankar sir opinion article)
3. Opinion on recent visit by US ambassador along with Pacific command head to Indian West Command head. (Question was long, from the tone of board member, I guessed he was disagreeing to it. So i agreed with his opinion and highlighted National security)
4. Role of RBI in forex management (spoke about pre 1991 and post 1991 scenario)

M4:

1. Follow up questions on not mentioning law and order, ease of doing etc during pesentation. (He assumed a personality and raised a question. I assumed another personality and replied that i was keeping that for a later meeting)
2. What is youth unemployement rate? (I said I am not able to recall , but greater that general unemployment - he said "okay, we understood that you know it".
3. How to Make use of Demographic Dividend (employment generation question)

Chair Again:

1. How does Sasi tharoor Mention about 45000 crore loss by colonialism? (Follow up from my use of theword Loot)
2. How do you assess Sasi Tharoor as MP
3. Do you want to be an MP?( Said mot currently, i want to be a civil servant)
4. You see yourself as MP or IAS officer at 2047 Davos summit ( I said officer)

The chair did not explicitly mention "Your interview is over". I waited. He nodded twice, later I asked permission to leave. He said "our questions are over". I smiled, thanked and left the room.


*PT Score: 215*

Panel Mocks TVM: Lead IAS, Fortune IAS, Amritha IAS, Pathways IAS, State Academy, Xylem

Panel Mocks Delhi: Vision, Vajiram, Next, Samkalp, Srirams, PW Only

Regular One on Ones: Anuroop sir, Sarath sir, Unni sir, Shirfad sir, Jithin sir (Lead IAS) Nitin Sir, Achuth Sir (Fortune IAS) Shinas Sir ( i Learn IAS) Basil sir (Rise Up)

Date- 13/02/2026
Session- forenoon (2nd to go)
Board- Dinesh dasa sir( all male members)
DAF keywords- law, cricket.(asked from these only)
Optional- PSIR
Chairman-
Asked me to introduce myself.
1. Opinion on recent presidential reference and sc verdict on governor’s assent to bill?(specifically asked me not to give balanced answer but to choose which one i would prefer? Quite a long discussion on it followed)
2.Should india join board of peace?
3. Did you follow bangladesh elections result? Which party is winning?
4. Can there be revival of relations between india and Bangladesh considering BNP being pro china earlier?
M1-
1.What did you think of india-namibia match did you feel at any moment that we might lose the match?
2. As a foreign secretary what will be your approach towards pakistan? Can we have peaceful relations?
3. Scope of DPDP act in protecting the privacy of people?
(Asked 2 more questions not able to recall )
M2-
1. Recent controversy by the politicians over POSH act? Aware of it?
2.Do you think it’s time that we make it gender neutral?
4. What is your opinion on conversion laws enacted by various states? Follow up questions on it- should we have it at national level? What about in tribal areas?
5. Recent GOI emphasis on blue economy and certain special projects for region?
M3-
1. Pendency in judiciary? How can we reduce it? Justice delayed justice denied what do you understand by that?
2. Recent buzz about AI how these emerging tech can help judiciary?
3. Corruption in judiciary? How should we tackle it? (Here chairman sir joined i guess they were anti- judiciary)
M4- 1. as a DM of some district of bihar( forgot the name of district) what will be your priorities?
(Idk why he asked me this? Not even related or aware of the issues of the district but gave general answer here)
2. If you were to choose between Maharashtra or bihar which one would you choose ?
Why not Maharashtra?
- what is your service preference? ( kept on asking till 7th preference, idky)
3. Should we have unification of judiciary for recruitment of judges ?
Opinion on judges coming from bar should we restrict this practice ? (Again dasa sir intervened to highlight uncle judge syndrome and why judiciary is so bad )
4. Should we ban private coaching industries? ( here sir looked at the clock) and then before i could complete dasa sir himself started answering and all of them started smiling 🙂
( not able to recall 4-5 questions)
Duration- 33 minutes
Experience- overall it felt more like a discussion, they were more interested in knowing my opinion, even in controversial questions wanted me to take clear stand as he didn’t want the “However” answers.

PT MARKS -175

Name: aim

Date: first day 8/12/25

Key DAF Details: CA, delhi, historical monuments, worked in IB, worked for women empowerment

Board: dasa sir

Questions asked

M1 chairperson
aim ji, kaise hai aap ? - i said thik hu sir(in hindi, meekly)
1. aim(name's meaning) what is your aim ? - answered, sir in short term IAS, long term to be useful to the nation in any capacity(fumbled a bit here)
2. difference in pattern of DT and IDT collection share in revenue kitty in 1980s vs 2010s - bouncer que
3. what is FIRE - fin indep retire early

M2 :
1. long term useful to nation - how would you be so ?
2. what'd you do if didnt get IAS
3. how do you yourself 10 yrs down the line? a. with IAS b. without IAS(repeat of above q)
3. explain basic financial concepts to a layman - explained TVM, unsatisfied, again asked, explained, again unsatisfied

M3 :
1. What was vishakha judgment
2. What'd you do as DM in a district ?
3. one govt scheme you liked - why ?

M4
1. Which's the tallest brick minaret in india ?
2. who built ?
3. didn't alauddin built it ? - said no point blank, M4 said he did, i relented and said i'd check
4. one badminton player you know of ?

M5
1. why quit IB job ? - because IAS, involved M2 here and she nodded
2. a US firm had done some scandal in stock market - which one, what was scam, measures taken (didn't know measures)
3. who regulates stock market, when originated and why
4. what is fair value vs market value - is market irrational ? why so ?

Chairman sir:
The interview is over do you want to tell us anything? - i thought for a second and he went ahead and explained himself in a stern tone, i said no sir.
then he said how do you think your interview go ? - i said sir i should've know IDT DT pattern - he said no it isn't important, u read about it. but how did it go, chai peete peete bahar doston ko kya bologe ?
me - sir that it felt great being on interviewee chair and being summoned by UPSC, discussion was very fruitful, didn't realise how the time went by, it was holistic. getting 4 days to prepare was initial shocker (idk why i said it) but all in all an enriching experience i'll always remember
M1 - said summoned is a wrong word. isn't it M2 ? it is our honor to host you young minds, we aren't summoning you
me - i wanted to say ki sir letter pe summon likha hota hai, but said sir this is your graciousness to say so, but at such a young age it feels honored to be in presence of such esteemed personalities
M1 - ok you may go
me - was about to stand up
M2 - sir may i ask a que, M1 nods, aim what will u do if made chief eco advisor
me - mam will focus on manufacturing as self rel is key to strategic autonomy and VB by 2047 goal
M2 ok , said thanks


Mocks/O20 -
civilsdaily - saket was terrific, PW kyunki online diya tha
One on one
Shubham sir ( vidyapeeth IAS) confidence booster .
sarrthi ias - sajal and varun sir - did with both

Final thoughts- A little disappointed with the score expected it to be around 195 as i thought i did well in the interview, although there was scope for improvement in some areas.

Pt marks-182

Name: Pathan
Date: 19/12/25(afternoon 2nd to go)
Board: Sheel Vardhan Sir
Daf keywords: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Maths optional, Anime (nothing else asked)
Time: 27min almost wholly on daf

Chairman:
1- You're from Lucknow why is it called city of Nazakat & Nafasat
2- what does Nazakat & Nafasat mean?
3- What is Language,dialect,script
4- Lang with >1 scripts(didn't know told me Sanskrit, Name some dialects
5-Have You watched dragon ball?
Have you read manga? How is it read?(said left to right like Urdu)
6- any other lang read left to right?

M1
1- Name some regulatory bodies in India
2- FSSAI what does it do? When act brought in? What changes broughtby it?
3-Where in Lucknow do you see food stalls?
4- Why poor hygiene in those stalls?
What can be done to improve that?

M2
1- Should UP be bifurcated?
2- why mafia culture?
3- What has UP done to improve it's situation of late?

M3
1- What is use of maths in IT sector?
2- How to prevent criminalisation of politics and reasons for the same? What will you do as DM?
3-What is awadh region? Why awadh biryani famous? Which other biryani?
4- What are the major issues being discussed in India ?

M4
1- Should southern states be allocated more resources ? (Said you thinking like North Indian think like southerner)
2- Should Capital be shifted from Delhi to some southern state?

(Baki kuch ques the yad nhi)

Your itnv is over nice talking to you

Cordial No grilling

Mocks: Samkalp( 1st was good, 2nd one was too casual) Nxt ips(Good)
Vajirao(good but little grilling) Only pcs(Good) No 1-1

PS: Mocks only help in practicing baki khana bhi mil jata h

PT marks: 179

M4:
1. What percentage of genetic material is common between Homo Sapiens and Banana?
2. Monologue on how we have evolved since prehistoric times from Primates to monkeys to apes to humans. How should we further evolve?
3. Give me specifics of brain evolution, as to whether size or complexity should increase as our brains are already most compact?
4. What specific evolution would solve the issue of painful birthing process in human females?
5. Our society focuses much on rote memorisation, which hampers the development of thinking. What do you think about the same?

Chairperson stops M4 from further questioning. Looking at the wallclock, he says that your interview is over. I said thank you sirs and ma'am, and left.

Experience: It felt cordial. Towards the end, pressure was increased. I hope I kept my composure. Hoping for the best.

Mocks - Samkalp (2) (Most realistic), NextIAS, Forum, Vajirao Reddy, StudyIQ
O2O - Bassi Sir, Anil Swarup Sir, Avinash Dharmadhikari (Chanakya Mandal Parivar)

Sir, scored 210 in PT.
AIR 231

Please take this as a serious request

Hello guys,

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Name: Dhoomraksha
Date and time: 19 January 2026 Forenoon
Board: Dr. Dinesh Dasa

Chairman: Congratulations. That seat is coveted. Even if we wanted to sit there we couldn't... (Ice breaker)
1.Introduction?, we know you prepared it in front of mirror, don't let it go to waste.
2. In states like Kerala, Bengal and Maharashtra writers are very much respected. How has literature shaped the society?
3. Who are Big Ms of Malayalam? If they're in your neighbouring state, they would be CMs by now. Why no actor politicians from Kerala?
4. Amartya sen discussed an economic model, JN Bhagvati discussed a model? Which does Kerla follow?TN?
7. If you were to decide for Kerala now what model would you prefer?


Member 1 (male):
1. Volatile situation around, goes on to mention Trump, Venezuela etc. in this context what qualities should a civil servant have?
//Can't recall the rest

Member 2 (male):
1. Revolution in military Affairs (RMA)? Then explained to me about the changes in military strategy post Kargil.
2. Two external and two internal challenges to national securuty
3. Do you play any sports?

Member 3 (lady):
1. You were talking about how Sivasankara pillai wrote about problems faced by workers. Why Trade unions have objected to labour codes.
2. What specific provisions do they object to?
3. Are trade unions good in today's world?
4. Kerala in EoD rankins? What did Kerala do better?

Member 4 (lady):
1. 3 things that are most important in your view about Viksit Bharat?
2. Where does Employment fall in the priority list for Viksit Bharat?
3. What do you mean by social justice?
4. Earlier you were talking about empathy. Do you think an emotional person be can be a good civil servant?
5. Srilanka tried organic farming and failed miserably. Then why are we going for organic farming?

Chairman: Do you have anything more to discuss? Are you satisfied with your interview. Is this what you expected when you were sitting outside.

Board was extremely cordial and pleasant.

PT marks 189

Name - Style
Daf key words- Kannauj(U.P.)Chemistry (hons), MA sociology
Swachha bharat mission, other than that nothing asked from DAF
Interview date -11 feb 2026
Board- B.B.Swain sir
Chairman.
1. You are from Kannauj, why Kannauj is so famous
2.Tell me the traditional method and it's exact process of making perfumes.
(Member 1.)
1. What is rare earth mineral
2. Why are they gaining so much importance.
3. Why do we need to develop capabilities of our own , why can't be simply import them
Discussion on this question.
4. Why NGO are important.
5. Tell me some specific NGO,

Member2 ( lady member)
1. What you have studied  in sociology
2. Why are there false cases of dowry. (Bcz I mentioned crime against women in my previous question response)
3. How we can promote digital education in school.
2 more question based on this

Member3 .
1. Where are u currently living.
2. AQI of delhi and AQI of kannauj
3. Reason for air pollution in India
4. What we can do.
5.What is the status of swachha bharat mission
6. Is it available to achieve something?

(Member4.)
1. Who is your favorite Indian sociologist .
2.why everyone have M. N. Srinivas as there favorite sociologist ( bcz I mentioned about M.N.srinivas)
3. Kerala has came up with defination of digial literacy. What is it? (  I said I dont know exact defination)
4. What according to you is digital literacy.
5.again sir asked about Kerala digital literacy defination.  And allowed me to guess.

Interview score-193

he judgement didn’t define what constitutes Basic structure. Why it is not defined? I answered. Give me some examples of it. I said federalism and judicial review. How do you say Federalism is a basic structure. Centrally sponsored schemes are coming, states are complaining that there is over centralization going on. I answered. (Tum log Federalism mat bolna but. Federalism Pandora box open kar dega). However, At that time nothing else was coming to my mind. He asked: Is preamble part of basic structure? I said yes. He said: 42nd amendment included the words socialism and secularism in the preamble. Doesn’t it violets basic structure? I answered in know, giving reference to Article 25 to 28 for Secularism. You have completed your graduation in 2025 only. Do you know about Arbitration and conciliation act? yes sir but I am not very good at it. an Arbitrator is appointed in which section? Answered vaguely. but you have completed your graduation this year only. You must have studied it. Yes sir 3rd year me padha tha 2 saal ho gaye. Ok. Lets talk about general things. Government is trying to do away with arbitration. Are you aware about it? sir I have not heard this. Rather I have recently red that Government is trying to constitute an arbitration counsel of India. There were also talks going on amending the act. Don’t you think this is a dilemma? At one side you are saying that government is promoting Arbitration and on the other side they are trying to do away with it. He gave the context. They are planning that 10crore se upar ke matters me Arbitration khatam kar dete hain. Do you think this is a good measure? I said no with my reasons.
Member five: it lasted quite long. Why took sociology after law? The one and only HR question. I said it was BA LLB and I have already studied sociology as a part of that course. I took some electives as well on sociology. He cut me shot and asked which elective? I mentioned climate capitalism. so he asked what is climate capitalism. I answered. What is rare about rare earth minerals. They are not rare. Then Why China have them India doesn’t? they are in abundance. I answered. He asked some more examples of climate capitalism. Then he shifted the conversation to make in India. Perhaps from rare earth he must have thought about supply chain and that’s where make in India. Asked about its successes and failure. I started with Success, Iphone assembly and some other points. He said, Assemble hi to kar rahe hain kaunse badi baat hai. I responded. He asked what else in make in India? Didn’t have any point at that moment and reluctantly said sir defence indigenization. As expected, the suicide was done and LT GEN Raj Shukla takes over from here.
Back to chairperson: 11 saal hog aye make in India ko aur abhi bhi 12 me se 9 products to China se import kar rahe hain ham kya indigenization ho raha? I said sir at least 3 to banane shuru kiye. Kuchh to progress hui hai and we have to start from somewhere. Achha to ham 10 saal me 1 product banaye and say make in India is successful? I answered. Sir: China is an autocracy and India is a democracy. They are very successful, they have great ideas. Why we don’t? I said sir hamare yahan kisi bhi project se pahle protest hote hain, environmental litigation hote hain, projects isiliye delay ho jate hain. Unki autocracy hai they can do anything. Shukla sir: achha matlab pahle to hamko autocracy banna padega.☠️☠️ sir we have examples of successful democracies jaise Europe USA etc. Hamare problem ye hain ki ham implementation bahut delay kar dete hain. He said, but China has better ideas and we don’t. Since the interview was about to end and from this conversation I felt he was too adamant to change his stance on China having better ideas than India, I stayed silent. Neither countered nor agreed.
Overall experience: I didn’t find the board cordial. Accept the female board member, rest of them were expressionless. Didn’t show even a single gesture of satisfaction throughout the interview.
Relevant mocks: Sankalp,
Khan sir (KSG). The 1 to 1 with him was the best

experience I had throughout the interview preparation. Sir not only takes the mock interview, but doesn’t leave you until you incorporate all the feedbacks given by him in your answers. Sir took my session for around 75 minutes or more which frankly nobody does.
Study IQ was also good up to the part of Dipak Vohra sir. This is for stress test and to get an experience close to actual interview. However not good for feedback.

PT Marks: 195