Name :- Capt. Vikram Batra
Board :- BB SWAIN sir
Date :- 11th April , 2025
DAF keywords :- Gujarat, Mutual funds business, Cricket , Travelling, Para sailing , Elderly care, PSIR

Greeted everyone with Namaste

CHAIRMAN

Avo parthbhai avo ( Welcomed me in gujarati term ) 😄
Asked about where travelled in gujarat ?
Do you know any hospital in gir for lions ?

M1

So you are from gujarat , why gujaratis are much involved in business ?
Origin of sabarmati river
1-2 follow on questions

M2 ( Lady member - cheerful and cordial)

You mentioned karate , till which belt you have reached ?
Can you handle any street fight ?
What you learned from karate ?
Your 3 strengths and 3 weakness
You mentioned Elderly care , what problems are they facing today?
Have you visited any old age home ? what was environment there ?
What can be done for elders ?
What are provisions in Extradition treaty? why we are not able to extradite Vijay malya ( said not knowing reason - then she asked to think on it and to guess )
What is parasailing ? where you done it ?

M3 ( cordial and very relaxed)

What is QUAD ?
Told that today’s youths are suffering from drug abuse . Give me any innovative solution to tackle it
Asked about sir creek issue in northern borders of gujarat
Will bullet train project impact positively in economy ?
Why youths in gujarat are moving abroad ?

M4 ( Gave me thumbs up and told best of luck when i was waiting outside the room before interview )

Asked about Visa restrictions on Indians by usa - should we have reciprocity in it ?

Long monologue and then asked about Sardar sarovar dam and its benefits over agriculture

Then chairmen asked M1 to ask few questions

M1

Asked about whether Bail should be a norm in society or not ?
Should we go for complete disinvestment and privatisation for PSUs ?

My last question to you - Define Sanatan 🚩

Then chairman sir said - Your interview is over , you may go now .

Greeted everyone with Thank you and namaste


In overall terms , it was great experience and environment was quite relaxed and cordial board showcasing much positivity with you.

Mocks :- 10+

many questions got repeated from transcripts and mocks.

Special thanks to the group for sharing transcripts which helped me immensely .

Best of luck to everyone 👍🏼

Interview Transcript

DAF: nothing asked


Chair

What is Free movement regime? Your opinion on its status?

M1

How do steam engines work?
What are hybrid cars--a detailed discussion ensued on the same

M2

What 3 ecospheres would develop given president Trump's mercurial policies?

What is G2 and its impact on India?

M3

PSU are not able to compete with their private counterparts? What good does it do to still have these white elephants?

A detailed conversation unraveled on the same

M4

Led a conversation on Chinese threat over north east

O2O- Shubham Agrawal sir(Vidyapeeth IAS)-->nuanced approach towards building an atmosphere that facilitates organic conversation

Name: Morty Smith
Date: 9/04/2025; BB Swain sir board
DAF: IPS, UP, Outer Space, EVs, Electrical Engineering, Sci fi movies, Departmental Placement Representative, IIT Roorkee.


Me: Good Afternoon everyone.
Chairperson: (smiling) Good Afternoon! Please have a seat.
You are looking fresh and energetic as compared to other IPS probationers. Are you not tired with the 4:30 AM schedule in the academy?

Me: Sir I have been granted Extra Ordinary Leave. Thank you for the compliment.

Chairperson: you have a particular interest in outer space. What is your definition of outer space, and not what google would tell?

Member 1:
1-Have you watched 2001 Space Odyssey? What was your analysis of this movie?
2- who was the writer of this movie?
3- what other sci-fi have you watched?
4- Oppenheimer? Who was he, why so famous?
5- His rival scientists?
6- Any books you've read?

Member 2:
1-Outer space defence linkages
2- Satellite based Weapons or ASAT based defence? What should India focus on?
3- How to promote domestic tourism as DM?
4- waste management issues?
5- Why is waste segregation not happening?
6- Latest aur travel? What about airport waste segregation?

Member 3:
1- Why IAS over IPS?
2- What have you done as Departmental Placement Representative?
3- why police have a bad image?
4- Issues of UP police personnel?

Member 4:
1- EVs? Why not picking up?
2- why so expensive?
3- ICE vs EV vehicles?
4- EVs not green. Give reason
5- Extra judicial methods leading to better law and order, acc to recent reports. Opinion?
6- Encounter killings? Opinion
7- Price difference of EVs vs ICE?

Chairman: Thank you ! Your interview is over.

Member 2: (to Chairman) sir one last question.
Is Encounter killings Necessary or Evil or Necessary Evil?

Chairperson: Thank you.

Overall: Board was very welcoming. Didn't grill. Chairperson left the room once, came back within minutes.

Name: Morty Smith
Date: 9/04/2025; BB Swain sir board
DAF: IPS, UP, Outer Space, EVs, Electrical Engineering, Sci fi movies, Departmental Placement Representative, IIT Roorkee.


Me: Good Afternoon everyone.
Chairperson: (smiling) Good Afternoon! Please have a seat.
You are looking fresh and energetic as compared to other IPS probationers. Are you not tired with the 4:30 AM schedule in the academy?

Me: Sir I have been granted Extra Ordinary Leave. Thank you for the compliment.

Chairperson: you have a particular interest in outer space. What is your definition of outer space, and not what google would tell?

Member 1:
1-Have you watched 2001 Space Odyssey? What was your analysis of this movie?
2- who was the writer of this movie?
3- what other sci-fi have you watched?
4- Oppenheimer? Who was he, why so famous?
5- His rival scientists?
6- Any books you've read?

Member 2:
1-Outer space defence linkages
2- Satellite based Weapons or ASAT based defence? What should India focus on?
3- How to promote domestic tourism as DM?
4- waste management issues?
5- Why is waste segregation not happening?
6- Latest aur travel? What about airport waste segregation?

Member 3:
1- Why IAS over IPS?
2- What have you done as Departmental Placement Representative?
3- why police have a bad image?
4- Issues of UP police personnel?

Member 4:
1- EVs? Why not picking up?
2- why so expensive?
3- ICE vs EV vehicles?
4- EVs not green. Give reason
5- Extra judicial methods leading to better law and order, acc to recent reports. Opinion?
6- Encounter killings? Opinion
7- Price difference of EVs vs ICE?

Chairman: Thank you ! Your interview is over.

Member 2: (to Chairman) sir one last question.
Is Encounter killings Necessary or Evil or Necessary Evil?

Chairperson: Thank you.

Overall: Board was very welcoming. Didn't grill. Chairperson left the room once, came back within minutes.

Name - Monkey D Luffy
Date - 15/04/2025
Session - Forenoon
Board - Sanjay Verma Sir, 1st to go
DAF - New Delhi, Patna, Nalanda, Bihar, ECE Engineer, Software Developer, Art in Oil, watercolor and acrylic medium, Geography Optional.

Chairman:
How are you?
Are you working somewhere?
So art is fairly analog, what do you think about the onset of digital media and technology and its impact on art?
Can you name some of the highest selling Artists from India?
Geography optional, do you think in this century Geography’s relevance has increased? Compared to 20th Century

Member 1:
So you have worked in Bangalore? (No, permanent WFH)
Anyway, what are the present urbanisation challenges you can think of?
How can the administration solve it in your opinion?

Member 2:
So you are a software engineer, what is big data?
If you are a DM of a district, what 3 areas will you incorporate the use of big data extensively?
What about health sector?
Now the UPSC recruitment exam, is a long drawn process, you are before the board, suggest three reforms that you would like to be implemented.

Member 3 (lady)
So have you done your schooling from patna? (No, parents belong to Bihar, I have done my schooling from New Delhi and higher education from Rajasthan)
Okay, have you visited Patna? (Occasionally)
What are the three things you would say has changed with time in Patna? And as an administrator, what steps would you do in this regard?
Follow up on one of the things I pointed out in the previous answer- how would you tackle the inequality that persists as a DM?
With the onset of GPT, we can see alot of impact on youth is taking place, can you point some of the concerns?
Do you think open use of AI should be allowed in educational institutions? Won’t it impact the learning capabilities of our youth? What other impacts on youth?

Member 4:
You have done B.tech in ECE, so tell me, due to the adoption of 5G, do you think optical fibre is taking a back seat?
Can you tell me some of the industries where optical fibres are more relevant than the use of 5G?
Now coming to another subject, paytm and phonePe, command 80% of the market share. Do you think it should be allowed or we should support new players to enter as it must be unfair for them?

Chairman finally:
monologue on how to solve inequality, you just mentioned the policies that need to be implemented, but don’t you think state’s revenue should be kept in mind? Where will you get the money from? (i agreed and said employment and skilling in all sectors need to go hand in hand)
Okay what are the three things you live about Delhi?
Doesn’t the rich history of Delhi Amuse you as well? (i said yes sir it is quite fascinating as well)
Can you name a few prominent writers or poet who wrote about Delhi?

Your Interview is over, you can go now, thankyou.

Mocks - SriramIAS, Vajirao and Reddy, Civils Daily, Vajiram and Reddy, PWOnlyIAS, Vision, Samkalp (the best and the closest to the real deal)

O2O- Shubham Sir from VidyapeethIAS (he’s the GOAT, any amount of words cannot describe his selfless nature and immense understanding of the exam), Ravindran Sir from Vajiram, Personally met Mahesh Bhagwat sir, he covered DAF extensively, very grateful for his guidance as well. Saket Jha sir from CD also helped!

Special thanks to the Quantel team, they were very proactive in arranging sessions!
Finally, I have given it my all, and can’t thank my parents, my friends and R enough.

Name - Monkey D Luffy
Date - 15/04/2025
Session - Forenoon
Board - Sanjay Verma Sir, 1st to go
DAF - New Delhi, Patna, Nalanda, Bihar, ECE Engineer, Software Developer, Art in Oil, watercolor and acrylic medium, Geography Optional.

Chairman:
How are you?
Are you working somewhere?
So art is fairly analog, what do you think about the onset of digital media and technology and its impact on art?
Can you name some of the highest selling Artists from India?
Geography optional, do you think in this century Geography’s relevance has increased? Compared to 20th Century

Member 1:
So you have worked in Bangalore? (No, permanent WFH)
Anyway, what are the present urbanisation challenges you can think of?
How can the administration solve it in your opinion?

Member 2:
So you are a software engineer, what is big data?
If you are a DM of a district, what 3 areas will you incorporate the use of big data extensively?
What about health sector?
Now the UPSC recruitment exam, is a long drawn process, you are before the board, suggest three reforms that you would like to be implemented.

Member 3 (lady)
So have you done your schooling from patna? (No, parents belong to Bihar, I have done my schooling from New Delhi and higher education from Rajasthan)
Okay, have you visited Patna? (Occasionally)
What are the three things you would say has changed with time in Patna? And as an administrator, what steps would you do in this regard?
Follow up on one of the things I pointed out in the previous answer- how would you tackle the inequality that persists as a DM?
With the onset of GPT, we can see alot of impact on youth is taking place, can you point some of the concerns?
Do you think open use of AI should be allowed in educational institutions? Won’t it impact the learning capabilities of our youth? What other impacts on youth?

Member 4:
You have done B.tech in ECE, so tell me, due to the adoption of 5G, do you think optical fibre is taking a back seat?
Can you tell me some of the industries where optical fibres are more relevant than the use of 5G?
Now coming to another subject, paytm and phonePe, command 80% of the market share. Do you think it should be allowed or we should support new players to enter as it must be unfair for them?

Chairman finally:
monologue on how to solve inequality, you just mentioned the policies that need to be implemented, but don’t you think state’s revenue should be kept in mind? Where will you get the money from? (i agreed and said employment and skilling in all sectors need to go hand in hand)
Okay what are the three things you live about Delhi?
Doesn’t the rich history of Delhi Amuse you as well? (i said yes sir it is quite fascinating as well)
Can you name a few prominent writers or poet who wrote about Delhi?

Your Interview is over, you can go now, thankyou.

Mocks - SriramIAS, Vajirao and Reddy, Civils Daily, Vajiram and Reddy, PWOnlyIAS, Vision, Samkalp (the best and the closest to the real deal)

O2O- Shubham Sir from VidyapeethIAS (he’s the GOAT, any amount of words cannot describe his selfless nature and immense understanding of the exam), Ravindran Sir from Vajiram, Personally met Mahesh Bhagwat sir, he covered DAF extensively, very grateful for his guidance as well. Saket Jha sir from CD also helped!

Special thanks to the Quantel team, they were very proactive in arranging sessions!
Finally, I have given it my all, and can’t thank my parents, my friends and R enough.

Since we are almost at the end of Personality Tests for CSE-2024 with only around 100 candidates remaining, many of you who appeared for it may be facing anxiety or other pressures. To relieve that, we have formed a result discussion/bakar group where you can speak your heart out. It is strictly for those who have completed their interviews. Just message any one of the following IDs @psm0506 @Lankapati1729 @Pegasus_IND @PPY102

Name:
Key DAF details: Doctor, Ghazipur, Athletics, TAFS, AIIMS , debating, contraception (rest not asked)

Board- Sheel Vardhan Sir
3rd to go. Forenoon session

Questions asked:
Chairman sir-
1) Some quote on healing based on mind power. Asked to explain the quote and my views.

2) Names of 2-3 books that I had no idea about (never heard of).
3) Intermittent fasting. What is it?
4) Autophagy
5) Time when it sets in.
6) Something related to why UPSC

M1-
1) Some temple name in Ghazipur (never heard of).
2) What if you get any other service like IRS ? I began to explain.
Chairman sir intervened and further discussion on this.

3) Onion wastage. How would you decrease it?
4) Why is it said that even monkeys are high in Ghazipur (opium)
5) Sports situation- 10yr, progress, aim
6) Chairman sir- Name 3 states you think have done great in sports in India.
7) Chairman sir- Record of various Athletic events.


M2 ma'am-
1) You have to select 2 athletes from your district. What would you do?
2) Contraception debate- What was it. (Intervened after 1 sentence- topic ended)

3) Debate on this topic- Digitalisation has harmful effects on privacy and therefore, should not be done so hastily.

Some ques I don't remember

M3-
1) Old name of your school
2) Monlogue. What is illusion? Then what is hallucination.
3) Chairman sir- how would you treat both?
Rest ques I am unable to recall

M4-
1) One section in Health sector which you think is not at all regulated? Discussion
2) Some doctor turned bureaucrat inspiration related talk.
3) Do you know a newly built dam in Punjab? Named it. I didn’t know. He said you must have read about Chinese dam. So I won’t ask you that.

Some more questions I don’t recall.

Thank you. Good luck for result.
Chairman- your interview is over.

Name:
Key DAF details: Doctor, Ghazipur, Athletics, TAFS, AIIMS , debating, contraception (rest not asked)

Board- Sheel Vardhan Sir
3rd to go. Forenoon session

Questions asked:
Chairman sir-
1) Some quote on healing based on mind power. Asked to explain the quote and my views.

2) Names of 2-3 books that I had no idea about (never heard of).
3) Intermittent fasting. What is it?
4) Autophagy
5) Time when it sets in.
6) Something related to why UPSC

M1-
1) Some temple name in Ghazipur (never heard of).
2) What if you get any other service like IRS ? I began to explain.
Chairman sir intervened and further discussion on this.

3) Onion wastage. How would you decrease it?
4) Why is it said that even monkeys are high in Ghazipur (opium)
5) Sports situation- 10yr, progress, aim
6) Chairman sir- Name 3 states you think have done great in sports in India.
7) Chairman sir- Record of various Athletic events.


M2 ma'am-
1) You have to select 2 athletes from your district. What would you do?
2) Contraception debate- What was it. (Intervened after 1 sentence- topic ended)

3) Debate on this topic- Digitalisation has harmful effects on privacy and therefore, should not be done so hastily.

Some ques I don't remember

M3-
1) Old name of your school
2) Monlogue. What is illusion? Then what is hallucination.
3) Chairman sir- how would you treat both?
Rest ques I am unable to recall

M4-
1) One section in Health sector which you think is not at all regulated? Discussion
2) Some doctor turned bureaucrat inspiration related talk.
3) Do you know a newly built dam in Punjab? Named it. I didn’t know. He said you must have read about Chinese dam. So I won’t ask you that.

Some more questions I don’t recall.

Thank you. Good luck for result.
Chairman- your interview is over.

Important update

It will be out this Friday.

So this would begin from today 🫠

Don’t think too much about when it will be out. Try to relax(I know it is easy to say but tough to do). All of you have worked extremely hard to reach till here. And I know it is not the best thing to say but say but not everyone is going to make it to the final list, sadly. Be mentally prepared to deal with that too. Keep cool and just for your own mental peace assume it to come as late as possible(Monday or Tuesday), because there can always be some administrative delay. I wish all of you all the very best, may you get your desired service. Last piece of unsolicited gyaan - Getting in will just be the beginning, there is a long journey ahead 😊🙏🏻

Name - On prayers
Date - 15/04/2025, 2nd to go
Daf - infosys(worked there), computer science(graduation), rest nothing was asked from daf/hobbies
Board - Lt gen Raj shukla sir

Shukla sir:-
Complement on my suit from shukla sir, asked from where i got it stitched
Asked about my home place and graduation place, place of work
Why India is not excelling in emerging techs and world is racing(discussion on this for about 5-6 mins)
How much indian govt as well as pvt sector is spending on research and dev
Is quantum the future of tech

Member 1:-
Why u chose computer science for graduation
Would you advice your siblings to take it in current domain
How India started integrating computer is very initial phase
Pros and cons of EVM
Is 5% cross verification threshold sufficient
Pros of exporting upi to other countries

Member 2:-
Why u left your job
Mehul choksi case and what they did
What is Bill discounting
Innovative methods to tackle corruption
Why there is so much high quitting rate in infosys
If you are an administrator and face a dilemma where your personal beliefs are at contradiction, what will you do

Member 3:-
pay commission
Why is there a need to setup pay comission when salary is increasing after every six months
Ways to conserve water as it is said that third world war will be on water

Member 4:-
Compare between infosys and tcs
Is infosys doing something unique or it is just a mass recruiter with lot of people working like machines
ESG
Difference between ERP and AI(could not understand and had knowledge gap in these 2 questions so said no)
Some equipments India is exporting

Mocks - Around 15(including one to one). Levelup, NextIAS, Vajirao, Shankar, PW, Samkalp, Unacademy, Chanakya, Understand UPSC(Satyam Sir - Gem), Sarthii(Sajal sir), Sriram(Utkarsh sir)
Shubham Sir vidyapeeth - One of the most honest and unique person i have found in this journey with perfect suitability of avronym 3AQ - Affordability, Accessibility, Availability, Quality.

I have done my part with honesty, lets see what destiny wants.

Gentle Reminder!!!

Today is the last date for attestation form, PT candidates please take note of it.

Name - XYZ
Session - Afternoon
Board - B B Swain Sir
Previous service - AFHQCS
Optional - Sanskrit Literature

Chairman - What is your work profile
How you hire charter flight
How you ensure contract obligation
Whether charter flights are authorised for both civilian and armed forces
Why need charter flight

Member 1- You have worked in CSD depot
Whether Johney walkers comes in CSD canteen or not
Why government had ban foreign liquor in CSD
Have you ever tried for defence forces
What is your view on Agniveer
Why in some states demonstration against Agniveer
Member 2-
What are being cultivated in north indian agriculture
What are problems of Indian agriculture
If you are district collector how would you improve agriculture sector
What specific for agriculture in budget
New schemes in budget
Agriculture is state subject you are posted in MoD how would you improve centre state relation for agriculture development
Member 3-
Who is called Adikavi
Who has written Ramayan in which language
Is Ram charit Manas totally in awadhi or sanskrit also
Writer
Why sanskrit literature
Recently anyone died who is a great sanskrit scholar and member of Niti Aayog
Member 4-
Tell me about Namo drone didi
Agri cooperative bank
Use of technology in agriculture
Government initiative for agriculture
What is MSP
Who declare
For how many crops
Who recommend
How many times in a year
Difference between A2+FL and C2
Recommendation of Swaminathan Ayog

Chairman - Do you want to ask anything from us
Ok All best
You can go now

Date: 17th April
Board: Honb’le Sanjay Verma sir
Keyword: Indian Forest Service; reading about Indian defence; Following Int’l Media; Ranchi; Anthropology


*Chairman*
* have you joined Forest Service?
* Which cadre ?
* Tell me one concept from Pol Sc, Sociology, Economics
* Would you say media is credible now?
* How is DD news credible? It is controlled by Government

*Member-1*
* Reserve forest vs protected forest. Which one would you prefer
* How will you protect your forest from external encroachment
* Reasons for man-animal conflict. How to reduce it
* Consider yourself as Ambassador of Ranchi & tell us about it

*Member-2*
* How come reading about defence become your hobby
* But don’t you think defence is a standalone sectors. Other sectors matter too
* From where do you read these defence news
* Which Paramilitary is under dual control
* Should it be not that only one ministry controls it
* Is it Army or Paramilitary primarily responsible for Border security
* Which Army units are based in Ranchi

*Member-3 (lady)*
* Tell me about CAMPA
* Even if there’s compensatory afforestation, we’re losing some unique ecosystem
* Should we keep all lions in Gujarat? Why relocation failed
* How much area a Tiger occupies? We’re talking about increasing number of tigers, but tiger reserves are reaching carrying capacity

*Member-4*
* digital infrastructure & digital good
* Different approaches towards Tribals. How should be interact with them
* Work of any 2 Anthropologist towards tribal concepts

*Chairman Sir*
* don’t you think India & US are facing same issues vis a vis China
* tell me about latest trade figures
* How do you compare your 1st interview with the present one

Overall pleasant experience

Name - Mirage
Date - 17.03.2025 (Afternoon session)
Board - Dinesh Dasa sir

Keywords : Chess, Football, Roorkee, IIT, ONGC, Hockey, Nature based Optimization, <rest not asked>

Chairman
1. What exam you gave to enter ONGC
2. What is GRE for?
3. Why output of IITs is not as good as Ivy League Colleges despite better input in terms of students
4. If made Education Secretary what changes would you bring to improve output
5. You were in Uttarakhand for studies. How will you repay the state.
6. You play football. Which team do you follow and what player.
7. Why Real Madrid so successful in last 10 yrd.
8. In India football is dominant sport in Kerala and West Bengal. Both Communist Party strongholds. Is there any connection

M1 (Female)
1. What is Nature Based Optimisation mentioned in your DAF
2. Example of it
3. Have you heard of Drain of wealth
4. What was Dadabhai Naoroji's contribution
5. <1 or 2 not able to recall>

M2 (Male)
1. You are working in E&P sector. What is the case related to Reliance Industries in which a huge penalty has been imposed
2. Sugarcane is widely cultivated in North Western UP and Uttarakhand. But groundwater being polluted. What steps do you recommend (Sugar mill effluents)
3. Screen time exposure of children high. How to limit
4. Are parents responsible

M3 (Female)
1. How many GM (Chess) in India
2. What do you know about meritocracy?
3. Is reservation against meritocracy?
4. Who was the Youngest FIDE rated player recently
5. You also played hockey. so which sport you focus on
6. <few questions not able to recall>


M4 (Male)
1. What is the difference between GCC and BPO
2. What is the Agriculture Infra Fund
3. For what stage of the crop cycle it is meant


Chairman - Ok done
Then tells me after i get up that he has another question
1. Why people in Tamil Nadu so good at chess
2. South Indians good at science also (scientists in ISRO, etc.). What skill is it that is required for this (logical reasoning)
3. Why South India better at it
Ok you may go.

Mocks - Chankaya Mandal, Vajirao Reddy, Sankalp (Group and Panel), NextIAS, Chahal, KGS, Vision (in descending order of performance = perception of the usefulness of the mock)
O2O - Baliyan sir, (Insight) Mahesh Bhagwat sir

Most useful - group of interview candidates taking each others mocks