Name: 🙏🙏
Date: 7 March Afternoon

Key DAF details: Meerut, UP, Scouts and Guides (others not asked)
Board: Preeti sudan mam
Attempt : first
Questions asked:
A. Chairperson
1. Tell us something about meerut. (I Mentioned Rrts and expressway)
2. How much time it take now from Delhi to Meerut (1hr wow that's good)
3. How will these projects benefit economy.
4. Would there be pollution as well. (I had a slip of tongue corruption 😁, everyone laughing mam pointing to my slip)
5. Have you witnessed corruption.
6. How would you fix it in transport department corruption.
7. How to inculcate ethics
8. What is the motto of scouts and guides.
B. M2 (Lady)
1. Where would you initiate reforms.
2. What about judicial reform.
3. Wider criminal system reforms?
Few more questions.
C. M2
1. Why study anthropology?
2. Heard of shifting cultivation, is it happening nowadays?
3. Tribal face challenges from outsiders, should we isolate them?
4. If no then how would you ensure they are not exploited?
5. Corruption perception index provisions?
There were a few more I can't recall

D. M3
1. Impact of standard deduction in budget on economy?
2. Is merger of banks good?
3. PPP in banking? Pro and cons
4. Are we doing enough in financial literacy?
5. Give a innovative suggestion? (I said children's bank of india😁 member was happy)
E. M5
1. Role of governor in state?
2. Adopt presidential system in india?
3. Difference in US and Indian elections?
4. Do they directly elect?
5. We also elect representatives then how are they direct and us indirect?
Few more were there
Chair :- your interview is over you may go.


Mocks given: samkalp, only ias, vision, next, forum, sriram, Vajirao and reddy total around 12
Remarks : wasn't expecting chairperson to take interview.
Board was very cordial.

Board: Sheelwardhan sir
DAF keywords : Nautical Science, Stargazing, PSIR
Chairman sir:
1. Which is your favorite star?
2. Why it is your favorite!
3. Have you ever faced piracy attack on your ship?
4. What is malacca dilemma?
5. How India can become a part of global supply chain?
6. Transhipment port in Nicobar, do you support it? what are challenges?
7. If china attacks on Himalaya, should we stop their ship in Andaman and Malacca?
8. Who all are benefiting from Piracy?
M1:
1. Tell me the differences which you have noticed in your village since childhood. ( I mentioned migration in answer)
2. Which migration do you support Urban to rural or Rural to urban and why?
3. Why do cities are known as growth engine of the world.
4. Urban migration in Bihar? cities, bit details...
M2:
1. Why you wantf to join civil services, when you were earning quite good salary?
2. How will you maintain your life style if you are posted in Rural and underdeveloped area?
3. Your priorities in being posted there?  Some more questions on tha.
4. What to do in case a new wave of corona erupts? Blanket ban, Hotspot etc.
5. Did you do any coaching for upsc?
M3:
1. What time you maintain on ship? Zulu(GMT) or something else.
2. Details of nautical miles.
3. I have only 6 months remaining, guide me how to prepare for civil services. ( Discussed in depth)
4. will my earlier knowledge help me in civils, how?
5. Few more, cant remember now...

M4:
1. What changes should be brought in Merchant shipping act?
2. Where do india stands in ship building and tonnage capacity?
3. Tell me indian ship owners companies.
4. Some questions on insurance related to ships.
5. Describe yourself in 3 words, (3 traits of your personality).


Few more questions, mainly based on DAF, I can't remember right now.

Mocks 10+ (Quantel to thanked for arranging mocks)
One on one with Shubham sir (Vidyapeeth IAS, quite helpful and motivating) Ankit sir (Smartlabs)

Questions were very new from mocks, however mostly came from identified areas of DAF.
Approx 30 minutes.
All the best 🙏🙏

Pls find the transcript sir

Name - Jai Hanuman
Board - Raj Shukla Sir

DAF - AI, Mathematics optional, electrical engineering, Rubik's cube

Chairman
1) What're you doing?
2) So you've put AI as you hobby... tell me - is AI going to change everything or is it just another technology?
3) Does AI have IQ or EQ? What is IQ? What was Einstein's IQ? Can AI surpass it?
4) When something so phenomenal is coming up...shouldn't India be worried? how many LLMs does china have? USA? We?.... Shouldn't India be worried?... I said no we can come up with our own... I'm optimistic
5) What gives you the hope?

Member 1
1) So you have a guinness world record in some event?! What was it?
2) What's the world record for fastest cube solving by a machine?
3) You're an electrical engineer... so tell me What are cryptocurrencies? What about the recent tax on crypto assets?

Member 2 - Lady
1) Do you know Bermuda triangle? What's it?
2) I see a Bermuda triangle in policy coming up (which is sucking money from the government)... On one side populist schemes are taking away all the money (people don't have any incentive to work) ...then we're giving huge tax breaks for manufacturing to come up...also spending money on skilling people to no avail...there are no funds left for the govt to work... I know you're too young to ask this but could you suggest some innovative measure to get out of this Bermuda triangle?... terribly dissatisfactory answer from my side

Member 3
1) So we have cash transfer schemes for women, should we have them for men also? Like many of them are unemployed (like you) ...so there should be gender equality, right?
2) What among these is the issue - men feeling superior to women or women feeling inferior themselves or some third alternative?
3) if you're made a dc, what'll you do for gender equality?
4) But what's the very basic that you will do? He said won't your work begin at the family level...
5) hundreds of people like you who are some of the best brains are sitting for UPSC or else flying abroad... Who'll do the research work?

Member 4
1) you've done electrical engg from one of the best colleges and then you took mathematics optional which is rare?
2) first attempt? How much did you score in maths in the last attempt?
3) there are some unsolved problems in maths right? Can you tell one?
4) what's the largest prime number which has been ever discovered?
5) Let's say you're DM of a coastal district which suffers from natural disasters like cyclones, tsunami, floods etc..... what measures will you take? Short term, medium term and long term?

Chairman
Your interview is over.

Name: Mohit
Date: 07/03/2025, Afternoon, 1st to go
Board: Sh. Sheel Vardhan Sir
Time: ~30 mins

DAF Keywords: IITR, CSE, PSIR, Risk Analyst, Uttarakhand, Online Chess, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Leadership potential (scholarship)


{Was waiting outside room - stood up & greeted every panel member as they entered the room after Lunch}

Chairperson Sir:
1. So you play chess? you have a good height, why don't you play basketball? (khelta tha sir School clg me)
2. Did you dunk? (never tried)
3. Which chess World champion died recently? (Spassky sir).
4. wasn't it Gary Kasparov? (naah sir, Spassky, 1972, match of the century - he died)
5. Have you watched _? Have you heard about _? (I haven't sir)
6. You're an risk analyst. Do SWOT analysis of India.
7. (I mentioned sth about Global South) Tell me some countries of Global South (couldn't convince him in this. Probably he wanted to hear the keyword "Brandt Line" while I started listing countries. Maybe he asked "the countries" and I heard "some countries". )

M1 (Male):
1. You're from IITR. Tell me about "bifurcation"? (sir are you asking about it in any specific context - yes roorkee context - no sir don't know)
2. crossing of canal over solani river . (ohh sorry sir, I know about it, we called it aqueduct).
3. UBA - share 3 learnings.
4. Should UBA be dropped by Ministry of Education? Isn't it an unnecessary burden on the colleges?
5. Modi ji talked about all weather tourism in UK yesterday. Tell me any other state where this can be promoted (sir other him states - give me one specific example, sorry sir not sure, chalo I'll tell - Thar desert)
6. Now tell how can the need of all-weather tourism be linked to Thar desert (was still thinking when he passed on to the next member)

M2 (Lady):
1. List important qualities of a leader?
2. Hw did you portray leadership potential for Aditya Birla Scholarship? (mam write up likhwaya, interview liya - UBA ki baatein suni aur de dia) - mam smiled.
3. DC asked you to set up a Food processing unit in UK. What all elements will you consider while doing Risk analysis of the project?
4. where will you put up the factory - plains or hills (mam hills me to chhote scale ka hi laga sakte, else lene k dene pad jaenge)
5. ghost village issue in hills - what type of employment can be created there then. (mentioned SHGs, House of Himalayas, etc)

M3 (Male):
1. Learnings for India from Russia-Ukraine war.
2. let's stick to military learnings.
3. How has the Russ-Ukr war affected India's defence. (military spare parts issue, dependence on Russ arms)
4. examples ? (S-400 : wo to mil gaya hame already, Sir sukhoi etc b h, don't know much)

M4 (Male)
1. Something about my role as a risk analyst, (fraud risk team etc)
2. who bears the burden in case of fraud. (USA banking system - banks has to)
3. and banks ka risk? (not sure. he mentioned something like credit risk insurance. I said sir I have heard about it but don't know much)
4. You must have met fellow candidates in the hall. What is the topic of discussion. (sir I was 1st, by the time documents were verified, I was asked to come here, didn't get time to talk)
5. how long you waited outside room (10 mins sir)
6. what was going on in your mind? (sir expected ques like Russ-Ukr, Chess, IITR)
7. (everyone laughed) so we asked what you expected? - yes sir, a lot of it. but there were a few ques which I didn't expect and couldn't answer, will read more on those.

Chairperson: Thank you Mohit.

Overall experience: board was cordial, patiently listening, their body language was positive, the mood was jolly towards the end hence felt good. "Conversation" revolved around the DAF keywords and thus felt very comfortable. No random factual stuff asked.

Mocks: Samkalp, Vajirao Reddy, Chahal, Vajiram, NextIAS
One-to-One: Vinay Sir (Insight), Sri Ram Sir, Ravindran Sir, Shubhra Ranjan Mam, Bassi Sir (Next)

Utility of mocks - My mocks also revolved around the same topics. Helped me take the topics seriously and study in detail.

All the Best!!

NAME : Forrest Gump
Board: Sheel Vardhan Sir
Date: 05/03/2025 (F/N) 1st to go
Keywords: Gujarat, Sociology, Civil Engineering, Competitive Typing, Walking, Stock Trading, Debate.
Chairman Sir:
1.       Who invented Typewriter, also tell some companies of typewriter.
2.       On what Indian products and sectors would you impose tariffs if you were Trump and vice versa for India
Member 1:
1.       What changes were made at State and National level after Bhuj EQ
2.       How Bhuj EQ was boon for the local people
3.       What is Dholavira
Member 2 (Lady):
1.       Let’s do a debate, speak for the stance “There is a method in Trump’s madness”
2.       What are the key takeaways for India
3.       What’s your opinion on DOGE and about Elon Musk in it
4.       If you were the head of DOGE in India, which 3 depts. Would you scrap
Member 3:
1.       What’s the difference between Nifty GIFT and Nifty 50
2.       What is GIFT City
3.       How it is beneficial for Gujarat
4.       What are the timings of Nifty GIFT
5.       What are the types of Options in Stock Market
6.       What are trading strategies in options market
7.       Tell me about COP 29
Member 4:
1.       What are the technological developments in Civil Engineering
2.       Why we aren’t building EQ Resistant buildings like Japan
3.       Are we resilient if another covid comes
Again Chairman Sir:
1.       Do you want to say anything
2.       If there was something , you would had come prepared and we didn’t get the opportunity to ask the same.

Name: Suit UP
Chairman: Suman Sharma mam
key word daf( Mirzapur , EEE , cricket, geography optional)

u r from mirzapur , which character do u like and why??
PIB fact check unit
Facebook issue
why they took back fact check unit
many counter qstn ..
south china issue
agricultural vs manufacturing job employability
issue and possibility
demographic dividend discussed with many follow up qstn
performance based payment in cricket & 3-4 follow up question
question on farming , food processing industry
Public distribution system

only 1 or 2 daf based question mostly random questions.
full on grilling ..
Mocks: next ias(2) samkalp ias (2) unacademy , sriram ias , many more through quantel
studyiq , vajirao and reddy

o2o : Shubham Sir ( Vidyapeeth IAS ) although connected very late but best in evaluation and thought process( highly recommended)
2 arranged by Quantel

Baki sb Mahadev ki kripa :::

Chairman – Lt Gen Raj Shukla Sir
Name – M.Singh
History , Physics , Parallel Cinema, Haryana .

CHM
Asked me about DoGE in US , can we replicate it in India.
Do we need it ? What will be the strategy to do that ? What are the challenges
and how is it feasible or not feasible in India. A small discussion.
Our PSU are struggling with inefficiency , why pvt sector is not investing ,
why is pvt sector not investing in R&D ? A few more questions related to it and then , thank you.
M1
Mostly from current affairs ,
Physics people please cover recent finding and developments , no need to revise the subject in too much detail just go with the recent development. Especially cover : NASA , ISRO , DRDO , etc.
Content of recent Mann ki Baat was asked , if anything is related to your DAF from Mann ki Baat content do read it.
Sir asked a few more questions I am not able to recall.
Question from Polity , and how some subjects were brought to concurrent list in 1976. Why were they brought to concurrent list ?
What was its impact.
The questions here , were a bit on factual side. But no intimidation.
M2
Mostly from my DAF
How parallel cinema declined ? Some discussion on its essential – characteristics of it ?
Haryana , sex ratio , women in sports from Haryana on the one hand while preference for son on the other hand.
What are the 3 lessons from our past ?
Should we not forget our past ? Forgetting the past will allow us to move on ?
This was also a type of discussion.
A few more questions cannot recall.
M3 (From Economy and Polity)
GST , why was it introduced
What was the amendment about ?
It was also slightly fact based ,I am not able to recall. The question type was a mix of
when , what and why
M4 (from IR)
This was a type of discussion on situation in Bangladesh , the recent development?
What challenges India currently face ?
How can BNG resolve its issues , what way forward do you suggest ?
Do you think there was a role of Pakistan in it ?
Sir , was adding few points. We mainly talked about Bangladesh and India.

I am not able to recollect a lots of question , but they were I would say very much personalized
Your interview depends on your answers , every question shapes on what you had answered (in most cases).
Wherever there is a discussion , its your answer that lead the discussion to. Factual questions are moderate , not very difficult
but in interview you may not be able to recall.
All were cordial in the sense that no one was trying to intimidate , you don’t know something , they will ask another question. In my understanding , they want to bring out the best out of you. In case you don’t do well in one question, they will ask another. I think every board member is trying to get something out of you. And they will do it very gently.
In interview take your time , there is no hurry , they will give you ample time to think.
Please don’t judge yourself during the interview, let them do their work and you do yours.
“Don’t answer , lets just talk”

These are the lessons from my mistakes that I made and what I learnt from that day.
Take this day as any other day and you will do great. Take stress for what may come , you may not do well.
In my journey in CSE prep , I was always rewarded for the efforts I had made. So , believe in yourself , you have what
they want.

Preparation ; One to One were more helpful , Sajjal sir(Sarrthi) was very considerate guided me as in how to think and structure the responses ,One to One at Samkalp (mine was not with Shantosh Taneja Sir) helped me fill gaps , Satyam Jain (UnderstandUPSC) and Vijaya D P Singh (VisionIAS) were helpful and encouraging.

Name: Oliver Twist
Date : 04/03/2025
Chairperson: BB Swain
Keywords: Kerala, Philosophy ( optional ) , Kerala flood relief measure volunteer ( rest not asked )
Chairperson
1. Reasons for Kerala flood - discussion on the same
Member 1
1. Measures for addressing recurring disasters in India ( for which I answered some which included the term bioswale )
2. What is bioswale ?
3. What is soft power diplomacy ?

Member 2
1. Why did you choose philosophy as optional despite having graduation in chemistry ?
2. Why is it said that man created God ?
3.difference between agnostic and atheist
4.How does your friends identify you ?
5.what are abrahamic religions ?

Member 3
1.What are the measures for digital arrest ?
2.is ethical hacking ethical ?
3.is it legal or illegal in India ?

Member 4
1.reasons for landslides in Kerala ?
2.why is silent valley called silent ?
3.which is the important species in silent valley ?
4.is there a necessity to change the name of kerala to keralam?
5.what is the procedure for the same ?

Chairperson: do you want us anything more to ask ?
How was the interview ?
Thank you .

Mocks : Nil
O2O: Enlite IAS

Name: padfoot
Interview date: 07/03/2025 (Aft, last to go)
Board: Preeti Sudan Ma’am
DAF keywords: mental health NGO, women safety march, poetry, Uttarakhand

Ques asked:
Chairperson:
You write poetry, would you like to share with us something you have written?
Tomorrow is Women’s day, how is India doing on women issues
What is one stop centres for women
You work for mental health NGO, why we are seeing a rise in these issues among youth. How to handle?

M1- serious
Tell about UCC in Uttarakhand- what is UCC.
Is Live-in registration in line with Constitutional rights?
What is NATO
Wrt Trump- is NATO now dysfunctional
Why Russia Ukraine war took place- why it doesn’t want Ukraine to join NATO?

M2- cordial and smiling
You mentioned Mental health, what exactly is the problem these days youth face?
Is there social pressure alone or is the youth becoming less tough to tackle it?
What about 70 hrs work week- do you favour that
What about skilling- how can we use AI? Its use in education is good or not?

M3- cordial
How do your friends describe you as a person?
What is neutrality in civil servant
Should civil servants join politics- while in service
How to ensure judicial transparency?
What is Nifty and Sensex?

M4- (lady member)poker face, v serious, not happy with any answer

If I establish a company, what NOCs will I have to take from govt
If not environment clearance, what else
If in Urban area the company is, then what NOCs, which officials will visit me to check on my company?
(Chairperson said ask something else)
What is trickle down effect
How in capital intentive industries it can be seen?
Why Sri Lanka faced crisis when it introduced organic farming?

Chairperson said your interview is now over. You may leave and all the best.

Mocks given: Vajirao, Samkalp, NextIAS, one to one- Sajal Sir Sarthhi IAS.
Overall experience- mixed feelings, tried making it conversational, gave personal examples too. Overall board was cordial. They were all listening very attentively, were giving me time to answer. If I did not answer nicely, they did not show it on their face, when I answered well, they were smiling a lot and nodding. Chairperson asked if I would like tea, there was also a light moment in between when everyone laughed at what ma’am said..I joined along. The final M4 member asked ques that were tough for me, so overall impression idk.

Name - Airawat
Board - Sheel Vardhan Sir
DAF - lawn tennis, google/goldman sachs tech scholarships, socio

Time - ~35 mints

Chairman
1. Why socio after science background?
2. ⁠How science has benefitted the society?
3. ⁠How to manage AI fallouts?
4. ⁠Dont u think internet has replaced personal relationship to virtual relationships, no real connection to people, virtual friends and all?
5. ⁠ if I make you the PM of India in 2047, which part of the land in the world will you want to control? ( reference from Trump, claiming Greenland, Panama.)

M1
1. Tell me about the above mentioned scholarships? How did it help u? Why did u get? Some questions on Google’s quantum experiments
2. ⁠Define urbanisation, challenges, how to solve them?
3. ⁠ air pollution, causes, what the government is doing, what more can be done

M2
1. Difference between deuce and advantage.
2. Real life experience where u felt yourself in above two conditions
3. ⁠ recent podcast controversy (Ranveer Allahbadia one)- what was it, Supreme Court judgement, how to regulate this?

M3
1. 2 step to curb air pollution as an individual
2. how would you implement the solutions? (About points mentioned above)
3. ⁠ what is government doing to improve the freight movement in India?
4. ⁠ what is Sagarmala? What is the status of Sagar Mala?

M4
1. Workplace dynamics between boss and subordinate in India
2. ⁠Situation based questions based on workplace dynamics between men and women - role reversal etc

Mocks - Civilsdaily , Chanakya Mandal, vajirao reddy, ONLY IAS, NextIas, Sleepy, a couple of other through quantel


Special thanks to- Saket Jha sir civilsdaily ( 1:1 discussions were very helpful), Mahesh Bhagwat sir, Manoj sir ( sociology related ) , Utkarsh sir , friends and family

Sheel vardhan sir board(Last to go in)
03/03/2025
Keywords - web series, law, PSIR, Kumbh, Pune, AFSPA, Chhava, Badminton.

Chairman sir
1. So have u seen Rocket Boys?
2. Who is it about
3. What was the business in which Vikram Sarabhai's family was involved in?
4. Tell me 3 laws in recent times that have impacted the society at a large scale
5. What 5 skills will you tell girls between the class 5th to 10 th to learn for their empowerment

M2

1. What are the things that come to mind when you think of Pune?
2. Is Pune a smart City?
3. What features does it have of smart City
4. What more steps can be taken?
5. Recent kumbh happened in Prayagraj, next one will be in Nashik, what can we learn from this Kumbh which we can implement in next one to make it better

M3(lady member)

1. What was the problem with Lakshya Sen's performance in his last olympics?
2. How can we improve?
3. How you as district administrator try to reduce the problems which you just mentioned
4. Have you seen Chhava movie?
5. What's your taken on that?
6. There was controversy with respect to that and what is your take on that?

M4

1. Have you read Army act?
2. Take a wild guess as to what rules will not apply to Army
3. Have you heard about AFSPA
4. who declares it?

M5

1. What 3 important international relations events happened in last few months
2. What is your take US deportation and tariffs
3. So whatever you said will you give advice to PM
4. Have you read Motor vehicle act?
5. What more can be done in this?

Cse interview transcript
Name - निमित्तमात्र
Forenoon session
2nd to go @Sheel vardhan sir’s panel
Daf- mantra meditation, diary writing, teaching mentoring, computer engineering, sanskrit in class 10th, rajasthan, psir

Took permission to enter , came closer to chair nd wished chairman first then lady and other members

Chairman sir-

You are interested in diary writing, meditation, badminton, teaching lets start with diary
1.So you write diary what kind of it - reflective , journal or just routine one?
2.Why do you write?
3.What impact does it have on personality?
4.If you have to persuade your younger brother who is naughty how would you convince him?( mentioned that i would say that start with writing naughty ideas …….)
5.So you write personal things in it as well?
Would you ready to make it public if you write private things in it?
6.as evryone is writing on social media in public .Should social media to be used then for private matters as it could be exploited as well?
7.What would you suggest then how to use social media ? What’s the way forward?
8.Ok now you are a PSIR guy tell me 3 friends and 3 adversaries of india beyond neighbourhood.
9.You mentioned Argentina( mentioned it as not adversary but contradictory interests wrt to coffee club vs g4 ),its president javier milei is espousing anacho capitalism what is it?
10.Which ideology it is near to ? Neo liberal or other?

Member1-

1.So you are a technical person interested in meditation, which kind of meditation mantra meditation is?
2.What mantra do you recite?
3.How does it benefit you .can it be beneficial for others?
4.As a public servant would you implement meditation in your office?
5.So you are interested in teaching as well tell me how did you get in it?
6.What is teaching and would you continue to teach while in office?
7.Should civil servants use online platform to teach shouldn’t they focus on performing their duties as public servant ?
8.How you integrate your technical background and teaching experience with public service to improve productivity?
9.Technology in education would it benefit education sector?
10.I feel it will replace teachers what are your views?

Member2-

1.Continue with teaching what role of language has in imparting education?
2.You have studied Sanskrit in school there is some controversy going on around it ? Do you know Stalin not that you studies in PSIR there is one more 😂 do you know him ?
Why he is opposed to Sanskrit?
3.does Sanskrit need protection?
4.What do you think why stalin is opposing Sanskrit?
5.What is the way forward in this regard?
6.Tell me use of AI in governance ?
7.are there any challenges associated with it? What is needed to tackle?
8.you enjoy writing diary do you know Anne frank ? Lesson can be drawn in present time?
9.So you have been to kota as well tell us some initiatives of kota ( asked clarification if it is regarding infra projects)
Further follow uo regarding kota oxygen city park initiative?

Member3

1.How after engineering humanities is useful for you?
2.How would you use your expertise of technology and Psir in administration?
3.what is your views on ONOE?
4.should be be implemented? Benefits of it?
5.what are challenges?how to proceed ahead with it?
6.what are the concerns of regional parties?
1 more question but not able to recall

Member4-

1.why did you choose PSIR after being an engineer?what do you like most in psir?

2.What humanities subjects have taught you how it is different from computer engineering?
3.What is desertification is it expanding?
Why is it expanding factors?
4.How severe it is in Rajasthan? Direction-of its expansion?
5.Where the issue of groundwater over exploitation is more intense ? Region?
6.You said overall Rajasthan is facing water scarcity how?
7.Can you suggest solutions what would you do as DM of your district in this aspect?

Chairman - it was nice talking to you your interview is over .
Thanked everyone

Cordial and encouraging board

Thanks to community and all helped me for pt preparation
Took 4 mocks and 1 O2O

Name - sabudana vada
Date- 28/02/25
Daf keywords- watching movies and web series on otts, psir, MP, history

Chairman sir
1. What have been doing since graduation..no post graduation no job
2. Why would any movie be released on ott or in theatre
3.duration between a movie release on ott and theatre
4.name some ott platforms
5. MOBI ott platform
6.which is your all time favorite movie
7. Where is bollywood

M2
8. Favorite character from lapata ladies
9. Character of policeman in this movie
10. Why changed from PCM to humanities in graduation..are you scared of these subjects
11. In accounts services..how will you tackle maths n all
12.Where is vidarbha
13. Why gwalior and indore were fighting (scindhias and holkars)
14. What all regions constituted madhya pradesh
15. Recite any poem of ramdhari singh dinkar(dinkar is my surname)

M3(ma'am)
16. Are you a feminist?
17.what is feminism according to you
18.females have to bear Children..then how will they come on equal footing
19.why it's Bombay high court and not Mumbai high court
20. Why Bombay is Mumbai now and madras is Chennai
21.should we change names

M4
22.what has happened in bangladesh
23. What changes after khalida govt ousted
24. Where is siliguri corridor
25. Countries surrounding this corridor
26. Issue between nepal and bhutan (pre independence)
27.disputes between India and nepal
28.territorial disputes between India and nepal

M5
26.Tell some rulers who fought valiantly but do not find place in history books
27. There can be many such..how will you give place to all
28.have you read any book on Indian politics (syllabus k Bahar 🥲)
29.name some current scholars who write on Indian politics

Forgot some questions..I feel I could do better🥲
Mocks - 10+
Sankalp, vajiram and ravi, vision are good (vese to most of the mocks are similar) still good for having language fluency and confidence

Name: Westside
Board: Raj Shukla Sir
Date: Recent
Key DAF: Rajasthan. NIT XX, Banking experience of 2 banks, Chess (no q), fictional novel(no q), Other two section was empty but no questions on them too.
Forenoon and first one to go.

Chairman
1. Where are you from?
2. ⁠From where you did your graduation?
3. ⁠What is quantum technology? (Not related to DAF)
4. ⁠Then he just went on and on and on and related the QT with defence, banking, encryption, stealth fighter plane and what not. I knew basics but at not that level. Tried to answer some and said sorry to some. Some discussion but largely one way. Then he passed on to another member.

M1
1. So you worked in XXX bank and then shifted to YYY bank and then he says 100 crores are siphoning off EVERYDAY through duping from gullible customers and why that is happening and what can be the consequences and what could be done. Discussion went on for some minutes largely on the same line. He was some what satisfied but somewhat not too. Finally said should be go back to vedas and asked me who said go back to vedas but even before i could answer he again started. Some discussion and then he passed on to another member.

M2
1. So you are working in XXX bank tell me what are the consequences and reason for rupee falling. I answered.
2. ⁠said but these phenomenon going on for many time and rupee falling for some time.
3. ⁠asked what RBI doing doing.
4. ⁠But this tine RBI not doing with as intensity as it used to.
5. What is the consequences of rupee falling. Gave him multiple reason but he was hoping for liquidity crunch in market which i knew but couldn’t recall and he finally said this himself. But he seemed dissatisfied that I couldn’t tell him this but i try to make it up by saying that recently RBI did OMO to counter liquidity issue. But.

M3( Ma’am)
1. So your place resemble one famous person tell me. I told but it was not something she was looking for. Then she said herself and I humbley corrected her saying it is misnomer.
2. ⁠Why there is a demand for reservation from Gurjar community.
3. ⁠whether reservation is even successful
4. ⁠Then she asked why banks are failing. Recently cooperative bank failed.
5. ⁠asked why BR Act amended in 2020. I told the reason but she said any other reason which i answered that it was going on for some time etc. Then she passed on to another member.

M4
1. Only 1 question regarding what is sovereign gold bond and what is their status. Which i dont know recent one. Then i said govt has decided that to not go ahead and RBI also not issuing new tranche. But then he said why it is happening but I knew but couldn’t answer at that time and then he moved on.

Finally chair said you may go. All the best.

Observation: Typical Shukla sir interview as i got to know letter. Poker face of all the members. Nothing from hobbies or other area but largely on banking. Shukla sir deep dived in QT which i had little knowledge but tried. Finally as everyone said board was cordial but i was finding it tough to answer as they were speaking more. There was gaps in their sentence so many times i just startted answering. So future aspirants should take care of these.
Finally it got over. Best of luck to everyone. Hope i could help. Let’s see.

Sheel Vardhan sir
Morning session
First week of March


Chair-M1

Welcome to this conversation.

1. Do you know this xyz author?
2. Mentions some concept of this author?
3. Again another concept
4. Then discussion about interstellar movie
5. What makes it so special?
6. Another question about it but can't remember
7. Karman line?
8. Impact of karman line?
9. What happens to objects beyond?

M2

1. Taxation - ULBs major sources?
2. Tax assessment?
3. Tax target?
4. 74th amendment?
5. Types of engines?
6. Amrut mission?
7. Urban governance reforms undertaken under Amrut 2.0(very specific demand, i didn't know)
8. Lakhina pattern? Demystify Administration
9. What do you understand by demystification?
10. Impact on citizens?

M3

1. About teaching hobby
2. Some people can't smile. Name those biological condition?
3. Impact of International events on Indians?
4. Give more specific impact on ordinary citizens. Inflation, exports, employment, msme, agri exports, energy prices etc.

M4

1. Aerodynamics of vehicles?
2. GST?
3. Fuel taxes ?
4. Inclusion of FUELS in GST?
5. Impact on state finances?
6. Discussion on ATF taxes in Maharashtra. Recent changes.
7. Is India High tax country?
8. Should we reduce taxes on fuels like Bhutan?

M5

1. Meditation types?
2. Which one you do?
3. Recent incident at Shirdi?
4. Some discussion on IR events?
5. Pick one country from the region to invest time and money? Only one plz

Thank you. Your interview is over. All the best.
Mocks- Actual experience was way different. Don't stress.
Thank you all for transcripts.

Name - sabudana vada
Date- 28/02/25
Daf keywords- watching movies and web series on otts, psir, MP, history

Chairman sir
1. What have been doing since graduation..no post graduation no job
2. Why would any movie be released on ott or in theatre
3.duration between a movie release on ott and theatre
4. name some ott platforms
5. MOBI ott platform
6.which is your all time favorite movie
7. Where is bollywood

M2
8. Favorite character from lapata ladies
9. Character of policeman in this movie
10. Why changed from PCM to humanities in graduation..are you scared of these subjects
11. In accounts services..how will you tackle maths n all
12.Where is vidarbha
13. Why gwalior and indore were fighting (scindhias and holkars)
14. What all regions constituted madhya pradesh
15. Recite any poem of ramdhari singh dinkar(dinkar is my surname)

M3(ma'am)
16. Are you a feminist?
17.what is feminism according to you
18.females have to bear Children..then how will they come on equal footing
19.why it's Bombay high court and not Mumbai high court
20. Why Bombay is Mumbai now and madras is Chennai
21.should we change names

M4
22.what has happened in bangladesh
23. What changes after khalida govt ousted
24. Where is siliguri corridor
25. Countries surrounding this corridor
26. Issue between nepal and bhutan (pre independence)
27.disputes between India and nepal
28.territorial disputes between India and nepal

M5
26.Tell some rulers who fought valiantly but do not find place in history books
27. There can be many such..how will you give place to all
28.have you read any book on Indian politics (syllabus k Bahar 🥲)
29. name some current scholars who, write on Indian politics

Forgot some questions..I feel I could do better🥲v
Mocks - 10+
Sankalp, vajiram and ravi, vision are good (vese to most of the mocks are similar) still good for having language fluency and confidence

My interview transcript
Name-Vladimir putin
Date 5 march 2025
Board- Lt. Gen Shukla sir
Time -40 mins , afternoon 2nd to go
Daf key words- Nothing asked from daf ,State(UP), hobbies,prizes ,achievements
Optional -History medium of interview -English
Only one question from current Affairs
Around 35 questions asked (some I forgot)
Chairman Shukla sir-
Kahan se aaye ho, College kahan h tumhara ,Keval UG PG bhi kr lete
1.Some in west are analysing past and predicting future and charging crores .Tell me few
2.Tell me few in India
3.why indian historians are not in such business
4.why don't you try such business you will earn crores?why this bureaucracy?
5.Romila thapar says something else vikram sampath is saying something else.A laymen like me , always remains confused what is truth in history
6.This is like open Ai and deepseek .He then asked  me to compare historiography with AI models
7.Then said good u tried but I m not convinced
8.Then I took name of yajnamdevam who is using cryptography to decipher indus script.he noted it down and said are u sure I will read about this.
M2 (Male) not audible properly speaking slow
1.Recited few lines of a  poem and asked me the author
2.Tell me  Russian interests in eastern Ukraine other than nato and black sea
3.Asked me about differences between facts narratives and Popular history and many follow ups (I forgot)

Lady member 2- grilling
1.Asked me in hindi what is Itihas in hindi
2.Then asked differences between itihas and history
3.Then asked about Macaulay and bureaucracy and many follow ups .she was forcing me to criticize bureaucracy
4.Colonial legacy in India right now
5.Asked differences between indian and western ancient traditions and some follow ups

M3 (male)More interested in asking questions and listening answers
1.Asked me to summarise discussion happened till now
2.Started asking grey areas in history
3.Continuosly pressing me to change my stand on History as a disciple of utility
3.Asked me differences between Science,social science and humanities and asked me where do you put history
4.situation based question on how you will allocate houses in your district
5.what do you mean by Indian bureaucracy as Steel frame?
Has it rusted?
6. Many follow up questions (I forgot) but Shukla sir stopped him in mid saying sir bahut time ho raha hai

M4 -male (cordial , continuously noding head)
1.science and social science which is bigger for you
2.Then asked me to compare technological advancements in different yuga cycles
3.technological advancements and evidences and excavations of Mahabharata period
4. Literature should be believed or not
5.many follow ups on this
Then Shukla sir started asking again few questions and said something about Wright brothers (All started laughing including me then he said to me with a laughing face I m not joking )
Finally sir asked me about Truths and fallacies  in history
At last said with a smiling face chaliye chaliye bahut time ho gya  hai

Overall observations - Shukla sir constantly looking at me and also smiling ocassionally
M4 most cordial ,Rest all in grilling mode
They were constantly pressing me to change my stand on few ocassions.
Mocks not much helpful as  interview went completely on different trajectory than mocks .mocks only Helpful for building confidence.
Mocks - PS Ravindran sir(Help ful) Utkarsh sir( spent around 1 and half hr ,very helpful)
Panel mock - next ias (good),Chankyamandal ( very good),sankalp ias,Drishti ias
and few others but they were not much helpful.

Name - Vaastav
Board: BB Swain sir
March 1st week afternoon session. 2nd last to go.
Keywords - PSIR, Trekking, movies, Delhi University.

Chairman:
* describe the genre of movies you've mentioned.(corrected me), gave his known example of old movie.

M1.
1.you're food inspector - what would you do to curb adulteration?
2.link with nayak movie?
3.What would you do to curb real estate corruption?

M2.
4.history and literature - why should we study? people say it's of no use
5.what social sciences teach that engineering doesn't?
6.should we go for institutes of eminence or concentrate on basic education? But resources are limited how would you manage that?

M3.
7.what are you doing since post-graduation? and sub-questions..
8.trekking - which one you last trekked? where exactly? height? base? kms distance of actual trek? duration?
9.who are rohingyas?
10.why only rohingyas persecuted and not much of other ethnic minorities in Myanmar?
11.what's happening in bangladesh? what's their problem with India?
12.official status of mohd. Yunus? why he chosen?
13.why don't we send lakhs of Bangladeshis alongwith sheikh Hasina back?

M4. Lady member
14.If you're DM, which kinds of political pressures would you probably face?
15.what's a wasteful state expenditure? give examples? long discussion.
16.subsidizing farmers for fertilizers and inputs v/s DBT income support - give pros and cons.

Chairman - looking at the clock said - ok your Interview is over. Thank you.

Mocks - Samkalp, Vajirao, Chahal and many mini- mocks with friends.

O2O with Mahesh Bhagwat sir, Srirangam Sriram sir, Taneja sir

Mocks and O2O help in covering wide range of questions on DAF, practice and confidence boosting. Actual Interview is very mature level discussion and not a confrontational dialogue or interrogation like in camera mocks. Rather than catching up every bits and pieces of information till last minute, focus on being in the moment and respond to the question on it's merit. We get enough time to speak our mind.

Name - RS45
Date- 06/03/2025
Chairman - Lt General Raj Shukla sir
Daf keywords- Agriculture, Cricket, Maharashtra, Chemistry, sociology rest not asked.
Interview duration - 35+ min

Chairman sir
★ long monologue on Quantum and defence capacity and its comparison with china?
★ What will you suggest to bring quantum in defence?
★ what is full form of DRDO?why DRDO is not working upto mark? After I given answer and showed positivity in answer then they appreciated optimistic view.
( As I was regular followers of Shukla sir X handle and I followed all tweets specially last 15 days and these questions were they tweeted in last 3-4 days. So expression of Shukla sir was like they must have understood that I was following them and I hope they must gave acknowledged my Smart approch. Bas ab marks ache dene chahiye😂)

After that Sir was going outside then coming, again going. Between interview they opened their laptop, was eating farasana and reading letters between interview)


M1(Very cooperative and smiling and appreciated alot)
★ What is PMFBY? Give three important features of it
★ what is issue in maharashtra related to PMFBY
★ As agri secretary how will you resolve issue of bogus claims of PMFBY.

Other questions not able to recall.


M2(ma'am)( listening very patiently and not interrupting)
★ What is difference between FPOs and Farmers cooperative. ( Long discussion on it. At last they appreciated my answer)
★ Why farmer's from Maharashtra not participated in ongoing farmers protest? ( Again long discussion here also)
★ MSPs feature and how it is given? What's future of it?
As agri secretary how will you resolve this issue?

M3( Very jolly&chill, cracking joke and appreciating answers at the same time interrupting too much)
★ What do you think about Gender equality?
★ You are DM of District which setps will you take to ensure gender equality?
★ Are you married? Any plan of marriage? You are going to married, then will you go to wife's place after marriage or will wife comes to you? ( On this question all were laughing although I was given answer but they said that I know 100% you are not going to wife's place. Then again all were laughing)
★ Between above questions discussion M2 Madam asked, Do you able to cook? Which food items? Then I gave answers madam appreciated that answer with positive smile.

Other questions not able to recall

M4
★ Why we often says there is Chemistry in relations among people and not physics?
★ Don't you think we should discard democratic model of governance and adopt autocratic like china to achieve faster development ?
★ What is Yorker and Googly?
★ why batsman often get out on yorker?

Forgot some questions.
Although not lots of questions were asked but discussion and long monologues were present in my interview

Experience - once in life time. Different from coching mocks. Beauty of Anxiety, excitement at the same time. I enjoyed conversation. Ab mark dekh ke pata chalega members or president ne bhi enjoy kiya tha kya nahi 😂

Mocks&Other discussion-
Maharashtra Sadan(very diverse panel{3M+3F officers);Sankalp(Close to UPSC actual interview); DAF discussion with Mahesh Bhagwat sir, IR lectures of Shailendra Deolankar sir;Sanjeev kabir (Career Quest); Satya sir for sociology; O2O with Ravindran sir&Bassi sir

All the best to all

Thank you transcript family for sharing transcript which helped me to guess questions and prepare according to it.

Name: AC 
Interview date: 18th February 2025
Board: Dr. Dinesh Dasa sir
Daf Keywords: NIT Bhopal, Geography optional, MP, UAE, Qatar, Middle East, Kuno National Park, cheetah, resources, Chinese aggression, movies, football, etc.


Chairperson: Have you prepared your introduction or do you want me to introduce you? I said I would introduce myself, sir.
Tell me the names of the countries of the Middle East starting from the Senai peninsula 
Why the Middle East has been burning since World War 2 ? (gave the reasons).

The chairperson said that don't you think the Middle East is having petrol and gas and thus the fire.

Mines and Minerals Act. 
Kuno National Park, reason for choosing. 
How many cheetahs were introduced? was it a success or failure?
Question related to resources of India?
Why Indian movies are not performing well at the Oscars? 
Slumdog showed India in a bad light? what is your opinion?

BIMARU states: who coined the name? Is MP still a BIMARU state? 


Questions asked by members:

continued with the resource topic and asked me to justify that India is rich in resources. 
Hydropower plant, do we need or not?
Pithampur vs Mandideep Industries.
Reasons for MP's recent increase in development. 

Gave a monologue on UAE and its development. What are the reasons why UAE became a financial hub?

Learnings from UAE that India can learn.

Question on mechanical engineering and geography for Biofuels: how mechanical engineering and geography can help in biofuel production.

The location asked for lithium deposits in India Chinese dam in Bramhaputra river: issues and what India should do.

Reasons for the death of Cheetahs in Kuno. 
How many lakes are there in Bhopal, the significance of lakes/wetlands?
There were many cross-questions and questions from other topics as well. However, I am not able to recall those questions now.

Approximately, 30 to 35 minutes was the duration of my interview. The Board was cordial and provided me ample time to think and respond. Most of the questions were from my DAF and current affairs questions were also inspired from my DAF.
Mock interviews Offline: Forum IAS, Vision IAS, OnlyIAS, UnacademyMock interviews online: UPSCprep, Shankar IAS, Sleepy classes, etc One to One: Dr. Khan sir (KSG), Shubham sir (VidyapeethIAS), Dr. Tanu Jain ma'am (Tathastu IAS), Unique IAS Bhopal, etc.