For those who are preparing for haryana civil services exam HCS
- Optional Subject has been removed from Mains
- ⁠English, Hindi, GS1, GS2, GS3, GS4 will be there in Mains
- ⁠Each paper will carry 100 marks
- ⁠Notification soon
Prepare accordingly

Name: Freud
Date: 9/12/25
Key DAF Details: Dentist, Delhi, Ghaziabad, dental camps, kathak, badminton, painting, CCS university, Mental Health
Board: BB Swain sir
Questions asked:

Chairman:
Asked if I was feeling cold but apart from that didn't really ask any questions (asked 1-2 which I can't recall)

M1:
1) Why do you want to make a switch from a profession like dentistry to civil services?
2) If there are two communities fighting over a source of water, how will you handle the situation?
3) If you are in a small district with limited resources, how will you render care to all the patients?
4) how can we strengthen our institutions like the executive, legislature and the judiciary? As an administrator what steps can you take?
5) Air pollution is a persistent problem in Delhi, why are people still not wearing masks? As a doctor, how can you urge them to wear masks?
6) What steps can one take as an administrator to reduce air pollution?
7) If your boss takes credit for your work, what will you do?

M2
1) Tell me something about Chaudhary Charan Singh? Was he a part of the central government at some point?
2) Tell me Something about the Poshan scheme and Anganwadis
3) Tell me something about aspirational districts programme
4) Did you learn kathak?
5) Famous proponents of the dance form?

M3
1) Reasons for mushroom clinics springing up across the country?
2) Difference between prophylactic and preventive treatment
3) Do you still play badminton?
4) How many matches do you think you can play in one go?
5) Some Indians who are doing well in the sport
6) What is your favourite shot in badminton? (I said Smash) so was followed by net smash or backcourt smash?

M4
1) Why did you switch schools in 10th grade? Do you regret your decision?
2) why are the issues of mental health rising in children? What are the possible solutions to it?
3) You have organised dental camps in villages, what were your psychological and social observations?
Unable to recall a few questions but this is mostly what was asked. Overall the board was very cordial. Had a great experience.
Mocks given: Quantel, Samkalp and Chanakya Mandal. One on one with Saket Jha sir and OnlyIAS

Name : Xenonverse
Shift : 9th Dec ,forenoon
3rd one to go , approx 27mins
Board: Sanjay Verma sir
Keywords in daf - bhojpur bihar; 10th 12th(kv) and college(DU) from delhi , B.sc , Cartophile (exploring Maps) , lex friedman podcasts, football captain, plantation drive , sociology optional .

President of the Board:
Greeted me with a smile

1. Ohhh cartophile, look around and see the maps in the room ( there were 7-8 maps) , now sit and tell about these maps( told some and said sorry for some)
2. What did you dream last night? I replied then asked did you have adequate sleep last night
3. Govt think night life in Goa and this club and all are immoral and seen as a sin , what's your view on that
4. Fdi scenario wrt these clubs and night life


Member 1 ( lady):
1. why not joe Rogan?(another podcaster)
2. Why lex friedman and give some criticisms of him
3. You are made head of any department let's say any ministry of your choice what is the first thing you'll do

Member 2 ( sir)
1. What is relation between polity and sociology
2. Give a critical perspective of the above
3. You are dm and your subordinates are very upset from you that you are always there in the office and also increasing their work , now they don't want to work under you under any circumstances, what will you do and what would you tell your boss.

Member 3 ( sir)
1. What is your goal right now?
2. Where would you rank becoming ias on the list of your goals?
3. Things which are currently not letting you sleep or you are having hard time with.
4. Are goals Static or they keep on changing
5. Is it good to have one option and focus on that or to have multiple options in life

Member 4 ( lady)
1. Tell me about bhojpur
2. What are the issues there
3. You are dm , how would you solve malnutrition and stunting keeping in mind various govt schemes
4. She told 2 more scheme , how will you use that.

President of board:
That's all Xenonverse, time is up , you may go now ,
Said thankyou to all the members and left


Board was cordial, female panelist were smiling and no grilling, felt like a good convo with my uncle and aunt but in English😅.
Mocks given 2 : Samkalp and Only Ias
Samkalp post mock help is great, they are always eager to help. Only ias mock was also good .
1:1 Daf with - Nangia sir ( level up ias) , Samkalp, bassi sir and B Singh Sir ( next ias ) , saket sir ( Civil's Daily) , utkarsh sir( mentor aid)

PT MARKS -170

Name: Lavanya Kapoor ( Don't really get the trend of hiding names)
Board: Anuradha Prasad Ma'am
Date: 9th December 2025


DAF Keywords(which were asked): Public Policy Analyst, Cyber Security,
B.El.Ed, Josh Talks, United Nations [nothing else asked from DAF, these things took up enough time. Learning- the richer your DAF, more predictable the interview- I had tackled 80% of these questions in mocks]


Chairperson:

Q1: So you were a Public Policy Analyst. Tell me other avenues from your graduation, as it is a unique course.

Q2: Cyber Security- Australia has banned social media for children below 16. Do you think we should do so in India?

Q3: Let's say we do implement, can you tell me what will be the practical steps that need to be taken? Very implementable, not arbitrary steps.

Q4: If a cyber crime happens, who are the stakeholders? Apart from the ones who do the crime?


Q5: What are personality rights? (I had led them on to this question with my earlier answer)

Q6: If Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bacchan are fighting for their personality rights, why are they doing so?


Q7: Difference between fiscal and monetary policy?


Q8: By giving examples, share what is under the domain of fiscal and what is under monetary policy from these 3: inflation, employment and currency depreciation (I had given these 3 examples in my earlier answer)


Q9: How does forex and G Sec sale and purchase impact currency prices?

(At the end of this the discussion they had gone into economics and it started building pressure on me, so I gracefully admitted: ma'am I'll read up more deeply on it to be able to explain it coherently)



M2(Female):

Q1: You were earning a handsome amount as an Anchor and content strategy manager at Josh Talks. What was your role there? Why did you resign? What inspired you for civil services?


Q2: There is a rising trend of female IPS officers who are encounter specialists. Would you want to become encounter specialist?


Q3: Let's say you get into the services, where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?


Q4: You only talked about your professional life. Aims for your personal life?


Q5: Have you ever been criticised? How do you handle criticism?


M3(Male)

Q1: World humanitarian summit at UN. Tell us more about it. What was your role? How did you earn the certificate of excellence there?


Q2- What are human rights?


(Sir was quite aged, just smiling and jovial)


M4 (Male)
Q1: You talked about Tata Nano earlier. (I had given it as an example regarding my role at Josh talks- a topic I covered as an Anchor). Tell me, why did it fail?


Q2. If you were to be given the responsibility of re-marketing Nano, how would you go about it?

Q3. Folks at TATA are quite smart, they would have thought about relaunching NANO. Why didn't they?

Q4. Do you think that Nano should be relaunched in India? If yes, should it be relaunched at the same price??


Q5- Let's say you're driving from home to office, and you break a traffic rule. The traffic cop will agree to let you go if you give 200-250 rupees to him. No one from office has seen that you broke the law. What will you do?

Q6: What is the difference between blockchain and bitcoin?


Member 5(Male)

Q1: Lavanya, India tops the list of countries which face Cyber attacks. How do we tackle this menace? Since you've worked in public policy analysis of cybersecurity.


Q2. Which ministry should be put cybersecurity under? Defence? MEITY? External affairs?

Q3. What is the AI readiness of India? How do we navigate the coming challenges?



Chairperson: Last question to you Lavanya. Do you think TATA Nano will succeed if it is launched today?






Mocks:
1. Quantel: Extremely helpful team. Took 3 sessions with them: OneToOne with ex UPSC panel member, Zero Mock with Kush Verma Sir board , Panel Mock with Bimal Julka Sir


2. Samkalp: OneToOne, Panel Mock (They don't give marks and are quite a confidence booster. Many questions got repeated- fascination with Josh talks prevailed in Interview too)

3. Chanakya Mandal Pariwar: Dharmadhikari Sir and his team are absolutely a blessing. They anticipated quite a few questions for me.



4. Sardar Patel Student Support Initiative (Lucknow based): They made the biggest difference in my preparation. Got to meet many established officers like Adarsh Singh Sir (IAS), Ratn Sanjay Sir (IPS) and observe how they work. Got to visit their offices, and even gave a mock to Ratn Sanjay Sir. The initiative is residential and absolutely free, they are doing wonderful work.



5. Mahesh Bhagwat Sir- OneToOne DAF discussion, Sir predicted quite a few questions and gave his valuable time.


6. Shubham Sir (Vidyapeeth IAS): Game changer for me. He gave me a perspective of the panel which turned mostly true- they are just looking for a good conversation. Extremely hardworking and student centric



7. Utkarsh Shukla Sir: The most defining decision of my Interview preparation was joining Sir's mentorship. He identified a major flaw in my delivery- subpar conclusions. And we worked on it, hopefully gaining results. Highly recommended if someone needs targeted, structured preparation.


8. Datta Sir (DHARMA IAS): My PSIR mentor and I also gave a mock with him. Very helpful in PSIR related matters(Though I didn't get any PSIR based question, one of my friends had massive psir-centric interview)



9. Vajirao and Reddy: Gave panel mock here. The board was unnecessarily grilling and fact based, but that could've happened in the real interview as well. Can go ahead simply for testing pressure handling skills.




10. OneToOne DAF analysis with the one and only Kaptaan Jack Sparrow. Highly highly highly recommended. To the point and highly accurate predictions wrt DAF.


11. Peeyush Sir (Vajiram): One To One DAF analysis with him. I am also his ethics student, so heavily recommended to talk to him.


12. MK Yadav Sir - My consistent mentor who also guided me for navigating this directionless ocean called CS Personality test)


13. Ayush Sir(ForumIAS) - OneToOne from him a day before the interview. He helped me stay calm and reinforced my confidence about myself.


I might have forgotten a few others who I took help from.


PS: MOST HELPFUL EXERCISE: Group discussions with peers (6 of us, THE BEST thing to do is study in a group for PT)


PPS: MOSTEST HELPFUL EXERCISE: Having one person ask you questions everyday. 25-30 minute slot. Preferably the person should be from CSE preparation. Person must be constructively critical.




Reason for such a long message: I met a girl at Quantel office who had come to this big city called Delhi first time in her life. She had reached interview stage in her very first attempt. I saw my old self in her, barring the fact that I had much more awareness and much less passion than her in my first attempt. So this detailed message is for every hardworking person out there sitting in a dilapidated room looking at Dholpur House pictures and imagining themselves there- YOU GOT THIS, YOUNGER SISTER/BROTHER. We got you.


Jai Mahakal! 🔱 🧿

Name: VG
Hobbies - Section 7 nothing asked
Optional - Civil engineering
Home state - Haryana and Delhi
Sujata mam board
09/12/2025 (Afternoon, 1st one to go)
Job: Central water commission

Mam ask questions in Hindi.

Mam
1. Is this your 1st interview (it was my 3rd)
2. ⁠Where are you lacking ?
3. ⁠How have your job helped shaping your personality?
4. ⁠You are adamant about comming into IAS. Our system is 75 years old. Is is relevant today ?
5. ⁠Should we replace IAS as district magistrate with mayor like Zohran Mamdani (long discussion)
6. ⁠How many UT with legislature?
7. ⁠What is role of legislature in UT ?
8. ⁠Why should we allow other people to buy land in Delhi ? Can Nagaland model be applied here ?
9. Which 3 states you will consider as developed and underdeveloped
10. Where is MP and Rajasthan?

M1
1. Mandate of your organisation
2. ⁠Works there
3. ⁠Role of states in water sector
4. Why is your organisation commission and not authority?
5. Why states cannot do design ? Why is your commission required ?
(Long discussion on it)

M2
1. Role of Rohtak and Jind in Indian independence contributions?
2. ⁠Sell me rohtak and jind from outside as investment perspective?
2. ⁠Like Article 370, what are special provisions in constitution for states ?
3. ⁠Said Article 371 (asked specific for it)
4. ⁠Status of Naga peace accords (said no)
5. ⁠What states are not connected with railway in North East ? (Said No)
6. ⁠He taunted by saying that you are like other Indians giving stepmotherly treatment
7. ⁠Tell me capital of all 7 states

M3
1. How have your meaning of Name shaped your personality?
2. ⁠As a civil engineer, what is slope stability and how can you provide engineering solutions for it?
3. ⁠Why BRICS is expanding is relevant in political economical and social factors

M4
1. Demand of grants ?
2. ⁠How budget is passed ?
3. ⁠Your organisation comes under which ministry?
4. ⁠How funds are passed in parliament from your department?

Credit: Shubham Agarwal sir, Utkarsh Shukla sir, Vaibhav sir (Anantam IAS), Samkalp mock is good, Chanakaya mandal parivar is average

PT MARKS -180

Name: Freud
Date: 9/12/25
Key DAF Details: Dentist, Delhi, Ghaziabad, dental camps, kathak, badminton, painting, CCS university, Mental Health
Board: BB Swain sir
Questions asked:

Chairman:
Asked if I was feeling cold but apart from that didn't really ask any questions (asked 1-2 which I can't recall)

M1:
1) Why do you want to make a switch from a profession like dentistry to civil services?
2) If there are two communities fighting over a source of water, how will you handle the situation?
3) If you are in a small district with limited resources, how will you render care to all the patients?
4) how can we strengthen our institutions like the executive, legislature and the judiciary? As an administrator what steps can you take?
5) Air pollution is a persistent problem in Delhi, why are people still not wearing masks? As a doctor, how can you urge them to wear masks?
6) What steps can one take as an administrator to reduce air pollution?
7) If your boss takes credit for your work, what will you do?

M2
1) Tell me something about Chaudhary Charan Singh? Was he a part of the central government at some point?
2) Tell me Something about the Poshan scheme and Anganwadis
3) Tell me something about aspirational districts programme
4) Did you learn kathak?
5) Famous proponents of the dance form?

M3
1) Reasons for mushroom clinics springing up across the country?
2) Difference between prophylactic and preventive treatment
3) Do you still play badminton?
4) How many matches do you think you can play in one go?
5) Some Indians who are doing well in the sport
6) What is your favourite shot in badminton? (I said Smash) so was followed by net smash or backcourt smash?

M4
1) Why did you switch schools in 10th grade? Do you regret your decision?
2) why are the issues of mental health rising in children? What are the possible solutions to it?
3) You have organised dental camps in villages, what were your psychological and social observations?

Unable to recall a few questions but this is mostly what was asked. Overall the board was very cordial. Had a great experience.

Mocks given: Quantel, Samkalp and Chanakya Mandal. One on one with Saket Jha sir and OnlyIAS

Name : Ritika
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 ?

Mocks :
Samkalp , shubham sir ( Vidyapeeth Ias ) , O2O with gg (Kaptaan), 1 one to one at PW ,  one with Satyam sir  , panel mock at PW .
Good experience in all the mocks , except some grilling in PW .

Name - Ceteris Paribus
Date of pt : 08-12-25 , forenoon, 5th to go .
Board : Anuradha Prasad Ma'am daf keywords - ECONOMICS , Fundraising , ed tech (work ex) .rest not asked .

Chairperson
do u think ed- tech is the future ? A small talk on edtech .

A situational question: if in a hilly area , there are 2-3 students , how will you ensure education accessibility for them ? Then herself suggested, can't we make arrangements to bring those kids to nearby schools .

A small discussion on fundraising and follow up questions - My role in fundraising, reaction of donors , how You ensured proper funds utilisation.
What are the positive impact of US tariff on India ? (In answer , I mentioned tapping new market )
Follow up question - So , you mean we can compensate completely by tapping new market ?
Asked for examples , where we are tapping markets - both sectors and the countries .
And in sectors where we are lagging to compensate the loss due to us tariff .

Ma'am (in the end , asked ) ---- Give me examples of perfect competition market in India .
Then Examples for monopoly - oligopoly in India , apart from Airlines ( due to Indigo situation)

M1#
Discussion on ethics and integrity. The Difference between both .
Can ethics be learnt in services ? If yes , How ?
Situational question - If u r posted in an office , with corruption prevalent from top to bottom , how would you navigate yourself in such situations?
Again situational : If a very needy person comes to u but there is first come first serve rule.and that person is not the first . How would you handle the situation?

M2 : a small monologue on foreign investment and India's desire to attract investment.
Then asked , what are Negative of foreign Investments . (I relate it with policy influence)
Do they also influence India's policy ?
Should India attract Foreign investment?
Why rupee is depreciating ?
A small monologue on direct tax proportion.(I quoted the fact ).
Then , tax to gdp ratio and comparison of India with west .(I did it with oecd countries )

M3- (asking questions nowhere related to my daf )
Do you take keen interest in home appliances? Like how do they work ?
Like AC , FAN etc .
Regarding fan , I mentioned motor .
Then asked , how does motor work 😀.
A small monologue on carbon sink and quest for 33% forest .Then question: How forest absorb carbon - I clarified if he is talking about the process of how trees absorb CO2 .(Basically photosynthesis)
He replied affirmatively.
How carbon sink is measured (like in tonnes ) the methodology ..

M4:
Linked Indigo issue and the duopoly market .
Why India should have duopoly or oligopoly market . ( I linked it with economics core concept ).
Asked for few examples
How government prevent situation of monopoly in the economy?
(3-4 questions, unable to recall )

Mock - next ias panel , pw panel and one on one , Satyam Jain sir one on one .

• Name - sherlocked
• Interview on - 09/12/2025
• Board - Sanjay Verma sir
• DAF keywords - Electrical, Kota, Maths, Internal Security, Foreign languages, teaching students, volunteering with NGO, badminton, marathon, taekwondo, kvpy, research award, student mentor
• Chairman
○ Hot tea is being served would you like to have one
○ You have written learning about foreign languages so in which languages are you familiar with
○ Sir said, okay let's leave this, wikipedia se 2 pg padh liye honge (don't mind it it may be just to test your reaction)
○ Compare T20 and Swiggy
○ Who faces the burden
○ The traffic situation hampers because they move wrong side on the road due to time constraints. What do you think?
○ They are being given tips and players have a choice to play or not
○ Tell me 3 unique things about China which normal people may not know
§ CPEC corridor
§ Artificial Sun (praised after listening this)
• Member 1 - male member
○ Which countries would survive in a world war and nuclear weapons are used (I said island nations and Chairman said good)
○ Which countries are Indians present apart from US, UK, etc
○ How are they present there
○ Do you know about indentured labourers
○ Do you know or just guessing
○ So if Indians are living in Fiji so why did they not come back
○ Did they serve a contract
• Member 2 - female member
○ Consider a situation where you have recently joined as DM. CM has just inaugurated the pharma industry but people there are approaching you about harmful waste being disposed and envtal concerns. What would you do
○ If the industry people are powerful then what would you do
○ But CM himself has himself inaugurated
○ A situation where tribals live but no proper health facilities and doctors are not willing to go. How would you convince them
○ She said due to lack of education and such opportunities they are not going what would you do
• Member 3 - Male member
○ Do you know Henry Kissinger. He said that it is better to be enemy of US than to be a friend. Do you think this makes sense?
○ Importance of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands
§ Strategic - Malacca strait
§ Airbase
○ Tell me continuing with tribal regions that isn’t this contradictory that on one hand we have to preserve tribal culture and also to provide then proper education
○ Will it be right to have them come in such places with the type of clothes they wear
○ Is modernity same as westernisation
• Member 4 - Female member
○ You have done jee preparation from Kota - there are a lot of suicides so what can be done
○ What about formative years of schooling when such mindset is developed
○ How would you teach values to children
○ How would you teach them about failure and success in life
§ Role models and inspirational journeys of people
§ She said sports helps you experience failure and then you learn from your mistakes
• Chairman said your interview is over. I thanked all the members
• Mocks - Vajiram, Onlyias, Nextias, Sriram IAS, Samkalp, Lead IAS (Zero mock)
• O2O - Tushar sir, Sriram sir, Onlyias
• DAF & CA mock - Lead IAS
• Moments were there in between where they doubted me and said things but I kept calm and maintained confidence. Be yourself and be natural.
• Just think during the interview and tell them whatever comes to your mind as the board members are curious to know and they will also support you while answering. They do like out of the box answers.

Name- Vaibhav
Jnu, history modern , folk music, quiz
Dasa sir board

Chairman-
Chamber of princes
Khilafat movement
Ideals that shaped national movement
Genz and marriage
Dholpur house

Member1
History geography linkages

Member 2
Social media and history
Historians - who employ then

Member 3-
Vande mataram song
Difficult quiz question u faced
Jnu student politics- left
Operation polo

Member 4
Folk singers u like
Historian like Abul fazl
Historical personalities that shaped u
Integral humanism

Overall board is very cordial. Baaki bhagwan ke upar hai.🤞✌️✌️

Date - 09/12/2025 (A/N)
Board - Sujata Chaturvedi Ma'am
Optional - Electrical Engineering
DAF Keywords - Haryana, DAV, IIT Bombay, Renewable Energy, Engineering Services, Ministry of Power, Non-fiction books, NSS, Cricket, Chess

Chairperson
1) Meaning of my name (since it's pretty unique, I'm often asked this question)
2) Asked if I had given interview earlier and if I got selected
3) What is IoT? And AIoT?
4) Why did software companies see such a tremendous rise in India in the late 20th century?
5) Why are Indians being targeted in the US?

Members:
1) What is the luminous intensity of this room?
2) Unit of luminosity?
3) Gave a list of monuments and asked me to arrange them chronologically
4) How much carbon emissions do we have?
5) Renewable energy targets?
6) Rajasthan's installed capacity of RE (even though I'm not from RJ)
7) Green Hydrogen Mission - targets, status and issues
8) Recent non-fiction books that you have read?
9) How do you choose which book to read?
10) How would you inculcate the habit of reading in the younger generation as the DM of your district?
11) Digital Public Infrastructure - current status?
12) Which finance commission do we have at present? Constitutional status, role, functions?
13) Which taxes are there on petroleum? How is it shared? Then in this context, I was asked about a certain bill that was recently passed by the Parliament? (I confirmed if sir is referring to Health Security se National Security Bill, and then explained its details)

There were a few more questions but this is all I can recall for now.

Mocks - Samkalp, Next IAS & One-to-one at Sarrthi (all were quite good)

Name - KingKohli
Date - 9/12
Board - Sujata ma'am
Daf - F1 race, history, reading non fiction, delhi, swachh bharat

entered and greeted all

Chair -
delhi governqnce models -what according to you is the biggest administrative challenge here?
What exactly did you do differently from regular cleanliness drives in your campaign
why do behaviour-change campaigns in India fail

m1
India–US relations - where do you see structural friction in the next decade?
do you think India should mediate in conflicts like Israel–Hamas (discussion mode)
what does Issue-based alignment mean in India’s foreign policy?
If India becomes a permanent UNSC member tomorrow, what should be reform priority?

m2
you watch f1 so what leadership or strategy lessons does F1 offer?
f1 is still struggling to gain mainstream popularity in India
Delhi air pollution = Give one long-term, one medium-term, and one short-term solution.

m3
Indian History and lessons, also textbooks covering historical events (discussion mode) don't remember more

m4
what is digital arrest?
cybersecurity in India
sanchaar sathi (based on response)
how as an administrator you will spread digital and financial literacy

Chair - Thankyou.
said thanks and came out. Felt like a hugeee relieffff
Let's see now! Overall good and could tackle well

mock at sankalp and vajirao
o2o with satyam jain sir at Understand Upsc was great for confidence boosting and structured answering, other with bassi sir at next was okay

Date: 09/12/2025
Key DAF Details: Gargi College, JNU, Economics Optional, Hand Lettering, Visually Impaired Cricket
Board: B.B. Swain Sir

Chairperson
What is Hand Lettering?
Where did you learn it?
Do you still do it?

Member 1
What do you understand about balanced growth in the economy?
How will you ensure balanced growth as a DM?
What do you think about the elderly population of society?
How will you include them?
What about the paperwork and procedural hurdles as they might be illiterate or some of them can not even see at that age?
What sections of society will you consider vulnerable?
What will you do for them as a DM?
What is more important for Administration empathy or efficiency?
How will you balance both?
What do you think of idealism, should administration be ideal or pragmatic?
All theories are idealistic so how can they be used for pragmatic administration?
What is the importance of Russia for India?
What agreements have taken place recently?
How will our economy benefit from it and particularly which sectors?
What about connectivity?
Are the tariffs placed by US on India justified?
What were the reasons for putting these tariffs?
Are tariffs for buying Russian oil justified?

Member 2
What are critical minerals?
What steps has the government taken for critical minerals?
What are climate bonds?
What are social bonds?
Is interest paid on such bonds?
Have you heard of the ministry of co-operation?
Which institute has been developed for cooperation?
What do you know about the GIFT city?
Why has it been created?
Why do international corporations set up their offices there?

Member 3
You have economics optional but you have not studied it at college.
(I told that I have)
What are the benefits of conflict resolution? (No context)
What is the status of Climate finance?
What do you know about Gunnar Myrdal?
Where can we see this model being illustrated in India? (myrdal's Backwash and spread effect)
What is the fundamental difference in the approaches of Adam Smith and Amartya Sen?
What is the entitlements based approach of Amartya sen?
What do you understand by Trickle down?
Do you think it works?

Member 4
Who was Gargi?
What did you learn from her?
What is the USP of JNU?
What were your lessons from organising a cricket tournament for visually impaired women ?

PT MARKS -171

Name : R
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 ?

Mocks :
Samkalp , shubham sir ( Vidyapeeth Ias ) , O2O with gg , 1 one to one at PW ,  one with Satyam sir  , panel mock at PW .
Good experience in all the mocks , except some grilling in PW .

Name - Ceteris Paribus
Date of pt : 08-12-25 , forenoon, 5th to go .
Board : Anuradha Prasad Ma'am daf keywords - ECONOMICS , Fundraising , ed tech (work ex) .rest not asked .

Chairperson
do u think ed- tech is the future ? A small talk on edtech .

A situational question: if in a hilly area , there are 2-3 students , how will you ensure education accessibility for them ? Then herself suggested, can't we make arrangements to bring those kids to nearby schools .

A small discussion on fundraising and follow up questions - My role in fundraising, reaction of donors , how You ensured proper funds utilisation.
Ma'am (in the end , asked ) ---- Give me examples of perfect competition market in India .
Then Examples for monopoly - oligopoly in India , apart from Airlines ( due to Indigo situation)

M1#
Discussion on ethics and integrity. The Difference between both .
Can ethics be learnt in services ? If yes , How ?
Situational question - If u r posted in an office , with corruption prevalent from top to bottom , how would you navigate yourself in such situations?
Again situational : If a very needy person comes to u but there is first come first serve rule.and that person is not the first . How would you handle the situation?

M2 : a small monologue on foreign investment and India's desire to attract investment.
Then asked , what are Negative of foreign Investments . (I relate it with policy influence)
Do they also influence India's policy ?
Should India attract Foreign investment?
Why rupee is depreciating ?
A small monologue on direct tax proportion.(I quoted the fact ).
Then , tax to gdp ratio and comparison of India with west .(I did it with oecd countries )

M3- (asking questions nowhere related to my daf )
Do you take keen interest in home appliances? Like how do they work ?
Like AC , FAN etc .
Regarding fan , I mentioned motor .
Then asked , how does motor work 😀.
A small monologue on carbon sink and quest for 33% forest .Then question: How forest absorb carbon - I clarified if he is talking about the process of how trees absorb CO2 .(Basically photosynthesis)
He replied affirmatively.
How carbon sink is measured (like in tonnes ) the methodology ..

M4:
Linked Indigo issue and the duopoly market .
Why India should have duopoly or oligopoly market . ( I linked it with economics core concept ).
Asked for few examples
How government prevent situation of monopoly in the economy?
(3-4 questions, unable to recall )

Mock - next ias panel , pw panel and one on one , Satyam Jain sir one on one .

Name : Nature
Date : 10th December 2025 (FN)
Board: Sheel Vardhan sir
Duration:28 minutes

Chairperson:
• Unique grey tie and suit,looking nice unlike blue ones.
• Congratulations for coming for 3rd consecutive interview
• Discussion on Hegel and old age and wisdom
•What is your philosophy of life
• Tell me one incident where you’ve applied it and follow up questions on that
• Discussion on Rubik cube( given a problem also)

M1: Why do we use RCC in construction so much
• Ratio of proportion of elements in RCC
• Usage of M30 concrete
• Design a high rise tower
• Parameters for its foundation
• Difference between Ontology, Epistemology and axiology and follow up questions

M2(Lady): INSPIRE scholarship
• Application of philosophy in administration and follow up questions, long discussion
• Sustainable development
• Soft power and follow up questions

M3
• Explain Vedanta in one sentence
• 1893 speech on Swami Vivekanand and follow up
• Name one desirable and undesirable quality in a civil servant

M4(Lady)
• Difference in living between Cantonment and urban space life style
• What advice on physical activity you’ll give to someone of your age (29)
• What do you do for physical activities

Not able to recall few questions

Chairperson said: Thank you, your interview is over

Name - hummingnerd

Date - 10 Dec 2025, I was the first to go in

Board - Dr Dinesh Dasa sir

Keywords - Media Cell, Study on financial risk preference, essay on women in business, Electrical Engg, Coffee brewing hobby

Chairperson - Congratulated me for earning the right to sit in that chair, asked me if it is the first time I have sat in that chair. (I was nervous, said no, then he said beta interview chair, I said yes sir and sorry sir)

1. Asked me about my experience in the college mass media cell, said these days anyone can be a journalist (smartphone) we had a conversation - I presented positives and negatives but my overall opinion was positive
2. Asked me about my study at IIM Mumbai wherein I studied the impact of demographic factors like gender on financial risk preference
3. What is your opinion on recent Constitution Bench in response to Presidential reference - I answered positively, he said UPSC aspirants always reflect the ongoing opinions e.g. Electoral Bond Scheme (pehle positive then negative bolne lage) had a conversation here also
4. Asked me why Mahatma Gandhi focused on cleanliness

M1 (Lady member)
1. Women in business - my analysis and some schemes
2. Suggest changes in education
3. NEP measures that would help

M2
1. (Wrt Coffee brewing hobby) he said my wife and I went to CCD and could not get a place to sit because young people hogged the tables, some misunderstanding but had a conversation about degradation of age based respect
2. Electrical - high and low transmission loss ratio - couldn’t answer

M3
1. Is the world changing?
2. Global hotspots - I answered Middle East, Sudan, Russia-Ukraine (he said why not Indo-pak, I said sorry)
3. Is the world multipolar or unipolar?
4. Is the unipolarity because of military or economics?
5. Is economic weaponisation causing US isolation or dominance?

M4 (Lady member)

1. We are conversing in English, but Hindi is being promoted, are you aware?
2. Rajbhasha week in September - I said I helped organise it at my college - she said why was it being organised at your college? I said sorry
3. Why IAS first?

Chairman
1. Who is the one woman who made a huge impact on you?

Interview over

My analysis - I stuttered sometimes but overall interview was positive and cordial, had a good time. Chairman sir was very encouraging and positive.

Name- Vaghsheer
Date -10/12/2025
Board- Dinesh Dasa sir
Forenoon -2nd to go

Daf keywords - Hindustani classical, Sugam sangeet, harmonium, xylophone, yamuna bacterial strains, lifesciences, vedic chanting, and many more things

Chairman sir-Q-1 we wanted you to come at first since you have mentioned vedic chanting, we could have started the day. But anyways, chant one vedic mantra for us

Q2- you have mentioned sugam sangeet, what do you listen? I said ghazals, he asked me which singers I do listen to, I said gulam ali khan sahab and asha bhosle ji, he asked me one ghazal of gulam ali ji, I said chupje chupke, He asked me to sing😅

Q-3- long monologue on something, I was not able to hear it, it was regarding relocation of lions from gir. Some supreme court judgement, I was not aware of this so I asked him regarding the exact issue, he asked my stance on it and what would I suggest to the supreme court.

Member -2- random questions regarding star campaigner, exact number, I said sorry. Then about primary colours, I got confused and said sorry again. Then about difference between UV and infrared, then asked me the coolor of minimum wavelength in visible spectrum. Then they asked me about some shobraja sisters, I said no. I am still not able to find them on internet.Then chairman sir interveved.

They started asking me counter questions regarding star campaigning, asked me about whi funds the star campaigning, who is star campaigner , whether it's necessary that a star campaigner should be any celebrity, I said no. Then they asked me who funds the campaign when prime minister is the star campaigner, I said political party. He said the govt pays for it.

Then he asked me about you being the head of EC, what would be your suggestios. They confused me alot regarding EC.

Msmber-3 - have you read today's newspaper, I read it briefly so I said the exact words. Then he asked me top headlines, I just remembered the basic news like goa, flights. I told him that.

Then few questions regarding yamuna pollution.


Member -4( lady) She asked me about yamuna pollution, asked my stance being an administrator. The. Asked. Me some term which I didn't know, I said sorry

Member-5( lady)- difference between hindustani and Carnatic. 2 proponents from carnatic. You teach tuitions, why only biology and not others. Your life is more about music , do you want to become singer or what. What's your motive

Then at last, I waited for someone to speak . Chairman didn't say that your interview is over. Everyone smiled and nodded. I said thank you and left the room.

Overall experience - good, cordial board, one member was trying to just confuse with some random factual questions. Dasa sir had a smiling face but he was speaking too low at certain points. .

Eci was unexpected and conversation went really long on that . That was kind of a bit disappointing to me because I had to say sorry at many places

Dasa sir politely said to me twice that if you don't know the answer, we will ask some other questions. Just say you don't know it. So I really sticked with that rather than beating around the bush.

PT MARKS -160

Transcript:
Date: 10 December 2025
Board: Sheelvardhan Singh
Key words : BA LLB hons, competition law, social media addiction, BRICS, thrifting event for sustainable fashion

⸻

Chairperson – Questions
1. Assess the role of the Competition Commission of India. How has its impact been on the ground?
2. FPIs are pulling out of India while Indian markets remain inflated due to heavy retail participation. Why?
3. Who is likely to face a problem in the future? Who do you think is wrong, and why?

⸻

Member 1 – Questions
4. What is the principle of natural justice? Why is it called natural justice? Are there other kinds of justice?
4. What is the difference between Rule of Law and Rule of Majority?
5. If Rule of Majority is prevailing, how will the courts decide?
6. What is the hierarchy of sources of law in India?
7. If the government or courts violate this hierarchy, how should we view it? Courts are also allowing this. What is your opinion on this?

⸻

Member 2 – Questions
8. You attended the BRICS Summit. How was your experience? What did you learn?
9. What are the three new criminal laws? Why were they brought into force?
10. How do the new criminal laws help reduce pendency of cases?
11. How is forensic evidence placed in the IPC/BNS framework, and what needs to be done now?

⸻

Member 3 – Questions
12. asked me how spurt in pli and its impact.. I thought production linked incentive and answered.
Later he said I meant PIL (public interest litigation) How has PIL increased and how do you see it?
13. How should India balance between BRICS, QUAD, and other strategic groupings?

⸻

Member 4 – Questions
14. What is social media addiction?
15. Why is social media addiction happening?
16. What is its impact on health?
17. What is the solution to this problem?
18. You organised a thrifting event on sustainable fashion. Why did you organise it, and what exactly did you do?

Overall good experience!
One to one - Shubham Sir (vidyapeeth IAS); Mahesh Bhagwat Sir, Aditya Tiwari sir (law); Varun Khullar sir
Mocks : nextIAS, Vajirao, Samkalp