[UPSC Interview 2020] – Transcript #232 : Dr. Monoj Soni Board, Telangana Home State, Geography Optional

Date of Interview:13 -09-2021
Board:  Dr. Monoj Soni Sir
Optional: Geography
Background: B-Pharmacy
Home State: Telangana

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Chairman

1. Pardon my ignorance. But your name must be having some meaning ?
2. Ohhh…So do u know arabic ? ( I said my name is a Arabic word )
3. Which other Indian languages do u speak ? 
4. Of all the languages u know. Is any of it a classical language ?
5. What are criteria for identifying such classical language  ?
6. Is this your first time in Delhi?
7. Have you been to any places ?
8. Any plan to go somewhere after this ? 
9. Also I see that you keep pet Birds. which birds do u have ?
10. How did you develop this interest ?
11. Is it not against Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Act ? ( I explained him about the legality of this interest under Wildlife Protection Act )
12. He Said Ok and gently signalled the other member by hand.

Member 1 

1. I see that u have done your graduation in Pharmacy. But then why geography optional ? ( One reason I gave was that Pharmacy subjects are not available in UPSC Optional Syllabus. They took it as a suggestion )

Member 1

1. We have such a long list of optionals but not pharmacy. Something to look into at our end. ( Chairman notes down something on paper )
2. But still Geography is a very famous optional though people do not study it seriously in their graduation. Why so ? 
3. Any recent Covid news regarding IPR in vaccine ?
4. Why is India looking for that IPR waiver ?
5. Why are those countries opposing the waiver ?
6. Should we provide such indemnity ? 
7. It was very nice knowing this from you. Thankyou.

Member 2 

1. You have geography optional. Can you tell me the geographical difference between the Himalayas and the Alps ?
2. Any other difference wrt their age ?
3. Why are they called young mountains ? How young…100-200 years ??
4. You mentioned indemnity. Is there any other sector in which indemnity is being demanded by foreign companies ?
5. Ok let me give u a situation…You are an IAS officer and there has been a cracker factory fire accident in your area. What SOP will you follow ?

Member 3 

1. You have been very active in sports… I see Roller skating, Jogging, executive member of college fest. What is your first service preference…IAS or IPS ?
2. What have u learned from all these activities ?
3. Okay. From all these learnings…What good qualities should a leader have ?
4. How important is freedom to you ?
5. U are here with us with the door closed. Is your freedom not compromised ? 
6. Then how do u justify keeping birds in cages ? ( I explained to her politely the logic behind bird keeping )
7. What if we free them ? Can’t they survive ? 
8. You are from Telangana. What is this hype about She Team ?
9. Has any of your friends had an encounter/ been saved by them ?

Member 4 

1. Your state recently started a initiative to deliver medicine to remote areas . What is it ?
2. Do u think it is feasible. There have been reports about the medicines going missing midway ? ( I said I didn’t get the context of her question. She explained again )
3. You have a purple belt in Shotokan karate. What does the purple colour signifies ? 
4. She said actually Purple signifies Royalty. Why do u think it is associated with Royalty ?
6. There is this problem of people taking medicine without prescription from medicine stores. Why do you think people do that ? 
7. How can we address this issue ? ( increase the role of Pharmacist in India )

Chairman

1. ( now looking at the clock before asking each question. Probably 30mins had crossed )
2. Is there anything more in life which you want to develop or change ?
4. What is Empathy and How is it different from Sympathy ? 
5. Do u have both ?
6. Ok so…After all this discussion on Freedom, Empathy, etc. would you like to change your opinion about keeping Pet Birds ?
7. I said I’ll keep the same stand and justified it.
8. He nodded and said Thank you.
9. Your interview is over.

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