[UPSC Interview 2021] – Transcript #172 : M Sathiyavathy Board, Tamilnadu Home State, PSIR Optional, Sports Hobby

Date of Interview: FN 29th April 2022
Board: M Sathiyavathy
Home State: Tamil Nadu
Optional: PSIR
Service: CRPF AC (T)
Background: BE Civil
Hobby: Basketball, Volunteering

(5th person to go – 25 to 30 mins)

Prior work experiences: Freelance CE consultant with specialization in RWH, Faculty at an IAS Academy.

Smt.Satyavati Madam board + 3 male members + 1 lady member

Greeted me the moment I entered the room. I wished her as well as other members. Went to sit immediately but then told sorry and unfastened my coat button , sat in the chair.

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Chairman remove your mask.

Me: (After removing)Madam do I have the permission to place my mask on the table in front of me?

Ch: No wear the mask. I wanted to see your face.

Chairperson read my DAF to other members but didnt know that I am under training in CRPF so had to declare it. She asked why I didnt mention it in DAF , then She verified  other files regarding my profile and said OK

Ch: What is volunteering? (my hobby) why did you take it up? What all have you done in volunteering?

Ch: After training you are likely to be posted in LWE areas , is knowing the local language important?

Ch: If language is important,  why is that people of TN oppose learning Hindi?

Ch: You are in training , Do you know Hindi ?

(I said ” I am learning now and before coming to Haryana for training  I learnt only 1 sentence in Hindi “. I though she will ask me what that sentence is but she didnot. She just laughed for me  knowing only 1 sentence)

Ch: Why is that 3 language policy not accepted in TN ?

(I said schools in TN teach Hindi on voluntary basis. The 3 language policy is slowly being accepted. Even the recent approval to establish JNV in TN , will help to learn Hindi on voluntary basis.)

Ch: So you mean to say TN government has accepted the 3 language formula ?

(Sorry Madam , I didnt mean it that way. If my words had given such conclusion I apologize for that. I meant in TN hindi is taught and learnt voluntarily.)

Ch: Let’s leave it , why there is fall in no. of people from TN qualifying CSE AND CAPF exams, is language an issue ?

Ch: How did you know about CAPF exams?

Member 1

M1: You know army is also used for internal security like CRPF but why there is high operational failure in CRPF , why is CRPF inefficient ?

M1: Though I appreciate your loyalty towards your organization , what is the difference between army working in JK and CRPF working in LWE ?

M1: Have you heard about weaponization of water ? How is it possible ? Will India use it ?

M1: How can China use it against India ?

(Made a blunder by mentioning about 3 gorges dam for which he replied that the dam has no relation with weaponization. Then I apologized for my misinformation)

M1: If China uses it , where will it divert the water?

(I said I have to look into it )

M1: Take a guess.

(I was thinking , immediately he said the answer is not important)

M1: what are the latest developments in the field of civil engineering?

M1: Can you recollect the recent development done by IIT Madras?

( I said about glass fibre reinforced panel building done in the year 2017 😂recent)

M1: That’s right. Thank you.

Member 2

M2: You are from chennai. What problem you faced in Chennai recently?

M2: what’s the reason and solution for water scarcity?

M2: can we go for desalination of seawater since India is surrounded by sea in all three directions ?

M2: What is the problem in desalination?

M2: Have you heard about river interlinking project , can that be done ?

M2: Name one process used in desalination?

Member 3

M3: 1 country has launched Gross National Happiness , do you know ?

M3: What is GNH ?

(I said I need to look into it detailly)

M3: What is GNP , difference between GNP and GDP ?

M3: What is the current rate of Inflation ?

M3: Why Inflation is a important indicator?

M3: Does India need Inflation?

M3: Last question How to control Inflation?

Member 4

M4: Like Black gold , what is digital gold ?

M4: Gov has huge amount of this gold. Can we monetize it ?

M4: What are your suggestions for data security ?

M4: Why cant the gov monetize it like google , facebook ?

M4:  Can the data be shared among other government departments ?

M4: You being a sportsperson, how can we popularize basketball , kabbadi in India ?

Chairman

Thank you

I wished the chairperson alone , fastened my coat button and walked out.

Review : Entire interview can be reduced to 7 themes: Hindi language , Internal security , Civil engineering , Water crisis , Inflation , Data governance , Basketball.

There were only follow up questions and felt could have done better in few questions.

I expected the chairperson to say atleast Interview is over and ask me if I to share anything. Then came to know from others that such things does not happen in this board.

All the best 👍😀✌️