[Official] CS INTERVIEW 2019 PREPARATION : COMBAT

Thank you!

As Agog mentioned, the DM can search for  alternatives. You talked about feasibility. IMO, at that point, feasibility wont matter much because providing food to students will be utmost important. Also, departmental inquiry will take some time(on an average 3-7 days), so some other food provider can be hired for that temporary period and services of provider at fault can be suspended till the inquiry gets completed. 

P.S.-Don’t bother calling me Sir. I am too young to be referred to as a Sir. :P

Hi!

Any update on e-summons from UPSC? Without any detailed instructions from UPSC it is difficult to plan. And with so many quarantine instructions released by respective governments it is difficult to decide when to land in Delhi.

I tried calling on their numbers but none responded. If anyone has aby update, kindly revert.

@forumiasacademy Can you share the PDF Document with list of questions as promised in the group sessions?

Also, for those of you who are looking for scheduling one on one mocks can reach out to preety@flaviant.com 

Regarding Current Affairs , the session will commence from July 5th , 7th and 9th discussed with you guys. 

Those of you who have not taken the group sessions, one is being conducted on Sunday at 8PM, please reach out to preety@flaviant.com for joining.

Schedule of Personality Test Examination 2019. To view PDF file click Interview Schedule 2019 .

As far as train/airplane journies are concerned, IRCTC is asking for a destination place to be able to book a ticket. So, the 7 day quarantine rule applies in that scenario. Don't know about road travel. No word from UPSC as yet.

regarding question on false positive of three types of testing , Rapid antigen test  has only false negative : 

These tests detect the presence of a foreign substance in a person’s oral or nasal swab that triggers the production of antibodies, and, therefore, can find infections.

But these are non-confirmatory tests. This means that those who test positive through rapid antigen detection tests are considered “truly positive” for Covid-19 but those who test negative must go for an RT-PCR test for re-confirmation
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/icmr-plans-to-scale-up-antigen-based-testing/story-CBYcw3K1zSEXAT6CNBQEGI.html

Yes, I have kept a two day gap to come back to my place. I think this is enough forbearance.

@forumiasacademy - Has the CA videos for interview released? I am unable to see it on my portal.

@Neyawn - Yes, there were some issues with my profile. Got sorted out. 

Had a request. Can I get access to videos of classes pre- lockdown ?

Hello All, Here are some transcripts which I have received . You can share me your transcript over PM / DM or Whatsapp :)

CSE 2019 Personality Test Transcript

Name- ***********

Home- ***********

B.Tech in EE from IITK

Indian Forest Service (2019 batch)

Extra-curricular activities- Good Governance Yatra 208, fitness through jogging and gym

CP

1. Question about service- IRTS or IFS? Sir, last I got selected in both. I chose Indian Forest Service

2. Have you been allotted cadres? Yes Sir, my cadre is Madhya Pradesh

3. Good Governance Yatra- Brief about it
Sir, it was a trip organised by an NGO named Vision India Foundation, where we interacted with various eminent people and got exposure to various good governance projects.

4. Which parts of the country did you go to?
Sir, we went to southern States. We went to Goa, Mangaluru, Trivandrum, Chennai.

5. Which eminent people did you meet? What did you learn?
Sir, we met honourable DGP of Goa Dr. Muktesh Chander. We met honourable Governor of Goa Mrs. Mridula Sinha. We also met Honourable Chief Secretary of Kerala Tom Jose sir. We got to learn some good governance practices. For example, DGP sir of Goa told about us the importance of citizen police connect for better policing. Goa police has developed a portal wherein a citizen can upload a picture of traffic rules violation. This ensures better implementation of traffic rules. Apart from this, there was great degree of exchange of ideas among the fellow delegates.

M1

1. There was a term in today’s newspaper- tiger wine. What is it?
Sir, it is related to smuggling of wildlife products. Tigers bones are illegally trades. Their extract is used for medicinal purposes and is also added to wine. This is tiger wine.

2. What are the challenges for forest department in checking smuggling of wildlife products?
Sir, first there are multiple challenges. First, the borders are porous which makes smuggling easy. Second, there are constraints related to manpower, equipment, infrastructure and such things.

3. What do you understand by minimum government and maximum governance?
Sir, it means two things. First- government should simplify and rationalise its procedures, and second- Government should create a conducive environment for other players such as private players, voluntary organisation to actually deliver various services. Basically, the government should not be actual driver of the system, but a facilitator for other players.

4. Can private sector deliver welfare when the motive is profit making?
Sir, while private sector works for profit, they can deliver welfare in partnership with the government. They can do such things in education, healthcare and various other sectors. For example, in Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, citizens can seek treatment in private sector, while Government provides insurance coverage.

5. What is PPP?
Sir, it stands for Public Private Partnership. It means public and private sectors collaborating to deliver various services.

6. What do you understand by terms such BOT, TOT, etc.
Sir, these terms reflect the terms of agreement between private player and government in a PPP framework. For example BOT means private player builds the infrastructure, operates it for sometime and then transfers the control to the government.

7. What is the incentive for private players when they have to transfer control to Government?
Sir, private players are able to generate revenue and earn profit. It is only after they have reached their break-in point that they transfer the control to the government.

8. Government has no business to be in business? Do you agree?
Sir, I agree to a certain extent. There are sectors where market players cannot deliver effectively and public sector has to take care of things. But in other sectors, where private players can deliver well, the public sector should make an exit, while creating a conducive environment for private players. In fact, this is also reflected in the new policy of the government.

9. There is a proposal to privatise some train routes? Do you support it?
Sir, I have a slightly different viewpoint. Government is planning to privatise operations of some trains on some routes, but routes and infrastructure will stay with the government. And in my opinion, it is the right thing to do. It will generate competition in train operations, will improve service delivery, while generating additional revenue for the government through haulage charges.

10. Won’t it lead to job losses?
Sir, we are not replacing railways with private operations. We are just introducing private operations in addition to the already existing operations of railways. Plus, in private trains, the pilot and guard will be from the Railways only. So it won’t lead to job losses.

M2

1. How will good governance yatra help in civil services career?
Sir, it provided exposure to good governance projects, and based on those learnings, I would like to implement them in the areas, where I am posted, as per the local conditions. Plus, it also helped me in cultivating an all-India outlook as it had delegates from across the country.

2. In what ways citizens can participate in governance?
Sir, citizens can participate in governance at every level. I have seen this with my eyes when we went to Chandrapur, Maharashtra as part of introductory tour of IFS training. We went to a Community Forest Rights Village named Panchgaon. There, people were involved in making rules for the local committee, they had an independent audit mechanism, they had generated a revenue of Rs. 2.5 crore in last 3 years. Also, they were assisting forest department in various ways, including by cutting forest fire lines This is a perfect example of citizens’ participation in governance.

3. Any other ways citizens can participate in governance?
Sir, citizens can provide suggestions to government, for example, through mygov.in portal. Citizens can raise grievances against government functionaries

4. Have you heard of Jan Bhagidari?
Sir, although I have read about it somewhere, but I am not able to recall it.

5. How does digital technology help in governance?
Sir, digital technology improves governance by giving freedom from 3 things- time, place and person. Take the example of train ticket booking. A person can book the ticket anytime which is not restricted to ticket window opening hours. This is freedom from time. A person can book ticket from the comfort of his home. This is freedom from place. And he doesn’t have to interact with the person at the ticket window. This reduces discretion and hence improves governance. So, this is how digital technology improves governance.

6. In what ways digital technology can help in grievance redressal?
Sir, on digital technology offers platforms where citizens can raise grievances. Clear timelines are laid down so as to ensure timely redressal of grievances. For example, there is a portal of UP Govt., whose name I am not able to recollect. Citizens can directly raise grievances and there are clear timelines according to which grievance has to be resolved. Similarly, there is twitter seva of railways, where people can raise grievances against railway services and get timely help.

M3

1. There is a big paper mill in Saharanpur. Tell us something about it.
Sir, the name of the paper mill is Star Paper mills. It was established in 1930s by Bajoria family. It has contributed to the development of educational institutions in the vicinity, such as Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, IIT Roorkee’s Saharanpur campus for pulp and paper technology. The prime locational factor for this industry is the availability of raw material. Saharanpur has Shiwalik forests in the north, combined with Eucalyptus and Poplar cultivation in agroforestry. All this ensures sufficient raw material availability for the mill.

2. Is water availability a locational factor?
Sir, it could be. On west of Saharanpur, we have Yamuna river. Plus whole of western UP region has well developed irrigation network. So water availability is not a problem.

3. Any environmental impact because of paper mill?
Sir, it is said that Eucalyptus and Poplar extract a lot of groundwater and thus contribute towards groundwater depletion. As they are raw material for paper mill, this could be one negative environmental impact of this industry.

4. What about water pollution?
Sorry Sir, I am not exactly aware of the technicalities of that.

5. What do you know about easement act?
Sir, this is an Act of 1882. I know one provision of this act. It says that a person who owns a piece of land also has complete ownership over the groundwater under that land.

6. Supreme Court has said that water should be treated as public resource? Isn’t easement act contradictory to it?
Indeed Sir. We should respect the suggestion given by Honourable Supreme Court and make amends to this law. Water should be treated as a public resource.

7. Suppose we treat water as public resource. As an administrator, what steps would you take under such situation?
Sir, first I would like to place limits on how much groundwater a person can extract. Secondly, I would like to check the contamination of groundwater by various pollutants. These are the 2 things that I can think of right now in this regard.

M4

1. What is the difference between teak of MP and Assam?
Sorry sir, I am not aware of that.

2. Government’s role in governance should be minimum? Irrespective of whether you subscribe to it or not, what do you understand by it?
Sir, it means that government should minimise its role, simplify and rationalise its procedures, while creative a conducive environment for other players to deliver.

3. Then who will deliver governance?
Sir, it is the citizens and their groups who should play a major role.

4. Any philosopher who gave this idea?
Sorry Sir, I don’t know.

5. What was Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of governance?
Sir, Mahatma Gandhi emphasised about decentralisation of powers in the hands of local level institutions.

6. We have failed on that. Isn’t it?
Sorry Sir, I have a different opinion here. We have made substantial progress towards decentralisation. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments have granted a constitutional status to PRIs and ULBs. Having said that there are challenges also. And overcoming those challenges is a continuous process.

7. How are they funded?
Sir, it is mainly the State Government that provides funds to them on the basis of recommendations of State Finance Commission.

8. Are the funds sufficient?
Sir, there are problems related to funding. One major issue is most of the funds are tied. Experts have recommended that funds should be untied, which means that local bodies should have the freedom to spend funds as per local conditions.

9. Do we have capability to take decisions at the local level?
Sir, we have a lot of wisdom at the local level. One example of this is Kudumbshree model of Kerala, where local people are making decisions very effectively at the ground level.

10. Who appoints the personnel at local level?
Sir, there are publicly elected representatives plus the officials appointed by the State government.

11. Then State Government exercises control. Isn’t it?
Sir, state government appointed officials are to serve the publicly elected representatives. It is the publicly elected representatives that have greater decision making power in local institutions.

CP- Thank You.

Me- Sir, I want to express my gratitude towards the board and the Commission for holding our interviews in such testing times. Thank you very much sir.