One-to-One with the Interview Board - C.M. Saikanth Varma, Civils 2014 – AIR 18
Following are some of the questions and my responses that I gave during my UPSC Civil Services Interview.
Q. [Chairman] You come from IT background, why is that we don’t have a Silicon Valley yet? Bangalore is said to be India’s Silicon Valley, but it is getting saturated and facing problems of its own.
Me: Madam, I don’t think we should ever have a Silicon Valley in India. Instead we should have well developed IT clusters throughout the country and I think we’re moving in that direction. For example, today IT is not just concentrated in Bangalore, but also in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Gurgaon etc. There is also a lot of untapped potential in the north eastern states.
Q. [Member 3 intervened] So you mean to say that the USA’s model of Silicon Valley is a wrong model?
Me:No sir, I only meant that it doesn’t suit our context. USA is a developed nation and economically, it has reached a position where it can afford to go for such a localised development models. For a diverse nation with extreme inequalities like India, such a model will not work.
Q. [Chairman] You said north eastern states. What potential do you see for IT in north eastern states?
Me:Madam, the potential in these states is their youth. And relatively IT needs very little investments compared to the manufacturing sector. So if we’re able to provide adequate educational and skill development opportunities here, the IT companies will get attracted to harness this potential in these states.
Q. [Chairman] What are your views on Bitcoins?
Me: Madam, since the Bitcoin currency is not backed by any monetary authority in the world, its value is not guaranteed. Also it is prone to cyber theft. For example, companies like Mt. Gox in Japan and Flexicoin in Canada filed for bankruptcy because their bitcoins were stolen from their e-vault. And that is the reason why RBI had issued a note of caution about its usage.
Q. [Chairman] So you see no scope for it in future?
Me: No madam, I see a lot of scope. When the virtual currency is backed by some international authority like IMF or World Bank and when adequate security protocols are established to prevent the cyber theft, then it can significantly facilitate global trade.
Q. [Chairman] Though India is growing in terms of IT, we do not have adequate fabrication units in our country. What do you think should be done?
Me:Madam, improving chip manufacturing capabilities is not just a good thing to have, but is quite essential. It is estimated that electronic imports would take over energy imports by 2020. So for that, electronics and chip manufacturing must be given a special focus in India’s Make in India campaign and India must actively engage with nations like South Korea, Japan and China to attract investments in these areas to our country.
Q. [Member 1] What is your opinion on the government’s performance in protecting the environment?
Me:Sir, despite several initiatives, the performance has not been as good as it should be. But I see that the trend is now changing significantly – for example the recent government’s ambitious renewable energy target of 175 GW and nuclear energy target of 63 GW by 2022 and 2032 respectively. Also the FFC had given a monetary angle to the forests in its horizontal devolution formula, which I think is a significant step. Apart from pursuing these goals the government must move towards decentralisation and involving the local communities to the maximum extent possible. I think that holds the key.
Q. [Member 1] The government has been banning the NGOs receiving foreign funds amid several allegations about their misuse. Why do you think NGOs need these foreign funds in the first place, why have they not been able to raise the funds within the country?
Me:Sir, I do not think all foreign funds are a threat to our country. For example, it was the foreign funding of Rockefeller foundation that ushered in green revolution in our country. Sir, in the past, India’s economic position was not so strong that it can fund these NGOs and thus they had to rely on foreign funds. But now we see several NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Prajwala which have been raising significant funds within our country itself.
Q. [Member 2] Why are the global rankings of IITs very poor?
Me:Sir I think there are mainly 2 reasons for that. First is that there are some flaws in the global ranking mechanism itself. For example, an IIT grad who goes and graduates from Stanford is considered an alumni of Stanford but not IIT. Also India being a developing nation, we cannot expect many foreign students to be coming and studying in India. The second reason is that there is a genuine problem in the area of research. It continues to be one area where we are still witnessing a significant brain drain.
Q. [Member 3] I have only one question to ask you. So think for a minute and answer. Today civil servants are being selected through an exam and by a bunch of 5 people interacting with the aspirants for half-an-hour. Even though UPSC is fair in all aspects, don’t you think this isn’t correct? I think many engineers and doctors like you are coming towards civil services and wasting all the money spent on making you engineers and doctors. Instead I think civil servants should be selected soon after 12th class, and then they should be adequately trained in all necessary aspects like polity, economy, technology etc and make them more suitable for administration. What is your opinion on this?
Me: (Silent for a few seconds) Sorry sir, I beg to differ with you on this. This is something I’m telling from my own personal experience. I think that a 12th standard student may not be mature enough to choose civil services as a career for the right set of reasons, as it is a very mature decision. Also sir, I think civil services is such a diverse career that it would want candidates from diverse profiles. It wants the best engineers, doctors, lawyers, MBA grads, economists etc. On the other hand I feel that by training all the 12th passed students to be civil servants, the bureaucracy would become monotonous. I think that diversity is one of the biggest strengths of Indian bureaucracy which must be continued.
Q. [Member 4] I understand why PM Narendra Modi is going to China and South Korea, but why is he going to Mongolia? (Just one day before my interview PM was visiting Mongolia). Just answer that in one sentence.
Me: Sir, at a time when China is increasing her presence in India’s neighbours it would be a strategic counter move by India to increase her presence in China’s neighbour.
Me: Madam, I don’t think we should ever have a Silicon Valley in India. Instead we should have well developed IT clusters throughout the country and I think we’re moving in that direction. For example, today IT is not just concentrated in Bangalore, but also in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Gurgaon etc. There is also a lot of untapped potential in the north eastern states.
Q. [Member 3 intervened] So you mean to say that the USA’s model of Silicon Valley is a wrong model?
Me:No sir, I only meant that it doesn’t suit our context. USA is a developed nation and economically, it has reached a position where it can afford to go for such a localised development models. For a diverse nation with extreme inequalities like India, such a model will not work.
Q. [Chairman] You said north eastern states. What potential do you see for IT in north eastern states?
Me:Madam, the potential in these states is their youth. And relatively IT needs very little investments compared to the manufacturing sector. So if we’re able to provide adequate educational and skill development opportunities here, the IT companies will get attracted to harness this potential in these states.
Q. [Chairman] What are your views on Bitcoins?
Me: Madam, since the Bitcoin currency is not backed by any monetary authority in the world, its value is not guaranteed. Also it is prone to cyber theft. For example, companies like Mt. Gox in Japan and Flexicoin in Canada filed for bankruptcy because their bitcoins were stolen from their e-vault. And that is the reason why RBI had issued a note of caution about its usage.
Q. [Chairman] So you see no scope for it in future?
Me: No madam, I see a lot of scope. When the virtual currency is backed by some international authority like IMF or World Bank and when adequate security protocols are established to prevent the cyber theft, then it can significantly facilitate global trade.
Q. [Chairman] Though India is growing in terms of IT, we do not have adequate fabrication units in our country. What do you think should be done?
Me:Madam, improving chip manufacturing capabilities is not just a good thing to have, but is quite essential. It is estimated that electronic imports would take over energy imports by 2020. So for that, electronics and chip manufacturing must be given a special focus in India’s Make in India campaign and India must actively engage with nations like South Korea, Japan and China to attract investments in these areas to our country.
Q. [Member 1] What is your opinion on the government’s performance in protecting the environment?
Me:Sir, despite several initiatives, the performance has not been as good as it should be. But I see that the trend is now changing significantly – for example the recent government’s ambitious renewable energy target of 175 GW and nuclear energy target of 63 GW by 2022 and 2032 respectively. Also the FFC had given a monetary angle to the forests in its horizontal devolution formula, which I think is a significant step. Apart from pursuing these goals the government must move towards decentralisation and involving the local communities to the maximum extent possible. I think that holds the key.
Q. [Member 1] The government has been banning the NGOs receiving foreign funds amid several allegations about their misuse. Why do you think NGOs need these foreign funds in the first place, why have they not been able to raise the funds within the country?
Me:Sir, I do not think all foreign funds are a threat to our country. For example, it was the foreign funding of Rockefeller foundation that ushered in green revolution in our country. Sir, in the past, India’s economic position was not so strong that it can fund these NGOs and thus they had to rely on foreign funds. But now we see several NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Prajwala which have been raising significant funds within our country itself.
Q. [Member 2] Why are the global rankings of IITs very poor?
Me:Sir I think there are mainly 2 reasons for that. First is that there are some flaws in the global ranking mechanism itself. For example, an IIT grad who goes and graduates from Stanford is considered an alumni of Stanford but not IIT. Also India being a developing nation, we cannot expect many foreign students to be coming and studying in India. The second reason is that there is a genuine problem in the area of research. It continues to be one area where we are still witnessing a significant brain drain.
Q. [Member 3] I have only one question to ask you. So think for a minute and answer. Today civil servants are being selected through an exam and by a bunch of 5 people interacting with the aspirants for half-an-hour. Even though UPSC is fair in all aspects, don’t you think this isn’t correct? I think many engineers and doctors like you are coming towards civil services and wasting all the money spent on making you engineers and doctors. Instead I think civil servants should be selected soon after 12th class, and then they should be adequately trained in all necessary aspects like polity, economy, technology etc and make them more suitable for administration. What is your opinion on this?
Me: (Silent for a few seconds) Sorry sir, I beg to differ with you on this. This is something I’m telling from my own personal experience. I think that a 12th standard student may not be mature enough to choose civil services as a career for the right set of reasons, as it is a very mature decision. Also sir, I think civil services is such a diverse career that it would want candidates from diverse profiles. It wants the best engineers, doctors, lawyers, MBA grads, economists etc. On the other hand I feel that by training all the 12th passed students to be civil servants, the bureaucracy would become monotonous. I think that diversity is one of the biggest strengths of Indian bureaucracy which must be continued.
Q. [Member 4] I understand why PM Narendra Modi is going to China and South Korea, but why is he going to Mongolia? (Just one day before my interview PM was visiting Mongolia). Just answer that in one sentence.
Me: Sir, at a time when China is increasing her presence in India’s neighbours it would be a strategic counter move by India to increase her presence in China’s neighbour.
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