[Topper’s Interview] Hardeep Singh (Rank-331/CSE-2015)

History, Mohali, 1st Attempt, AIEEE

mrunal.org /2016/05/upsc-topper-hardeep-singh-history-first-attempt-mohali.html

1. Candidate Profile
2. Education
3. Introduction
4. Electronic Vs Paper material
5. Tempo and style
6. Working professional
7. Prelims (CSAT) General studies
8. Prelims (CSAT) Aptitude
9. Prelim accuracy
10. Mains: Compulsory language paper
11. Mains: Essay
12. General Studies (Mains) paper 1
13. General studies (Mains) paper 2
14. General studies (Mains) Paper 3
15. General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity, aptitude
16. Mains answer-writing?
17. Mains Optional Subject
18. Before the interview
19. During the interview
20. CSE-2015 Marksheet
21. Career Backup
22. Views on UPSC reforms
23. Insecurity about profile
24. Wisdom
25. Credit: Friends/family
26. BOGUS Marketing Propaganda

Candidate Profile

Q. Details

Name HARDEEP SINGH

Rank in CSE-2015 331

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 Roll No. 0078151

Age 22 yrs 5months

Total attempts in CSE (including this one) 1st

Optional Subject HISTORY

Schooling Medium ENGLISH

College medium ENGLISH

Medium chosen for Mains answers ENGLISH

Medium chosen for Interview ENGLISH

Home town/city MOHALI ( SAS NAGAR)

Work-experience if any NONE

Details of other competitive exams, including AIEEE-2011 ( AIR 6125) , cleared IIT JEE exam 2011
success/failures also

Details of coaching, mock tests, postal material ABHIMANU’S IAS STUDY GROUP , CHANDIGARH
for any competitive exam (if used) (Foundation , GS and interview program)
RAJ MALHOTRA’S IAS STUDY GROUP, CHANDIGARH
( History optional )

Service preferences (Top-5) IAS

state cadre preference (Top-5) Punjab

Education

fill the details here

% in class 10 91

% in class 12 93.2

Graduation course and % CGPA 9.3/10

Name of college, city, passing out year PEC University of Technology , Chandigarh
( Passing Year: 2015)

Post-graduation None

Any other professional courses None

Hobbies & Extracurricular achievements Jogging , reading

Introduction
Q. Tell us something about yourself, your family, when and why did you enter in this field of competitive
exams?

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I have background in mechanical engineering and
have recently graduated (2015) . I have no job
experience and was focusing on civil services only.
I decided to enter this field during my graduation
itself. The civil services have unique aura across
length and breath of the country. It offers secure
carrier path as well as opportunity to make more
direct contribution to the society and process of
nation building.

Electronic Vs Paper material

Q. In recent times, there is spur in electronic
material- blogs, sites, pdfs, RSS-feeds. Many
aspirants feel bogged down by this information
overload. So, how much do you rely on
electronic material and how much on the paper
material (Books, newspapers)? If possible,
narrate a typical day in your studylife. What is
your style of preparation (e.g. I continue making
notes no matter what I’m reading, I just read
multiple times but don’t maintain notes, I make
mindmaps on computer …or xyz style)

Information overload during upsc exam preparation is a serious problem . We need to filter lot of information
around us and read + grasp only relevant information ( Thus it is important to know all the topics of syllabus).
I too relied on e-material . Some very important sites that I referred includes mrunal.org and insights on india.
For some GS and history optional topics I googled up intensively so that I don’t leave anything important.
I made both hand written notes as well read some books ( particularly history optional) multiple times ( I didn’t
made notes out of those except modern history ).

Tempo and style

Q. People know what books and syllabus points are to be prepared. But most of them lack consistency in
their preparation. So, how do you keep study momentum going on? How do you fight against the mood
swings and distractions?
Self motivation to crack the exam in 1st attempt and support provided by parents kept my momentum going on . To
deal with mood swings I ensured my work throughout day remained diversified . So I also regularly watched movies
on TV , documentaries , did jogging and sometimes played cricket in evening.

Working professional
If you’re a working professional, share some tips on how to manage studies with job
Not applicable

Prelims (CSAT) General studies

Topic strategy/booklist/comment

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 History Ancient NCERT -Themes in Indian history I
( History is my optional so upinder singh also)

History Medieval NCERT – themes in Indian history II

History Modern (Freedom Struggle) Bipin Chandra’s India freedom for struggle

Culture and society NCERT

Polity (theory + current) Laxmikant

Economy (theory + current) Mrunal.org , The Hindu and Indian express , Mishra and puri

Science (theory + current) Spectrum , The Hindu , class 10 NCERT

Environment (theory + current) The Hindu and Indian express , Benny Joseph environmental studies

geography physical NCERT 11 , Goh Chen Leong

geography India NCERTs

geography world NCERTs and Goh Chen leong

other national/international current affairs The Hindu and Indian express

Schemes, Policy & Filler Stuff same

Q. Any observation / comments / tips about GS prelim 2015 paper?

Lot of questions from current affairs was a surprise . Rest if one knows basics paper was simple.
Q. Now that Aptitude paper has become qualifying, obvious more attention needs to be paid on the GS
paper so apart from the books that you already have gone through, what else would you have tried for CSE-
2016 (if you were going to appear)?
Would have sticked to my earlier strategy only as in CSE-2015 also aptitude was qualifying

Prelims (CSAT) Aptitude

Topic strategy / booklist

Maths CL test series and booklist by mrunal

reasoning Same

comprehension Same

Decision Making Same

Q. Any observation / comments / tips about GS Aptitude 2015 paper.

Paper is qualifying only so no need to take much tension now . Just Practice some tests to evaluate your level .

Prelim accuracy
Q1. Did you attend any ‘mock tests’? do you think they’re necessary for success?

Gave tests at abhimanu’s ias study group

Joined CL test series ( mainly for aptitude purpose but latter upsc made it qualifying only )

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Q2. Approximate no. of attempted answers vs. correct answers. in CSAT-2015

attempted Q. correct (Expected) Official score

GS 87-89 122

aptitude Attempted full paper 146

Mains: Compulsory language paper

Compulsory language paper Your preparation strategy / booklist?

English paper None

your regional language Previous year papers and Hindi guide (10th level )

Q. other observations / tips / comments on the length / difficulty level of compulsory language papers in
CSE-2015
Papers were simple and on same pattern as previous ones

Mains: Essay
Q1. How did you prepare for the essay paper?
No separate preparation . GS and optional knowledge is sufficient .Just practice few essays so that one gets to
know as to how to structure an essay , improve presentation and how to write good intro and conclusion etc
Q2. Which two essays did you write and What key points did you include in it?

1. Education without values

2. Crisis faced by India : moral or economic

General Studies (Mains) paper 1

Topic How did you prepare?

Culture Ccrt.gov.in + my ancient history notes

Indian history NCERTs + Bipin Chandra

world history Norman lowe

post-independence India India after Gandhi

Indian society NCERT+ Newspapers and classnotes

role of women, poverty etc. Same

globalization on Indian society Same

communalism, regionalism, secularism Classnotes

world geo physical Goh chen leong + NCERTs

resource distribution –

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factors for industrial location Mrunal.org

earthquake tsunami etc Goh chen leong + NCERTs

impact on flora-fauna –

General studies (Mains) paper 2

Topic How Did You Prepare?

Indian Constitution, devolution, dispute Laxmikant , DD Basu , Visionias material and classnotes
redressal etc.

comparing Constitution with world Same

parliament, state Legislatures Same

executive-judiciary Same

ministries departments –

pressure group, informal asso. Vision ias material

Representation of people’s act Same

various bodies: Constitutional, statutory.. Same

NGO, SHG etc The Hindu , Yojana and Indian express

welfare schemes, bodies Same

social sector, health, edu, HRD Same

governance, transparency, accountability Vision ias + The Hindu

e-governance Same

role of civil service Same

India & neighbors Rajiv sikri + The Hindu editorials + regularly followed editorials by
C Raja Mohan

bilateral/global grouping Same

effect of foreign country policies on Indian Same

interest

Diaspora –

international bodies- structure mandate Same + Wikipedia for important international bodies

General studies (Mains) Paper 3

Topic How Did You Prepare?

Indian economy, resource mobilization Mishra & Puri + The Hindu + The Indian Express + Economic survey
and Budget + MRUNAL.ORG

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inclusive growth Same

Budgeting Same

major crops, irrigation –

agro produce – storage, marketing Mrunal bhai

e-technology for famers Same

farm subsidies, MSP Same

PDS, buffer, food security Same + Yojana + N/w papers

technology mission –

animal rearing economics Mrunal

food processing Same

land reforms Same

Liberalization Same

Infra Same

investment models Same

science-tech day to day life Mrunal + N/w papers + selective articles from science reporter or Vision
ias current affair material

Indian achievements in sci-tech –

awareness in IT, space, biotech, nano, Same

IPR

environmental impact assessment Environmental studies by Benny joseph

Disaster Management Classnotes

non state actors, internal security Downloaded pdfs after some topic wise research on internet

internal security – role of media, social Same

networking site

cyber security Same

money laundering Same

border Management Same

organized crime, terrorism Same

security agencies- structure mandate Wikipedia

General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity, aptitude

Topic How Did You Prepare?

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 ethics and interface, family, society and all the hathodaa topics Mrunal , self made notes and vision ias

attitude, moral influence etc. Same

civil service: integrity, impartiality, tolerance to weak etc Same + ARC report

emotional intelligence, its use in governance Same

moral thinkers of India and world same

ethics in pub.ad, accountability, laws, rules etc. Same

corporate governance Same + The hindu editorials

probity in governance, work culture same

citizen charter, ethics code, work culture etc. Same

challenges of corruption Same

case studies on above topics Same

Mains answer-writing?
Please tell us how many marks worth attempt did you give? along with comments if any, in the following cells:

Paper Best attempted Average quality namesake answer Total attempt

GS1 Sorry didn’t remember 237.5

GS2 250

GS3 250

GS4 250

Opt-P1 250

Opt-P2 250

My focus was to complete the paper as well as write only whatever is asked . Wrote nothing irrelevant
Q. How was your experience with the ‘fixed space’ answer sheet?
No problem
Q. Did you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs? Some players (who cleared mains and got
interview call letter) were claiming that they wrote entire paper in bullet points, so it doesn’t
matter….whether examiner is asking ‘examine, comment, discuss or xyz’….simply write in bullets and
points.
Wrote most of the answers in bullet format and few in paragraph format as well. Missed to write conclusion in some
questions
Q. Did you follow the “introduction-body-conclusion” format? because some mains-qualified candidates
claim they simply wrote the points they could recall within the time, instead of bothering with proper
introduction and conclusion.
Could not follow it properly due to time constraint
Q5. Did you use highlighters / sketchpens in your answers?
No

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Q6. Did you draw any diagram in any paper? (e.g. in GS1 Geography)
No
Q7. If yes, Did you draw diagrams with pencil or pen?
No
Q8. Did you use ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did you just make it by hand?
No
Q9. You wrote the answer in blue pen or black pen?
Blue pen

Mains Optional Subject

Q. What’s your optional subject and why did you chose it and not something else?
History . I chose it because :

1. Guidance available in Chandigarh

2. Interest
3. Easy availability of material
4. Thought that it will help in GS 1 as well

Q. If a new player wants to pick this subject, would you advice for it or against it? (e.g. every senior player
in Public Administration seems to be advising against pub.ad)
Choose it only if you can sustain interest in it . If you are averse to map work ,ancient and medieval history do not
take it .
Q. First the essential book/resource list. (Also mention which one is the “Base book” for covering the
theory? + Whatever comments you’ve for a particular book e.g. “my seniors said read xyz book but I found
that ABC book was better”. “xyz topic not given properly in this book, so prepare from xyz website or
book…” OR and so on.)
BOOK LIST
Ancient History

Upinder singh ( good maps also given )

Romilla thapar
Spectrum history maps

Medieval History

Satish chander
Some chapters from IGNOU

Modern

Bipin Chandra
India after Gandhi
From plassey to partition

World History

Norman lowe
mrunal.org has a good collection of these pdfs too

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 Used Wikipedia for some topics which I could not get from books

Q. How much of internet-research / current affairs is necessary for this optional? OR can one simply rely on
the books and be done with this subject?
Not much internet research is required . Just read –read –re read the standard text books
Q. How many months did it take to finish the core optional syllabus?
5- 6 months
Q. How many days/ weeks before the exam, you started answer writing practice?
3 months
Q. Do you maintain self-notes for revision of optional? In which format- electronic or paper?
Made notes of modern history only.
Q. Your observation about the difficultly level of 2015 mains vs previous papers. And what precautions /
rectifications are necessary in the future strategy for given optional subject?
Paper 2 was slightly tricky this year while paper 1 was simpler. But ironically I got lower score in paper 1 than
paper 2. Precaution : Do not ignore map work for paper 1 at any cost.

Before the interview

Q1. How did you prepare for the interview? – for college grad, hobbies, place of origin, current affairs at
national and international level?
Googled up every keyword from my DAF + read visions current affairs material + N/w papers
Q2. Did you attend any mock interviews by coaching classes? How were they similar / different than official
interview? Do you believe it is necessary to attend such mock interviews?
I gave 3 mocks . But the official interview was quite different from them . Nonethless since upsc interview was my
1st ever formal interview so I did not take chance by skipping mocks . Mocks helps you in building confidence level .
But there is no need to give too many mocks.
Q3. Where did you stay for the interview? (Hotel / friend’s home …) and what books/material did you bring
for the ‘revision before interview’?
My relative is colonel in army so stayed at Delhi Cantonment. I brought my self prepared notes from DAF but could
not concentrate ( as D-day was very close)
Q4. Any words of wisdom about Medical checkup?
Just relax . But if you wear spectacles do take your prescription along.
Q5. Describe the formal-dress worn by you in interview.
White shirt + Blue tie ( pattern) + navy Blue turban + grayish trousers

During the interview

Q1. Who was the chairman of you interview board?
Alka sirohi madam
Q2. How long was the interview?
25 mins approx
Q3. Why do you want to join civil service? Why don’t you continue in your graduation field? Social service
can be done from private sector too. [Since I don’t know whether they ask you this question or not. But if
they had asked- what will be your reply?]
They didn’t asked this question.

Q4. Please narrate your entire interview- what questions did they ask and what did you reply and other
pleasant or uncomfortable experiences during the interview. (Earlier some toppers only tell me their
question but not their answer. I would appreciate if you give both Question + your original answers)
My interview had questions from

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 Mechanical engg ( some very technical ques on locomotives , solar power plants , nuclear fusion and fission).
I could not handle them well
Hobbies and extra curriculars
Home state ( On agriculture stagnancy in punjab )
Indo-france relations , Rafale deal , Paris climate change conference
Alka ma’am asked lot of techinal question on Blood donation camp ( I organized it as part of NSS)
Factual questions on History ( eg How many times babur invaded india ? , In which attempt he succeeded ,
South Indian dynasties , What did we learn from British rule ? etc )

Q5. Was your interview on the expected lines of what you had prepared or did they ask you totally
unexpected questions? Was it a stress interview, did they ask any uncomfortable questions? If yes, how
did you handle it?
Though the questions were not very difficult and I answered only what I knew and said ‘ I don’t know ‘ for the rest but
ironically I got very low score in interview which I have not expected . So I need self analysis .
Q6. Any side details about technicalities like “make sure you bring xyz document or do xyz thing, or you’ll
face problem”?
Just carry 10th certificate and educational qualification certificate along with your photos.

CSE-2015 Marksheet
Prelims mark sheet-

Subject Marks obtained

Paper 1 122

Paper 2 268

Mains mark sheet-

Subject Marks obtained

Essay – Paper-1 125

General Studies – Paper 2 94

General Studies – Paper 3 88

General Studies – Paper 4 105

General Studies – Paper 5 98

Optional Paper – Paper-1 107

Optional Paper – Paper-2 140

Written total 757

Personality Test 138

Final Total 895

Q2. After looking at the marksheet, suppose you had to prepare again next time, what changes will you
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make in your studies?
I will try my level best to improve my interview score. I will also focus more on GS 4 , essay and history paper 1

Career Backup
Q1. If you were not selected, what was your career backup plan?
Again reappear till I crack it
Q2. When were you going to “execute” that backup plan? (e.g. after __ failed attempts/ after I cross __
age/after dad retires/ after girlfriend dumps me etc.)
Have not given much thought to it

Views on UPSC reforms

Q. Optional subjects should be removed altogether. The present stalemate is helping no-one, except
coaching-owners, book publishers.
If optionals will be removed the competition will become more tight as in GS scores do not vary much but at the
same time level playing field will be provided to all aspirants.
Q. Despite what UPSC has done in recent years, it has failed to curb the nuisance of Delhi’s coaching
factories. In fact it’s increased under the new Mains-syllabus in 2015. Let’s face it, most candidates who
gave Mains-2015 have relied on (authentic OR Xeroxed) coaching notes because there was hardly any time
left to prepare so many topics in such short time. This system work against an individual preparing from far-
away area, without any financial resources, high-speed internet or contacts in Delhi.
Coaching per se is not a problem . But when they do not complete syllabus on time , charge hefty fees , exploit fears
of aspirants etc then it is unethical.
Thanks to internet and its ever expanding reach that many aspirants from far flung areas are able to access
material and guidance provided by mrunal.org , insights and other free blogs & forums without going to Delhi .
Q. UPSC should disclose official prelim answerkey and cutoffs, immediately after prelim is over, instead of
postponing it till interview phase is over.
yes it could be done
Q. UPSC should be conducted online like IBPS and CAT exam to shorten the duration of exam.
Yes it could be tried
Q. If you are made the UPSC chairman, what other reforms would you initiate for the civil service exam?
I will try to cut short the cycle ( if possible) . 1 year cycle of examination takes huge toll on aspirants ( particularly
psychologically )

Insecurity about profile

Q. Many candidates prepare sincerely but constantly live under fear about ‘profile insecurity’. I’m not from a
big college, I’m not from English medium, and I don’t have work-experience. What if they ask some
stressful questions in the interview about this? Did you suffer from such insecurities? What is your
message to these candidates?
All these things do not really matter. Just have faith in yourself and be confident

Wisdom
Q. Through this struggle and success, what have your learned? What is the wisdom of life and
competition? What is your message to the new aspirants?
Competition is really like a rat race and aspirants do have to invest a lot cogitatively and psychologically . But one
should always enjoy this journey as one learns a lot of things during the whole course . Civil Service is one of the
best carrier ( just based on my perception ) but it is not end of everything . There are many better alternatives as

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well. So just never loose hope . Always be committed and motivated .
Q. Many hardworking candidates have failed in Mains/Interview of CSE-2015. They’re feeling cynical,
hopeless and depressed- what is your message to them?
Same as above

Credit: Friends/family
Q. Behind every topper are many people who stood by during those uncertain times when he/she was
merely an ‘aspirant’. Would you like to tell the world, who were those people in your case? Any specific
incidence that you would like to share with the readers?
My family has been biggest source of support and motivation throughout this journey . My parents provided all sort
of facilities I demanded and consistently supported me in this endeavor.

BOGUS Marketing Propaganda

Q. You are well aware of the sacred rule of conducting toppers interview- the last question must be about
self-marketing. So, Did you use Mrunal.org for your preparation and if yes, how did it help you? And you
can even reply “No”. I’ll still publish your answer without tempering.
Yes I was a regular follower of mrunal.org. I am a big fan of mrunal sir’s economy series . It is unparalleled in terms
of concept clarity , quality and presentation. Even geography and ethics series were also very good . Thank you
mrunal sir for your guidance and support!

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