UPSC Interview is an experience of one of its kind.

As soon
as I reached the venue, seeing the iconic UPSC building
(Dholpur House) flushes of emotions and thoughts ran
through the mind, it is this very place which has produced
finest bureaucrats of country. Its not a building or a venue
but an institution which commands authority and
respect
in the minds of millions of aspirants who dream to visit it
one day. It was a day which has so many sweet memories
for me.

Its a long answer, so please bear with me, you will

definitely enjoy reading it.

13TH SEPTEMBER (MORNING SLOT)

Marks: 140/200 ( Highest In Interview in CE ESE18)
PK JOSHI BOARD

CHAIRPERSON (CP)

(Chairperson started seeing my DAF)

CP-So Abuzar, you are from Dhar, M.P. (he knew the place
very well since he was earlier MPPSC chairman)

Me-Yes Sir.

CP-You did your schooling from Dhar itself ?

Me- Yes Sir

CP-After graduating, what did you do ?

Me-Sir I worked in a private corporate firm in Bangalore
for a year post thatI have been living in Delhi for a year
preparing for Engineering services
CP- Abuzar, tell me what is Dhar famous for?

Me-Dhar has been a place of historical importance and

has prominent monuments of its period, Its famous for
Raja Bhoj who established BhojShalas which were
centres of religious, educational and cultural importance.
Also Dhar is famous for Bagh Caves which displays
ancient rock cut architecture, these were shrines for
Buddhist monks. Dhar has a fort built by Mohammud bin
Tughlaq. It has a place Mandu which is famous for its
monuments.

CP-In which year was Dhar fort built?

Me- Sorry Sir, but I am not aware about the year of its
construction

CP-So its famous for monuments in and around?

Me- Yes Sir

CP- Abuzar, Have you visited or seen any monuments in

Delhi since you have been here for over a year ?

Me-Yes Sir, I have

CP- Name some of them

Me-SirI have visited Humayus Tomb, it's a UNESCO

World Heritage Site. I have been to Red Fort, Jantar
Me-Sir I have visited Humayus Tomb, it's a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. I have been to Red Fort, Jantar
Mantar, India Gate, also visited Parliament

CP-What difference do you find between these old

monuments and new ones that we see now?

ME- Sir, major difference structurally is that these old

monuments resists all their forces by compression
based mechanism, structures such as arches, domes
etc. Also masonry walls used to resist and transfer
forces to foundations, hence these were very thick walls
made of stone, mortar. Modern constructions differ in
the type of materials used like steel, concrete etc, and
structurally they can be designed for flexure, shear apart
from compression and also resist tension sometimes.
Beam columns assembly resist forces and transfer it to
the foundation. Thus load resisting members are
different and materials are different. Modern structures
can be made taller.

CP- Abuzar, you like dramatics, tell me some important

personality in Drama from MP?

Me-(I had prepared imp ones from India, didn't bother to

focus on MP felt sad from inside)

Sorry Sir, I do not remember famous personality from MP

(1had to explain him dramatics was my interest not hobby)
In college I had joined Dramatics club whenever I got free
time I visited club and performed plays but did not get
time to study it much.
CP-You have worked at NoBroker, your role?

Me- Sir I was tasked with managing the sales and

revenue generation team of the company, I was one of
the Operations Manager of the company
(1 stopped trying to keep answer short, after looking at
their faces I knew they want more explanation !!)
Me-(Explained briefly about NoBroker, what it does) Sir
tasks were three fold 1) Managing and training the 30
member sales team, how to talk to customers and
technique for selling the plans 2) Maintaining revenue
growth of 10% month on month, finding new sources and
channels to improve revenue growth 3) Analytics and
Data mining, keeping a track of all revenue sources and
in diff cities and identifying important pitfalls and
positivess

CP-Tell me the difference between Dam and Barrage?

Me- Sir Dams are built to create reservoirs
upstream of it,
for various purpose like
electricity generation, irrigation,
water supply etc. It doesn't have an overflow section a
special structure called spillway is constructed to
dispose excess water from Dam While in Barrage, it is
created to raise water level in river so that it can be
diverted to a canal. It is controlled by means of
gates for
ponding and these can be raised above HFL of river to
dispose water in such situations
(Chairperson passing the baton to Member 1)

M1-Why did you leave your job?

Me-Sir I already decided in my final year that I want to
pursue my career in this field, I did give ESE after
graduating but was not selected due to lack of
preparation, I worked for a year to support myself only. I
believe this service has a lot to offer right from
Challenging work environment, diversity of work, Good
pay and perks. I have worked in private sector and
realized this was lacking there. I think it's the right
platform for me to fulfill my career ambitions

M1-So you mean to say this is always better than private

Job?

Me- Sir I believe its better for me but for others it can be
different

M1-Have you heard about black soil, its prominent in

MP?

Me-Yes Sir, I have heard about it.

M1-What are its pros and cons?

Me-Sir advantage is that its very good for growing

cotton hence its called as black cotton soil. It has
necessary nutrients.
Disadvantage- With entry of moisture it swells, hence it
can lead to differential settlement, damage the entire
structure and potentially leading to its failure

M1-Whats special about it?

Me-Sir it has a mineral called as Montmorillonite, which

is a clay mineral has high specific surface area, absorbs
a lot of moisture and swells

M1-Why does it cause differential settlement?

Me- Sir the entire site doesn't swell equally , there is

difference in amount of water absorbed hence it leads to
uplift and differential settlement.

M1-I can understand there is uplift but how come there

is differential settlement

Me-Again reiterating the same answer (with a confused

look)
M1-Does it only swell, it shrinks also

Me-(with little disappointment, I thoughtthey would

understand shrinkage anyway, its never obvious in an
interview, "you have to state it Abuzar") Yes Sir, it swells
andthen shrinks unequally!

M1-What can be done to control it, what type of

foundation is used?
Me-If the soil thickness is low ex: 1 or 2 metres its
economical to remove entire layer and construct it on
stable strata, however if its >4 metres then we can go for
Under-Reamed piles are used to anchor it and prevent it
from uplift

M2-Suppose a structure is already built what can be

done to reduce its effect

Me-1) Reduce entry of moisture into soil, provide

impervious apron around structure 2) Damp proof course
at plinth level (1 didn't know why I said this, its irrelevant
here:-(3) Reduce moisture differential between edges
and centre of structure( M1 looking at me and expecting
more, I couldnt think of more solution) 4) Soil
stabilization: with lime in and around the structure

M2-Abuzar, how do wetest piles since you mentioned

piles as a solution ?

Me- Sir we use pile load test

M2- Procedure?

Me-Sir assembly consists of pile, we apply load by

hammering the soil !!

M2-(Shell-shocked) Do we hammer soil ?

Me-(Realizing this was a big blunder) No sir we hammer

pile(
M2- Do we hammer it ?

Me-(Had already made anotherblunder) No sir we do not

hammer pile we apply load gradually, Sorry sir I was
confused between pile load test and driven pile test (Me
inside, its never too late to correct yourself:)) We apply
load and measure deformation via dial gauge, and plot a
load deformation curve. Then we determine load carrying
capacity
M1-Do we keep on applying loads, where do we stop
how do we know

(By now, I have realized the interview was completely

practical based no fact based question, I guess this is
what they look into an IES officer, hands on field
application and creativity !)

Me-Sir IS codes provide certain provisions, me detailing

all three provisions 1) Load carrying capacity is half of
ultimate load at which settlement equals one tenth of
diameter of pile... And so on other two provisions.

M1-Whats negative skin friction?

Me- Sir it's a phenomena where soil surrounding pile

settles more than the pile itself, happens when soil
driven through top loose fill soil, it decreases load
carrying capacity of soil
M1-1 km equals how many miles ?? (Trying to test me
with a bouncer, people rarely
remember 1km= ..
miles, we remember the other way
round)
Me- Sir, (l was blank for a moment), Sir l am trying to
think, please allow me sometime (l shouldnt have said
this-()
M1-Tell me how many km are there in a mile, the other
way round?

Me-I dont remember the exact conversion but its around

1 mile equals 1.6 km

M1-Well Abuzar, you are very close !!

Me-(A huge sigh of relief !)

M1-You like and follow Football

Me-Yes Sir

M1-Who lost in FIFA World cup final

Me- (Beaming with confidence from inside, they have

asked me about my darling Football !) Sir it was Croatia

M1-Final Score?

Me- 4 is to 2 (Inside, I was like sir please ask me some

random match from FIFA world cup18 and I bet I wouldn't
be wrong,haha)
 M1-You were mess secretary , apart from menu and
inspection, how did you manage waste in food ?

Me- Sir there were two types of remains 1) Not eaten

food, we had provision for workers to take it home and
distribution to near by areas 2) Leftovers- we sent them
to composting facility (answered with less confidence
should have been more) Also I used to display it daily
inside mess about daily food wastage and used to send
weekly wastage report to residents to make them aware
and conscious about less wastage of food.

Its Member 2s turn now (No hi hello, straight to the point)

M2-Whats the advantages and disadvantages of flats
over low height buildings?

Me-Sir first is Better land utilization in high rise buildings

as compared to low ones, second is better management
of all essentials like solid waste, water supply and
sewerage system as its concentrated in relatively smaller
area

Disadvantages: First and foremost is In case of fire

breakout, very dangerous in high rise as evacuation and
rescue operations are very difficult Damage in case of
earthquakes can be very prominent in high rise buildings

(While answering Ialready knew its partially correct the

second point as damage in quakes depend on wave types
but still I thought it will add up another point so
proceeded)
M2- How do we prevent and reduce earthquake damage?
Me- Sir we have design provisions on codes. Ductile
building design, proper reinforcement detailing. Simple
configuration of buildings and more...

M2-How do we control damage from fire in buildings ?

Me- Sir we need to have proper escape route and

evacuation plan displayed at all floors, fire extinguishers,
training of residents and (I couldn't think of more)

M2- How frequently do we need to check whether all

functions of Quake and fire are operational?

Me-(1 knew now he is going into depth of fire resistance, it

will be difficult from here on hence decided to limit him
there)
Sir, I am not aware about the specifics of maintenance
procedures of fire resistance but I think there should be a
proper maintenance plan to check operationality of
features, This can be done half yearly or yearly

M2-Why do modern structures collapse much as

compared to older monuments we see standing from
300 or more years? ( this question was straight out off
current affairs, collapse of majerhaat bridge in west
Bengal)
Me- 1) First quality of workmanship and mentioned
about it..
M2-(He misheard it as quality of materials and
workmanship together) Materials and workmanship are
different..

Me- Yes sir, I was saying quality of workmanship as first

point, the ones standing had better workmanship
Second, materials quality often in ones that collapse no
quality check for materials and poor materials

(I couldn't think of more)

Me-Sir, we see only those structures that are standing

there are many more old monuments that collapsed (
Should have avoided saying it), M2 said yes but what
about those standing)

M2-Anything more ??

Me-(Struck with the idea of newspaper report on

majerhaat bridge collapse that I read) Yes sir, most
important is maintenance is not proper of the structures
as a result durability is lost ex: cracks in concrete,
corrosion of reinforcement,

(reiterated above 2 points as 2nd and 3rd to complete the

answer)
M2-What is CPM and PERT and its use

Me- These are network analysis techniques to help us

arrange the project activities logically and sequentially,
used to control the project and in execution
M2-Despite all this, why do projects get delayed

Me- 1) Land acquisition problems 2) Environmental

clearances get delayed 3) often Detailed project report is
not prepared exhaustively and unforeseen circumstances
arrive while execution further delaying the project
M2-Anything project specific, anything more?
Me-(Couldn't think of anything more, quiet for few
seconds then reiterated those points again in short)

M2-Anything related to logistics?

Me-(Ohh so this one I forgot to mention)

Yes sir delay in materials and other accessories reaching

the site ex: If RMC plant located far away then projects
can get delayed and similarly other resources..

He passed it on to Member-3

M3-Abuzar, you have graduated from IITK

Me-Yes Sir

M3-Your academics have been very good from school

days
Me- Yes Sir

M3-You have good CPI, what was your rank in

department ?
Me-Sir it was 4th out of 110 people
M3-Fourth ??

Me- Yes Sir, there were 3 more people above me

M3-Your favourite professor and course in IT Kanpur

Me-Sir Prof P. Bose (he interrupted in between)

M3-I know him, he is from environmental engineering,

so your favourite subject is environmental engineering?

Me- Yes sir

M3-Well Abuzar, I am not going to ask you from your

favourite subject

(litte disappointed whats the point of asking then (but I

passed a nice smile to M3)

M3-When you are on site you have to do ground

investigation how will you do it?

Me-1) General soil investigation 2) Location of groud

water table 3) Depth of stable strata

M3 interrupts

M3- aren't we forgetting something very important, take

pencil and paper and try to list it

down
 I could
think of..)
listed all the points
Me-(1

these are the points

holes and boring,

isn't it the m o s t
M3-What about bore

important one?

I should
mentionit explicitly but
Me- Yes sir it is, (1 didn't I could think
and noted down all points
have l added that

of)
are
cantilever slab and you
see a
M3-Suppose you by a
supported
that its free end is
passing by and s e e reaction?
coumn from below, whats your

understand the question)

(l couldn't
Me- Pardon sir, I couldn't getit

once again and said

is it right or wrong
M3-(he explained
or how do you see it ?)

is too large at free end and

Me-Sir may be the deflection
that's the reason

in and tried
M3-No, something structurally (M2 pitched
think its an
to explain) You have answered well till now,
easy problem

Me- Couldn't think of anything

M3-(with a hint) Anything about reinforcement?

Me- Sorry sir I am unable to think about it at the moment
(it was a very big hint and I

couldn't catch it -()

CP- Abuzar you interview is over

Me-(Little confused look, couldn't realize its over) Thank

you sir, ( this time with a big

smile)
(Well that half an hour escalated very quickly, Damn
couldn't answer the last question well, nevertheless
thought its over now, left the room !!
As soon as | left the interview room I knew the answer it
was less reinforcement in slab, I couldn't catch he hint
given, felt could have ended better if l answered that)

Reactions: My interview was completely practical and

application based, significant questions from DAF were
also asked. Zero questions which were fact based.
Overall I think it went decent. I scored very well and this
helped me get a decent rank if not very good.