UPSC Exam-Civil Services exam 2012-13 – IAS Topper Interview – Saravanan Balasubramanian-100th Rank

Civil Services exam 2012-13 – IAS Topper Interview –

Mr Saravanan Balasubramanian-100th Rank 

1 BRIEF BIO DATA

Name              Saravanan Balasubramanian

Age                 26

Place of Birth Thumbal, Salem, Tamil Nadu

Education

B.E.     Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani – Goa Campus                 2008 B.E.(Hons.) Computer Science Engineering

HSC    Velammal Matric. Hr. Secondary School, Chennai 2004

SSLC St.Michael’s Matric School, Thumbal, Salem 2002         

Family: 

            Father – Mr C Balasubramanian (Farmer)

            Mother – Mrs B Malligeswari (Housewife)

Optionals

1.      Geography

2.      Tamil Literature

Attempts: 1

2 INTEREST IN CSE

Interest has been there from childhood. Motivation from father was the starting point.

One will be working at an organization anyhow. I thought I might as well work for the biggest and the most complex organization, the government.

3 CHOOSING OPTIONAL SUBJECT

Eliminate unrelated optionals and those that the aspirant is not interested at all.

Prepare a shortlist of the possible optionals.

Study the syllabus in detail.

Look at past question papers for the subjects.

Aspirant should have a natural interest in the subject chosen. This would help in sustaining the initial hard work for a longer time, if need be.

4 COACHING

I studied at Shankar IAS Academy, Anna Nagar, Chennai. The complete package that SIA offers helped me a great deal. I was never confused about where to go because everything was available at one place.

5 PREPARATION STRATEGIES

PRELIMS

Paper1

Enrich knowledge base in each subject by thinking again and again; not by studying various materials.Get a 360 degree view of every issue.

Paper2

Regular practice is the only key.

Rely on presence of mind in the exam hall. Think thoroughly and come up with a logical answer. In my opinion, we should be able to justify the logic behind choosing a particular answer. That logic should be arrived at with all the knowledge we acquired during the preparation.

MAINS

GS: Prepare conventional areas thoroughly. Read newspaper. For each article, think of all related topics and list them out. Prepare for all these topics.

ESSAY: Will have ample time to structure your answer. Have a standard strategy/synopsis. Add content according to the topic. GS preparation will be enough to develop content.

OPTIONAL: Complete the syllabus during the course and do the tests well. Get detailed analysis by getting your papers evaluated. After prelims, quickly revise once. From then on, avoid opening the books. Try to recollect everything by looking at the syllabus topics.

Writing practice is the second most important thing. First is a complete preparation.

INTERVIEW

Prepare well for questions from one’s own profile (District, State, Father’s/ Mother’s profession, aspirant’s educational qualification, work experience (if any) and hobbies and interests)

Participate in as many discussion groups as possible. This helps to get fresh perspectives of issues. Frame questions for others- this helps us in anticipating the types of questions that we might get.

Attend 2-3 mock interviews. Take the feedback with an open mind.

6 BOOK LIST

History: Bipan Chandra, Spectrum and NCERT

Geography: NCERT, Go Cheng Leong, ATLAS and class notes

Polity: DD Basu

Economy: Any good book to understand economics before reading about the Indian economy + Class Notes + Economic Survey Shankar IAS Academy (SIA) handbook

Environment, Science and Tech: SIA handbook

Current Affairs: The Hindu

International Affairs: Class notes

India Year Book: SIA handbook

7 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Date: 4-Apr-2013

Panel: Alka Sirohi (Chairperson)

Questions

CP:

What are the three M's of manufacturing?

Why have you chosen Geography and Tamil Litt as optionals? Was the transition from Computer Science Engineering to these subjects easy?

Member1:

What is Article 31A?

What is Article 30?

How many items are there in the Union List?

According to Article 248 with whom do residuary powers lie?

In 7th Schedule, land is in which list?

What do you know about Panchayati Raj?

Who was the PM when 73rd and 74th Amendments were enacted?

What was the famous slogan regarding Panchayati Raj? (Power to People)

How do you see civil services as an institution?

What do you think about calling civil services the 'steel frame'?

Member 2

What is the reason for lowering of water table in Punjab?

If Green Revolution is one of the reasons, where do you think the public policy has failed?

Why do rockets not fall back to earth?

What is the value of escape velocity?

Member 3

What is the difference between:

Institute and University?

Land and Soil?

Ecology and Environment?

Weather and Climate?

Population and Society?

What is crop rotation?

What is biodiversity?

What is conservation farming?

Which crop is suitable for rotation with rice? Why?

Member 4

What are the problems with mining in Goa?

Was it as prominent when you were studying in Goa as it is now?

Isn't the Supreme Court ban on mining detrimental for the state's economy? What should the government do now?

What is the problem with afforestation activities normally conducted in used up mining sites? (loss of biodiversity due to planting same trees all over)

Have you read the book Argumentative Indian? What does the author say in it? (Hobby related)

What is the one thing that bothers you in our society? (I said inequality) What have you done towards solving it?

CP

What is the difference between equity and equality?

What is apathy, sympathy, empathy and telepathy?

What is non verbal communication? What is the name for the science?

Where are Mohorovic and Gutenberg dicontinuities?

What are the compositions of the earth's layers?

END

8 MARKS

ESSAY (PAPER-III)                                                              107

GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-IV)                                       122

GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-V)                                         108

OPTIONAL-I(GEOGRAPHY) (PAPER-VI)             123

OPTIONAL-I(GEOGRAPHY) (PAPER-VII)                        146

OPTIONAL-II(LIT.OF TAMIL LANG) (PAPER-VIII)              92

OPTIONAL-II(LIT.OF TAMIL LANG) (PAPER-IX)  124

WRITTEN TOTAL                                                               822

PERSONALITY TEST                                                          195

FINAL TOTAL                                                                     1017

TIPS

A year before the prelims is the ideal time to start. One can complete most of the necessary courses in 6 months. It will also act as a cushioning period for us to get an informed perspective of the whole examination process.

Then start full preparation for prelims along with the mock test series. Then revise/study mains portions after prelims, again along with mock tests.

Anyone who understands his/her surroundings better or shows a keen interest to do so will find the preparation interesting and the examination process thought provoking. So it is not meant only for toppers in school and college.

Hard work, patience, stable character and an inclination towards taking the middle path in most issues are some of the essential qualities to be successful in this process.

All the very best!