On April 16th, 2024, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the results of the Civil Services Examination – 2023. Since then, the success stories of the top scorers have been a source of inspiration for many candidates. Additionally, newcomers to the Civil Services Examination are particularly eager to learn more about the interview stage, including the types of questions asked of the candidates during this critical part of the selection process.

From ‘Dinosaurs’ age’ to ‘Puri Jagannath’, and ‘Vande Bharat’ to ‘Artificial Intelligence’, candidates were asked very tricky as well as in-depth questions from various other topics, ranging from Socio-political to International Relations. 

Indian Masterminds interacted with some toppers and qualifiers of the CSE-2023 to know the inside details of their interview round.

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ADITYA SRIVASTAVA, AIR-1

Lucknow’s Aditya Srivastava, who is already an IPS officer and currently undergoing training in Hyderabad, secured the top position, achieving the highly coveted rank 1. He scored 200 marks in the interview out of 275. 

There were more academic questions this time in his interview. 60 percent of his interview focused on policing. Like last year, he was again asked questions about dinosaurs.

He was asked about the link between dinosaurs and birds, to which he successfully replied, ‘Archaeopteryx.’ He then faced follow-up questions about the period in which Archaeopteryx existed, to which he once again successfully responded, stating it was during the Tithonian period, approximately 150.8 million years ago to 125.45 million years ago.

Another board member asked him why he wanted to be an IAS officer despite being IPS, and what qualities should an IAS officer possess.

He said, “Questions to test presence of mind were not asked this time. Last time, though, I was asked whether I believed in ghosts.”

ANIMESH PRADHAN, AIR-2

Animesh Pradhan, who hails from Angul district in Odisha, scored 175 marks in the Interview. 

He was asked a lot of questions about Odisha. Additionally, he was unable to answer a few questions during the interview. 

One question was about the relationship between Puri Jagannath and Sikhism, which he couldn’t answer. Another member asked him about Talcher. 

Furthermore, a few questions about his hobbies, which include parliamentary debating and free-style dancing, were asked of him.

DONURU ANANYA REDDY, AIR-3

22 years old Ms. Reddy, who comes from the backward district of Mehboobnagar in Telangana, got 190 marks on her first attempt. 

As UPSC interviews often throw curveballs at unprepared candidates, Ms. Reddy’s experience was no different. She faced a barrage of scientific and technical questions related to international relations, economy, and environmental geography.

Apart from that, she was asked questions with some situational scenarios presented by board members.

P K SIDHARTH RAMKUMAR, AIR-4

Mr. Sidharth, who is already an IPS officer, hails from Kochi, Kerala. He obtained 185 marks in the interview. He was asked questions about his background as he graduated in architecture. 

A member asked him to architecturally analyze the particular room where the interview was happening in terms of sustainability. He replied in terms of thermal comfort by calculating the height and material cladding of the room. 

Furthermore, he was asked about his favorite architect and why. He replied, Lori Baker. One member asked him how the image of policing could be improved. The board also queried his three favorite IPS officers. The last board asked him to name the 10 women who inspired him. 

RUHANI, AIR-5

Ms Ruhani who is already an IPS and hails from Gurugram, secured 193 marks. As she also worked at Niti Ayog as Assistant Director at NITI, there were lots of questions about planning and growth. 

She was asked questions about policing and why she opted for IAS despite being selected for IPS. The panel also asked her some questions on the economy. 

ANMOL RATHORE, AIR-7

Ms. Rathore hails from Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir. She attained the highest marks in the interview among the top 10 successful candidates, scoring 206 marks. 

She was asked questions about her Detailed Application Form (DAF) and her background. Given her interest in writing poems, board members also inquired about her poetry and posed questions on literature. 

The panel delved into numerous topics related to current affairs, particularly focusing on Jammu and Kashmir, as well as her optional subject, Law.

NAUSHEEN, AIR-9

Ms. Nausheen, from Gorakhpur, obtained 182 marks. During the crucial interview round, her passion for history shone through when she confidently discussed her views on historical events she wished had never occurred, highlighting the colonization of African and Asian countries.

AISHWARYAM PRAJAPATI, RANK-10

Lucknow’s Ms. Prajapati achieved 154 marks in an interview, which was quite intriguing, although she didn’t answer some questions. 

The panel queried her on a wide array of topics, ranging from her engineering background to her hobbies, current events, and international relations.

Regarding her previous role at MNC ‘L&T’, one board member inquired about her responsibilities and the reason for her departure, as well as whether there should be a contractual bond preventing employees from leaving within a year.

Another member, aware of her singing hobby, requested that she sing a song. Subsequently, she rendered ‘O’ Palan Hare,’ a Krishna Bhajan from the movie Lagaan.

KUNAL RASTOGI, AIR-15

Lucknow’s Mr. Rastogi got 193 marks in his mostly analytical interview. Some interesting questions he was asked while discussing Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by the board chairman were, “You are talking about the ‘Twin Pit Latrine System’; tell me when you flush it, how much water poured in?”

Another member asked him questions from a case study on corruption in Administration how would he tackle that?

There were some questions, like, Should there be work from home in government offices? What are the reasons behind mental depression these days? Which country’s ambassador would you prefer to be appointed? If there is no CPEC agreement, then will China still support Pakistan?

SWATI VERMA, AIR-17

Hailing from Jamshedpur, Ms Verma scored 187 marks. She was asked questions ranging from her optional subject, PSIR, to her home state of Jharkhand, as well as her hobbies. 

One intriguing question involved a discussion on statistics. A board member asked her, “There’s a fan in the room. What’s the probability of it falling?” Though statistics weren’t Swati’s strong suit, she confidently replied with the answer 1 by 2, reasoning that it could either fall or not. Swati speculated that they might have been testing her presence of mind. 

Another thought-provoking question centered on women’s empowerment, addressing the trend of men increasingly participating in household chores while women still bear the burden of both household duties and employment. Swati was asked for her opinion on this matter. 

AKASH VERMA, RANK 20

Mr. Verma, who hails from Noida, got 185 marks. He was asked about the power of the Vande Bharat Train and how its engine is different from a normal electrical engine. 

SOME MORE QUESTIONS

Sachin Goel, rank 209, was asked – Should we become a dogless society? Kshitij Sharma, rank 384, was asked – “Are there any countries you can think of that depend solely on environmental laws, like India?” “How can you curb Railway accidents?” was a question asked to Riju Srivastava, rank 227.

While, Madhav Agarwal, rank 211, was asked, “Who do you consider better between Nehru and Sardar Patel?” Kuldeep Patel, ranked 181, responded with ‘Khajuraho’ when asked to name a structure with a specific name.

“What impact does fashion have on the top echelons of power in the country?” a board member asked Arnav Bhandari, Rank 232.