The UPSC CSE is one of the most prestigious and toughest examinations in India, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This examination is conducted in three phases – Prelims, Mains, and Interview or Personality Test. Every year when UPSC results come out, most of the UPSC aspirants want to know about the toppers’ interview round, because this is the most difficult round of this examination and is also the deciding factor in an aspirant’s chances of success and rank. This year, the top 3 positions were grabbed by women – Shruti Sharma topped the list, followed by Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla. Aishwarya Verma got the fourth rank while Utkarsh Dwivedi came fifth.
Indian Masterminds interacted with some of the toppers from the Top 20 of UPSC CSE-2021 to bring you some inside details about their Interview round – how they prepared for it and what questions were asked.
UTKARSH DWIVEDI – AIR 5
Utkarsh Dwivedi, who hails from Ayodhya, got AIR-5 in UPSC CSE-2021 and his success story is a lesson to all to never lose hope and keep trying till they achieve their goals. As Utkarsh qualified for interview in all his three attempts, he gained much experiences for this final round.
Talking to Indian Masterminds, he said, “My optional subject was Political Science and International Relations (PSIR), so I was asked questions from International Relations, like the Sri Lanka crisis and India-Russia relations. There were also questions from my educational background as I have done B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology. My marks were consistent in all three attempts. First time, I got 160, then 157, followed by 165 in the third attempt. This time, I got a better rank because of Mains, where I got 871. But, yes, I was more satisfied with the way the interview went this time, and I was expecting at least 185 marks. So, I am not able to figure out where I went wrong. Anyway, this is how UPSC shows you the mirror. Now that I got AIR 5, it’s feels really good!”
He further said, “When Covid came in 2020, my first interview was scheduled on 23rd March which got postponed to July 2020. There was much uncertainty at that time. We could not figure out what to do. Should we start preparing for pre or should we prepare for the interview, as dates were getting postponed. So, I thought that whatever comes earlier, I will go with that. Uncertainty is a part of life. It will come often. The important thing is not to get distracted.”
He also added one more small but important tip: To make a simple strategy and implement it honestly. “Don’t make things complicated.”
YAKSH CHAUDHARY – AIR 6
Yaksh Chaudhary, who comes from a small village in Uttar Pradesh, was a topper in school and studied in IIT Guwahati. He got all India rank 6 in UPSC CSE 2021 in his third attempt.
He said, “In interview round, I was asked questions about my graduation subject i.e. civil engineering. As my optional subject was sociology, so there were questions from optional subject, too. And I was asked about my job, as before passing UPSC, I was an assistant commandant in CRPF. They asked me few questions about athletics as I was into athletics in my college. Some questions about current events like climate justice, net-zero, etc., were also asked.”
SAMYAK JAIN – AIR 7
Samyak S Jain scored the top rank 7 in UPSC CSE 2021 despite being visually impaired. Speaking with Indian Masterminds, about his interview round, he said, “I would say that my interview was very cordial. My chairperson Smita Nagaraj was very polite. The questions asked to me were on predictable lines. Maximum questions were from my educational background. Because I belong to IIMC, so they also asked media-related questions. And my master’s was in PSIR, so there were questions about international affairs, too.”
He further said that they asked him more analytical questions rather than facts and knowledge, so that his opinion comes out. “They are not very much concerned about facts, as they already know that you have come here after cracking Prelims and Mains. So, they want your opinion on particular issues.” He was asked about government change in Pakistan as Shahbaz Sharif was taking over from Imran Khan at that time. They wanted to know about his take on this change.
ISHITA RATHI – AIR 8
Ishita Rathi, daughter of a police couple, got AIR 8 in UPSC CSE-2021. Her optional subject was Economics. She agreed that the interview round is the most challenging, but at the same time, it is the most interesting part of the exam as it checks the candidate’s general knowledge as well as her analytical mindset and personality.
Talking about her interview round, she said, “I was asked two kinds of questions. First was DAF (Detailed Application Forms at time of Interview) related and second was economics related from current situation in the world, as economics is my background. Like, they asked me about the economic implication from the Sri Lankan crisis and the Ukraine crisis.”
She also agreed with the view that Economics as optional is very tough as the syllabus of the subject is very vast. “More than that, there is not much guidance available for this subject in the education arena. Very limited guidance is there, that made this subject more difficult and complicated. Apart from this, average score of Economics as optional is also on the lower side, in comparison to other subjects. But if you have interest as well as an educational background in economics, then you can do it.”
MEHAK JAIN – AIR 17
Mehak Jain, hailing from Haryana, bagged AIR 17. She had felt hopeless at one point of time during her preparation. But, she cracked CSE in her third attempt with top AIR-17 in 2021. 24-year-old Mehak says that one should set a goal to be successful in life and then prepare the way to achieve that goal with hard work and dedication. She believes that previous years’ question papers are Bible for aspirants.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds about the interview stage, she said that she got almost 15 days for exclusive preparation for the interview after the mains result. “I started preparing DAF (Detailed Application Form)as my main exam went well. I was already expecting the call for interview. I made online notes, went for mocks, and one-on-one interviews. For the interview, I studied online a lot.”
However, she points out that in the Interview, all questions were not DAF related. “I was asked more situational questions than technical or DAF-related ones. Like, what reforms would you suggest for National Police Commission?”
SHRUTI SHARMA – AIR 1
Shruti Sharma is the topper of UPSC CSE-2021, securing the all India rank 1. She was not that satisfied with her interview as she wanted it to be more conversational on some opinions rather than being factual. She said that the interview was not up to the mark and she cried a lot because of this.
“My expectations from the interview were very high. I felt bad because there were many difficult factual questions for which I didn’t know the answers. Questions like Continuous Voice, Lord Mayo’s Assassination and the War of 1812 were asked. For what I didn’t know, I honestly said that I didn’t know the answers.”
She was also asked factual questions related to history which included questions like, does history repeats itself, Champaran Satyagraha, the Mauryas, World War, etc. She was also asked questions about governance including Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and about her hobbies and background.
