PERSONAL PROFILE
Name
|
Prabhat Pegu
|
Rank in Civil
Services
|
25th
|
Roll No.
|
1101404
|
Age
|
29 yrs
|
Marital Status
|
Married
|
Total attempts
in CEE (including this one)
|
3
|
Optional
Subjects
|
History & Education
|
Service
preferences Top – 3
|
ACS, ALRS, ARCS
|
Service Joined
|
ACS
|
Schooling Medium
|
English Medium
|
College Medium
|
English Medium
|
Medium chosen
for Mains answers
|
English
|
Medium chosen
for Interview
|
English & Assamese
|
Home town/city
|
Silapathar, District: Dhemaji, Assam
|
Work-experience
if any
|
Assistant Manager at IDBI Bank for 3 yrs
|
EDUCATIONAL DETAILS
% in class 10
|
68%
|
% in class 12
|
65%
|
Graduation
course and %
|
B.Tech (CSE)
with 5.98 CGPA
|
Name of college,
city, passing out year
|
NIT Silchar 2011
|
Post-graduation
|
NA
|
Any other
professional courses
|
NA
|
Hobbies &
Extracurricular achievements
|
Travelling, Playing Soccer
|
UNDERSTANDING YOUR ONLINE LIFE?
Daily hrs spent
on online platforms for predicting cutoff / syllabus change / age-attempt
limit change and other “peripheral-discussion“related to civil services.
|
3 hrs reserved out of whole day for online preparation
along with getting connected to FB, WhatsApp & gaming.
|
Primary Device
for online study: desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile
|
Laptop & Mobile
|
ANSWER WRITING
Did you use
highlighters / sketch pens in your answers?
|
No, I did not use any highlighter/sketch pens nor any
diagrams
|
Did you draw any
diagram in any paper? (e.g. in Geography) If yes, Did you draw diagrams with
pencil or pen?
|
No
|
Did you use
ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did you just make it by hand?
|
NA
|
You wrote the
answer in blue pen or black pen?
|
Blue
|
GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. Tell us something about yourself, your family, when and why did you enter in this field of competitive exams?
My name is Prabhat Pegu and I am a B.Tech graduate in CSE from NIT Silchar. My father is a government servant under the Department of Food and Civil Supply and my mother is a homemaker. I have a younger brother who is an Assistant Commandant in B.S.F
2.
In recent times, there is a spur in the electronic material- blogs, sites, pdf, RSS-feeds. Many aspirants feel bogged down by this information overload. So, how do you balance this i.e. electronic material vs. paper material (Books, newspapers)
Both the sources should be used judiciously. Here it comes to the concept of smart work is what I feel. I did not do any answer writing practice. I wrote down the notes and it was similar to the answers writing practices.
3.
Do you maintain self-notes for revision of optional?
Yes, I had the habit to prepare notes and keep them handy for regular revision time and again.
4.
What was your approach in the exam?
I tried to touch all the questions with at least some relevant points though I feel that at the end of the day it all depends upon the examiner.
5.
Did you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs? Did you follow the “introduction-body-conclusion” format?
I wrote the answers in paragraphs and have put on introduction and conclusion for the answers to which I felt it was necessary.
6.
What are the books you studied doing your preparations
and your list of recommended books?
For APSC, I referred to selective books like:
G.S. :
- Assam Year Book
- India Year Book
- Spectrums Brief History of India
- Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
- Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
History:
- Indian History by S. K. Raychowdhary
- Indian History by Pratiyogita Darpan
- India’s Ancient past by R.S. Sharma
- India’s struggle for independence by Bipin Chandra
- World History by Arjun Dev
- History of Modern World by B.V. Rao
- European History by K. L. Khurana
- England History by L. Mukherjee
Education:
- A textbook of Education by Lakshya Hira Das
- A textbook of Education by Dr, Moromi Goswami
7.
How many months did it take to finish the optional
syllabus?
It took me seven months to get a good hold over the optional subjects by applying the smart work technique, but I personally feel like there is no particular time frame as it depends on each individual.
8.
Did you attend any ‘mock tests’? Do you think they’re
necessary for success? How many days/ weeks before the exam, you started answer
writing practice papers?
I did not have the opportunity to attend any mock test but I
personally do feel that they are important to boost confidence level.
9.
If you are made the UPSC/APSC chairman, what other
reforms would you initiate for the civil service exam?
I would have tried to make the exam more transparent and
would have introduced level playing field to eliminate biases with regards to
optional subjects.
INTERVIEW DETAILS
1.
How did you prepare for the interview?
For the interview, I prepared thoroughly on my bio-data,
hobbies and my work experience related to banking
2.
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?
No, I didn’t take up any mock interview training
3.
Where did you stay for the interview and what books/material did you bring for the ‘revision before
interview’?
I stayed at my uncle’s room in Guwahati and I was going through the newspaper of the day.
4.
Who was the chairman of you interview board? How long
was the interview? Why do you want to join civil service?
The chairman of my interview board was Dr. Dhurba Jyoti
Hazarika Sir. The interview lasted for about 25 minutes.
5.
Describe the formal-dress worn by you on the day of
your interview.
I wore a navy blue trouser and a light sky blue shirt with a
matching blue tie.
6.
Was your interview on the expected lines of what you
had prepared or did they ask you totally unexpected questions?
Some of the questions were as expected while others were
totally unexpected. Just tried to give them balanced conclusions.
7.
Any side details about technicalities like “make sure
you bring xyz document or do xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?
No such side details were put forwarded.
8.
Please narrate your entire interview- what questions
did they ask and what did you reply and other pleasant or uncomfortable
experiences during the interview.
Questions were asked related to Hobbies, banking, beef
banning, love jihad, NPA in banking, government schemes like Mudra loans,
Start-up India, Yandaboo Treaty, Assam’s participation in India’s independence
were some which I can recollect.
The Miscellaneous Ones
1.
If you were not selected, what was your career backup
plan?
As I was working with the Industrial Development Bank of India
as an Assistant Manager, if not selected in this attempt, I would have continued
with my current job and kept trying again and again.
2.
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?
Since I had my degree in B.Tech from NIT Silchar I did not
have any “profile insecurity”. I personally feel that it hardly matters as I
have seen people from private institutes achieving high ranks and joining the
service.
3.
If you’re a working professional, share some tips on
how to manage studies with job
Being a working professional I feel that “xhomoi, puwa najai,
xhomoi uliyabo lage”. I used to make efficient use of the morning hours as I
believe in the dictum “early to bed, early to rise”.
4.
People, 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?
By staying calm and focussed towards the goal. Patience and
perseverance are virtues of a civil services officer and the journey of
preparation takes an aspirant takes them through it. An aspirant must always
also avoid the negativity around them and in case of mood swing, do take a
break and relax yourself. One must also keep in touch with friends and family
and not stay secluded or cut-off from well-wishers.
5.
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?
The question of failure and success is just a second index.
The process of preparing oneself as a civil servant itself grooms an individual
as a well-rounded person and it moreover singles you out amongst hundreds of
others. I would like to advice and request all the candidates to analyse their
mistakes, learn from their mistakes, and to start again without losing hope.
6.
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?
Well, I would like to thank my parents and my friends for
being so supportive. I would also like to mention about my close friend Rahin
Pegu, who passed away recently. Rahin not only constantly motivated me but also
guided me throughout the preparation phase.
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