PERSONAL
PROFILE
Name
|
Hemashri Khanikar
|
Rank in Civil Services
|
17th
|
Roll No.
|
0907774
|
Age
|
25
|
Marital Status
|
Unmarried
|
Total attempts in CEE (including this one)
|
1
|
Optional Subjects
|
History and Geography
|
Service preferences Top – 3 (ACS, APS, ALRS etc.)
|
ACS, ALRS,ARCS
|
Service Joined
|
2017
|
Schooling Medium (English/Assamese/Hindi/Bengali)
|
English
|
College Medium (English/Assamese/Hindi/Bengali)
|
English
|
Medium chosen for Mains answers
|
English
|
Medium chosen for Interview
|
English and Assamese
|
Home town/city
|
Guwahati
|
Work-experience if any
|
N/A
|
EDUCATIONAL
DETAILS
% in class 10
|
91.4%
|
% in class 12
|
82.4%
|
Graduation course and %
|
B.Tech in Information
Technology, 8.33 CGPA or 78.3%
|
Name of college, city, passing out year
|
Gauhati University Institute
of Science and Technology, 2015
|
Post-graduation
|
-
|
Any other professional courses
|
-
|
Hobbies & Extracurricular achievements
|
Reading, Gardening etc
|
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.
|
Very little. About half an
hour to 1 hr.
|
Daily hrs spent on WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram study groups
|
1-2 hrs.
|
Daily hrs spent on online for exam prep/mock test
|
-
|
Primary Device for online study: desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile
|
Laptop and Cell phone
|
ANSWER
WRITING
Did you use highlighters / sketch pens in your answers?
|
No
|
Did you draw any diagram in any paper? (e.g. in Geography)If yes, Did
you draw diagrams with pencil or pen?
|
Yes. With pencil.
|
Did you use ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did you just make
it by hand?
|
If required yes.
|
You wrote the answer in blue pen or black pen?
|
Blue pen
|
QUESTIONNAIRE:
1.
Tell
us something about yourself, your family, when and why did you enter in this
field of competitive exams?
My family is a nuclear one consisting
of my father, my mother and myself. Both my parents are govt servants. I passed
my HSLC and HS from Kendriya Vidyalaya Khanapara in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
Then I did my Engineering in Information technology from Gauhati University in
2015. As for the question why I chose civil services is that I always had an
affinity towards civil services and it always fascinated me. And also it gives
you the best platform to serve the society and the people.
2.
In
recent times, there is spur in electronic material- blogs, sites, pdfs,
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)
Electronic materials are an
integral part of the whole preparation process. My first hand information on
any topic was always from books, newspapers, magazines etc. In case I fail to
find such on books etc. I would take help of the electronic medium. And for
further information, took help of the electronics material and jot down the
important points.
3.
Do
you maintain self-notes for revision of optional? In which format- electronic
or paper? What is your style of preparation and notes making?
Yes, I did made notes for
optional in paper format. I highlighted the important keywords in the notes
itself for the last minute revision. First I studied the syllabus of the
subject and accordingly prepared notes on the topics with flowcharts or
diagrams etc wherever required.
4.
What
was your approach in the exam?
The first thing I did the examination
was I studied the whole question paper thoroughly which also include the
instructions, word limits etc. Then accordingly I wrote my answers keeping in
mind the word limit and the time. I wrote to the point answers with proper
introduction, conclusion and diagrams & analysis wherever necessary.
5. Did
you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs? Did you follow the “introduction-body-conclusion” format?
My answers had both paragraphs
and bullet points. I wrote bullet points wherever it was needed. I did follow
the introduction-body-conclusion format.
6. What’s
your optional subject and why did you chose it and not something else? If a new
aspirant wants to pick your subject, would you advice for it or against it?
My optional
subject in prelims was Indian History and History and Geography in mains. I took these two as my optional because it
captured my interest and I was comfortable reading and understanding it.
NCERTs (11th and 12th) are must for all subjects.
For History:
Books by Bipan Chandra, Sumeet Sarkar, Upinder Singh, Satish Chandra,
Shekhar Bandopadhyay and Krishna Reddy can be consulted for the Indian part.
One can also read R.S Sharma and Romila Thapar too. Indian History Book by
Spectrum.
For the world history part one can take up World history by Krishna Reddy,
by Jain and Mathur and by L. Mukherjee.
For Geography:
Savinder Singh’s physical geography, Geography book by spectrum, Indian
Geography by DR Khullar, Human Geography by Majid Hussain, Physical geography
by GC Leong, Oceanography & Climatology by DS Lal, Geography through Maps,
Fundamentals of Cartography by RP Mishra, Research Methodology Book by any good
author, Geography of Assam by Ahmed & Tahr and Atlas is must.
And apart from that internet can be of great help in the preparations.
7. What
are the books you studied doing your preparations and your list of recommended
books? How much of internet-research / current affairs is necessary for this
optional? OR can one simply rely on the books and be done with this subject?
Recommended books for History and Geography are mentioned
above. Apart from that, books one can follow are:
GS Paper I and CSAT by Tata
Macgraw Hill, Laxmikant & Subhas Kashyap’s book for Polity, Ramesh Singh
and Sankarganesh’s book for Economics, Sc & Tech by Tata Macgraw, Pratiyogita
Darpan (Monthly and all the special issues of Economy, History, Geography,
Polity), Assam Year Book, A brief History of Assam by NN Acharya, History of
Assam by Edward Gait, History of Assam by Priyam Goswami, Economic Survey both
India and Assam, Sankar IAS’s Environment and Ecology, Nitin SInghania’s Art
& Culture, PT365 pdfs on IR, Polity, Culture, Govt Schemes etc by Vision
IAS, notes by Vajiram on specific topics such as on rivers, drainage system etc,
Wren & Martin English grammar book, various govt websites for current
affairs, news articles and daily newspaper.
8.
How
many months did it take to finish the optional syllabus?
It was a continuous process. I
can’t pin point the time frame as such. The subjects I chose as my optional
were integral subjects, required both in prelims and mains. So keeping in mind
the whole schedule I did study my optional subjects for about 2 years in
thorough and organized manner.
9.
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?
Yes I did appear in mock test. I
think they are important for self-assessment but not necessary that everybody
have to appear mock tests. It’s like icing on the cake. I didn’t separate the
answer writing of practice papers a different process. I integrated it while
making notes on different topics.
10.
If
you are made the UPSC/APSC chairman, what other reforms would you initiate for
the civil service exam?
If appointed so, first I will
study the reforms happened so far and what new and innovative approach/ reforms
can be brought into the system. And as
such will act upon it.
Interview
1.
How
did you prepare for the interview? – (for college grad, hobbies, place of
origin, current affairs at national and international level)
I prepared thoroughly my mains
optional subjects and my graduation subject. Since my engineering discipline is
IT, I did prepared thoroughly the various schemes/projects both national and
international regarding technology, digital world etc. And also important
events and information relating to my place of origin. Brushed up my current
affairs before the interview.
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?
I did attend a mock interview. Mostly
they were different in my case. The type of questions I faced in mock was lot
different than the official interview. Actually the choices of topic by the
mock interviewers were different. One or two sessions of mock interview can be
helpful to boost your confidence, to be fluent in your articulation, to shape
your presentation and to overcome the nervousness etc.
3.
Where
did you stay for the interview? (Hotel / friend’s home …) and what
books/material did you bring for the ‘revision before interview’?
I stayed at my home and had
accesses to all my books & materials for the revision.
4.
Who
was the chairman of you interview board? How long was the interview? Why do you
want to join civil service? Why don’t you continue in your graduation field?
Social service can be done from private sector too. [Since I don’t know whether they ask you this
question or not. But if they had asked- what will be your reply?]
My interview board was chaired by
in-charge Chairman of APSC himself. My interview happened for about 20-25 minutes.
As for the question why I chose civil services is that I always had an affinity
towards civil services and it always fascinated me. And also it gives you the
best platform to serve the society and the people. Civil Services was always my
first preference, if had not been successful in civil services after all the
attempts I would have then continued in my graduation field.
5.
Describe
the formal-dress worn by you on the day of your interview.
I wore a sober coloured silk
salwar suit with a pair of small studs.
6.
Was
your interview on the expected lines of what you had prepared or did they ask
you totally unexpected questions? Was it
a stress interview, did they ask any uncomfortable questions? If yes, how did
you handle it?
It was on expected lines. More or less they asked me questions
from my optional subjects and a few on my engineering discipline. It was not a
stress interview.
7.
Any
side details about technicalities like “make sure you bring xyz document or do
xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?
The documents verification was
done day before the interview date. But I did carry my documents on the day of
interview as well.
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.
(Earlier some toppers only tell me their question but not their answer. I would
appreciate if you give both Question + your original answers)
My overall experience in interview was good. The interview board asked
questions from various aspects which also included my optional subjects in
mains.
At this
moment I remember some of the topics but I don’t recall all the exact questions
I was asked. I was asked questions on FRs, DPSPs, Flood situation of Assam (I
remember answering the causes because of which the flood occurs and the flood
prone areas of Assam), regarding calorie consumption (urban and rural), IR of
India & Myanmar (answered: Moreh, friendship gate between India & Myanmar,
India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, trade relation etc), Geography and History
of Assam, RBI & Nationalization of banks, India’s independence struggle,
Padma Awards & Bharat Ratna etc.
The
Miscellaneous Ones
1.
If
you were not selected, what was your career backup plan?
When were you going to “execute” that backup plan? (e.g. after __ number of
failed attempts/ after I cross __ age/ after dad retires/ after girlfriend
dumps me etc.)
If exhausted all my attempts to
get into civil services, I would have gone back to my engineering discipline.
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?
There is nothing to take tension of such things. I didn’t suffer from any
such insecurity. My message to all the candidates is: just be confident of
yourself, stay away from negative and unnecessary thoughts and trust yourself.
3. 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?
Consistency throughout the
preparation is very much important and necessary. When your faith in you to
achieve something is stronger than your distractions, such situation will never
arise.
4.
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? Many hardworking
candidates have failed in Mains/Interview. They’re feeling cynical, hopeless
and depressed- what is your message to them?
As the saying goes, when there is
will there is a way. Never give up. Even if one doesn’t succeed one shouldn’t feel
hopeless. In the whole process, one has acquired a lot of knowledge and has
learned a lot.
5.
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?
My parents, my teachers who were
with me in this whole preparation process and some of my very good friends were
the support system when I was merely an aspirant. My parents always kept
motivating me and never let me feel dejected or hopeless throughout my
preparations and stood by me through thick and thin.
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