PERSONAL
PROFILE
|
Name
|
Dr. Munmi Saikia
|
|
Rank
in Civil Services
|
2nd [ACS]
|
|
Roll
No.
|
091801826
|
|
Age
|
30
|
|
Marital
Status
|
Married
|
|
Total
attempts in CEE (including this one)
|
1st attempt
|
|
Optional
Subjects
|
History and Education
|
|
Service
preferences Top – 3 (ACS, APS, ALRS etc.)
|
ACS,ALRS,APS
|
|
Service
Joined
|
ACS
|
|
Schooling Medium
(English/Assamese/Hindi/Bengali)
|
English
|
|
College Medium
(English/Assamese/Hindi/Bengali)
|
English
|
|
Medium
chosen for Mains answers
|
English
|
|
Medium
chosen for Interview
|
Both English and Assamese
|
|
Home
town/city
|
Morikolong, Nagaon
|
|
Work-experience
if any
|
3 years as Prime Minister’s Rural
Development Fellow (PMRDF) under Ministry of Rural Development, GoI.
|
EDUCATIONAL
DETAILS
|
HSLC
|
Loyola, Nagaon ; 82%
|
|
HS
|
Cotton College Guwahati; 67%
|
|
Graduation
course
|
Dentistry BDS, 65%
|
|
Name
of college, city, passing out year
|
MRADC, Bengaluru 2012
|
|
Post-graduation
|
Master’s in Development Practice from
TISS, Mumbai
|
|
Hobbies
& Extracurricular achievements
|
Baking and cooking
|
UNDERSTANDING YOUR
ONLINE LIFE?
|
Daily
hrs spent on online platforms for predicting cut off / syllabus change /
age-attempt limit change and other “peripheral-discussion“ related to civil
services.
|
Zero hours.
|
|
Daily
hrs spent on WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram study groups
|
1 hr approx.
|
|
Daily
hrs spent on online for exam prep/mock test
|
2 hrs approx.
|
|
Primary
Device for online study: desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile
|
Mobile, laptop
|
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?
|
No
|
|
Did
you use ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did you just make it by hand?
|
No
|
|
You
wrote the answer in blue pen or black pen?
|
Blue
|
QUESTIONNAIRE:
1.
Tell us something about yourself, your
family, when and why did you enter in this field of competitive exams?
My parents, Mrs. Padma Saikia and Late Putu
Ram Saikia, were both employees at the establishment of the Deputy
Commissioner, Nagaon. I have two siblings. My husband is a banker.
I practiced Dentistry for
a year and half before I got selected as a Prime Minister’s Rural Development
Fellow. I was posted in Karbi Anglong for 3 years. The whole experience as
PMRDF at the grass-root level opened my eyes to the poor state of development
in the district and changed my perspective of rural development. As the
fellowship was for a period of 3 years, after its completion I decided to
continue my career in the development sector and hence appeared for the APSC
CCE 2016 exam.
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)
I did not join any
coaching institute for preparation and so I was heavily dependent on online
sources for guidance and study materials, especially current affairs. The key
is to choose only a couple of quality websites to suit one’s preparation needs
and regularly follow them instead of scouting various sites for hours on end.
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? (E.g. I continue making notes no matter what I’m
reading, I just read multiple times but don’t maintain notes, I make mind maps
on computer, I use xyz software etc.)
I made notes only for
topics that were not detailed in the textbooks. Reading and re-reading the same
books, instead of multiple ones, help in thorough understanding of the topic and
thereby facilitates recall. Whatever notes I made, it was in the form of
bullets or short paragraphs to make revision easier.
4.
What was your approach in the exam? (I
wrote all, I only focused on the questions where I could answer perfectly, I
just not to high quality points to reach the word limit etc.) Because the civil
services aspirant Community is divided over what counts as a ‘good’ paper. Some
experts claim you should attempt all- even if it involves “making up” an answer
with filler lines, some claim attempt only those questions you know perfectly.
Where do you stand on this? [Based on your experience and of your
seniors/buddies]
In the Main exam, 3
points to be noted are-writing good quality answers, sticking to the word limit
and completing the paper. All 3 are equally important. I attempted all
questions, gave to-the-point answers and stuck to the word limit.
5.
Did you write answers in bullet points or
in paragraphs? Did you follow
the “introduction-body-conclusion” format? Some aspirants (who cleared mains
and got interview call letter) claim that they wrote entire paper in bullet points,
so it doesn’t matter, whether examiner is asking ‘examine, comment, discuss or
xyz’ simply write in bullets and points. Because some mains-qualified
candidates claim they simply wrote the points they could recall within the
time, instead of bothering with proper introduction and conclusion.
I wrote in paragraphs and
used bullet points, where necessary. For 2-4 markers I used bullet points and
for others, I wrote in paragraphs. I did try to follow the
intro-body-conclusion format wherever I could. When I was short to time,
usually towards the end, I just wrote in small paragraphs of 2-3 lines or used
bullet points.
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? First the essential
book/resource list. (Also mention which one is the “Base book” for covering the
theory? + Whatever comments you’ve for a particular book e.g. “my seniors said
read xyz book but I found that ABC book was better”. “Xyz topic not given properly in this book,
so prepare from xyz website or book…” OR and so on.)
As my graduation subject
was not on the Mains subject list, I chose History and Education optional as I
could read and understand the chapters on my own. Also since these are popular subjects among
aspirants, study material was easily available. I used the following books as
standard and used the internet for topics that these did not cover in detail.
General Studies
1.
Indian Polity by Laxmikant
2.
Spectrum’s Modern India
3.
Assam year Book
4.
NCERT Books for Geography, Indian Economy
5.
Online sites such as Insights, Gktoday for
current affairs
6.
Newspapers Assam Tribune and Indian
express
7.
TMH General Studies Guide
History
1.
India’s Ancient Past- R.S. Sharma
2.
Studies in Ancient India- P. Maiti
3.
Medieval India- Part 1 and 2- Satish
Chandra
4.
Modern India- Spectrum’s Publication
5.
World History- K.L. Khurana
6.
World History- Krishna Reddy
7.
World History-Arjun Dev
Education
1.
Education for ACS- Dr. Sunita Agarwal
2.
A Textbook of Education- Lakshyahira Das
English
1.
Practiced grammar from previous question
papers and the internet.
2.
Practiced writing a couple of essays prior
to exam
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?
For book list, see
previous question.
Internet was an essential
part of my preparation.
Books or PDF’s- whatever
the source, the aim should be to cover the syllabus and be thorough with the
topics.
8.
How many months did it take to finish the
optional syllabus?
It varies from person to
person. Personally, it took me around
5-6 months to have a good understanding of both the subjects.
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?
I did not attend mock
tests of coaching centres as I was short of time. I practiced writing some
previously asked questions on my own, keeping in mind the time limit.
Personally, I think mock
tests are necessary as they can help gauge the level of preparation. We all
know practice makes one perfect.
10.
If you are made the UPSC/APSC chairman,
what other reforms would you initiate for the civil service exam?
The whole process of CCE
takes almost 2 years from the date of applying for Prelims to the declaration
of final results, much to the disadvantage of the aspirants. If I were the
Chairman, I would try my best to ensure the whole process takes not more than
14 months.
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 questions from
my personal and educational background. Apart from that, I brushed up the
Optionals once and updated current affairs.
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 not attend any mock
interviews.
I believe attending mocks
prior to the actual interview can help one to overcome the nervousness and be self-confident.
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 prepared from home (Guwahati).
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?]
Dipak Kr. Sharma was the
Chairman of my interview board. It took around 20-25 minutes. Most of the
questions were based on my personal and professional background. It was less of
a pressure interview and more of a conversation.
I was not asked the above
mentioned questions. I switched from dentistry to Civil service because, as a
person I have diverse interests and the latter would allow me to work across a
broader range of issues.
Sure social service can
be done from private sector too, but the public sector provides a wider
platform for the same.
5.
Describe the formal-dress worn by you on
the day of your interview.
I wore a turquoise
coloured salwar suit.
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. It was not a stress interview.
It was on expected lines.
Not a stress interview, rather cordial.
7.
Any side details about technicalities like
“make sure you bring xyz document or do xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?
Document verification
happens a day prior to the interview. However, I carried them 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
I was asked the following
questions. [The answers were spontaneous so cannot be replicated here]
1.
Cashless economy
2.
How to ensure cashless economy
3.
Famous personalities of Nagaon (my birth
place)
4.
About PMRDF
5.
About my work experience
6.
About Karbi Anglong (my work place)
7.
How to ensure development in places such
as Karbi Anglong
8.
Sixth Schedule of Constitution, its
significance
9.
Lakshminath Bezbarua- birth place, books
10.
Sardar Vallab Bhai Patel- Why is he known
as Iron Man of India?
11.
Srimanta Sankardeva- Birth place,
literature.
12.
As Circle Officer, how will I contribute
towards implementation of various developmental schemes in the Circle ( based
on my work as PMRDF)
The Miscellaneous Ones
1.
If you were not selected, what was your
career backup plan? When were you going to “execute” that backup plan
I would have practiced
dentistry and prepared simultaneously.
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?
The eligibility to appear
for this exam is all that matters. Fear about profile insecurity can arise at
the interview stage but one has to keep in mind that such things do not matter
to the Interview Board. At the end of the day, it is a test of personality.
3.
If you’re a working professional, share
some tips on how to manage studies with job
Managing work and studies
together is very difficult, but not impossible. I think the strategy should be
to start preparing early, be consistent and cover a little of the syllabus every
day.
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?
Having a goal and a
strong will to achieve that goal provides one with the energy to fight off
distractions and keeps one motivated. Taking well deserved breaks from studying
is crucial to fight off fatigue. It is also important to create a supportive
environment around oneself.
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? Many hardworking candidates have failed in
Mains/Interview. They’re feeling cynical, hopeless and depressed- what is your
message to them?
The whole process of this
exam has made me value the importance of having patience in life and that there
is no substitute for hard work.
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?
My family has always
supported me in all my endeavors and I am fortunate to have them in my life.
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