Friday, 1 March 2019
Monday, 25 February 2019
My Journey To Success - Puja Baruah - Inspector of Taxes 2018 (APSC 2016)

Name
|
PUJA BARUAH
|
Roll No.
|
090300161
|
Age
|
26
|
Marital Status
|
Unmarried
|
Total attempts in CEE (including this one)
|
First
|
Optional Subjects
|
Anthropology and Education
|
Service Joined
|
Inspector Of Taxes
|
Schooling Medium
|
English
|
College Medium
|
English
|
Medium chosen for Mains answers
|
English
|
Medium chosen for Interview
|
English and Assamese
|
Home town/city
|
Guwahati
|
EDUCATIONAL DETAILS
% in class 10
|
76.6%
|
% in class 12
|
85%
|
Graduation course and %
|
BA in Anthropology; Best Graduate Arts; 83.3%
|
Name of college, city, passing out year
|
Cotton College (2013)
|
Post-graduation
|
Anthropology; First Class First; Gold Medallist; 71.5%
|
Any other professional courses
|
Pursuing PhD
|
Hobbies & Extracurricular achievements
|
Reading books, travelling 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.
|
It depends whether I am using it for some constructive
purpose or leisure.
|
Daily hrs spent on WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram study
groups
|
I have used internet a lot during my preparation.
|
1 hour
|
|
Primary Device for online study: desktop, laptop, tablet,
mobile
|
Laptop
|
ANSWER WRITING
Did you use highlighters / sketch pens in your answers?
|
Yes
|
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?
|
No
|
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?
Ans: My name is Puja Baruah. I am from Guwahati. I live with
my parents here and I have a brother who stays in Delhi. I have got Inspector
of taxes in APSC (CCE) 2016. It is like a passion for me to serve the society.
2.
In
recent times, there is spur in electronic material- blogs, sites, pdfs,
RSS-feeds. So, how do you balance this i.e. electronic material vs. paper
material (Books, newspapers).
Ans: It’s all about focus. One should always remember why he
or she has started this journey.
3.
Do
you maintain self-notes for revision of optional?
Ans: Yes for few portions I do maintain notes but for me
revision is the key. I read multiple times.
4.
What
was your approach in the exam?
I always try to give my answers as clearly as possible
because clarity is very much necessary.
5.
Did
you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs?
Ans: Both bullet and paragraphs
6.
What’s
your optional subject and why did you chose it and not something else
Ans: Anthropology is my graduation subject so this exam is
just a revision for me and for Education I have used the book by L Das as my
base book.
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?
Ans: I always believe
that we should keep less books for all these competitive exams and revise what
has already been read. Revision is the key
8.
How
many months did it take to finish the optional syllabus?
Ans: 3 months
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?
Ans: Yes I did. Every week.
Interview
1.
How
did you prepare for the interview? – (for college grad, hobbies, place of
origin, current affairs at national and international level)
And: This is basically a personality test so the key to
success is remain faithful in the interview and speaking what is true and fair.
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?
Ans: Yes I did. It is not that necessary.
3.
Describe
the formal-dress worn by you on the day of your interview.
Ans: Mekhla Chadar
4.
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.
Ans: Yes it was very
much on the expected lines. But honesty is something which they want in the
interview.
5.
Any
side details about technicalities like “make sure you bring xyz document or do
xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?
Ans: Always carry a pen
6.
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 interview was about 20minutes. Basically they had asked
about my PhD subject, Anthropology : westernisation, caste system, Syrian war,
Ahom king suhungmung etc.
They asked me why you want to join civil service and not
academics and I told them that academics can be done later also as Ihad already
completed my masters and civil services provides a broader prospect to serve the society.
The Miscellaneous Ones
1.
If
you were not selected, what was your career backup plan? When were you going to
“execute” that backup plan
Ans: I am pursuing PhD and I always believe that failure is
the pillar to success.
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?
Ans: Positive actions combined with positive thinking
results in success. I am a very positive person and I always believe that hard
work pays off sooner or later. So my message for all those candidates is
that sometimes things never go the way
we expect them to but at that time one must not get distracted from the goal
that he/she has set before. So, always believe in yourself and the rest will
fall into place.
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?
Ans: Success breeds success. Getting gold medal in both
Graduation and Post-graduation always motivate me to work harder every single
day.
4.
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?
Ans: There are 3 person my mother, my father and my brother.
My parents are my pillars of strength and my brother is someone I always looked
up to. He is my first friend and my
second father.
Thank You for taking the effort to fill this questionnaire. Your effort will go a long way to guide someone in their preparations and fulfill their long cherished dream of becoming a civil servant.
Thursday, 21 February 2019
Important Government Schemes January 2019
Thursday, February 21, 2019GST, Guidance, IAS, IBPS, IFS, india, Lok Sabha, Monthly Free Current Affairs, Rajya Sabha, RBINo comments

1. Beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana register a refill rate of 80%.
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana that provides LPG connections to the women member of the BPL households with a support of Rs 1600 per connection has registered a refill rate of 80% as per the current data.
- The data provided by the Ministry of Petroleum states that around 6 crore connections were disbursed, and 23 crore refills were done under the Ujjwala Scheme. Almost 80% of the recipients opted for the refill of LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) cylinders.
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana launched in the year 2016, intends to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel so that their health doesn’t get compromised.
- The identification of the BPL (Below Poverty Line) families is done through 2011 Socio- Economic Caste Census.
2. Government of Maharashtra introduces Atal Solar Krishi Pump Yojana
- Government of Maharashtra has introduced the Atal Solar Krishi Pump Yojana to reduce losses due to non-payment of electricity bills and promote solar energy.
- Under the provisions of the scheme the government of Maharashtra has decided to give 2 LED bulbs, a DC fan and mobile charging socket as freebies to farmers of the state.
- The above scheme also provides a subsidy of 95% to the farmers on solar pump sets.
- Eligibility: Farmers with less than 5 acres of land will have to pay 5% of the cost of a 3 HP solar pump set while farmers with more than 5 acres of land will get a 5 HP solar pump for Rs 30,000.
- The implementing agency for the scheme is Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL).
3. Prime Minister Launches Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana
- Under this scheme, a group of Indian origin people will be taken on a state- sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year.
- Indian-origin people in the age group 45 to 65 can apply for the scheme.
- The government will bear all the expenses including the airfare from their country of residence.
- The Scheme accords first preference to people from Girmitiya countries such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.
4. Three New AIIMs to be set up by the Government
- The union cabinet headed by Prime Minister approved the setting up of 3 new AIIMS institutions under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana at Vijaynagar in Samba of Jammu Region, Awantipora in Pulwama of Kashmir Region and Rajkot in Gujarat.
- The two new AIIMS for Jammu region and Kashmir region were announced by the Prime Minister under the Prime Minister’s Development Package and the AIIMS in Rajkot, Gujarat was announced by the Finance Minister in his budget speech.
- Each new AIIMS will add 100 UG MBBS seats and 60 BSc nursing seats, and the new AIIMS will have 15-20 super speciality departments.
- Setting up new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super-speciality healthcare centres to the population closer to their homes and help in creating a large pool of doctors and other health workers in these regions to strengthen the primary and secondary level institutions and facilities being created under the National Health Mission (NHM).
5. Government of Odisha announced a hike in pension under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana
- The government of Odisha announced a hike of Rs 200 per month for the beneficiaries of the social security pension scheme Madhu Babu Pension Yojana.
- The Madhu Babu Pension Yojana is a pension scheme in Odisha under the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for the disabled, old age persons.
Beneficiaries of the scheme are:
I. Persons with age of 60 years and above.
II. A Widow irrespective of age
III. A Widow patient with AIDS
IV. A Leprosy patient with visible deformity
V. A person of age 5 years and above and unable to do normal work due to deformity or disability.
VI. An AIDS patient identified by identified by the district/state AIDS control society or AIDS prevention control unit.
VII. An unmarried woman of age 30 years or above from the BPL family
Conditions for the Beneficiary:
• Individual Income from all sources should not exceed Rs 24,000 per annum.
• Family Income not exceeding Rs 24,000 per annum.
• Is a permanent resident of Odisha.
• Not been convicted of any criminal offence.
• Increased pension would benefit nearly 48 Lakh beneficiaries.
6. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana announced 3 implementation models.
- Three models have been announced under which the states can implement the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
- The three models are:
- Insurance Model – Under this model, the premiums paid for the health insurance scheme are paid to the insurance company which pays the health claim.
- Truth-Based Model – Under this model, each state is supposed to form its own trust to manage the scheme and health claims are supposed to be disbursed from the corpus created from centre and state government contributions.
- Hybrid Model – Under this model, a part of the health claim comes under insurance model while the remaining part comes under the state and central government trust.
- Under the PM-JAY scheme about 10.74 crore poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational categories of urban workers’ families as per the latest Socio- Economic Caste Census (SECC) data (approx. 50 crore beneficiaries) will have health benefit cover of Rs Five Lakhs per family per year at free of cost.
7. Madhya Pradesh Government announced Yuva Swabhimaan Yojana
- The government of Madhya Pradesh announced the Yuva Swabhimaan Yojana to provide employment to the unemployed youth from the economically weaker section in the state.
- The scheme intends to provide employment to the unemployed youth mainly in the urban areas of the state.
- The scheme aims to provide employment to the weaker sections for nearly 100 days of the year.
- The youth will also be given skill training by the government of the state.
- With this scheme the government of the state intends to cover the people who are not covered under MGNREGA.
LIST OF FAMOUS MONUMENTS IN THE WORLD
You can also download by clicking on the button below.
Serial No. | Name of the Monument | Country |
1 | Abu Simbel | Egypt |
2 | Acropolis | Athens, Greece |
3 | Airavatesvara Temple | Tamil Nadu, India |
4 | Al Aqsa Mosque | Jerusalem, Israel |
5 | Amber Fort (or Amer Fort) | Jaipur, India |
6 | Angel Falls | Venezuela |
7 | Angkor Wat | Cambodia |
8 | Basilica of Bom Jesus | Bainguinim, India |
9 | Bhimbetka Rock Shelters | Madhya Pradesh, India |
10 | Big Ben | London |
11 | Blue Domed Church | Santorini, Greece |
12 | Borobudur | Indonesia |
13 | Bran Castle | Transylvania, Romania |
14 | Brandenburg Gate | Berlin, Germany |
15 | Brihadeeswarar Temple | Tamil Nadu, India |
16 | Burjal Arab Hotel | Dubai |
17 | Cape of Good Hope | South Africa |
18 | Charminar | Hyderabad, India |
19 | Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus | Mumbai, India |
20 | Chichen Itza | Mexico |
21 | Chittor Fort | Chittorgarh, India |
22 | Christ the Redeemer | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
23 | Dilwara Temples | Mount Abu, India |
24 | Elephanta Caves | Mumbai, India |
25 | Ephesus | Turkey |
26 | Faisal Mosque | Islamabad, Pakistan |
27 | Forbidden City | Beijing, China |
28 | Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple | Tamil Nadu, India |
29 | Ġgantija | Malta |
30 | Gol Gumbaz | Bijapur, India |
31 | Golden Gate Bridge | San Francisco, California |
32 | Golden Temple | Amritsar, India |
33 | Gommateshwara Statue | Shravanabelagola, India |
34 | Gwalior Fort | Gwalior, India |
35 | Hagia Sophia | Istanbul, Turkey |
36 | Halebidu | Hassan, India |
37 | Hampi Monuments | Hampi, India |
38 | Hawa Mahal | Jaipur, India |
39 | Hoysala Temples | Hoysala, India |
40 | Humayun’s Tomb | Delhi, India |
41 | Iguazu Falls | Located on the border of Argentina and Brazil |
42 | India Gate | Delhi, India |
43 | Inukshuk | Canada |
44 | Jaisalmer Fort | Rajasthan, India |
45 | Jama Masjid | Delhi, India |
46 | Kamakhya Temple | Guwahati, India |
47 | Khajuraho Temples | Khajuraho, India |
48 | Kilimanjaro | Tanzania |
49 | Konark Sun Temple | Konark, India |
50 | Lascaux Cave Paintings | France |
51 | Loch Ness | Scotland |
52 | Lotus Temple | Delhi, India |
53 | Luxor Temple | Egypt |
54 | Machu Pichu | Peru |
55 | Mahabalipuram Group of Monuments | Mahabalipuram, India |
56 | Mahabodhi Temple | Bodh Gaya, India |
57 | Mehrangarh Fort | Jodhpur, India |
58 | Meenakshi Amman Temple | Madurai, India |
59 | Millau Bridge | France |
60 | Mont St Michel | France |
61 | Mount Eden Crater | New Zealand |
62 | Mount Fuji | Japan |
63 | Mount Rushmore | South Dakota |
64 | Mysore Palace | Karnataka, India |
65 | Nalanda | Bihar Sharif, India |
66 | Newgrange Tomb | Ireland |
67 | Pattadakal group of monuments | Pattadakal, India |
68 | Petra Rock-cut Architecture | Jordan |
69 | Pompeii | Italy |
70 | Potala Palace | Lhasa, Tibet |
71 | Pyramids of Giza | Giza, Egypt |
72 | Qutub Minar | Delhi, India |
73 | Red Fort | Delhi, India |
74 | Sagrada Familia | Barcelona, Spain |
75 | Sanchi Stupa | Madhya Pradesh |
76 | St Basil’s Cathedral | Moscow, Russia |
77 | St Peter’s Cathedral | Vatican City |
78 | Statue of Liberty | New York, USA |
79 | Statue of Unity | Gujarat, India |
80 | Stonehenge | England |
81 | Table Mountain | Cape Town, South Africa |
82 | Taj Mahal | Agra, India |
83 | The Blue Mosque | Istanbul |
84 | The Ciudad Mitaddel Mundo or Middle Earth | Ecuador |
85 | The Colosseum | Rome, Italy |
86 | The Eiffel Tower | Paris, France |
87 | The Empire State Building | New York |
88 | The Gateway of India | Mumbai, India |
89 | The Great Canyon | Arizona |
90 | The Great Sphinx | Giza, Egypt |
91 | The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall | China |
92 | The Sultan Ahmed Mosque | Turkey |
93 | The Wailing Wall | Jerusalem |
94 | Tilcho Lake | Nepal |
95 | Tower of Pisa | Italy |
96 | Twelve Apostles | Australia |
97 | Twyfelfontein (officially known as ǀUi-ǁAis) – Ancient Rock Engravings | Namibia |
98 | Uluru Sandstone | Australia |
99 | Venkateswara Temple | Tirumala |
100 | Victoria Falls | At the Border Between Zambia and Zimbabwe |
101 | Victoria Memorial | Kolkata, India |