Personality Interview transcript — UPSC CAPF 2019.

Hello friends, ever since the final merit list of UPSC CAPF 2019 was announced few weeks ago, I have been getting incessant questions regarding the exam. Many of our friends were extremely curious about my Personality Interview(PI) experience. In fact I personally wanted to promulgate my transcript for public consumption immediately after my interview, but due to some oblivious reasons I couldn’t.

Anyway, here I publish my PI transcript for yours solemn study and if you attract any issue or query feel free to ask me in the comment section.

PI Venue and Date:

Date/Session: 11 Nov 2020/Afternoon Session.

Board: M Sathiyavathy, IAS(Retd), Chairman + 3 other members.

Venue: Dholpur House, UPSC, New Delhi.

Duration: 35–40 minutes.

Prologue:

I reached UPSC around 30 minutes before the scheduled time. There were already few interviewee who were eagerly waiting for the entry. While I was having some conversation with my newly made friends there, the security officer at the entry-gate called us for verification. After verifying our admit card, we were asked to go to a reception office where formal verification of identity and other documents was to take place. I walked towards into the office and got my identity and other documents verified by the clerks present there. And then, we were seated in a 6 X 6 seating arrangement is such a manner that each column of 6 candidates were to be interviewed by the same board.

I was the second last person in my column to be interviewed.

Interview:

I asked for permission to enter the interview room and then wished all the members. I was asked to sit for which I duly replied with a salutation.

As soon I sat down the Chairman started reading my DAF loudly. She then picked up my passport sized photo and asked me “What was my age at the time of this piccy?”

Ans: I was 21 years old.

Chairman: Are you sure this is you!?

Ans: Yes, ma’am absolutely. The photographer must have tweaked some parameters using some computer software.

Chairman: So you are saying that this a photoshopped picture of yours? Should I reject you for this?

Ans: No ma’am, but photographers nowadays usually improve the hue and exposure using some software to improve the quality of image. But I solemnly apologize on his behalf if the tweaks are a bit over-done.

Chairman: It’s ok. So what are your service preferences?

Ans: CISF>BSF>CRPF>ITBP>SSB.

Chairman: You belong to J&K, don’t you?

Ans: Yes ma’am.

Chairman: Then why CISF and not BSF. It’s the BSF which is guarding borders along the IB and LOC in J&K.

Ans: Yes ma’am. But I think CISF being primarily posted in cities provide better family life and having an option to choose, I put CISF at my first priority. Nonetheless I completely agree with you about the mandate of BSF, hence in my following choices I have selected BSF followed by CRPF and moreover I am ready to serve in any force that is allotted to me.

Chairman: Ok. You have mentioned “Listening to Punjabi music” as your hobby, but you belong to Jammu, then why not songs in your own mother tounge?

Ans: Ma’am I do belong to Jammu but my mother tongue is Punjabi and hence I’m very fond of Punjabi music.

Chairman: But I think Dogri is the Lingua franca in Jammu region, isn’t it?

Ans: Yes ma’am. That is very true, but I belong to a village that borders Punjab region in Pakistan, hence the lingua franca in our village is Punjabi.

Chairman: Oh!. I wasn’t aware of that. Is there any difference in the Punjabi spoken in Indian Punjab and your village?

Ans: The difference do exist as the dialect spoken in my village closely resembles the one spoken in Sialkot area of Pakistan, anyway it is very subtle.

Chairman: Your village must be very close to Sialkot?

Ans: Yes ma’am. It’s less than 15 kilometers.

Member 2 (M2):

M2: Recently Article 370 was removed by the government, do you think it was a good decision?

Ans: Yes sir. It indeed was a much needed reform.

M2: Why?

Ans: Gave many reasons like lack of opportunity, double citizenship, rampant corruption, decadent education infrastructure, insurgency, alienation, etc-etc.

M2: Asked few questions related to issues faced by people living in border areas?

Ans: Easily answered all of them, as I belong to that region.

M2: Are Andaman and Nicobar Islands an asset or liability?

Ans: I answered affirmatively by throwing some light on the strategic importance of that part of our country.

M2: Asked one question related to India-Nepal relations?

Ans: Answered it in a very laconic manner ( Not sure whether the member was satisfied or not).

Member 3 (M3):

M3: Which CAPF is mandated to fight naxalism?

Ans: Sir, CRPF.

M3: Do you know about the special wings of CRPF?

Ans: Sir, RAF and CoBRA.

M3: What is RAF?

Ans: Rapid Action Force is a special wing of CRPF, which is specially mandated to handle riot like situations. They also aid state authorities in maintaining tranquility during law and order situations. And even during natural calamities they go beyond their call of duty to help their compatriots. Because of their dress, they are also known as men/women in blue.

M3: Ok. Why India is lacking in innovation and entrepreneuship?

Ans: I gave multiple reasons like — lack of enthusing pedagogic environment, infrastructure, brain drain, socio-economic issues, etc-etc.

M3: Why India is still dependent on foreign countries for defence equipment?

Ans: I aligned the answer with my above answer. And also mentioned the paucity of intellectual property reserves particularly in tech sector.

While I was answering the M3 interfered and started propounding his own views on what should be done, etc-etc.

M3: Asked few questions on the growing Chinese clout in India’s neighborhood.

Ans: I answered it taking cues from “Act East Policy”, “Neighborhood first policy”, “SAARC” and other regional organization like BIMSTEC, BBIN, etc.

Member 4 (M4):

M4: What is the distance between your village and the Jammu airport?

Ans: Sir, 24–25 Km.

M4: Ok. What were your subjects in graduation?

Ans: BCA.

M4: I could see you were topper of your class, then why didn’t you pursued a career in IT sector?

Ans: I mentioned that I was not interested in pursuing a career in IT sector and was more interested in UPSC examinations.

M4: Is India a complete democracy or a flawed-democracy?

Ans: I answered, that India is indeed a very flourishing democracy. Considering our very tumultuous history and very unfavourable predictions by the westerners about democracy in India, we have faired extremely well on those parameters, yet there is not denying that we have myriad of problems whose solutions lie in even more boisterous principles of democracy.

M4: Asked me about my interests that included extempore. He then asked me to give a three minute speech on “Education is must for entering politics”.

Ans: I requested him for a piece of paper and few seconds to devise a structure of my speech. He affirmatively agreed. Then,

I gave a mediocre level of speech. Anyway, M4 approbated and gave his view points also.

M4: Asked about few unknown tribes of Nilgiris.

Ans: Sorry sir, I’m not aware of that.

M4: Again asked about an unknown village of Assam?

Ans: Sorry sir, I’m not aware of that.

M4: What you mean by “Intelligence”?

Ans: I started answering about “Human Intelligence” and was immediately stopped by M4.

He asked me to answer regarding “Intelligence in security structure”.

Ans: I was kind of exhausted and gave a very derelict answer.

M4: Hmm.

He was about to ask another question, but the chairman nodded her wrist watch and took over immediately.

Chairman: Asked a question or two and then.

Chairman: Sachin, your interview is over. You can go now.

I got up from my chair and greeted every member and left the room.

Epilogue:

After coming out I felt placated but when I talked with few other interviewees I was confronted with the vicissitudes of elation and regret. Anyway, I was dropped at the nearest metro station by one of my friend who too had his interview albeit after me.

And the rest is history.

I may have missed few trivial questions, I beg your pardon for that.

Please free to ask anything in the comment section.