Work and mentally renounce the fruits achieved thereafter. Don’t let the shadow of personal prejudice affect how you perceive work. This is the essence of karma yoga. The wise work for common benefit whereas the ignorant work only for themselves or their near and dear ones. A farmer has control over how he works in his fields, but not over the harvest. Krishna tells Arjuna: “Yoga is karmasu kausalam, doing work skilfully in the first attempt.”
Work is external but our attitude to it is internal. A certain attitude may make us feel work is miserable while another kind of attitude makes it pleasant. By cultivating the right attitude, we will become spiritual. That is meditation.
Once in a village several people were engaged in construction of a temple A wandering sage passing by wants to know what is happing there, so he asks a person cutting stone: “What are you doing?” The labourer replies with frustration: “Don’t you see that i am cutting stone? It’s a hard stone. Look at my hands! They have become red. Work is hell. And to make matters worse, you ask me what I am doing. How i wish i were not doing this!” The sage asks: “I see you are cutting stone, but let me know what is coming up here?” The stonecutter replies that he has no idea; it does not concern him. He is disinterested.
The sage next goes to another man and asks him the same question: “What are you doing?” The man replies: “I’m cutting stone here; that’s my job. For eight hours of work i get paid Rs 100. I have a wife and children to take care of. I’m doing my duty.” The sage asks him: “Do you know what is coming up here?” He says: “Yes, they say they’re making a temple. How does it matter to me, whether what is being constructed is a temple or a jail, as long as i get paid?”
Then the sage goes to a third worker who is also cutting stone and poses the same question. The man replies: “We are building a temple. There is no temple here; every year at festivals we have to trek to the temple in the next village. You know, every time i hit the stone i hear wonderful music. The temple work has put the sleepy village in a festive mood.” The sage asks: “How long do you have to work on this project?” The man says the timeline is not his concern for as soon as he wakes up in the morning, he gets ready for work and begins cutting stone. He tells the sage that he spends the entire day here, taking a break between mealtimes. “When i go home in the night and sleep, in my dream i think of this construction and feel grateful that i enjoy the work i do. I am truly blessed,” he said.
Three men doing the same work have three different attitudes. The first person thinks it’s hell, the second looks upon his work as his duty. However, the third worker thinks what he is able to do is a blessing. If the work itself had the qualities inherently, good or bad, then, these three men might have felt the same. But in reality, it’s not the work itself that is good or bad. It is not the work that disturbs us but something that’s subtler; it’s the attitude we have towards work.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The US dollar is the biggest financial confidence trick in history
The Regency age dandy, Beau Brummell, who is credited with having invented trousers, also invented an economic model which could be called a debt spiral. When his tailor would present an unpaid bill, Brummell would order another three outfits, also on credit. Eventually, the dandy owed his tailor so much money that he became the tailor’s most valuable customer, whom the tailor couldn’t afford to offend in the slightest way for fear of forfeiting all of Brummell’s IOUs.
The world’s supposedly richest nation, America, has perfected Brummell’s economic model: US debt has spiralled not just through the roof; it has rocketed out of the stratosphere. China alone holds some $895.2 billion of US treasury bonds. All the countries in the world, in some measure or other, perforce have to keep US dollars for the simple reason that almost all international trade – including the oil trade – is conducted in American currency.
This represents the biggest financial confidence trick in the world. For what it means is that – like Beau Brummell – the US is living off the fat of the land on an ever-growing mountain of debt which is being financed by the rest of the world.
The US stopped making things – cars, ballpoint pens, TV sets – years ago. It didn’t have to make anything. Other countries made all the things that America needed and America bought everything from these other countries. Using US dollars of course. What else?
So the only thing that America actually had to produce were US dollars, or US treasury bonds. Whenever America has felt it was running out of cash – as happened in the wake of the subprime crisis, when the Obama government authorised the pumping in of almost a trillion dollars into the economy to avert a total meltdown – all it has to do was print more money. Then it could go on throwing away money like it’s nothing but bits of paper, because that’s exactly what it is: bits of paper, more and more of which can be printed up, as and when need arises.
The so-called Almighty Dollar is not backed by anything of real value. It is not backed by gold. It is not backed by any tangible goods that America produces and sells to the rest of the world, because America doesn’t make any such goods. There is only one thing that imparts value to the dollar: universal gullibility.
America has successfully pulled the wool over the world’s eyes. Like Beau Brummell’s tailor, the international community has been conned into paying to keep the US in the high-spending style to which it has become accustomed.
The more America spends – i.e., the more dollars it prints – the more the world laps up those dollars. The euro was supposed to be a counterbalance to the dollar monopoly. Unfortunately, fiscal indiscipline (an indiscipline learnt from the US) in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Portugal, has eroded confidence in the euro. The result? International investors are busily buying dollars and US bonds as a hedge against economic uncertainty. That’s not like a drowning man clutching at a straw; it’s like a drowning man clutching at an electrified wire to save himself. The dollar-rush is largely the cause of market volatility in India and other parts of the world. How does this affect India? If foreign investors pull out of India and park their cash in US bonds – as they’re doing – Indian enterprise could be starved for capital, shackling economic growth.
What can the world do to stop the US – like a monstrous Beau Brummell – take the pants off us? Maybe it’s time for the world’s two fastest growing economies, China and India, jointly to come up with a viable alternative to the dollar. They’ll never do it, of course. But it’s something to dream on. A yuan-rupee hybrid. The Sino-Indian yupee, anyone?
The world’s supposedly richest nation, America, has perfected Brummell’s economic model: US debt has spiralled not just through the roof; it has rocketed out of the stratosphere. China alone holds some $895.2 billion of US treasury bonds. All the countries in the world, in some measure or other, perforce have to keep US dollars for the simple reason that almost all international trade – including the oil trade – is conducted in American currency.
This represents the biggest financial confidence trick in the world. For what it means is that – like Beau Brummell – the US is living off the fat of the land on an ever-growing mountain of debt which is being financed by the rest of the world.
The US stopped making things – cars, ballpoint pens, TV sets – years ago. It didn’t have to make anything. Other countries made all the things that America needed and America bought everything from these other countries. Using US dollars of course. What else?
So the only thing that America actually had to produce were US dollars, or US treasury bonds. Whenever America has felt it was running out of cash – as happened in the wake of the subprime crisis, when the Obama government authorised the pumping in of almost a trillion dollars into the economy to avert a total meltdown – all it has to do was print more money. Then it could go on throwing away money like it’s nothing but bits of paper, because that’s exactly what it is: bits of paper, more and more of which can be printed up, as and when need arises.
The so-called Almighty Dollar is not backed by anything of real value. It is not backed by gold. It is not backed by any tangible goods that America produces and sells to the rest of the world, because America doesn’t make any such goods. There is only one thing that imparts value to the dollar: universal gullibility.
America has successfully pulled the wool over the world’s eyes. Like Beau Brummell’s tailor, the international community has been conned into paying to keep the US in the high-spending style to which it has become accustomed.
The more America spends – i.e., the more dollars it prints – the more the world laps up those dollars. The euro was supposed to be a counterbalance to the dollar monopoly. Unfortunately, fiscal indiscipline (an indiscipline learnt from the US) in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Portugal, has eroded confidence in the euro. The result? International investors are busily buying dollars and US bonds as a hedge against economic uncertainty. That’s not like a drowning man clutching at a straw; it’s like a drowning man clutching at an electrified wire to save himself. The dollar-rush is largely the cause of market volatility in India and other parts of the world. How does this affect India? If foreign investors pull out of India and park their cash in US bonds – as they’re doing – Indian enterprise could be starved for capital, shackling economic growth.
What can the world do to stop the US – like a monstrous Beau Brummell – take the pants off us? Maybe it’s time for the world’s two fastest growing economies, China and India, jointly to come up with a viable alternative to the dollar. They’ll never do it, of course. But it’s something to dream on. A yuan-rupee hybrid. The Sino-Indian yupee, anyone?
J and K issue
No dramatic outcome was expected of the prime minister's two-day visit to Srinagar. The moderates among the Hurriyat Conference, perhaps, expected the PM to announce a political package to inveigle them to rejoin the dialogue process. He didn't, but the PM reaffirmed New Delhi's willingness to talk with representatives of all sections of the J&K society. On Monday, Pakistani premier Yousuf Gilani said a composite dialogue between India and Pakistan could resolve all the outstanding issues between the two countries, including Jammu and Kashmir. Such an initiative is possible only when the trust deficit in bilateral relations is bridged. That said, New Delhi ought to proactively engage different elements of civil and political society in the state. With violence at a low, this is the time for New Delhi to seize the initiative and reach out to separatists and, even, Islamabad.
The call for a dialogue has to be backed with concrete steps to gain the trust of the people in the state. A complete normalisation of the situation in the Valley would depend on a deal being arrived at with Islamabad, leading to the latter's cooperation in curbing infiltration into the Valley. Meanwhile, the heavy presence of army personnel in civilian areas could be reduced and the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act modified, if not repealed. Human rights violations are an outcome of the militarisation of the public space. The prime minister promised in Srinagar that there would be zero tolerance of rights violations. Disciplinary action against two army officers and the arrest of a jawan for staging a fake encounter are tentative steps towards fulfilling the promise. More needs to be done.
The call for a dialogue has to be backed with concrete steps to gain the trust of the people in the state. A complete normalisation of the situation in the Valley would depend on a deal being arrived at with Islamabad, leading to the latter's cooperation in curbing infiltration into the Valley. Meanwhile, the heavy presence of army personnel in civilian areas could be reduced and the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act modified, if not repealed. Human rights violations are an outcome of the militarisation of the public space. The prime minister promised in Srinagar that there would be zero tolerance of rights violations. Disciplinary action against two army officers and the arrest of a jawan for staging a fake encounter are tentative steps towards fulfilling the promise. More needs to be done.
Bhopal verdict shows up official callousness
The facts speak for themselves. Twenty-six years after the country’s worst industrial disaster in the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, which killed around 4,000 people immediately and several thousands over the years, a trial court sentenced seven of the accused to two years in jail. The accused, all former employees of Union Carbide, were out on bail immediately. This is an all-too-familiar story of the Indian state and its law-enforcement agencies failing to deliver justice. Be it the 1984 anti-Sikh riots or the 1992 Ayodhya demolition, the state has been unable to either punish the perpetrators or adequately compensate victims.
The tortuous legal history of the Union Carbide disaster is replete with missteps, collusion and plain inefficiency on the part of different state agencies. A few months after the tragedy, the Indian government had filed a claim of $3.3 billion in US courts against Union Carbide. After a US district court transferred all litigation to India, the government in 1989 settled for a measly $470 million compensation in an out-of-court deal, which worked out to under Rs 75,000 each for death victims and about Rs 25,000 for the injured. Moreover, more than 15 years later the government hadn’t disbursed the entire compensation. The courts were equally lax in trying the perpetrators. The main accused, former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson, was declared a fugitive in 1992 and has never appeared in an Indian court. Furthermore, in 1996, the Supreme Court reduced the charges against the accused from culpable homicide not amounting to murder, punishable by a maximum 10-year jail term, to causing death by negligence, which invites a sentence of only two years.
The Bhopal gas tragedy highlights the gap in Indian law regarding industrial and environmental disasters. Provisions of the Indian Penal Code such as Section 304A, which deal with death due to negligence, are too mild for disasters of the scale of the Bhopal gas plant. Law minister Veerappa Moily has said as much. We need better and more stringent laws for environmental disasters and for industries using hazardous substances. This has become even more pressing with the possibility of several nuclear power plants coming up across the country.
The Union Carbide case will continue its tryst with the Indian judicial system with the victims planning to move a higher court. However, the greater tragedy is that there is little attention paid to environmental and safety norms in large industries and factories. Bhopal is a grim reminder of the heavy price ordinary people pay for such callousness.
The tortuous legal history of the Union Carbide disaster is replete with missteps, collusion and plain inefficiency on the part of different state agencies. A few months after the tragedy, the Indian government had filed a claim of $3.3 billion in US courts against Union Carbide. After a US district court transferred all litigation to India, the government in 1989 settled for a measly $470 million compensation in an out-of-court deal, which worked out to under Rs 75,000 each for death victims and about Rs 25,000 for the injured. Moreover, more than 15 years later the government hadn’t disbursed the entire compensation. The courts were equally lax in trying the perpetrators. The main accused, former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson, was declared a fugitive in 1992 and has never appeared in an Indian court. Furthermore, in 1996, the Supreme Court reduced the charges against the accused from culpable homicide not amounting to murder, punishable by a maximum 10-year jail term, to causing death by negligence, which invites a sentence of only two years.
The Bhopal gas tragedy highlights the gap in Indian law regarding industrial and environmental disasters. Provisions of the Indian Penal Code such as Section 304A, which deal with death due to negligence, are too mild for disasters of the scale of the Bhopal gas plant. Law minister Veerappa Moily has said as much. We need better and more stringent laws for environmental disasters and for industries using hazardous substances. This has become even more pressing with the possibility of several nuclear power plants coming up across the country.
The Union Carbide case will continue its tryst with the Indian judicial system with the victims planning to move a higher court. However, the greater tragedy is that there is little attention paid to environmental and safety norms in large industries and factories. Bhopal is a grim reminder of the heavy price ordinary people pay for such callousness.
Denial of military history weakens the quality of Indian democracy
The recent controversy over the orders by the armed forces tribunal to rewrite the history of the Kargil war is in many ways ironical. For, this is an army whose official website wishes away its entire post-independence history by saying: “Post-1948 operations are classified, hence not mentioned.” In fact, the military’s entire post-independence history is slave to biographical and selfserving accounts.
Unfortunately, most discussions on this subject focus on Indian military history’s sensationalist aspects like the destruction of files pertaining to the 1971 operations or the Henderson Brookes report and, though these are legitimate aspects in their own right, this allows a greater travesty of justice to lie unaddressed. The state does not have a procedure that allows the stories of important institutions – military, paramilitary, police, diplomacy, among others – to be told. And this denial of history not only weakens the quality of Indian democracy but, alarmingly, has negative consequences on the operational effectiveness of all these institutions. India’s parliamentarians would do well to concentrate on this issue.
That the defence ministry, among other security agencies, lacks a declassification procedure is beyond doubt. There are almost no official records available to scholars interested in this field. Even scholars at India’s “official” and service-affiliated think tanks – consisting of IDSA, CLAWS, CAPS, CENJOWS and NMF – are denied access to data. As a consequence, they mostly churn out papers on every subject but that which analyses processes within the military. On the rare occasion they do so, it is usually an opinion rather than an analysis with empirical data from official records. A decade after the Kargil review committee recommended the creation of some of these think tanks, the hardware and physical infrastructure has been established but the software, in terms of data, is absent. Like many other recommendations of post-crises defence reforms, this idea too has died in its implementation.
Denial of access also prevents the creation of civilian expertise on these matters, weakening the quality of debate and ultimately India’s democracy. As scholars and citizens are denied historical documents, there is little serious study or instruction on these institutions in civilian universities. Discussions on national security issues are monopolised by former officials belonging to these bureaucracies. Hence India’s strategic enclave, unlike in most major democracies, almost exclusively constitutes retired officials. Rare is an enclave member who can challenge the institutional myths and official positions of his parent organisation. In the long run, this is harmful for democracy as different perspectives and counter-arguments are not adequately debated.
Lack of a declassification procedure hampers the operational effectiveness of the Indian military, and other national security agencies. There is little emphasis on teaching military history in professional schools of instruction. Even when taught they rely almost exclusively on biographical accounts of the participants. It makes little sense why this is so, especially since no one comes out second best in their own autobiography and hence, unsurprisingly, many of these accounts are contradictory.
Lack of historiography results in a constant “re-learning of lost lessons” and restricts the officer cadre’s intellectual development. For instance, while there is current talk of developing capabilities for out-of-area operations, there is little study of India’s only expeditionary counter-insurgency operations against the LTTE in Sri Lanka. By not studying the military past, officers are almost condemned to repeat its follies. This is an issue that is perhaps best addressed by the respective service chiefs and especially by the chief of army staff, General V K Singh, if he is serious about improving the military’s “internal health”.
Despite the urgency of the issue, the debate around declassification is not new and has followed a tortuous path. In the early 1990s, the historical section of the defence ministry, relying on certain official documents, wrote its version of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. These accounts were restricted and unavailable to most scholars. Later in 2001, a committee was established under N N Vohra to examine the publication of these volumes but, despite its positive recommendation, no action was taken on its report.
Currently, the issue has hit a dead end. The armed forces maintain that they have no objection to declassification but the final decision has to be the defence ministry’s. Defence ministry officials, in turn, state that only the classifying agency can decide on declassification!
It appears as if politics prevents declassification. There might be fears, at all levels, that declassification may tarnish the elaborate images constructed of our political and military leaders. Ultimately, it is the duty of young politicians to make the case that they are willing to learn not just from the achievements of their forefathers but also from their mistakes. Not doing so reflects an appalling lack of confidence and insecurity.
Perhaps this is a crusade best led by Rahul Gandhi and other young politicians willing to admit that, to prepare for the future, one must know the past. That does not absolve the rest of the political, bureaucratic or military community. It is time to overcome our collective insecurities. There are stories there that must be told – lest we forget.
Unfortunately, most discussions on this subject focus on Indian military history’s sensationalist aspects like the destruction of files pertaining to the 1971 operations or the Henderson Brookes report and, though these are legitimate aspects in their own right, this allows a greater travesty of justice to lie unaddressed. The state does not have a procedure that allows the stories of important institutions – military, paramilitary, police, diplomacy, among others – to be told. And this denial of history not only weakens the quality of Indian democracy but, alarmingly, has negative consequences on the operational effectiveness of all these institutions. India’s parliamentarians would do well to concentrate on this issue.
That the defence ministry, among other security agencies, lacks a declassification procedure is beyond doubt. There are almost no official records available to scholars interested in this field. Even scholars at India’s “official” and service-affiliated think tanks – consisting of IDSA, CLAWS, CAPS, CENJOWS and NMF – are denied access to data. As a consequence, they mostly churn out papers on every subject but that which analyses processes within the military. On the rare occasion they do so, it is usually an opinion rather than an analysis with empirical data from official records. A decade after the Kargil review committee recommended the creation of some of these think tanks, the hardware and physical infrastructure has been established but the software, in terms of data, is absent. Like many other recommendations of post-crises defence reforms, this idea too has died in its implementation.
Denial of access also prevents the creation of civilian expertise on these matters, weakening the quality of debate and ultimately India’s democracy. As scholars and citizens are denied historical documents, there is little serious study or instruction on these institutions in civilian universities. Discussions on national security issues are monopolised by former officials belonging to these bureaucracies. Hence India’s strategic enclave, unlike in most major democracies, almost exclusively constitutes retired officials. Rare is an enclave member who can challenge the institutional myths and official positions of his parent organisation. In the long run, this is harmful for democracy as different perspectives and counter-arguments are not adequately debated.
Lack of a declassification procedure hampers the operational effectiveness of the Indian military, and other national security agencies. There is little emphasis on teaching military history in professional schools of instruction. Even when taught they rely almost exclusively on biographical accounts of the participants. It makes little sense why this is so, especially since no one comes out second best in their own autobiography and hence, unsurprisingly, many of these accounts are contradictory.
Lack of historiography results in a constant “re-learning of lost lessons” and restricts the officer cadre’s intellectual development. For instance, while there is current talk of developing capabilities for out-of-area operations, there is little study of India’s only expeditionary counter-insurgency operations against the LTTE in Sri Lanka. By not studying the military past, officers are almost condemned to repeat its follies. This is an issue that is perhaps best addressed by the respective service chiefs and especially by the chief of army staff, General V K Singh, if he is serious about improving the military’s “internal health”.
Despite the urgency of the issue, the debate around declassification is not new and has followed a tortuous path. In the early 1990s, the historical section of the defence ministry, relying on certain official documents, wrote its version of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. These accounts were restricted and unavailable to most scholars. Later in 2001, a committee was established under N N Vohra to examine the publication of these volumes but, despite its positive recommendation, no action was taken on its report.
Currently, the issue has hit a dead end. The armed forces maintain that they have no objection to declassification but the final decision has to be the defence ministry’s. Defence ministry officials, in turn, state that only the classifying agency can decide on declassification!
It appears as if politics prevents declassification. There might be fears, at all levels, that declassification may tarnish the elaborate images constructed of our political and military leaders. Ultimately, it is the duty of young politicians to make the case that they are willing to learn not just from the achievements of their forefathers but also from their mistakes. Not doing so reflects an appalling lack of confidence and insecurity.
Perhaps this is a crusade best led by Rahul Gandhi and other young politicians willing to admit that, to prepare for the future, one must know the past. That does not absolve the rest of the political, bureaucratic or military community. It is time to overcome our collective insecurities. There are stories there that must be told – lest we forget.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Tips by Safi Rank 55(IAS 2010)
I am Mohammed Y Safirulla (Roll No: 080934) and I have got Rank 55 in Civil Services Exam-2009. I am writing this on the request of Mrunal to describe my preparation strategy. I would be happy if this is of some help to Civil Service aspirants.
About me: I completed my Engineering from ‘PSG College of Technology’ in 2003. I then worked in TCS for 2 years. After writing CAT in 2005 I secured admission in T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) for PGDM. I completed PGDM in 2007. Since then, I am working with IBM as SAP Consultant.
General Studies
1. How did you deal with general studies + Essay in mains ?
Ans:
News Paper: I referred 'The Hindu' News paper during the last 2 years. I used to take notes for any analysis in this paper. Any center page article which appears to be important I used to cut that and document in a file.
Magazine: Competition Chronicle.
TV: DD News and Lok Sabha Channel (‘Public Form’ – The New Analysis show from 11 to 12 PM every night)
Constitution and Freedom Movement: Referred Prelims Xerox of Brilliant Tutorials
Aptitude: R.S Agarwal
I tried to focus less on data intensive areas and focused on my strengths i.e. Economics, Aptitude and Current affairs. I relied more on Internet to collect data for GS.
Preparation for Options
Sociology
Ans: My Optional for Prelims was Sociology. For Mains it was Sociology and Management. For Sociology I got guidance from Mrs. Ananya Sharma, who had written the Mains earlier. My Friend and I took guidance from her. Further, I analyzed previous 15 years QPs for Prelims and Mains. I made notes after analyzing them. Source was mainly Internet and the book by C/N Shankar Rao.
Management
For Management I referred my Books (from PGDM days). Here too, I prepared notes.
For 2010 Exam (which I did not take) General Studies preparation, I attended the free GS test series conducted by Namma IAS in Bangalore
For both GS and Optionals I prepared lot of notes from Internet. I believe this gave maximum returns. It is possible to revise notes in short duration (Eg: 2 hours gap between Paper 1 and Paper 2 for Optional in Mains). We can also keep adding points to the topics subsequently.
Essay
3. How did you deal with the essay?
Ans:
No special preparation for essay.
Working professional and time Management
4. How did you manage it despite being a working professional? The whole time Management aspect? Because everyone doing some job is confused about this.
Ans:
Few things that I did,
- Motto of studying for at least 4 hours every working day. Sleep only after study of 4 hours is complete. Absolutely no compromise on this.
- The study time does not include the time spent for watching News or Browsing on Internet (for whatever).
- During weekends, study for at least 7 hours each day
- Alternate days in weekdays for Optional and GS. Both Optional and GS during Weekends.
- Maintain a chart which indicates the effort in Hours for Optional/GS. In my calendar I have entries which indicate how many hours I spent each day from Jan 2009 to October 22nd 2009 for Optional and GS
- As far as possible I avoided Social gatherings like Friends get together, Attending Marriages etc… In short, save every possible minute that you can.
- I kept the only few close friends and relatives updated about my Civil Service aspiration and progress in the exam.
Motivation -maintaining the rhythm
5.How did you maintain the motivation, rhythm and pace in studies, because most of us go through mood swings like for 10 days "high motivation and working hard" then for next 10 days "no motivation or mood to study anything" and finally month before the exam doing the fire-fighting, trying to cover everything up in short time.
Ans:
I also experienced this problem. There were days when there was intense self doubt! During those days I tried not to push myself too much. I focused on reading News Papers and economics during those days.
Interview
6. Your interview.
The following are the questions asked in my Interview. The order and words in questions are not the same. I tried to recollect as far as I could.
Chairman:
- You are Mohammed Y Safirulla…. How can I call you. ?
- You are working in SAP. Is it not something that integrates Human resources, Finance etc... Can you explain what the work you do?
- You are already in IT sector which is challenging. Why do you want to get into Civil services?
Member 1:
- You have done a lot of work in corporate sector. There is lot of hierarchy in Public services. You will not get the kind of freedom that you used to get in Private sector. Do you think you will fit in the Government setting?
- There might be no rewards even when you perform well. What is reward for you? Is it Power, Authority, Public Service or Money?
- About the Shoaib and Sania Marriage in
- If you were in the position of Police Commissioner of
- What is the difference between Administration and Management?
- Have you ever got into a fight with your Boss? Explain what happened?
- If your peon takes money (corruption) of Rs. 5 (say), What action would you take against him?
- What were the options available to you after you completed your MBA in Finance? Why you got into IT then?
Member 2:
- Is PDGM and MBA the same?
- Why do you want to get into Civil services from Corporate Sector?
- Based on the explanation of the difference between Administration and Management (which I answered to Member 1) what is the role of a District Collector? Does he perform ‘Administration’ or ‘Management’ role?
- How will your knowledge of Engineering and Management be useful for you in Civil Services?
- Are the same principles of success valid in corporate sector relevant in Government Services as well?
- You have spent a long time in Corporate sector (I have spent 5 years). I think you will not fit in Government Services.
- What are the fundamentals of
- But Panchsheel is also present in UN Charter right? Where is it present? (I explained about Panchsheel in the earlier question).
Member 3:
- What is the famous PSU in
- What is Namakkal famous for ? (It is a district near
- Religious places in Namakkal.
- About
- What are the reasons for development of Software sector in
- Reasons for Financial Crisis in 2008-09. What are your views on it?
- Is Ethics taught in Management Schools? The excess greed of Management graduates is also a reason for Financial Crisis. Your views.
- What is the reason for Cost and Time Overrun in ‘Mega Projects’? How can those be addressed?
Member 4:
- You mentioned about ‘Profit Maximization’ objective of corporate sector? Talking about Derivatives, do you think they should be banned?
- You did your engineering then worked for 2 years. Again you did PGDM and then again into IT sector. Now you want to get into Civil Services. I think you are a confused person.
- You have studied ‘Electronics’ in Engineering. What do you know about ‘Electronics’ Industry in
- You talked about SAP (ERP). Can such models be used to determine unforeseen situations? Eg: Monsoon failures etc... What is the relevance of such models then?
Chairman:
- Assume you are in a foreign country. Now give me a plan to promote tourism in Tamilnadu. (my home state).
- Have you filled for any other service apart from IAS? If selected will you join other services?
Ok. Thank you. Your interview is over.
I would like to convey to aspirants that is it possible to clear Civil Services exam without attending big coaching institutes and while working. Many have cleared in the past and many will continue to do. Please have confidence in your efforts.
http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/new-civil-service/8866-strategy-determination-safi-got-rank-55-without-coaching-leaving-job-his-first-trial.html
. Please do let me know if I can offer assistance in any other aspect.
Tips by Kamlesh Rank 61 (IAS 2010)
Dude I wasn't working while I wrote this exam. My condition was all the way more miserable. I was in my second year of MBA while I started preparing. So I practically started reading for the exam, just 6 months before I wrote prelims....If I can clear this exam in first attempt with less than a year of prep, then everyone else can...I don know if I am worthy of giving any advice, but I wud like to share the following tips:
1. Never ask anyone about his/her strategy for the exam. U are unique, ur style of studying and writing should reflect u and nt someone else
2. Don waste time in deciding optionals. See where ur instinct and natural flair lies. All subjects are gud but u'll do better in subjects where u are instinctively strong. This is true when unexpected questions r asked in the exam
3. Study only from standard books. No easy notes or guides.
4. Read as often as u can. Read non fictions, any good newspaper or one business newspaper.
5. Study as much as u feel is sufficient for u. I studied only 5 hrs a
Thanx buddy...am sure that u too can and will do the same. don quit the job. try to manage ur time well. Break ur syllabus into managable parts. set daily and weekly targets. assess urself periodically. I feel that daily study of 4-5 hrs and 7-8 on weekends can be sufficient. do lemme know if i can be of any help.
No friend I did nt take any coaching, not even test series. I never had time to do so. My optionals were Psychology and sociology. For socio I read only Harlambos and IGNOU notes, but the second paper requires a lot of personal interpretation and analysis. Mere reading won't help here. A personal touch to answers with some real and mordern examples will help. I am yet to see my score, so don't follow this advice blindly. Believe in ur instincts and make ur answers lucid and logical. As far as GS in concerned, I guess u should focus now on current affairs only. GS takes lots of efforts but corresponding returns are less. Focus on ur optional. Maximize the score here. It gives gud returns....and thnx for the kind words
And for GS the trend seems to have changed a lot. Read newspapers and develop ur own analysis and interpretation. I don't think there will be many fact based questions. In one way its good. You don't have to spend much time in mugging facts. However the onus now lies in ur writing skills and analytical ability.
1. Never ask anyone about his/her strategy for the exam. U are unique, ur style of studying and writing should reflect u and nt someone else
2. Don waste time in deciding optionals. See where ur instinct and natural flair lies. All subjects are gud but u'll do better in subjects where u are instinctively strong. This is true when unexpected questions r asked in the exam
3. Study only from standard books. No easy notes or guides.
4. Read as often as u can. Read non fictions, any good newspaper or one business newspaper.
5. Study as much as u feel is sufficient for u. I studied only 5 hrs a
Thanx buddy...am sure that u too can and will do the same. don quit the job. try to manage ur time well. Break ur syllabus into managable parts. set daily and weekly targets. assess urself periodically. I feel that daily study of 4-5 hrs and 7-8 on weekends can be sufficient. do lemme know if i can be of any help.
No friend I did nt take any coaching, not even test series. I never had time to do so. My optionals were Psychology and sociology. For socio I read only Harlambos and IGNOU notes, but the second paper requires a lot of personal interpretation and analysis. Mere reading won't help here. A personal touch to answers with some real and mordern examples will help. I am yet to see my score, so don't follow this advice blindly. Believe in ur instincts and make ur answers lucid and logical. As far as GS in concerned, I guess u should focus now on current affairs only. GS takes lots of efforts but corresponding returns are less. Focus on ur optional. Maximize the score here. It gives gud returns....and thnx for the kind words
And for GS the trend seems to have changed a lot. Read newspapers and develop ur own analysis and interpretation. I don't think there will be many fact based questions. In one way its good. You don't have to spend much time in mugging facts. However the onus now lies in ur writing skills and analytical ability.
Tips by Anay Rank 5 (IAS 2010)
Answer-writing tips:
the same holds for all the
papers: GS 1 &2 and optionals…
keep in mind the following
points:
1. answer has to include all
points from different perspectives…as many as u can think of…political, legal,
administrative, economic, social, etc…as I said, writing 10 points, 2 lines
each is better than writing just 5 points, 4 lines each…I wrote answers points
wise almost always…1 2 3…next answer * * *…next answer - - - -…it all depends
on wht u r comfortable with..if u like writing in paras…no prob…but write frm
all different perspectives…
2. diagrams: always draw
diagrams in optionals…GS u wudnt have time and neither do questions require
diagrams…but in optionals like pub ad and psychology…diagrams shud be
drawn…flowcharts, etc will also do…If I didn’t have a diagram with me, then I
used to write the topic and circle it, then arrows pointing to all different
points,etc…draw with pencil, but always draw freehand…no scale,etc…no time…if
still running short, draw with pen…no prob
3. underlining: very very
important…I never used to underline earlier…but this time I did…underline with
pen as u write…no need of pencil, different colour pen, etc…there’s no
time..but try to underline the key words…
4. key words: always write key
words first…for every topic in the syllabus, prepare a list of 5-6 key
words…they shud form a part of the intro…eg brainstorming: it is a group creativity technique
which involves freewheeling, divergent thinking, delayedjudgment and focussed on quantity rather than quality…then
explain each key word pne by one… this way u wudnt have to think about
introduction, etc and examiner will get all the relevant points right in the
beginning…
5. word limit: for GS I used
to exceed word limit but only because I knew I wud finish the paper even if I did
so…so if 30 words, I used to write 50…if 100 words: 130, if 200 words: 250…and
so on..for optionals 20 markers: I used to write 260-280 words (word limit
indicated is 200)…for 60 markers usually 6 pages…(600-650 words)…but keep in
mind the time…
6: language: has to be very simple...dnt show ur vocabulary...do not use words for which an average person wud need to use a dictionary...also assume the examiner doesnt knw nething about the topic and if u use a jargon...always explain it in one line immediately...
easy way is: assume u r writing an answer for a 12 yr old kid...
-----------------
newspaper reading gets easy with practice..in the beginning it might take
time but as u progress..u wud be able to finish 3 newspapers (if u r
reading 3)in under 2 hrs...just keep in mind wht is relevant and wht is
not...
as asked..i will go thru 26th may ET, delhi edition on
epaper.timesofindia.com and get back to u on whts relevant and wht is
not...just give me smtime to read and prepare the reply...
scrap 1:
ET is of 30 pages today…so here’s whats relevant whts not…
Page 30; irrelevant…book turns 50,etc nobody’s gng to ask
Page 29; no topic important..only banana topic I just
glanced thru…coz India
is the biggest banana producer in the world…this kind of thing might be imp to
write in some answer on trade,etc..but directly it will never be asked…I wudnt
cut the article, but wud remember the banana story…
Pages 26-28: irrelevant
Page 25: not relevant..its abt companies..u dnt need to read
such articles until they have some national impact…such as bharti-mtn deal..etc
Page 24: irrelevant…but I wud just look for wht are
high-beta stocks..its given in the article wht it is..write it somewhere if u
think u wudnt remember it later…
So, 7 pages took less than5 minutes as I have only glanced
thru the headings and read only 3-4 lines in 2 articles…
Page 23: articles
irrelevant but ET in the classroom is very good almost always…today it talks
abt nomination which I dnt think is relevant for the cse exam.. but most of the
times it talks abt things very relevant..so always watch out for et in the
classroom
Page 22:
articles irrelevant but REER, cut it…very important…such definitions can always
be asked for 2-3 markers in GS 2 paper…
Page 21: I am
usually apprehensive of articles by krugman in hindu which r only US specific…but
here the interview with stiglitz talks abt Greece, EU, US,etc…so it gives a
better understanding of the world economic situation…so I wud have cut it…
Provides a
different perspective…
Pg 20: Et
has the best editorial…so let me devote a scrap to it…
scrap 5: page 20:
1. reforming
political funding: excellent article..very imp for both Gs and pub ad…such
articles give value edition to answers..also PM has spoken abt it…u can
directly quote PM in the exam…
2. dnt join Chinese
checkers; this is why ET is good…the analysis is good..u learn abt
undervaluation, renminbi, anti-dumping and finally India, china, us vis a vis anti
dumping cases,etc
scrap6: page 20(contd)
3. defence
FDI: good article…can use such info in pub ad, essay as well as GS as an
example…transfer of technology, etc also important…so I wud have cut it..its
abt using such examples and making ur
answer different…
other articles r wither too specific or contain info tht is useless...so only 3 articles in today's Et editorial...
scrap 7:
page 19: irrelevant...even though article on FRBM might seem relevant but its only a proposal...u have to guard against such articles...these r just speculations..nothing concrete..leave it out..
page 18: irrelevant...specific info abt telecom..nobody's gng to ask...
page 17: irrelevant...
page 16:irrelevant...no need to read articles on specific case studies...waste of time...
scrap 8:
page 14 and 15: irrelevant
page 13: irrelevant...y?coz us-china story is for today...tomorrow smthing else...its nothing concrete...just daily news...not imp for the exam..
pages 4 to 12: irrelevant..info abt specific companies or industries...not imp for the exam...
so u can leave out large part of the paper by just reading the headline..its not abt cutting the whole paper..just 8-10 articles on an avg/day frm 3 papers...tht wud suffice...
page 3: all articles irrelevant...this might happen..tht
might happen...speculation..only when it happens then article
imp...afghan-pak also irrelevant...every1 knows present afghan govt
doesnt like pakistanis...so nothing new here...
page2: not
imp...ansari,bhatkal, rathore...these r specific articles..questions r
not asked specifically...wht happened in tht case,etc..so useless
huawei
case one shud knw...if u dnt know, read the article and cut it..if u already
knw...article not imp coz it doesnt provide nething new..so duplication
has to be avoided...dnt cut too many articles on the same issue unless
some concrete development has occurred...
scrap 10:page1:
nothing important: all articles r too specific in nature...markets: only today's condition...wont be asked wht happened on tht day to the markets..etc..
so there wud be 6-7 articles frm Et today...but small ones except stiglitz...on most days u wud just get 2-3...but wud be big ones..
with practice..it wud take 30-35 mins to read today's ET...
kindly ask for clarification...
________________________________-
@blowing...for GS mains: the exam pattern at present is such
tht current affairs is the most imp aspect...so newspaper reading is the
key...i read 3 newspapers: ToI, ET and the hindu...u neednt read the whole
newspaper..only those articles which r imp from exam point of view...i kept
cuttings and revised them a week before the exam...and
1 CSE oriented magazine...i read civil services chronicle...
i divided the newspaper articles into natl issues, intl issues, economy, security and defense, climate and misc(eg S&T)...papers frm may 24th to october 1st week wud do...i was able to answer 60-70% GS mains based on paper reading...
@blowing (scrap2): the
books which r required : dd basu's indian constitution, bipin chandra's
struggle
for independence, economic
survey and spectrum for statistics (small one)...thts it..just go thru
previous 5 yrs' question papers of GS mains to get an idea abt the kind
of questions asked...
i dont think there's any need for material on GS mains apart frm wht i have pointed out...for pub ad...just the books which i told u...and answer-writing practice is the key in pub ad...i will surely tell u abt some key aspects of answer writing...just remind me of it by leaving a scrap...i have to go somewhere now...
pub ad; its a very good optional coz almost 70 % of it
will be covered if u have prepared GS well...there r only 3 books which u need
to refer: prasad and prasad for administrative thinkers, fadia and fadia
(theories and concepts) for paper 1 and fadia and fadia (indian admin) for
paper 2 and yup, 2 topics frm nicholas henry: budget and public policy
making...thts it..dnt even listen to neone who says mohit bhattacharya, ferrel
heady, IJPA journals, etc..all crap...
i suggest u go to srirams in delhi..meet pawan
sir...he's the best for pub ad..trust me...all those who r famous: sunil gupta,
mohanty,vajiram,etc r too bad in terms of guidance and personal
attention...bhed-bakri ki tarah they take every1 and paisa
banao...answer-writing is very very imp for pub ad...and tht u can practice
after taking the prelims...u have to practice answer-writing alongside building up knowledge and content...4 months
between the prelims and mains is enough time for answer writing practice...
1st and foremost, start reading newspapers...for mains, frm prelims- oct 1st week newspapers r very important...keep cuttings and go thru them as regularly as u can...and surely just before the exam...apart frm tht, for optionals, take printout of the syllabus and go thru each and every topic one by one...u shud aim to finish optionals by sept end...
books- economic survey, dd basu and spectrum for statistics...bipin chandra if u have time...
page 19: irrelevant...even though article on FRBM might seem relevant but its only a proposal...u have to guard against such articles...these r just speculations..nothing concrete..leave it out..
page 18: irrelevant...specific info abt telecom..nobody's gng to ask...
page 17: irrelevant...
page 16:irrelevant...no need to read articles on specific case studies...waste of time...
scrap 8:
page 14 and 15: irrelevant
page 13: irrelevant...y?coz us-china story is for today...tomorrow smthing else...its nothing concrete...just daily news...not imp for the exam..
pages 4 to 12: irrelevant..info abt specific companies or industries...not imp for the exam...
so u can leave out large part of the paper by just reading the headline..its not abt cutting the whole paper..just 8-10 articles on an avg/day frm 3 papers...tht wud suffice...
page 3: all articles irrelevant...this might happen..tht
might happen...speculation..only when it happens then article
imp...afghan-pak also irrelevant...every1 knows present afghan govt
doesnt like pakistanis...so nothing new here...
page2: not
imp...ansari,bhatkal, rathore...these r specific articles..questions r
not asked specifically...wht happened in tht case,etc..so useless
huawei
case one shud knw...if u dnt know, read the article and cut it..if u already
knw...article not imp coz it doesnt provide nething new..so duplication
has to be avoided...dnt cut too many articles on the same issue unless
some concrete development has occurred...
scrap 10:page1:
nothing important: all articles r too specific in nature...markets: only today's condition...wont be asked wht happened on tht day to the markets..etc..
so there wud be 6-7 articles frm Et today...but small ones except stiglitz...on most days u wud just get 2-3...but wud be big ones..
with practice..it wud take 30-35 mins to read today's ET...
kindly ask for clarification...
________________________________-
@blowing...for GS mains: the exam pattern at present is such
tht current affairs is the most imp aspect...so newspaper reading is the
key...i read 3 newspapers: ToI, ET and the hindu...u neednt read the whole
newspaper..only those articles which r imp from exam point of view...i kept
cuttings and revised them a week before the exam...and
1 CSE oriented magazine...i read civil services chronicle...
i divided the newspaper articles into natl issues, intl issues, economy, security and defense, climate and misc(eg S&T)...papers frm may 24th to october 1st week wud do...i was able to answer 60-70% GS mains based on paper reading...
@blowing (scrap2): the
books which r required : dd basu's indian constitution, bipin chandra's
struggle
for independence, economic
survey and spectrum for statistics (small one)...thts it..just go thru
previous 5 yrs' question papers of GS mains to get an idea abt the kind
of questions asked...
i dont think there's any need for material on GS mains apart frm wht i have pointed out...for pub ad...just the books which i told u...and answer-writing practice is the key in pub ad...i will surely tell u abt some key aspects of answer writing...just remind me of it by leaving a scrap...i have to go somewhere now...
pub ad; its a very good optional coz almost 70 % of it
will be covered if u have prepared GS well...there r only 3 books which u need
to refer: prasad and prasad for administrative thinkers, fadia and fadia
(theories and concepts) for paper 1 and fadia and fadia (indian admin) for
paper 2 and yup, 2 topics frm nicholas henry: budget and public policy
making...thts it..dnt even listen to neone who says mohit bhattacharya, ferrel
heady, IJPA journals, etc..all crap...
i suggest u go to srirams in delhi..meet pawan
sir...he's the best for pub ad..trust me...all those who r famous: sunil gupta,
mohanty,vajiram,etc r too bad in terms of guidance and personal
attention...bhed-bakri ki tarah they take every1 and paisa
banao...answer-writing is very very imp for pub ad...and tht u can practice
after taking the prelims...u have to practice answer-writing alongside building up knowledge and content...4 months
between the prelims and mains is enough time for answer writing practice...
1st and foremost, start reading newspapers...for mains, frm prelims- oct 1st week newspapers r very important...keep cuttings and go thru them as regularly as u can...and surely just before the exam...apart frm tht, for optionals, take printout of the syllabus and go thru each and every topic one by one...u shud aim to finish optionals by sept end...
books- economic survey, dd basu and spectrum for statistics...bipin chandra if u have time...
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