 Good evening. How are you? Sir, I am good sir. Good. You are attending this mock phone where? Sir, presently I am in Delhi. Where? Delhi? Yes sir. Yes sir. So can you please introduce yourself to the board? A brief introduction about yourself. Yes sir. Sir, I am from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. I have completed my schooling from Navadevitalai. I am a textile engineer and PhD in Strategic Alliances. I have also worked for three years in textile industry. And so last year I have joined Indian Railway Traffic Services. Presently I am on leave. Okay. James, so this is your last attempt or? So this is your last attempt now? So this is my third attempt sir, not last attempt. Third attempt. Hopefully this should be the last and you will make it. So it is a competitive game. We will see what happens. I am preparing. Life is competitive. Life is competitive. It is like that only. Sir, the deserving should get into services. So Kanpur you are referring to like, can you give me something for historical importance of Kanpur? Yes sir. Echo is there. Are you able to hear me? Yes sir, I can hear you clearly. Kanpur, any historical importance of the city? Kanpur? Yes sir. Can you give me some perspective on the city? Yes sir. The origins lie in the name of Hindu Raja of Sachendi dynasty who established it. But it gained the prominence during British era and especially after the mutiny of 1857. They converted it into a very strong hold with cantonment and then the textile industry boomed here along with the leather industry to fulfill the military needs. And so they are on a major industrial hub and today it is also an economic hub and dedicated freight corridor will pass through it along with the defence corridor. Something happened during the Second World War which brought a lot of industry to Kanpur. I think I have got field gun factories there, government parachute factories there, so many factories are there. So what was that which triggered it? It was all in Kolkata. It shifted from there to Kanpur. What was the reason for that, shifting all those defence industries during the Second World War? Yes sir. It was expected that an attack may come from the eastern side. So ordinary factory works, one of the factories is established in Kanpur to fulfill the artillery requirement and some tank spare requirement. It was the Japanese nearly almost Kolkata. Yes sir. So British were afraid that all these factories were shifted that side. Yes sir. Any famous personality in India now from Kanpur? Very high position now. Kanpur? From Kanpur-Dehat region, we have our President. Thank you. Mr. Sarangi sir. Over to Mr. Sarangi. Sarangi sir is for you sir. Please unmute your mic sir. You can just call and tell. Yes sir. Or we can go to Ganapati sir first. Okay am I audible now? Yes sir. Am I audible? Yes sir. Okay very nice. So I find from your bad data you have taken philosophy optional. Sorry sir I could not hear the last five. You have taken philosophy optional. Yes sir. Yes sir. How and why? Sir I just love the subject when I was in the free to choose one subject. I looked into the syllabus and today I find it has made my civil services preparation journey really joyful and very meaningful and to a large extent sir it has transformed me. So in the hindsight it was a very wonderful choice. It has given me wonderful ideas to think about and helps me all the time. Okay okay. Existence precedes a sense. Can you explain the statement? Yes sir. The existentialist like Heidegger Sartre they talked about that existence comes prior to the essence. That human beings no matter how much we strive for self essentialism but the fact that the way we interpret our past and foresee our future is nothing but a string of choices. So we have to make our being by acting into this world and therefore sir concept of freedom becomes very important in existentialism. Okay existence precedes essence. How do you explain it very simply in a very simple language? Sir I have to exist first to have a core essence in me. The individual precedes the group. Isn't it? Yes sir. It could be interpreted in this sense also. Okay okay very nice. How does can't answer the fundamental question? Can't say that understanding makes nature out of things which it doesn't make. How do you explain this? Sir previously and before the can't we always thought that mind has to reach through to the nature to understand it but he completely reversed this model and he said that things have to come pass through our mind and various categories to make sense. For example we are not in space and time but space and time are within us. Every observation that we make is always a stamp spaced as well as timed. What is the thing in itself? Sir it is the nominal which is unknown and unknowable that when we look at the things it is always conditioned with our subjectivity. However a thing in itself is a pure entity which we are completely unable to understand. Okay okay okay. Pakistan has got how many provinces? Sir I can start recounting the Baluchistan province and the province and Northwest Frontier province. What is the name? What is the new name of Northwest Frontier province? Sir Khaybar Pakhtunkhwa I think it is. Yes yes yes and Punjab these four were there. Yes. Now Gilgit Baltistan is also added. Sir yes sir it is a temporary status though. The fifth province that they have declared. So how is India related? That is my question. My question is how is India related? Sir it is a completely matter of concern for us. It passes through our sovereign region and it is a matter of territorial integrity and sovereignty for us. Supposing that would have been a part of India. What would have been the advantage to India? Sir. Gilgit Baltistan. Yes sir. What Pakistan was calling it? What name did they give it earlier? Sir Azad Pakistan I think that. No no it was called Northern areas. Northern areas. Northern areas is different from Azad Kashmir. So Northern areas. Sir now if that really belongs to India. Because that is a part of on divided Jammu and Kashmir earlier. Yes sir. Yes sir. So that they have occupied and that has become a part of Pakistan now. Supposing that would have been a part of India. India would have that in Jammu and Kashmir. What is the advantage? Sir our connectivity with the Central Asian region. The Tajikistan belt we could have approached easily to go into Afghanistan. Afghanistan because we have a border with Afghanistan technically 150 kilometers. So we have overseas air force base also in the Tajikistan sir. It would have been strategically very important to connect with the Central Asia also. And sir also security point of view because it lies along the tri-junction of the China, India and Pakistan. Why Central Asia is important to India? Sir Siachi English. Central India is important to Asia. Why? Important to India. Why? Sir Central Asia or Central India sir? Central Asia. Central Asia. You said that you would have gone to Central Asia from Afghanistan. Why Central Asia is important to India? Sir Central Asia is an extended neighborhood. We have civilizational ties and sir apart from this it's an energy basket. The Kazakhstan has immense uranium resources. Tajikistan has gas reserves with itself and we enjoy a goodwill there. So there is an electricity grid which is called KASA, Central Asia, South Asia. So it is extremely energy rich. That area is energy rich both uranium and other gas etc. So that would have benefited India like anything. But what has Pakistan done? Sir the area comes within their side of the border on the left side of the POK. So now CPEC passes through it with China administered. So it is a contested region as of now. What is their border agreement in 1963? 2nd March 1963 Pakistan and China have entered into border transfer agreement. What is that? Sir I am forgetting exactly the name. It is on the western side of Siachi. It is called Sakaskam Valley. Yes Sakaskam Valley sir. That is the name. What happened to that? What happened to Sakaskam Valley? Sir it was given to China. Around 5,100 square kilometers that is very important. Yes sir it is very important. And other three small valleys were also given. But that is the biggest amongst them. And there is a clause in that agreement that clause recognizes that this is a disputed area. And later on when the dispute is settled then China will negotiate with the concerned authorities. That is there is a clause 5 or 6 of that agreement that says clearly that this is a disputed area. Yes sir. So if Gilgit Baltistan would have been part of India, China and Pakistan would have no connectivity. The Karakoram highway etc would not have been there. Yes sir it connects the Xinjiang. It is the connecting link between China and Pakistan. And now CPC, China Pakistan Economic Corridor. Yes sir. Okay. Thank you, thank you. Thank you sir. Thank you. Mr. Dhanupati sir. You are from Uttar Pradesh right? Yes sir. What is the specialty on that? Sir Dhami Kistupa. Sir I am forgetting in which era it was built. But I remember that during the visit of one of the Mughal emperors, its revamping revival had happened. So my knowledge is limited. I remember it was in news and it is a very important heritage of our country. Okay. So have you heard about this Disaster Amendment Act 2005? Yes sir. What is that? Sir it provides a legislative institutional framework for effective interstate and district coordination to handle the disaster related situations. Okay. The government of India they have announced that the paradigm shift after this disaster amendment bill passed. What is the paradigm shift? Sir to my mind I think when we shifted from the reactive approach to more proactive preparedness based approach where we had disaster response force, national institute of disaster management and district labour mitigation funds, disaster management funds. So this created a space where disaster was put at the heart of our developmental policies following the Nagoya Polona. So I am forgetting the name of the Japanese agreement that was there. Yes sir. Yes sir. Thank you sir. Okay. And there is a Prime Minister's 10 point agenda. There is one point in that is related to women. Yes sir. What is that? Sir women should take the leadership role in the community's participation and their feedback and their experiences should be incorporated because they are the most vulnerable and worst affected sections of any disaster. Okay. In recent days you know a lot of increasing disasters. There is one recent disaster called BLOF. What is that BLOF? GLOF. BLOF. What is that? Sir, sorry sir. I have not come across this. I need to educate myself about this disaster. Maybe there was a BLOF in Uttarakhand. A lot of people died. It's a global outburst. Okay. And you are basically a textile engineer right? Yes sir. What is the geotextile? Where they use? Sir, it is a technical textile and it is used to stabilize any structure. It could be the riverbanks or the areas around the sea to prevent the coastal erosion or to prevent the fragmentation of the soil beneath the road. So we have the geotextile beneath the road also these days and also in the landslide related regions for the wall retainers. Except for these purposes it is used. Okay. My last question. So what is your opinion on women's safety in Uttar Pradesh? I think women's safety by no account is what it should be in my state. And the crime rate is really very high. Conviction rate is low. Okay. Okay. Mr. Ram. Thank you sir. Good evening Deviya Mishra. Good evening sir. How do we decide one thing as right or other thing is wrong? So please give me a moment. Okay. So we decided on the basis of the means followed and the ends pursued. How are our values formed within us? These are formed based on our social conditioning, the family systems in which we are born, our schooling, our experiences throughout our lives, the kind of things we read and how much consistent they are with what we believe. So the core peripheral beliefs which are well tested become our values. Do our civil service need philosophers? Sir absolutely sir. We have philosophy, Indian and western philosophers in our GS4 ethics paper. UPSC has given a lot of importance to the philosophy because it is not just a subject. It is a pursuit of wisdom and what is right and wrong. Please comment three sentences. Everything happens for the best. Sir it shows a positive outlook that no matter what actions have been done, something good will come out of it. But it is also overconfident a statement because it makes us immune from the consequences of our mistakes. The best painter or best artist cannot instruct the plants how to blossom. Sir we cannot be deterministic in nature. The nature has its own eternal laws through which it operates and the architect and the painter, whatever they paint, its beauty depends on the viewer which may vary. Last question. Philosophy is a waste of time. When we read philosophy we get some quotes for our conversation. That's all. Sir it could be one of the opinion when the time of crisis comes we do need more practical point of views. But sir philosophy is also investment of time. Otherwise we would not have come across values like democracy, justice and truth. All the best. Thank you. Thank you sir. Mr Hari Kiren. Misha you have selected textile technology in your Vitek and then now we are in railway traffic service and now you are aiming for the civil services. How is the journey from textile technology to railway traffic services and to the competition for civil services? Journey has been so far very rewarding. It has had a complete transforming effect on me. I feel that I have found, I think it has changed me. From sentimental I have become more sensitive. I have become more silent and observant and it has given me a lot of humility that there is so many things that I do not know. What is this global corporate tax? Sir it is in the talks now because of base erosion and profit shifting and offshoring of the profits to low tax jurisdiction. Now in the G7 meet also my various countries are coming up to settle it at 15% at the minimum level. You are in Indian railways and there is this concept called train collision avoidance system which a lot of importance is given. What is this about? Sir it is a technology in making. It is under testing by the Konkan railways and I do not know exactly the mechanics involved in it. Sir I have to study about it. You mentioned in your DAF that reflecting ideas of you will know Harari. Is politics about truth? Sir everything is about truth but when politics starts gaining power by distorting the truth then that becomes a problem. Okay. What is this build back better theme submit? What is it about? Sir it is a Japanese concept of post disaster resilience that whatever infrastructure physical or social we build it should be better. More disaster resilient and disaster proof. Why is it in use now? Sir the current context I might not be completely sure but I think because of the recent cyclones on both our posts and because us being a very cyclone, very disaster prone country it is very essential that we keep the building back better in our development agenda. Suppose if an officer made in charge of any agitation that is happening on the road people are complaining that they are not getting electricity a particular area and despite repeated their approaches to the government officers their issue is not resolved and they have come on to the roads. So what would be your approach to resolve the same? Sir if I am in the capacity of the as an administrator then my first response will be to go on the spot negotiate with them and to see that it does not explode into a law and order situation and for that I will try to arrange the police force there and because their concern is genuine sir I think it is the foremost responsibility of any responsible governance to address that issue with their leaders. So am I audible? Yeah you can please proceed. Sir I was saying that because their concern is genuine so I will try to negotiate and talk and persuade with their leaders about the grievances and I will try to fast track the grievance address and because to avoid that it should not that it does not implode into a law and order situation I will try to have sufficient number of police personnel on the ground with me. And despite your negotiations because they couldn't get an instant solution they are not able to move out of the place and the road gets blocked this is a practical situation how do you handle it? Sir road blockages also in this context Supreme Court has said that in such situation we can divert them to another predesignated area so I will try to make sure that the agitation because it is their constitutional right goes on but in some other place without blockage of the road. Okay have you heard about satellite phones? Yes sir. How do you get a license or permission for it? Sir I might be hazarding a guess I do not know I never thought of this I have to read about it. Thank you Mr. Thank you sir. Hello Mr. Divya. Yes sir. I have just two questions for you as soon as feminism in India is concerned despite a lot many efforts over the past few decades philosophically speaking where do you think we have gone wrong as a country as a nation? Sir consciousness of feminism is on the rise and I can see that within myself as well as I have two brothers so the way they treat and they believe but when I look at the lower section of the society who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and in those where women are working there is a lot of issue there is issue of institutional discrimination coded insult, glass ceiling, double standards Sir we have a lot of a long way to go. Fair enough just one more question would you rather go for a revolution through 50% reservation for women in legislatures or would you let time and evolution solve the problem that creates a better number of more number and better quality women leaders? Sir I would go for a 50% reservation on every domain on the horizontal basis because we cannot wait for that long if our country is to emerge as a powerful world leader then 50% of the population cannot wait like that it has to be fast-paced Alright thank you Mr. Ida Thank you sir Aditya just adding to that what was the gender mainstreaming? Sir Gender mainstreaming? Sir putting the gender issue on all the aspects of our policy making be it economic sphere, political sphere social sphere, education, health budgeting So that is gender mainstreaming are we practicing this in our country in our policy formulation, implementation is it being followed? Sir to a large extent we are doing that we have gender budgeting we have dedicated schemes for women for example in the standard of India scheme almost 33% of the credit of take is goes to the women and so also in SHG movement there is a large participation from the women and if we start doing some affirmative action so that this becomes a more substantive justice rather than procedural so we may have a better outlook for the women in India then empowerment? Sir enlarging the basket of choice for women Any example in India like government of India or states somebody doing? Sir we have Betty Bachao scheme so it looks into the survival protection education, sanitation all the spheres of women Just last one not the least so many women candidates getting into IS and mostly getting into IPS generally very few IPS ladies will be there but now you got around 30-40 every batch so how will the service correct the change over a period of time maybe 10 years from now you got around 30-40% ladies in the IPS itself IS of course the many were there but IPS first time so many ladies getting inducted so how will the profile of the service change what will be the impact on service delivery? Sir there will be a gender sensitization all across the levels of organization and we will see more soft-skilling, more gender-sensitive approach for example in Uttar Pradesh now there are pink boots, pink patrols, dedicated women's self help desk on each police station so this helps women to come forward to report and that is where we see the crime rate against women has actually increased in Uttar Pradesh partly this is also because reporting has gone up, it shows more public faith Thank you Sarangi sir Thank you sir The answers are very nice I am very happy but treat the neighbors of India also know about them very well like Pakistan, Afghanistan Bangladesh, Nepal etc etc know about them very well because Pakistan is especially very important Punjab was going to be divided into Punjab and south Punjab Bahawalpur, Junabi Punjab BJP but that did not materialize so know about those places so that it has effect both on internal politics of India and also Indian foreign policy so that is very important one of the deepest questions asked to you is how do you decide right and wrong so it is one of the deepest questions ever asked in philosophy right and wrong are called moral categories you gave one answer that is all right but if you employ a harmful means and get your end will you call it right if you ever answer that so it is that way dropping off nuclear bomb or Nagasaki and Hiroshima would have been called right but it's not right sir okay so another answer could be you could refer to cuts categorical imperative and get away with an answer that where I do something and I will that thing becomes a universal law and society can exist then that becomes right yes that is another student of technical philosophy student student's answer that could be categorical imperative could provide you some but yes sir okay I am audible yes sir I want to see your name somewhere at the top in the list final list thank you sir thank you Divya I have one small suggestion actually what is that when I ask about this Dhammikstuba important one actually there since Sarnath and Gautama Buddha first to start Dharma historically it's very important one another one suggestion is like I could see your answers like you know only one line or it will be very lengthy so few you could extend actually since some of the answers I could see like you can extend some more and a few answers maybe it's very lengthy you can you know try to cut it to the point that's all thank you sir it's fine all the rest thank you sir sir did I approach the three statements correctly there is no correct or wrong all these things are based on our values yes sir all the best thank you just one or two suggestions to add Mishna when the panel is asking question wait till the question completes few times I saw your answer starts before the question gets completed and somewhere when answering the question towards the end of it the approach becomes very slightly casual for example when Sarnath asked about the Dhammikstuba you casually mentioned that my knowledge in this is very limited and these things maybe it could be slightly fine tuned otherwise body language is good you are well prepared especially some of the answers you gave with conviction like you said more public fight will we get when more women come into the services that is really good this approach is good maybe you should have some kind of listening patients till the panel completes the question otherwise when you don't have an answer you can skip it like I said about satellite phones just to you know keep you out of your comfort zone and you skip it nice but whereas this build back better it is the G7 summit that is happening now the summit and you completely entered into a different arena it's okay you can slightly improve on it all the best thank you sir Mr. Dhammik how much did you score last year the last year it was 176 I think you definitely deserve much more than that wish you all the very best you have a really good handling the panel members as well just be what you are you will definitely score much better all the best thank you sir I think I agree with the hurry agreement just give a little bit time reflect and give the answers and when you don't know that even smile and sorry sir I don't know I don't have the answer isn't it yes sir you don't take any guess and all if they compel you to take a guess then take a guess it's not required and all so be little more diplomatic and all and you will do well I hope I think all the panelists you should get around 200 at least that level of preparation is already there and just brush up a little bit more so when is the interview sir it is on the 27th of August 27th of August lot of time is there almost more than 2 months so prepare small notes you are already in service and one thing I want to do I just what are the so physical both the services Indian railway traffic so I could not hear what you just said there was some internet connection physical physical standards which are common for the IPS and IRTS what is that so I think it is about the eyesight and certain other so you can't be colour you can't be colour blind yes sir that is same standard is followed for these two services they don't follow any other service isn't it just adding that thank you very much all the best thank you good day bye bye thank you sir