 Please sit down. Mr Aditya, is this your first or second attempt? Sir, this is my first interview. First interview? Yes. How many times have you appeared? This is my fourth attempt, sir. Your fourth attempt? Yes. Okay, your first interview? Yes. So, why are you so keen on joining the civil services? Sir, I had given a thought about it. And sir, I find this very platform of working for the country. This gives me an enthusiasm. And sir, I find the civil services as a very diverse platform. And sir, I also believe that in the current times, when there is much liberalization going on, civil servants have a very special responsibility to maintain the balance, to act as a channel of communication between the corporate sector and the public sector. Aditya, you have taken a sociology as a subject. Yes, sir. Okay. You must have heard of the controversy about the all India services dozing its sheen. What do you feel about it? Sir, I think the society also needs to change their perception with regards to the civil servants. Because sir, we have come a way along having passed the colonial era. So, as far as the role of civil servants in the present scenario is concerned, they need to have more transparent working and they need to be more accessible. And on this scenario, I believe the changes are coming up and the society will take some time to observe that and the perception would surely get corrected. You really think so? Yes, sir, I strongly believe that. What is dharm sansad? Pardon, sir? Dharm sansad, okay. What is it? Sir, it is basically a meeting of the people of the Hindu believers that are organized in religious places like Rishikesh and recently one is going to be organized in Roorkee. Today? Sir, I am not sure about the date. I read it is going to be organized. In this context, there was some observation by the Supreme Court. Are you aware of that? Yes, sir. What is that? Sir, the Honorable Supreme Court has asked the Chief Secretary of the concerned state to conduct the said conference within the ambit of law and no hatred or the communally sensitive speeches should be made like the earlier case when they were made. What is hate speech anyway? I think hate speech is any kind of provocation which pushes one community against that of the another and which has the repercussion. In what manner? Pardon, sir? In what manner? How does it happen? Sir, it is basically based on the mentality of religious differentiation. There is a differentiation alone or something else towards an action which inflames the passion that you want. Yes. So, what is this IPO which is coming now? Sir, there is this IPO of LIC on which the government is planning to sell off some stakes which is coming. How much are these unloading sources? Sir, I am not sure about the figure, but the price of per share is going to be somewhere around 900 rupees. And what is happening in this future retail? Yes, sir. Recently the reliance industries has said that it can't go ahead with their acquisition of it. Why? Sir, I am not sure about it, sir. I had read about it, but not able to recall right now. There was an inauguration somewhere in Gujarat. What was that? Sir, it was a global convention related to traditional medicines. What happened then? Pardon, sir? What happened? Sir, it got inaugurated and the WHO head was also there along with Mr. Prime Minister, sir. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am. In sociology, you know, in the last 20 years, what are the any important developments in sociology? Ma'am, one thing that I have observed is there are many Indian sociologists coming up with their studies relevant to the present context. Which are detached from the colonial hangovers. And the another thing is, ma'am, we are focused more on the rural development and their promotion and their promotion and matching pace with the urban areas. And globally anything? Globally. What about globalization? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Ma'am, the sociologists and the economists, they are of the view that globalization as mooted is not all positive. It has its negative also, in which it is killing the traditions and also it is creating unwarranted competition, which in a way is making the lives of natives and the developing nations challenging. And it is creating a global village, international village, where the regional identities are getting diluted in view of the westernization, which is mistaken as the modernization. You've heard of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Yes, ma'am. SCO. Yes, ma'am. Tell me something about it. Okay. And particularly with reference to India's membership. Broadly what is SCO, why was it set up? Okay. And India's role? Ma'am, SCO was basically set up to have the security environment set out in the Central Asia. It has India and Pakistan recently got its membership. And as far as India's role is concerned, it provides a platform for India to have dialogue with the nations like China and Pakistan. Which in a way is lacking as far as Pakistan is concerned because we are not very active on SARC and also the RATS body of the SCO, which is there to tackle the terrorism. India has a great say in that and it is going to play a very positive role in the border security and the peace of the region. And also it has economic angle also to have smooth transaction of the goods and services between the nations. And what about connectivity? Yes, ma'am. It has also connectivity as one of its issue. One of the main roles, connectivity. And what was that one earth, one health, you remember? Yes, ma'am. Yes. Ma'am, it was to have the inclusive attitude to have humans as well as animals and the whole biodiversity to be taken into consideration when it comes to planning policies related to health. Okay. Can you name some of the major connectivity issues there, like in which India is also having a state? Ma'am, in the region of Central Asia? Yes, ma'am. India has invested heavily in Afghanistan on the Gwadar port. And another thing is India INSTC. Yes, INSTC. Yes, ma'am. I am not able to recall the full name. But it was connectivity. The international north-south. North-south transport corridor, yes ma'am. And another thing is, ma'am, then there are some in eastern Asia, like the Kalamur. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Okay. Now, you hear a lot about Taiwan, right? Yes, ma'am. Now, tell me something about India-Taiwan relations. Okay, ma'am. Do we have formal diplomatic relations? No, ma'am. India considers Taiwan as a part of China, although we have good relations in terms of trade. But do we still follow that one China policy? Yes, ma'am. We follow that. Didn't you stop it at one time? Yes, ma'am. Ma'am, I am not aware about it. All right, tell me about Taiwan. What kind of ties do we have with it? Ma'am, basically we have cultural ties and trade-related ties. And we have representative offices. Yes, ma'am. Representative offices, which are named after using the cultural term. And another thing is we are exchanging human resources for training and skill development verticals. What about trade and investment? Ma'am, there are trade relations, although I am not very specific about the figures and no house of it. What is Taiwan's importance? Why is China so, you know, aggressive about Taiwan? Ma'am, China, in the current scenario, is posing its influence in the region of the South China Sea. And it is also adopting an independent foreign policy and coming out as a nation, as a superpower nation. So, China says... Also, its location is very strategic, you know? Yes, ma'am. That Asia Pacific... East-west connectivity, yes. ...straits of Taiwan and the North Sea, the South China Sea. Yes, ma'am. So, strategically also. Yes, ma'am. So, what is the fear about the China-Taiwan issue? China is apprehensive of the role of West as far as Taiwan is concerned. Particularly UK and US, ma'am. And also, ma'am, they are apprehensive of the role of Japan in that regard. Because China is also having some island-related issues with Japan. And for that matter, China has border issues with the entire Indo-Pacific area. So, it is very particular about its sovereignty and its perception of the global world to see China as a superpower. Okay. What is the right to be forgotten? Ma'am, this right has been much talked about recently. Especially when we get to know about the European Union's data protection regime. And right to be forgotten has also been mentioned in the recent BN Shri Krishnan committee that has been formed to regulate the privacy and data security. And it deals with the right to have their details or their personal things to be removed from the public platforms. And this is found kind of recognition in many parts of the world. How is it looked upon in India? Ma'am, the agencies looking after it has positive outlook. Although it has not been materialized as it is in the process. And for that we also need to have onboard the social media intermediaries like the Facebook and Twitter. And the Ministry of the Information and Broadcasting, they are having dialogues with the conversation with these bodies. Our judiciary does... Yes ma'am, judiciary accepts it. Yes ma'am, judiciary accepts it. Have you heard of Robin Island? No ma'am, I am not able to recall it. The famous prisoner kept there for 27 years and then later becomes the president of... Ma'am, I am having some fainted idea about it but I am not able to answer the question. Nelson Mandela. Okay ma'am, yes. Alright, thank you. Thank you ma'am. Tell me the factors or the source of income for Taliban when they have struggled with America during the last starting from 2001. What funded their activities? Sir, their primary source of funding is the grants that they receive from the western world. Western world? Yes ma'am, specifically USA. No, they were fighting USA at that time I am saying. Okay, okay sir. Yes sir, that was before the government was in power. Yes. So they are having the gas pipelines that are crossing the Afghanistan, they are charging revenues for that and sir... No, we are going on the wrong track. Then I am sorry sir, I am not very sure about it. How they survived? Grants came, but from where? Sir, China and Russia are also involved in this. No, grants came initially from Saudi Arabia and that. In the name of Islam. Okay, okay sir. Islam and other factors. Thank you very much. And they are the second factor about which I am not very sure. I am not sure. Okay, well Afghan economy has been termed as rentier state. My famous story from Helmut Smith University from Germany. What is the rentier economy of state? Sir, I am not sure but can I make a guess? Sir, I think it is something which deals with borrowing money from one hand and using that money and spreading their influence. Borrowing and there is no borrow in only one way. The grants that are coming in. They depend on international funding. Yes sir. And there is very little return. Okay sir. Except that you can utilize their strategic location of Afghanistan. Yes sir. USD. Yes sir. For a very long time. Correct sir. You are right. Actually some grants came to certain elements within Afghanistan even during the struggle between them. But what is the other feature? One is that what is the other feature of the same rentier state? Not sure sir. Okay. Then have you heard of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan? Yes sir. Opium and opium. Yes sir. It funded about 70% of their budget. Yes sir. In 2009-10 somebody estimated. Yes sir. But how did they operate? They grew and how did they get money? Sir I think there must have been some underground channels and these very so-called developed nations support from Pakistan. Okay sir. They did it jointly. Okay sir. Which countries their material went first? Pardon sir. Which? Where did the supply first? Went all over the world but it was the first recipient. Okay. Tell me who was the paramount leader when modern economic reforms were initiated in China? Sir, Mr. Mao. Mao's ke baad. Mao had passed away. Yes sir. Ke baad ke baad. Mao was not for reforms. He was for typical strictly. Sir, Mr. Zedong. I am not. What is his name? Zedong. I think my pronunciation is not specific. It was Deng Shioping. Okay sir. He was the next one after Mao Zedong. Okay sir. What sort of reforms were undertaken by him? Sir, they basically changed their idea of communism and they inculcated some of the market practices where they opened up their economy to someones. Sir, as in their conservative and closed economy they opened that and come up as the manufacturing hub with the help of western world and sir they also brought strict labour regulations where they were made to work for long hours with less incentives. What was the foundation? You are right most of things. You have said right. Okay sir. But what were three foundations of those reforms? One, two, three. I am sorry sir. I have to look about it. I am not sure. If you try, you can get. Sir, I have some memories. I have some where I have read about it but that would be a very vague answer. Okay. Don't give me vague answers. Sir, thank you for the knowledge sir. No, you read Wikipedia. Okay sir. Briefly you will get. Okay. Then they say that China after 2001 or so shocked world, six shocks it gave to the world. Can you guess? I know. What were those six shocks? Sir, around 2000? After joining WTO it is alleged that it gave six shocks. Shocks to the world. Sir, I have to make some guesses. Sir, one thing can be regarding the environmental degradation, the emission of gases. No, they were all positive so far. China is concerned. Okay sir. They were shocked for the rest of the world in some way. Sir, their economic growth rate in the two digits? They became a big market power. Okay sir. Everybody has to, nobody could ignore them. And sir, they came to be known as the nation having upper middle income group. Yes. And sir, it can be manufacturing hub. They encouraged middle classes. Yes sir. And sir. They opened up for Hong Kong capitalists. They brought 15 of them. Okay sir. In Pearl River. What was the other shock other than this? I am not able to recall. Okay. Thank you. Thank you sir. I am going to tell you something. Yes sir. Coming to your hobby part, your circular and hobby. Yes sir. You have given the spending time with pet animals. Yes sir. What do you mean by pet animals? Sir, I have a dog. Yes sir. And I love spending time with him. And not only with him, I also love spending time with stray dogs in my colony. I regularly feed them whenever I get time. And sir, I have a very soft corner for animals. In return, what do you get from them? Sir, in this relationship, I don't think I should expect anything from them in return. Although sir, we can learn some things from animals like the level of compassion. Okay. About your pet. Yes sir. What do you get in return? Sir, in the meantime, I have been through some emotional ups and downs and spending time with my dog. You mean to say that it is a great stress buster. Stress buster, yes sir. Yes sir. And they have unflinching love for you. Yes sir. Definitely. Love in the country. Yes sir. That is the truth. Yes sir. Which breed you have? Sir, I have a Labrador and a Desi dog also sir. In the Canadian region, there is a Labrador current where the native back in the history, they used to breed the dogs to catch fishes. And that is why they were named Labrador. And why Labrador is so famous? Sir, it is a very lovable dog and can be labeled. Very lovable or they are very loyal. Very loyal also and very emotionally sensitive dog also. Means if I can give you an example, if I do not feed him on time, then he would not eat on time also. And he would bark. What about their intelligence? Sir, they are intelligent dogs. As in, I have trained him some commands. The general traits about that. Sir, they are obedient dogs. Very obedient dogs. Coming to the second part, you are listening to Gajals. Yes sir. Gajal ka kaha huay? Where is it originated from? Gajals. They have their origin in the Arabs. And they got famous in India with the advent of the Delhi Sultanate. And in the modern times, they are also changing with the modern pace of the current music. And sir, we have very good Gajal singers in India, like Mr. Jagjeet Singh and Ghulam Ali of Pakistan. So many other singers also. Can you please specify two, three traits of Gajal? Sir, Ghazals have a very soothing melody and they have 12 couplets, which I read in the book. Although sir, I am not very literally aware about the Ghazals. And they are dependent on Indian rags. And so their lyrics are more of the romantic or the heartbroken side. So these are some of the traits which I am able to recollect right now. Coming to the choice of surveys, you have given custom and central excise reference before the income tax. Yes sir. What was the reason for that? Sir, I had some conversation with one of my senior, one of my college senior. And he informed me that in the present scenario, custom excise services give you more diversity as compared to the income tax. You get the opportunity to work at the airports and very different verticals within the ambit. What is the job of a custom official? IRS Customs. What is the job of? Sir, basically they are given the responsibility to collect the custom services, custom revenue. And they are also posted at airports and various ports also so that they can have overlook over the import and export. That is a very miniscule part of it. Okay sir. Collecting custom duty. Yes. IRS custom duty. Okay sir. That is a very miniscule part of the entire indirect tax. Okay sir. What are the other part of the indirect tax? The GST collection is one thing. GST, GST is the big component of the indirect tax. Yes sir. Who has the most component in GST? Not sure sir. Service tax. Okay sir. Service tax. Thank you. How service tax is different from income tax? Sir, income tax is levied on the service, salary and service tax is, sorry sir, I have to read about it. Not very specific. Right. Thank you. Mr. Aditya. Yes sir. You know the government of India had last year approved this Cain-Bethwa link project. Yes sir. Can you tell me something about this project? What is envisaged in this? Sir, it is basically the interlinking river project in which the sole idea is to transfer the water from the surplus region to the deficit region and sir, it has been planned long years back. I am not sure about the year but I think more than 40 or 50 years ago. No, forget the history. Yes. What has been approved? You tell me that. How will the water go from point A to point B? Sir, through the channel of canals and which are being… How many canals are being made? I am not sure about it sir. How will the water from Cain River, what is happening? How will you collect the water from Cain River? Sir, it is collected through the basin of the river. After you are not fully aware of it. Okay sir, I will read about it. There are dams to be constructed on the Cain River. Yes sir. The basin is in the Bethwa basin. Yes sir. What will it do? It will provide water to which area? Sir, to the north-west MP and the Gujarat and southern Rajasthan also. I suggest you read about it. Okay sir, I will read about it. This is a very important project and the first linking, river linking project which has been approved. Now, the NRC, National Register of Citizens. What exactly is this? You know, because the government announced in 2019 that we will implement this. Yes. What does it mean? Sir, it is the registry of the temporary residence of the country. Temporary residence? Yes sir. You will not be there in the NRC? Sir, I will be there. You are not a temporary resident? Yes sir, I am not a temporary resident. You are a citizen of India? Yes sir. Otherwise you would not be there for the civil services? Definitely sir. So, will you be there in the NRC or not? Yes sir, I will be there. These are people who are not the citizens of India. They will also be registered in that NRC. So, from that sense I was saying the temporary residence. Yeah, you should be clear in your mind. So, what you are saying is temporary residence in India and the citizens of India will find mention in this register. Is that what you are saying? NRC concept, is it already there on the statute book or not? It was announced in 2019. Yes sir. But is the NRC somewhere there in the statute book? Sir, recently it has been practised in Assam. What has happened in Assam, tell me. Sir, there were thousands of names excluded from the registry and they are likely to be deported. Thousands or lakhs? Sir, I think there were around 60,000 people, some sugar like that. How did the NRC, why was the NRC taking place in Assam? Sir, it was with regards to an Assam Accord that was signed between the National Student Union and the Assam Government and Government of India. National Students Union? National Assam Students Union sir. ASU? ASU, yes sir. All Assam Students Union. All Assam, sorry sir. Yes sir. And so what did the Accord say? Sir, it was not able to recall right now. Now this Malabar Naval exercise, can you tell me something about that? Sir, I think it is an exercise between India, Japan and Australia. I am not sure about Australia sir or it is either Australia or US. Sorry, you check it. Sir, why was Elon Musk in the news recently? Sir, he made a bid to buy Twitter in order to make it a private company so that he can, as he says that he will promote the free speech of which there were allegations that Twitter was compromising because of its nature as a company. Okay, right. So we end your mock interview and I will give you a feedback. Okay sir. You see Mr. Aditya. Yes. So far as the UPSC interview is concerned, questions can come to you from two broad areas. One is your DAF and the other is current affairs. Yes. Right. So far as your DAF is concerned, you had sociology as your optional subject so some questions are asked but other questions can also be asked on sociology. Then you belong to Madhya Pradesh so naturally some questions relating to your state can be expected. Now, you have studied in NIT Bhopal. Yes. And you have given, you participated in a human powered vehicle championship. What is this human powered? Sir, it was a competition where we decided to make a vehicle which is to be powered by human energy. If I say in a simple word, it was a cycle. It was a tri-wheeled cycle. Okay. Which was how many people, how many humans were enrolled in this vehicle? Sir, it was driven by one person. One person. Yes. Okay. Then you have mentioned pet animals. Yes. You have responded to that, guzzles both those areas. You can be asked certain questions. You should be prepared for that. Okay, sir. And you worked for about eight, nine months. You're mentioning in Bajaj Auto. Yes. Something about this, you know. Then Bajaj Auto, were you in their two-wheeler program? Yes, sir. Two-wheeler program. So you know what is the market of two-wheelers in the country? Yes, sir. What is the percentage of market by Bajaj? Okay. Which are the other major competitors of two-wheelers. Yes, sir. Different kinds of two-wheelers which are coming. You've got electric vehicles now. Yes, sir. You had recently in the paper about some batteries exploding. Exploding, yes. It was not Bajaj, was it? It was Olaz. Olaz. Yes. So you know, these are all issues related to your two-wheelers. Yes, sir. So be clear on these. Definitely, sir. I will read about them. Yeah. Now, current affairs, you must read your newspaper very carefully. Yes, sir. I don't think you are doing that at the moment. And you have a lot of time. Yes, sir. So you have a lot of time. Yes, sir. What I would suggest is that you take a newspaper every day. Read it thoroughly. Okay, sir. And then whatever you read, important things. Yes, sir. You know, events which are happening within the country, what is happening in the Northeast, what is happening in the South, what is happening. International visitors are coming and meeting the Prime Minister. What is the result of those? Yes, sir. Prime Minister is likely to go abroad or same. So all these various issues are discussed in newspapers. Yes, sir. You have a system by which you are able to keep all of this information with you. Yes. And then every day you need to revise it and you will keep on adding. Yes, sir. But the ultimate objective is that when you go before, for your interview on the 25th, you are able to recall these things properly. Yes, sir. So that has to be your ultimate objective. So for that you have to revise the system by which you will do it. Okay. The more information you have at your command, the better your interview will be. Definitely, sir. I will work on that. So that is the crux of the issue. Okay, sir. I think 26 is the last day for the interview, probably. Yes, sir. I am having on the second last day of. Second last day. And on the day of the interview also. Yes, sir. Don't forget to read the newspaper. Sure, sir. Okay. Okay. All the best. Thank you, sir. Thank you, ma'am. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel. And press the bell icon to never miss an update.