 Come. Good afternoon. Please sit down. Mr. Anirudh, you are already in service in the Indian information service. When did you join? The afternoon had a detailed history. So I am of the 2021 batch. So my training started in December of 2022. Last year. Okay. Right. So now, since you have already qualified here, was it your first attempt last year when you got into the... So that was my second attempt. So this is your third attempt. This is my fourth attempt, sir. Your fourth attempt. Okay. I see. Is your aim the IAS or the IPS or the Foreign Service? So my service preference is the IAS followed by the IPS and then the Foreign Service. Okay. Right. You are a civil servant now. What protection constitution is given to a civil servant and where do we find that? So in the article 311, so we see that there are two protections that are given. So the first being that a civil servant cannot be relieved of their duty by an authority that is lesser than the authority that posted them. And so the second is that they will have a right to be heard. And so that is subject to certain restrictions. But in most of the cases, they will have a right to be heard with regard to any complaint for the removal from service. So can somebody be removed or distanced from service without hearing? So I believe that in exceptional circumstances, so this is the case. But in more often than not, sir, they will have a right to be heard, sir. Does any case come to your mind where somebody is forced to be removed in a minute? Sir, no particular example comes to mind. But I believe that in cases involving national security or if the individual is part of any terrorist organization or has been colluding with some foreign country, then perhaps in those cases, sir. What do you understand by the word due process of law? What comes to your mind when we say he is following due process of law? Sir, the idea of due process of law in Indian constitution is given in the fundamental rights. So article 21 if I am not wrong, sir. And so it means that any and all decisions taken by the law, by any executive body must follow the due process of law. Sir, it means that the process as laid down in any legislation or any set of rules must be followed in terms of any decision making, etc. So how is the due process different from the procedure established by law? Sir, are these two different things or one and the same? Sir, I believe there is a very fine distinction. Sir, in the sense that due process of law was taken from the US constitution by procedure established by law, I believe was from either the British or the Japanese constitution. Sir, I am not aware of the exact difference, sir. Is there a UK constitution there? Sir, by constitution, sir, I mean the... What is the constitution of UK court? Sir, I believe it is the Magna Carta, sir. It is not a... The Magna Carta is charter. Sir, they do not have a written constitution, sir. What they refer to? Generally, they say. They refer to law in the court, you have. What they refer to? Sir, I am not aware of what they refer to. You have heard it as common law. Sir, I have, sir. It is a common law which has been worn over the kingdom of time. So now we do have in this college system or this basic structure. But in the constitution, it is not mentioned anywhere. It is not mentioned. It is not mentioned. So how it is interpreted? What authority gives this power to Supreme Court to invent something which is contrary to expressly written there? So the Supreme Court under its powers of Article 142 has given the doctrine of the basic structure. In the second and the... Sir, in the Keshavanan Bharti case, subsequently, sir, with regard to the collegium system. So in the second and the third judges case, they said that the words are that the president will appoint the Supreme Court judges. And this will be done in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. So this consultation was, in the second and third judges case, construed to be absolute concurrence. And so this was the birth of the collegium system. So what was the Keshavanan Bharti case? Walk me through that case, sir. What is this case regarding and how many judges are there? Why this so celebrated case in India? Sir, the Keshavanan Bharti case was, I believe, in 1973, sir. And so it laid down the basic structure doctrine. And sir, I believe that it was relating to some religious affairs in Kerala, sir. I am not aware of the exact case law and its details. How large was the bench? Sir, I believe it was either a 9 or a 13 member bench. 13 members. Was it a unanimous or majority decision? Sir, I think it was 7 to 6 majorities. 7 to 6. That means one judge could take basic structure which can rule. But if the Supreme Court itself changes the basic structure of the constitution, where do you go? Absolutely, sir. I believe this is one of the biggest lacuna that exists in our constitutional structure today. As so, there is no absolute definition of the basic structure. It has not been codified anywhere. And sir, the powers of implementing the basic structure are only with the Supreme Court. And sir, in the future, they might even be used arbitrarily, sir. So, if the parliament passes unanimously a law that the Supreme Court judges should be appointed, I could write this one. Then what kind of situation do you see for this country? Particularly, what is happening around in the... Indeed, sir. I mean, the example from Israel is right in front of us. Additionally, sir, a similar attempt was made by the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2016, where the NJAC was to be made. However, sir, citing the basic structure and the independence of the judiciary, the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional amendments. Slide shift you are from there. What is the problem with Turkey and Syria? What is the conflict between Turkey and Syria? So, the primary conflict between Turkey and Syria relates to the Kurdish population that is in the northwestern regions of Syria. And so, the present conflict that has been going on in Syria has seen Turkey arm and fund a lot of the fighting that has been going on in Syria, sir. What is the very unique situation there that two superpowers are supporting opposing powers? Indeed, sir. So, we saw that in the case of Syria, there were a lot of international players, such as Turkey, such as Russia, such as Iran and such as Saudi Arabia, being stakeholders in the conflict in Syria, sir. So, is the Ukraine conflict, Russia-Ukraine conflict, is finishing for the NAMP? Sir, it certainly seems like it is an end of what we say the non-aligned movement. And so, this is especially underlined by the fact that powers such as Sweden and Norway that had pledged a non-alliance after World War II. And so, even as recently as after the Cold War have now decided to join the NATO. And additionally, sir, we see that in this particular crisis, there are very few global powers that have not taken explicit sides. So, for instance, we see that China has more or less explicitly supported the cause of Russia. We see that most of the European nations, we see that USA has explicitly taken the side of Ukraine and gone beyond that by aiding them with money and arms. Thank you. You play squash. Have we ever won a gold in squash, gold medal? No, ma'am. Ma'am, actually the hobby of squash I picked up in my fourth year of college. Ma'am, because I realized that to play sports like such as football and cricket, you need to gather about 10-15 people and over here you just need one person. So, ma'am, I play occasionally and I play only as a hobby, ma'am, and I have not participated anywhere. Okay, but has India won a gold? No, ma'am. India has not won a golden squash, ma'am. Saurav Gosha, the team didn't win in Kuala Lumpur 2022? Ma'am, I believe that... Ma'am, I'm not aware of the... Who is the best player in India? Ma'am, currently it is Saurav Gosha in his rank 21, ma'am, in the world. And the world's best? Ma'am, it keeps changing, but I think currently it's Mohammed El-Shorbagi, ma'am. Of? Of Egypt. Very recently he changed his nationality to British, but he is originally from Egypt. Okay. You have written preventions that causes a waging. Yes, ma'am. You're worried about this at this young age. What do you mean by this prevention? Oh, you study what is the cause of aging and how to prevent? Yes, ma'am. You arrived at some conclusion which you can share. Indeed, ma'am. Ma'am, I believe that the field of research on aging has moved tremendously in the past decade. And ma'am, the findings that they have made are fantastic, which is what initially attracted me towards the field in studying about it. Ma'am, most recently we have... Scientists have conclusively found out the root cause of aging at the cellular level. And ma'am, having found this, they have found ways to circumvent this process and ensure that the very paradigm of aging as we see it is no longer the same. And ma'am, this research is so credible that WHO has now classified aging as a disease and no longer something that is inevitable or something that has to happen as a part of life. Ma'am, in anthropology, why is Louis Leakey so famous? Who was he? Ma'am, Louis Leakey was an archaeological anthropologist and ma'am, he is primarily known for all of the research he has done in Africa with regard to his fossil findings that have paved today's theory of how humans evolved. Ma'am, I believe that the fossil that he... Ma'am, he has found two credible fossils. One was in South Africa. Ma'am, I don't remember the name of the fossil and another was in Kenya, ma'am. Homo habilis? Homo habilis, I believe. What was that significant about that discovery? Ma'am, Homo habilis is the first instance where we see the emergence of perfect bipedalism in the Homo species, ma'am. Additionally, ma'am, Homo habilis is seen as an early ancestor of Homo erectus and it is also seen that Homo habilis and Homo erectus were perhaps together at some point of time but the most significant finding is the fact that it is the first instance where we saw almost perfect bipedalism. What do you understand by Neeli, Kranti or Blue Revolution? Ma'am, I believe Blue Revolution refers to the idea of increasing the production of fish and aquaculture, ma'am. And ma'am, this has two subcomponents. One relates to inland fishing that is within the country and the other is in the oceans, ma'am. So what is India doing about increasing its aquaculture? Because it is leading in fish exports, right? Indeed, ma'am. It has taken some steps. What can you think of some of the steps? Ma'am, the first one that comes to mind is the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampad Yojana where the government has ensured that there will be large parks for ensuring that the post-processing of a lot of these fish that have been captured. Secondly, ma'am, a lot of the Indian fishermen are localized in nature and they do not have access to large vessels for carrying out mass fishing, ensuring that there is protection given to these fishermen by not allowing a lot of the global bodies to make large corporations that can put these small fishermen out of jobs or something that has been done. Ma'am, the third is mission fingerling wherein ma'am, the seeds for inland fisheries have been given to a lot of the inland fishermen in states such as Haryana, in states such as UP and ma'am, these are the three that I am aware of. Recently, the NATO expanded, right? Yes. Is it one of the largest alliances in the world? Ma'am, I believe that with 31 or 32 members, it is not perhaps the largest but currently it holds a lot of significance. Okay, tell me which country joined recently and what is its impact for the world and for India? Ma'am, the most recent addition to NATO was Finland, ma'am. And ma'am, the relevance of this addition is the fact that Finland shares a 1300 kilometer border with Russia. And ma'am, we see that the threat of Ukraine, which is also a country that borders Russia, was enough to precipitate a crisis that has gone on for more than a year and Russia has already said that they plan to mobilize more troops across the Finnish border and ma'am, this is a challenge that will be certainly something to be reckoned with for the rest of the world. Ma'am, particularly for India, ma'am, I believe that this... ma'am, by making this crisis of Russia and Ukraine more serious, it increases the ownership of India to perhaps either take a side or to emerge as a leader to find a mediation or solve the issue, ma'am. Just recently, the new space policy 2023 was announced. Ma'am. Do you know some of its significant features? And the role of ISRO and some public PSUs? Ma'am, the most recent space policy outlined the duties and roles of ISRO, NSIL, that is New Space India Limited. And ma'am, there is a third PSU, the name of which I do not remember. In Space, ma'am. It's called In Space. And ma'am, one of the key focal points of the policy is the fact that they wish to focus on increasing the private parties and their participation in space, ma'am. And very recently, we saw the GSLV Mach 3 take 36 satellites that were to provide internet for the world. And ma'am, this was part of the satellites were made by Indian companies. Additionally, we also see that the policy focus is on holding a lot of the startups by In Space. And ma'am, NSIL is there to ensure that any large satellites or any large projects can be done, ma'am. And it will largely take over the role of the Antiriksh Corporation that was earlier there. Anirudh, what do you understand by track to diplomacy? Ma'am, my understanding of track to diplomacy is that it is not something that is formal. The diplomats of a particular country are not involved in this. However, primarily the lead thinkers or individuals who run public policy think tanks, etc., participate in track to dialogues. And does it replace the formal track one? What is its role? Ma'am, I believe that the role of track to diplomacy is to buttress the ideas that are to be supported by track one diplomacy. Usually, ma'am, my understanding is that it is there for initiating a certain thought in the global sphere, in the geopolitical sphere. Ma'am, where experts introduce an idea that allows rumination for the rest of the world. And ma'am, once everyone has discussed it, then actionable advances can be made by the track one diplomats. Can you recall any country with which India has used track to diplomacy? Ma'am, I believe that with Afghanistan, ma'am, during the Afghan crisis, ma'am, when the meetings were being held, diplomats from India did not go because India's stance was that they were not willing to negotiate with Taliban at the point. So what they had called track 1.5 diplomacy, the retired diplomats had gone. Ma'am, that is something that I can recall. There has also been with Pakistan the track two. Okay, thank you ma'am. Somebody said that India never lost independence as long as it had a strong naval forces till 16th century. Who was it and do you agree? Elaborate it. Sir, I am not aware of who said. Virtually. Absolutely, sir. Sir, I believe that India, with its long coastline of over 7500 kilometers, so this long coastline creates a certain vulnerability to the subcontinent. And sir, there are many historical examples. So both positive and negative. For instance, we see the Chola dynasty with its mighty navy. It not only made its empire prosperous in large, but also enlarged to other parts of the Indian Ocean such as Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. On the flip side, sir, we see that at the heyday of the British navy in the 1600s and 1700s, they not only eliminated all the competition, but were also able to primarily dominate India in a lot of senses. And these were the routes that were used initially to build. How do you see it in contemporary India? So currently, sir, we see that there is a renewed focus on what we call the Indian Ocean region, sir. And so this focus is driven by two large forces, sir. One being China and the second being the United States of America. So China has shown increased interest in the Indian Ocean region starting from the South China sea, sir. What about India? So for India, sir, we are seeing a lot of diplomatic channels being opened up with countries such as Mauritius and Maldives. Additionally, sir, we also have a lot of strategic ports that we have made. So for instance, we have a strategic container deal with Sri Lanka in the works. So we have the Chabahar port near Iran. Additionally, sir, we also have a trans-shipment agreement with Bangladesh with one of their ports, sir. Chabahar is complete. Is it operational? Sir, as far as I am aware, it's not operational so far, sir. So it is out of picture so far, but it will come in picture. Some development in Great Nicobar? Indeed, sir. Yeah. So the government is planning on making a large multimodal trans-shipment platform on Great Nicobar. So along with this, sir, there will also be a large housing project that is to come up over there. And the government plans to market this as a future tourist destination as well. What is multimodal part in it? Sir, I believe that the multimodal part relates to the fact that not only... So this can be used as a trans-shipment hub for refuelling and for also ensuring that imports and exports can be made from this area, sir. Can it help in containing China somewhere? And if yes, what is the condition for it? Sir, I believe that it is one of, sir, given its strategic significance both with respect to geography and scope. So I believe it is one of the countermeasures that is being implemented in light of what China plans to do in the Indian Ocean. And, sir, I believe the strategic significance of the Great Nicobar project relates to the idea of how close it is to the Malacca Strait, which is primarily one of the key choke points for access of oil to China, sir. Can China be restrained from using Malacca gateway by some manipulations in Great Nicobar? Sir, I believe that if in the future we see Great Nicobar being as the primary refuelling hub, then, sir, perhaps it can delay. But I don't see a situation where we will be able to stop it, sir, unless there is military intervention. You know, there is a rear admiral, Raja Menang. He recommends that India should develop it in collaboration with Indian Air Force. Indian Air Force and Navy put together can hold some of the ships, Chinese ships as they can hold them back there so that there is a pressure on China. What is the deep China state? And what is the deep any state? What is the deep state? So, the idea of the deep state relates to the fact that apart from the democratically elected government, so there are other powers at play that influence politics, policies, law, governance. That means there cannot be any deep state of a democratic country? Sir, even in democratic countries, sir, we see that there are, sir, for instance, the US has often said that in countries like the US, the military industrial complex. So, democracy has nothing to do with it, I suppose. Perhaps not, sir. What is the dimension of deep Chinese activities, deep state activities? Sir, I believe that in the case of China, sir, the deep state primary relates to the ideas of the Communist Party of China and so given that they are the party in power and they are running the show and there is no opposition. What is the dimension? How many people work for promoting communism from China's side? Okay, thank you. Your home city Delhi. Tell me three most important issues Delhi is facing. So, the first and foremost would be that of air pollution. So, the second would be that of waste management and so the third would be that of overall urban planning and ensuring that, so the population increase in Delhi is somewhat mitigated in the future, given the increased burden on a lot of, on the houses, on water, on electricity and everything. What would you advise? So, for all three, sir? All three, sir. So, for air pollution, sir, I believe that there has to be a two-pronged approach. So, one would be preventive and one would be curative. So, preventing increased air pollution by ensuring that there are norms on construction activities by ensuring that a lot of the diesel vehicles older than 15 years or 10 years, increasing EVs, etc. can be done. So, on the curative... This all is already there. What is graded response? So, the graded response action plan relates to the idea that based on the AQI, we have a graded response. The higher the AQI, the more severe the measures to combat air pollution. What else? Sir, apart from that, sir, ensuring that the Parali burning in neighboring states is somewhat reduced. So, using technologies such as smog towers, sir, the new spray technologies that have come out is certainly something that can be done to at least in a short term reduce the air pollution in a particular area, sir. We don't think the crime control should be there amongst the first three important issues, especially the crime against women. Sir, safety is also a very significant part of... Sir, Delhi is the... So, how would you take care of women's safety? Sir, I believe that the idea of safety can be tackled by a three-pronged approach, sir. So, the first would be ensuring that there is awareness and sensitization among the men. So, as it is seen that more than 50% of the crimes against women happen within the household. And so, these are perhaps something that are difficult to stop, sir. So, sensitization among men, which is perhaps a long-term goal, is something that needs to be focused on. So, second, empowering women is something that is shown to work very effectively. For instance, within the... Only in the last year, we have seen that awareness with regard to use of the 112 numbers, sir. Awareness with regard to usage of pepper spray has really increased and reduced the number of cases against women. And so, third would be with respect to infrastructure and policing. So, ensuring that there are more number of street lights. So, there are more number of PCR on routes where there are more instances of harassment, etc. And so, these are the three approaches. What are the causes of aging? Early aging, I would say, not aging. So, the primary cause at a genetic level is loss of information, sir. And that is that our DNA has all the information to function absolutely effectively for as long as we want. However, the access to this information is with age, sir, because of oxidation, because of DNA damage, etc. goes down. And so, this is exacerbated by other determinants, such as pollution, such as habits, such as smoking and drinking, etc. Is there any rule of diseases in early aging? Indeed, sir. What are the diseases which cause that? So, a lot of the diseases are downstream of aging. For instance, a cardiovascular issues, diabetes issues, etc., are downstream. Sir, upstream would be all communicable diseases or viral bacterial fungal diseases. They reduce the efficiency of the body to clean itself to protect its DNA because it is busy fighting. Tell me three important measures for delayed aging. To delay the aging. Sir, at a personal level or at a social level? Personal can be replicated. So, tell me at a personal level. Sir, I believe the three pillars of ensuring healthy aging are one, sir, habits and behaviors. Sir, this would include things like sleeping on time, ensuring that there is adequate exercise. Sir, second, something that is often looked down upon, sir, but I believe that is the future, is supplementation, sir. So, ensuring that a lot of the vitamins, a lot of the minerals, etc., that we need are often not there in our body. What is the role of alcohol in aging? Sir, alcohol has seen to be a primary driver of aging because it primarily affects the liver. And so, the liver detoxifies the body. And so, because of when there is increased alcohol, it converts to acetaldehyde in the body in the liver. And this is essentially a poison for the body. So, this detoxification process takes so long that other processes in the body stall. So, this leads to DNA damage. This leads to oxidative stresses. Sir, I believe that even though it is popularly thought to be a stimulant, chemically, biochemically, it is a depressant, sir. Sir, how does it cause its stimulation? Sir, I believe that it is depressant, how it causes stimulation? Sir, I believe that it is a depressant because it depresses certain neurotransmitters such as dopamine, etc. However, sir, it increases either serotonin or some other neurotransmitter, which is why it has stimulant-like attributes. But it is biochemically a depressant. What is the role of steam? Sir, I am not aware of the role of steam. Have you ever heard this word? You know the Chinese president? He always talks about this. Thank you, sir. Anurad, the government had recently banned the popular front of India. What were the reasons for which this was necessary? The reasons behind banning the popular front of India were that it was deemed to be a terrorist organization because they were ostensibly planning an attack, a terrorist attack within India. What was the purpose in the linkages found? Linkages are what? They had linkages with certain international terror groups also. Which one of these was predominantly mentioned as one of the reasons for banning? ISIS? Their orders were also in touch with the ISIS. So what is ISIS? The ISIS or the Islamic State was initially ISIL. They envisaged an area in the Middle East where Islamic law will rule and so they proposed a very radical idea of Islamism in their proposed so they were based in Syria and Iraq. But why were they posing a threat to India? And how were they posing a threat to India? How were they able to radicalize our youth? Sir, I believe that the operations of ISIS also seek to mobilize a lot of the Islamic population in other countries. And sir, an example of this was seen in Sri Lanka, sir where the terrorist attack of 2019 was linked to ISIS. And sir, I believe it is one of their objectives to increase radicalization in other countries and advance the idea of what they do. So how are they doing it? That's what I am asking you. So far as India is concerned, we have a large number of people who have been arrested over the last several years. Almost 300. How are they able to radicalize them? Sir, I believe it is primarily through digital means, through the internet because a lot of individuals who go on certain websites, etc. and come in contact with individuals from ISIS. So basically it is through online radicalization, right? Now, so far the ISIS is concerned it is almost non-existent now in Syria and Iraq. Part of the group has now moved to Afghanistan and we have another group now called the ISKP Islamic State Khurasan Provinces and that is now they owe allegiance to the ISIS. So, and similarly they are doing the same thing to India now and therefore many of the people who are members of the popular front of India were found to be in touch when being influenced by the ISKP which is much more nearer to us and also a cause of concern for the country, right? Thank you sir, I was not aware of. Now tell me you know the Nord Stream pipeline was in the news recently. Why was that? Sir, the Nord Stream pipeline is a pipeline through Russia to the Baltic Sea to provide gas to Europe. So, this was in the news because there was ostensibly a sabotage in the Nord Stream and sir it dysfunctional sir. Yeah, but who was responsible? You read about Seymour Harsh? I am not sure sir. Seymour Harsh was an American reporter who has laid the blame on the US as because their forces involved. You cannot tell me the Pakistan Prime Minister has been saying that we want to establish good relations with India, normalize relations with India. Provided we will draw 370 which we have implemented and also implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions. So, what is the stumbling block in implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions? Sir, these resolutions are with respect to sir. 1948, 1948, Indo-Pakistan we went to the United Nations Security Council when the Pakistanis were moving into JNK and the UN had established a committee and they are called the UN that has been the basic demand of all when we had the separatists the Hurriyat and Kashmir. What did they say? That the will of the people should be ascertained and UN Security Council resolutions to be implemented. So, what are these resolutions? Sir, I am not exactly aware of what the resolution was. Why was Pakistan placed in the grey list? Sir, a lot of links were found between a lot of individuals who were in Pakistan with a lot of the money laundering which was done for terrorist activities etc. was found and a lot of individuals their bank accounts were highlighted by the FATF and sir because these bank accounts were not frozen or enough action was not taken by Pakistan they continued to be on the grey list. So, we end your mock interview. Wish you all the very best. Take care. Don't forget to like share and subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon to never miss an update.