 Good afternoon please have a seat. It is Porush. Yes, sir. You are welcome. And we find that you completed your M-Tech, D-Tech in 2020. And you have been software engineer with Texas Instruments. Ok, Bangalore. Great. Which attempt it is? Sir, this is my second attempt. And personality test? First, first. We could start from your side, Mr. Burswa. Yes. You have done from mathematics. Are my optional is mathematics. The India is as an inflection point. There is a worldwide concern on the aging, aging population. Ok. So, that is a demographic angle. There are four D's actually. Another we are talking about digitalization. And digitalization you are talking about disruptive digitalizations. What do you think that where India stands in these kind of problems which world is facing, Johan? Sir, India stands at a more resilient position right now. With respect to aging, India does not have this problem at least for the next 20 to 30 years. And India has the largest youth population among any country in the world. So, India does stand to gain from the demographic dividend. Apart from that, in terms of digitization, I think India is doing really well in this sphere as well. With a lot of governance initiatives also taken in the direction of digitization. Our United Payments Interface UPI is a model for the rest of the world to follow. So, why we are lagging behind in the, we are good in software, Johan? In the hardware, what is the difficulty? We have such bright people. Sir, I think in the hardware, it is mostly an infrastructural related issue, especially when we talk about electronic hardware and semiconductor design. It requires a very good level of infrastructure in terms of water supply, power supply, supply of raw materials like some rare earths and chemicals as well in which India is important dependent. So, I think these are some of the structural issues in our. So, in your view, do you think that we did not have the resources or we lagged behind in seeing the opportunity which is coming? Sir, I think we do have the resources. And we and India at present is at a stage where it can actually invest in these technologies, hardware design, semiconductor design and move ahead. Move ahead, Johan. Have we taken some measures now in the context of semiconductor China and Taiwan problem? Have we taken some measures on that? Yes, sir. So, I think the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors from China did make us realize that it is high time that we need to improve the semiconductor design manufacturing in our country. And we have taken some steps like the design-linked initiative for semiconductor design and there have been some talks of a plant coming up in Gujarat for semiconductor manufacturing as well. It is slightly different on the, now budget is round the corner. So, what are your wish list on the direct tax and indirect tax, which Madam Finance Minister calls you and says please advise us that. What do you want? Sir, with respect to indirect taxes, I think there should be a little more rationalization of the slabs. Right now we have a lot of different slabs and I think we have four major slabs but apart from that gold and diamonds have their own slabs as well. So, some sort of rationalization is necessary here. In terms of direct taxes, I think a direct tax code is the way forward here because sometimes even for me, personally, I found the filing income tax and so on was very difficult for me as well. So, I think there should be a little more of consumer friendliness and direct tax. You will be filing an ITR in a tax return? Yes. So, for how many years one is required to maintain the ITR? Is there any time limit prescribed? There is, there was something related to this in the last year's budget where you could edit your tax returns. I am asking that how long you need to keep the ITR, is there a provision in law which says that. I am not aware of that. You are not aware of that. How far back the IT can go back and ask you that in the assessment year, this is wrong that some time limit is there or they can open some 50 years, 40 years, 30 years back, I filed ITR and they can call today, please give this detail. You sold the house in Lucknow sometime 25 years back. So, can they open like that? Sir, I am not sure but I think they cannot, there should be a time limit. There is a time limit for issuing of so-called notices, varying time limits on that. Okay, thank you very much. Kaurush, India is a gastronomic delight. Explain. Ma'am, India has, every state of India has its own cuisine, every district of India has its own cuisine and the spices and the ingredients that we see here are not found in a lot of places around the world and I think the varying cuisines of India makes it a gastronomic delight. So, what are you doing as a hobby in gastronomy? Ma'am, I like to look at how maybe as the same ingredient is used in a lot of different cuisines and around the world and also I do like to cook at times. In India, which are the say name three states which are popular destination for gastronomic purposes? Ma'am, Telangana is definitely a state, Hyderabad is also a part of the United Nations Creative Cities Network on Gastronomy. So, I think Hyderabad offers a mix of both kind of Mughalai cuisine as well as South Indian cuisine. Apart from that, I would like to say Kolkata because that has an influence of not only the West Bengal, but also a slight Chinese influence and North Eastern influence as well. And the third I would like to say is Delhi because Delhi also has a good fusion cuisine and not just the influence of Mughalai, but also Tibetan and Korean influence as well. Which foreign cuisine you like? Ma'am, I really enjoy Thai cuisine. What is topology mathematics? Ma'am, topology is the branch of mathematics which deals with the giving algebraic representations to manifolds and shapes basically. What are the uses? What are the views? I am not very aware now. Okay, all that doesn't matter. Now, Henry Wooten said, an ambassador is an honest man sent abroad to lie and intrigue for the benefit of his country. You were given foreign service as your number one. So, in relation to that, just tell me what do you think this statement means? Ma'am, I think it's partially true that an ambassador or a diplomat in a foreign country has to make sure that their home country's interests are represented well. And also, I think with respect to the intrigue part, I think it is important for an ambassador to spread some sort of a cultural diplomacy in a foreign country. And at the same time, create a sort of an intrigue in the eyes of the country so that not only tourism is benefited, but people to people's eyes and so on are also encouraged. What about if you are posted in a country that is openly hostile to India, where would intrigue come then? Ma'am, maybe in a sort of way that to show that India is definitely a lot more capable to tackle all the hostilities that have been meted to by that country and a sort of like a secrecy kind of an intrigue maybe, but I am not. Supposing you are posted in a mission abroad and you are designated as first secretary commercial and economic, what do you think you have to do? If I am posted at the first secretary commercial, then I think my primary motive would be to improve trade and tourism ties. Actually anything that benefits India economically and helps in its development. So how would you do it? What are the tools that would be available there abroad for you in a mission? Ma'am, I think one would be some sort of a cultural diplomacy of showcasing Indian heritage and products in say events that take place in that country. Like what events? Ma'am, there are some events in which there will be some sort of exchange cultural exchange events. Not cultural, you are talking of commerce. So what events would you see that India participated in over there? Ma'am, maybe the bilateral talks or events, trade shows, right, expose. You will participate in international one, make sure that after doing a study first, whether it is useful for India too, when you do the product choice, like what are the products that could, you know, so there are many, there are a whole lot of issues in it. Now what is ENO? ENO ma'am. INO. I am not sure ma'am. Indian Nutrino Observatory. What is it? It is going to come up in Tamil Nadu, I think. Was supposed to, it is stalled. But what does it deal with? Ma'am, it deals with the detection of neutrinos which are charge less particles and they do not interact much with any other particles of the universe, which makes them more difficult to capture. But they are useful in, say, cryptography and so on. Tell me what are the challenges and opportunities for India in 2023, the international part? Ma'am, can I have a moment to think? And domestically because they impinge, they do it back. Ma'am, the foremost challenge that I think is the economic challenge that is coming up, especially in terms of our exports, we see that there is a global slowdown and tops of recession in the western countries. So they might hamper our export growth in 2023. So I think that is a major challenge for India. Secondly, India is placed at a very sensitive position in the current geopolitical scenario, where there is a lot of uncertainty due to the Russia-Ukraine war. There is uncertainty in oil prices. There are talks of caps on the price of Russia oil, which has already been done. So I think in terms of oil as well, India will have to face certain issues. Thirdly, I would like to say that India is the president of G20 right now and it is its turn to charter the global path ahead. So India has to very carefully read on that path as well in 2023. But there would be opportunities also in that. What about the threats to India's security? China, right. How do you think India will manage that? Ma'am, I think India should adopt a diplomatic route. But if there is some sort of an unprovoked aggression by China as was seen in last year, then it should definitely respond with all its might back. Thank you. You are a software engineer and you prefer the Indian foreign service. Yes, sir. I am not able to understand the linkage between the three. Sir, my hobby is teaching, which I really like to do at times. My job was, I was working as a software engineer, but I am currently on a sabbatical too for my preparation. Apart from that, I think Indian foreign services is what I want to make out of my future career. It is what I see in my future. And the other two I would like to say keep as my hobbies only. So why do you want to go for IFS? Sir, I think the kind of environment that I will be exposed to in the Indian foreign service, not just in diplomatic missions abroad, but also in policy making within the country will be unparalleled. And it is mostly what I see as what I can gain from this service. Because not just what I can gain, but also what I can give back because they say that diplomacy is the first line of defense. And as we are growing closer as a world, I think this will play a much more important role in the next coming decades. What is the relationship between the left and the right of Delhi and the Chief Minister in terms of constitution? Sir, in terms of constitutional provisions, the article 239AA is what talks about the national capital territory of Delhi, where the left and left-wing governor has to act on the aid and advice of the Chief Minister. But that is not happening. Yes, sir. So there was the GNTCD Act of Amendment Act of 2021, where the government was named as the left-wing governor, which is why that does not happen. Which are the area or subjects where Delhi government has no power? Sir, it is land, public order and police. But then why is the friction? Sir, the friction primarily is because of the recent amendment that was brought in and also because the political parties at the NCT level and the Central level are different. Who do you blame more? Sir, I think I would not like to blame anyone more, but I would like to say that both parties are to blame because ultimately it is the people of Delhi who are at loss. Tell me some discretionary part of the governor. Sir, governors have both constitutional as well as situational discretion. In terms of situational discretion, the governor can refer some bills to the president for reconsideration. Secondly, in terms of situational discretion, when there is no party in majority, then they have the discretion of choosing the Chief Minister and so on. Sir, apart from this, the governor has also discretionary powers in the affairs of Union Territory. They are acting as the administrator of that Union Territory irrespective of the state in which they are the governor. There were certain recommendations which were made by the Sarkaria commission. Can you name some of them? Sir, from what I can remember, I think the Sarkaria commission recommended that there should be a fixed term for the governor of five years and secondly, the Chief Minister of the state should be consulted in the appointment of the governor. And I think one more was that the governor should be done away with from being the Chancellor of universities, but I am not sure if that was a part of Sarkaria commission. What kind of person should be appointed as the governor? What were the recommendations? Sir, a non-partisan individual who is not from the state in which they are going to be appointed as the governor. That is one. What about politicians? Sir, I think politicians, it recommended that politicians should not be appointed as governor. They should be more independent, but I am not sure on this exactly. What are non-communicable diseases? Sir, non-communicable diseases are those diseases which cannot spread from one person to another through air or water or so on. For example, diabetes or high blood pressure or so on. India is known to be the capital of the world. What do we think about it? Is it correct or what is the reason? Sir, definitely there is a very high incidence of diabetes in the country, but I am not aware of the exact reason for why that is. Why will we go for unitary bias in our constitution? Sir, at the time of independence, the Indian states had, there was a huge task of making the country more cohesive because of the issue of princely states integration and so on. So, I think at that time, there was a valid reason to make a have a unitary bias. What is the use of caste censors? Sir, I think a lot of our policies are, especially the positive affirmation policies are based on the concept of caste. So, I think caste-based censors would help us in having a more data oriented and data backed policy making in this regard. Some move in 2019 and then it was taken, data protection then was implemented, then now a new draft. What is the idea behind that? Sir, there was a judgment called KS Puttuswamy judgment by the Supreme Court, which said that a right to privacy is a fundamental right. So, to bring that in law. Okay, I see here, India and Pakistan, whenever they go there, there is an issue of jurisdiction in the Atlantic case, which was filed by Pakistan, India, India, India, India. What is the basis for raising objections to that jurisdiction? Sir, I am not aware of this. Then can you tell us why, if you are to take up the case of India being a permanent member and the expansion of the security council, what would be your argument? Sir, my first and foremost argument would be that India is soon to become the world's most populous country and not having the most populous country itself having representation in the United Nations Council, a country which hosts around 20% of the world's population. It really shows how that UNSC is becoming obsolete now. Secondly, India has emerged as the world's fifth largest economy and it is also the voice of the global south, so to speak. So, to have more representation of developing countries in the global south is very important in the United Nations security. To begin with, do you think the United Nations was supposed to be a democratic organization because it was for friendly nations? Sir, I think some of some organs of the UN like the United Nations General Assembly and so on, they work on democratic principles, but certain like United Nations Security Council does not. There is a test introduced CUET and it is supposed to promote what they call critical thinking, discussion-based learning and inquiry-driven education and selection obviously. Whether it will succeed in that direction? Sir, I think the CUET will definitely usher in more transparency in the selection process. Critical thinking and inquiry-based learning and there is discussion-oriented learning. I am not fully aware of this issue, but maybe the test is based on those aspects of... It is based on multiple-choice questions, MCQ. Yes sir, but I think multiple-choice questions can also be a good test of critical thinking. The problem is that there are so many students, so many applicants that it cannot be, it's not feasible to have more exhaustive subjective tests for the students. I think this was the best way out. So, this is only a compromise you mean to say? I would say yes, because in an ideal scenario, we would like to test on multiple holistic parameters, not just the based on a test result, but also subjective parameters as well as personality. And generally about the recommendations of new education policy, which are major recommendations, this will help learning quality education in India, only quality education. Sir, one is the promotion of education in mother tongue, at least up to the class 8, because secondly, I think the focus on pre-primary education will also be in other ones. Thirdly, I think the recent UGC guidelines on foreign universities and so on. It doesn't help much, substantive issues in education policy, which have a direct bearing on quality. Sir, the assessment framework is another one for not just teacher. What about filling up of a teacher's post, a large number of posts in the best institutions live vacant, even your IIT not all will be full. So, does it suggest some way out? Sir, I am not aware of. Why the posts are not being filled up? Sir, I will have to think a little bit, but what I can say is that probably because of the earth of talent in the country. The earth of talent or the bright people not coming forward for teaching jobs? Not coming from teaching jobs and if at all then going abroad. Okay, but whoever are available to us as teachers, why are not we able to improve their standard and teaching abilities? Sir, definitely there is an issue of funding in the education sector. The abilities of those teachers who are already available in the institute? Yes, sir, because we need to have some sort of a continuing education or some training given to teachers as well and make them more skilled in the... Funding comes in the way. Let us talk about central universities and institutions of national importance. Probably there funding doesn't come into picture. We wanted to be taking place, but why it is not taking place? Because you have trainers, you have trainees, you can do within the institution or outside the institution. Just think about it. Okay, so we end your mock interview. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon to never miss an update.